O P I N I O N S

EDITORIALS

Born in trouble
Consensus on women’s Bill missing
THE manner in which the Women’s Reservation Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday could cause only concern. When Union Law Minister H.R. Bhardwaj introduced it by voice vote, the Congress members formed a human chain around the minister to protect the Bill from being snatched away by Samajwadi Party members.

Errant MPs
They deserve stringent punishment
THE incidents in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday epitomise the malaise affecting Parliament. They came a day after Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee magnanimously withdrew the reference he made to the Privileges Committee against 32 MPs.

Striking distance
China flexes naval muscle
THE sheer size of the Chinese naval base at Hainan island, its undersea access points and other advanced facilities, and the presence of nuclear missile-carrying submarines have clearly startled, if not shocked, the Indian security establishment.

• Thought for the day

ARTICLE

Opportunity in Nepal
Delay in making use of it will be costly
by B. G. Verghese
Nepal’s election has effected a globally significant Maoist transition from “people’s war” to parliamentary government. An excellent conference in Patna recently brought leading “New Nepal” representatives face to face with Indian interlocutors in constructive dialogue.

MIDDLE

Doctor mother
by A.J. Philip
ON Sunday we talked about her by chance when we had dinner at a friend’s place. We had no clue that she had passed away in distant Kerala the same day. I cannot claim to have known Dr Sosamma Philip (90) well. In fact, I met her just once. Her “stepmother” and my paternal grandmother were sisters.

OPED

News analysis
Intercepting Blackberry
Security concerns stir up Indo-Canadian row
by Girja Shankar Kaura
IT is rare that India and Canada exchange hot words over any subject. But the “Blackberry” row has now been threatening to balloon into a full-fledged diplomatic row with the Indian security agencies standing their ground and the Canadian government looking at a major loss of business to its IT major RIM, the manufacturer of Blackberry mobile phone handsets, which also double up as computers.

Japan is now a ‘land of disappearing children’
by Blaine Harden
TOKYO – Japan celebrated a national holiday on Monday in honor of its children. But Children’s Day might just as easily have been a national day of mourning. For this is the land of disappearing children and a slow-motion demographic catastrophe that is without precedent in the developed world.

Inside Pakistan
Uncertainty over judges
by Syed Nooruzzaman
WILL the deposed judges, including Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, be reinstated on May 12 as declared by Mr Nawaz Sharif? Mr Sharif made the statement after his meeting with PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari in Dubai, yet very few people take it seriously.

EDITORIALS

Born in trouble
Consensus on women’s Bill missing

THE manner in which the Women’s Reservation Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday could cause only concern. When Union Law Minister H.R. Bhardwaj introduced it by voice vote, the Congress members formed a human chain around the minister to protect the Bill from being snatched away by Samajwadi Party members. It was not a spectacle befitting the dignity of the Upper House. The unfortunate event shows the sharp division among the political parties during the past 12 years over the Bill, which seeks to provide for 33 per cent reservation of seats for women in Parliament and state legislatures. Parties like the RJD, the DMK, the PMK, the JD(U), the BSP and the SP want a “quota within quota” for the Dalits, the OBCs and the Muslims. In any case, the tabling of the Bill is widely perceived as a token gesture by the UPA government to mollify women and avert a showdown between those for and against the Bill. The government could not be ignorant of the fact that there was no consensus among the parties on a measure of enormous significance.

Now that both Houses of Parliament are adjourned sine die, the Bill can be taken up for discussion only in the monsoon session. Even if a Standing Committee examines the amendments and clears it, its smooth passage in both Houses will still be in doubt. The critics have no new ideas on the Bill. Railway Minister and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav has reiterated his demand for a “quota within quota”. If the Centre’s purpose of tabling it in the Upper House was only to buy some more time, one will be constrained to view it as a symbolic gesture, defeating the larger purpose of empowering women.

Actually most political parties are divided on the Bill whatever be the politics surrounding the measure. It would have been eminently sensible if all the political parties agreed to field women in at least one-third of the total number of constituencies they contested. This would have required a simple amendment to the Representation of People Act, 1951, and not a constitutional amendment. The Centre should still try to evolve an all-party consensus on the issue. There is hardly any better alternative to achieve a semblance of gender equity in the legislative apparatus.

Errant MPs
They deserve stringent punishment

THE incidents in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday epitomise the malaise affecting Parliament. They came a day after Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee magnanimously withdrew the reference he made to the Privileges Committee against 32 MPs. In doing so, he relied on the promise made by the leaders of the parties concerned that they would cooperate with the Speaker in transacting the House business. The MPs, whose conduct evoked his displeasure, found a good photo op when they posed with their forefingers on their closed lips but they evoked only derisive laughter from the general public. They are mistaken if they think that public opinion is on their side. What the people expect from them is not theatrics but effective participation in the House. There are inbuilt provisions like the zero hour and the question hour which allow the members to play a role in decision-making.

Unfortunately, some MPs seem to believe that they owe it to their constituents to shout in the House, engage in wordy duels with those sitting on the opposite benches and make the life of the presiding officer miserable. For them, this is the easiest way to attract attention and grab headlines in the Press. The alternative is to study the subjects to be discussed, take elaborate notes and make forceful presentations. There were parliamentarians like Nath Pai, H.V. Kamath, Madhu Limaye, Ram Manohar Lohia, Bhupesh Gupta and Hiren Mukherjee who excelled because they did their homework well. There are no short-cuts; the MPs have to do hard work. Any attempt to short-circuit the system through filibustering will cause disrepute to Parliament. Already, most people have a low opinion of the standard of debate and attendance in the House.

The political parties have a responsibility to impress upon their MPs that what is expected of them is to make use of the forum of Parliament to highlight the problems of the people and find a solution to them. They are, of course, entitled to protest; they can even walk out of the House but at no time should they prevent ministers or other members from making their submissions in the House. If, despite the promises, the errant MPs persist with their theatrics, the Speaker cannot but come down heavily on them.

Striking distance
China flexes naval muscle

THE sheer size of the Chinese naval base at Hainan island, its undersea access points and other advanced facilities, and the presence of nuclear missile-carrying submarines have clearly startled, if not shocked, the Indian security establishment. The usual platitudes about being ready for any security eventuality are all that will publicly emerge from a reported meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security to be held on the issue shortly. While the fact that the Sanya Nuclear Submarine Naval base was being built was known, the new revelations further highlight the growing gap in military capabilities between India and China.

Apart from the massive size and new facilities, there are also several locational advantages for the Chinese. For one thing, the Indian Ocean and the Andaman Islands are now within 2000 nautical miles. What is more, defence experts are pointing out that unlike the shallow waters off the Chinese mainland, the waters are deep along the Hainan coast, and submarines can dive quickly out of sight of the preying eyes, either earth-based or up in satellites. Underground caverns, tunnels and storage facilities also permit the Chinese to store, load and embark nuclear-tipped missiles in relative secrecy. Important economic shipping routes can be interdicted at key choke points.

Both the Chinese Air Force and the Chinese Navy have made rapid strides in modernisation over the last decade or so, while India has struggled with both its procurement processes and its indigenous projects. While endless delays are taking place in modernising even our artillery, the Chinese have gone ahead to acquire the most modern fighter planes, ships and submarines. Apart from the Sukhois, the yet-to-be-built Scorpenes and the odd missile or two, precious little augmentation is taking place in our offensive and defensive capabilities. China’s reach and power are continuously expanding whereas our strategic autonomy and diplomatic manoeuvring room are constantly eroding. Unless there is strong political will to put India’s military modernisation projects on fast track, the gap will widen, with serious consequences for the country.

Thought for the day

There are no whole truths; all truths are half-truths.

— Alfred North Whitehead

ARTICLE

Opportunity in Nepal
Delay in making use of it will be costly
by B. G. Verghese

Nepal’s election has effected a globally significant Maoist transition from “people’s war” to parliamentary government. An excellent conference in Patna recently brought leading “New Nepal” representatives face to face with Indian interlocutors in constructive dialogue. The outcome was reassuring. Listening to ranking Nepali Maoists like C.P. Gajurel (politburo member) and Ms Hislisa Yami, Minister, Interim Government, and engineer-wife of Baburam Bhattarai (the Maoist No. 2) suggested pragmatism in shaping the new constitution and realising transformational progress in measured steps.

Taken with statements by Prachanda, the Maoist chairman, the party is pledged to building a consensus in constitution-making and governance on the basis of “democracy, republicanism, federalism and secularism” with a mandate for “peace, stability and inclusiveness”. Ideology is not being abandoned but ground realities predicate capitalist development with political competition based on consensual politics to ensure national unity and cohesion. Gajurel bluntly stated that “socialism” failed in Eastern Europe as it denied the principle of competition.

The Maoists were surprised by their own success in a fair and open election, despite some pre-poll violence and intimidation. Their task will now be to keep exuberant youth cadres in check. Seeking representational insurance through a part-direct, part-PR electoral system, the Maoists now find themselves disadvantaged by the larger indirect representation gained by their opponents. The latest tally gives the Maoists 220 seats in a House of 601, the Nepali Congress 110 and the UML 103. But since all decisions in the Constituent Assembly must be taken consensually or decided by a two-thirds majority, both sides have a blocking majority. This should induce compromise and sobriety in all matters.

The Constituent Assembly is charged with writing a constitution within 24 months, following which there will be fresh elections. There are a number of sensitive issues to be resolved. Republicanism is virtually a fait accompli, though some still harbour a fugitive hope otherwise. Merger of the Maoist PLA and the Nepal Army is trickier, but Mr Prachanda is for “professionalism”. “Capitalist” development should not preclude essential agrarian reform, but Nepal’s business community has been told that private property and investments will not be expropriated.

Leadership of the government may be contested, with some in the NC and Seven-Party Alliance suggesting marginalising or even excluding the Maoists. This would be unwise. The PR system has brought about representational inclusiveness, including a measure of gender equity. The Madhesis (around 85 seats) and Jan Jatis have secured fair representation for the first time. This has also altered the regional balance. However, great care must be exercised in designing the new federal units. Madhesis favour a single east-west Madhesi province bordering India. Similar absolute ethno-linguistic divisions could create one or more Jan Jati units in the northern belt. Such a configuration could have geo-political repercussions that are best avoided.

Further, east-west divisions would contradict the logic of south-north natural resource regions based on Nepal’s greatest asset, its rivers, and could be a recipe for bitter upper-lower riparian tensions such as experienced in India. A mixed approach could perhaps accommodate the essence of both principles, with water being included in the concurrent list to ensure the national interest and balanced regional development.

On foreign policy, the Maoists explain that “equidistance” does not imply playing China against India or ignoring the compulsions of geography, history, culture and an open border to the south. They have committed themselves to Panch Sheel and see themselves not as a buffer but as a bridge between their two giant neighbours. Nepal is not landlocked by but “open-locked” with India, whose growing market and economic strength offer it a great opportunity in every way. Revision of the 1950 treaty should pose no problem. India has reiterated its willingness for a review or abrogation while prudent Nepalese realise that the treaty is really loaded in their favour and while being modified should not be scrapped.

A new realism is dawning in Nepal on harnessing its water potential in collaboration with India. The Maoists talk of developing 10,000 MW of power within 10 years as against a current installed capacity of 800 MW. Three deals (Upper Karnali, Arun-III and Burhi Gandaki), worth almost 1400 MW, have been negotiated with Indian firms while the Power Trading Corporation of India is to buy power from the 750 MW West Seti project to be built by Australia’s Snowy Mountain Engineering Authority. Four major transmission lines are also proposed to evacuate power to India. Some old cobwebs remain to be cleared but the omens seem good.

Mr Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Power, outlined various measures under way to promote trade facilitation and remove non-tariff barriers (after drastic tariff liberalisation). Trade will follow investment and, if Nepal creates an enabling environment, with greater access to Indian markets through a proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) there could be dramatic progress. Interestingly, he also advocated a Nepal-Bihar-UP trade and cooperation mechanism to harness economic interest with regional political will to spur implementation, especially for flood moderation, to which the Bihar Chief Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, drew special attention. Complementarities exist. Let none forget the huge opportunity costs of delay.

MIDDLE

Doctor mother
by A.J. Philip

ON Sunday we talked about her by chance when we had dinner at a friend’s place. We had no clue that she had passed away in distant Kerala the same day.

I cannot claim to have known Dr Sosamma Philip (90) well. In fact, I met her just once. Her “stepmother” and my paternal grandmother were sisters.

However, it is not because of our “relationship” that I felt sorrowful when I read about her demise. There are countless people like me who are saddened by her death. She was known as the maaji (mother) of the poor.

Tragedy struck her early in life. She was only 23 when her husband, Dr P.V. Philip, passed away. Her world seemed to crumble. The brave young lady did not want to lament over her fate and remain within the confines of her house shedding endless tears.

She wanted to follow in her husband’s footsteps and become a doctor. It was easier said than done. Her family encouraged her to pick up the books once again. Soon, she was an MBBS student at Christian Medical College, Vellore.

A widow doing such a course was unheard of. At Vellore, the college motto, “not to be ministered unto but to minister”, influenced her immensely. After her studies, she could have joined a good hospital and led a very comfortable life.

In fact, she got a cushy job in a hospital in Chicago. Neither the dollar salary nor the creature comforts in the United States satisfied her.

She found her true calling when she reached Sehora near Satna in Madhya Pradesh, where the Mar Thoma Church had set up an ashram. She took the initiative to set up a dispensary and started treating the poor people of Sehora and nearby villages.

She realised how right Gandhi was in saying, “the soul of India is in the villages”. It did not take long for the people to call her maaji. There are several women in Sehora who would have died in labour but for her timely medical intervention.

For over three decades, she provided exemplary service to the rural poor, often trekking long distances. She had only limited infrastructure to treat the patients but that did not dishearten her. She seemed to believe in T.S. Eliot’s famous line, “The whole earth is our hospital”.

She never hankered after recognition, though she became a natural claimant for the Paul Harrison award instituted by her alma mater for the best rural medical service. She also won the Manav Seva award of the Mar Thoma Church.

Even when old age compelled her to return to Kerala, she did not want to sit on her laurels. She continued her work unmindful of the strain on her.

At one time, her brother — Alexander Mar Thoma — was the head of the Mar Thoma Church. Like her, he believed in simple living. He would mend his old clothes which he himself washed till his death a few years ago.

For a Christian like Dr Sosamma Philip, death is not the end. As her mortal remains await the last rites on Thursday, her life echoes Rabindranath Tagore’s words, “ I thought that my voyage had come to its end at the last limit of my power — that the path before me was closed, that provisions were exhausted and the time come to take refuge in silent obscurity.

“But I find that thy will know no end in me. And when old words die out on the tongue, new melodies break forth from the heart: and where the old tracks are lost, new country is revealed with its wonders”.

OPED

News analysis
Intercepting Blackberry
Security concerns stir up Indo-Canadian row
by Girja Shankar Kaura

IT is rare that India and Canada exchange hot words over any subject. But the “Blackberry” row has now been threatening to balloon into a full-fledged diplomatic row with the Indian security agencies standing their ground and the Canadian government looking at a major loss of business to its IT major RIM, the manufacturer of Blackberry mobile phone handsets, which also double up as computers.

There have been letters exchanged between India and Canada, with the latter seeking a early resolution to the row and also wanting to know as who actually in the Indian Government was authorised to resolve the issue.

India has assured Canada, which has a large Indian migrant population mainly from Punjab and other northern States, that RIM’s interest would be kept in mind while taking any decision on whether or not its services would be allowed to operate in the country.

The genesis of the problem has been the objection raised by national security agencies that the services were a potential security threat to the country. Security agencies are not able to scan messages and e-mails sent from and to Blackberry sets. Data on the RIM network flows with the 256-bit advanced encryption standard, whereas the security agencies in India can intercept only 40-bit encryption. Besides, all the servers through which the service is provided are based in Canada, which again restricts access.

Tata Teleservices had initially cried foul, after they were denied permission by the home ministry to launch this service. It pointed out that rivals like Airtel, Reliance, Vodafone and BPL were already giving Blackberry services to their customers since 2004. Currently, there are more than four lakh Blackberry users in India.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had also written to the Department of Telecom (DoT) about the security concerns, and that it would be denying permission for the launch of services by new operators till such time RIM did not provide an adequate solution to the country’s security concerns. DoT in turn issued orders that no new connection on the Blackberry should be issued. It did not however curtail the services of already existing customers.

Incidentally, another set of telecom policy makers also raised the issue. They sought to know why RIM did not worry about the issue earlier considering that India and China are different markets as compared to North America and US. They pointed to the example of Google and how it cut back on some content that spoke of certain malpractices existing in the media and entertainment.

Besides, Google also had to concede to the demands of the Indian Government on the issue of Google Earth. It had to withdraw certain maps pertaining to India’s defence. So why cannot RIM place servers in India which would provide access to the security agencies to the service, they sought to know.

Some telecom companies see a possible business opportunity, as any ban on Blackberry would mean their companies could step in and supply an India-developed service. Many telecom companies have some of the best engineers and Research and Development teams, and it would not take them more than a few months to develop a desi Blackberry service.

As an interim solution to the row the DoT proposed all data between Blackberry users be stored on the servers of the telecos for a year. The DoT has asked RIM to use this 12-month period to move some of its servers to India, which will then enable the country’s security agencies to monitor Blackberry traffic.

However, in all this, the diplomatic relations between the two countries have been taking a beating. The Canadian high commissioner David M. Malone wrote a letter to the Telecom Ministry on April 17 seeking to understand who in the Government of India was empowered to resolve this issue. Malone had in his letter said, “This is also necessary in order to ensure that right representative from RIM are at the table. The discussions managed by the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) till date, have inspired little confidence.”

Telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura, in his response, said: “We are fully aware of the sensitivity and confidentiality of our conversation with RIM and would like to assure them that we respect their commercial interests and do nothing to jeopardise the same”… The response of RIM on setting up a server (in India) has been encouraging and they have asked for the conditions that are likely to be imposed for setting up the server. The response is under examination,” the letter further said.

The letter was routed through the Ministry of External Affairs as it concerns diplomatic matters. Incidentally, ever since the controversy erupted, DoT has been meeting various stakeholders from time to time in order to find a solution.

In the latest twist IB has rejected a proposal from RIM to decompress the data and emails sent from Blackberry device to a non-Blackberry device. The Canadian company had “offered their help to decompress the data and e-mail sent by a Blackberry user to any other mobile handset or computer”.

RIM had offered this solution as a result of encryption problem. Intelligence agencies however justified the move to reject the RIM offer on the grounds that this would amount to breach of privacy. DoT believes that such a solution would lead to a leak of information regarding the person whose information is being intercepted.

Meanwhile, DoT is also examining the offer from two international software solution companies – Cain Technologies and Cleartrail – to provide a solution for Blackberry interception.

Japan is now a ‘land of disappearing children’
by Blaine Harden

TOKYO – Japan celebrated a national holiday on Monday in honor of its children. But Children’s Day might just as easily have been a national day of mourning.

For this is the land of disappearing children and a slow-motion demographic catastrophe that is without precedent in the developed world.

The number of children has declined for 27 consecutive years, a government report said over the weekend. Japan now has fewer children who are 14 or younger than at any time since 1908.

The proportion of children in the population fell to an all-time low of 13.5 percent. That number has been falling for 34 straight years and is the lowest among 31 major countries, according to the report. In the United States, children account for about 20 percent of the population.

Japan also has a surfeit of the elderly. About 22 percent of the population is 65 or older, the highest proportion in the world. And that number is on the rise. By 2020, the elderly will outnumber children by nearly 3 to 1, the government report predicted. By 2040, they will outnumber them by nearly 4 to 1.

The economic and social consequences of these trends are difficult to overstate.

Japan, now the world’s second-largest economy, will lose 70 percent of its workforce by 2050 and economic growth will slow to zero, according to a report this year by the nonprofit Japan Center for Economic Research.

Population shrinkage began three years ago and is gathering pace. Within 50 years, the population, now 127 million, will fall by a third, the government projects. Within a century, two-thirds of the population will be gone.

In what is now being called a “super-aging” society, department and grocery stores have recorded declining sales for a decade - and new car sales have fallen for 18 consecutive years.

Rural Japan, thus far, has borne the brunt of the slide. In depopulated small towns, stores are closing, governments are desperate for tax revenue and there are chronic shortages of doctors and nurses. The government is subsidizing the development of robots as caregivers for the old.

To a steadily increasing degree, Japan’s future depends on metro Tokyo, the world’s largest megalopolis. It is home to about 35 million people, or 27 percent of the country’s population.

But in Tokyo, children account for just 11.8 percent of the population, according to the new government report. That’s the lowest proportion in all of Japan.

By arrangement with LA Times-Washington Post

Inside Pakistan
Uncertainty over judges
by Syed Nooruzzaman

WILL the deposed judges, including Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, be reinstated on May 12 as declared by Mr Nawaz Sharif? Mr Sharif made the statement after his meeting with PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari in Dubai, yet very few people take it seriously. Doubts are being expressed particularly after Mr Zardari, in the course of a television interview, described the Murri Declaration – which called for the restoration of the judiciary’s status as it existed before November 3, 2007 – as a mere “political statement”.

Then came the comment by Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Islam, one of the constituents of the ruling coalition, that what Mr Sharif was promising was not possible the way he wanted it and so quickly. What the wily Maulana said in reply to questions by journalists cannot be dismissed as being of no substance because he made the significant remarks after a long meeting with Mr Zardari.

According to Daily Times, “… the truth is that the (Murri) Declaration was allowed to remain vague in deference to the separate (different) views of the two parties. And if any ‘interpretation’ was needed of its vagueness … it was given by the PPP leader, Mr Asif Ali Zardari, during the Press conference at Bhurban: that he would not accept the removal of the ‘replacement’ judges.”

As the reinstatement of the deposed judges may mean an end to the tenure of President Pervez Musharraf, he is believed to be ready with a strategy to prevent Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Geelani from issuing any such order. The Musharraf camp may approach the Supreme Court for a stay order if a resolution on the judges is adopted by the National Assembly, says Business Recorder (May 5).

Focus on Balochistan

Balochistan, known for its natural resources like gas, has not experienced peace for a long time. It is no longer in the news as much as it used to be before the killing of rebel tribal chief Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti at the hands of the Pakistan Army. But there is widespread resentment among the people against the casual attitude of Islamabad with regard to their grievances.

It seems the new government is seriously considering measures to end the unrest in Balochistan. As The Nation (May 4) commented, “The measures Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Geelani has announced at a Balochistan Cabinet meeting on a visit to Quetta should afford a peep into the federal government’s attitude towards local grievances.” He has called for an all-Pakistan conference on Balochistan soon to resolve the development-related and other problems of the province.

The Pakistan Prime Minister’s visit to the so far neglected province preceded the release of Balochistan Nationalist Party chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal, who had been behind bars since September 2006 because of his uncompromising stand on issues relating to Balochistan.

“Whereas the steps taken by the government are excellent starting points, they need to be carefully built on. Perceptions, even more than realities, cannot be altered overnight …” as The News (May 4) pointed out.

Peace through growth

While the Pakistan government is working on ways to reach agreements with extremist elements in its restive tribal areas for the restoration of peace and security there, Dr Sadia M. Malik, Director of the Mahbubul Haq Human Development Centre in Islamabad, says such efforts cannot succeed in achieving the real objective.

In an article in Dawn (May 3), she argues that “… it is time we started looking at a much wider concept of security: security from hunger, security from deprivation, security from illiteracy and security from disease.” This is what eminent development economist Mahbubul Haq talked about 20 years ago, as she points out.

Dr Sadia quotes a survey conducted in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) which brought out that people believed that “among the major causes of religious extremism in Pakistan, illiteracy was the foremost, followed by the Afghan conflict, poverty, bad governance and unemployment.”

In an article in The News (May 4) Khalid Aziz says that “…Taliban activity has received popular support from the vast majority of the poor.… However, one needs to quickly revive the executive authority of the province in the districts which has been severely weakened by amendments to the Constitution made under the Legal Framework Order; the ability of the province (NWFP) to regulate matters barely exists.”