O P I N I O N S

EDITORIALS

Third Front again?
Need to overcome opportunism
The Third Front is a legitimate idea worthy of serious pursuit with the potential to make our democracy more representative of the country’s diversity. Yet, if the proposal is greeted with cynicism every time it is mooted, that is because our elected elite has abused the concept of a Third Front.

Udhampur and beyond
New rail line will bring about integration
IT goes without saying that the inauguration of the 53-km broad gauge Jammu-Udhampur rail link is a dream come true for the residents of Jammu and Kashmir because it will provide them better transport and facilities and also promote trade, tourism and employment.

Captain knocked out
Ganguly’s cup of woes overflows
IN the cricket contests underway between India and Pakistan, there is now little doubt that any mention of a “Captain’s Knock” refers to the usually unexcitable yogi, Inzamam-ul-Haq. As for Sourav Ganguly, he seems to be more knocked down or about. And to think that we set out as world-beaters to what was described as Pakistan’s “weakest team” only evokes sardonic smiles.

• Thought for the day

ARTICLE

A vision for J and K
Internal settlement unavoidable for India
by B.G. Verghese
Jammu and Kashmir is firmly set on the road to normalcy — though peace may remain elusive for a while as spoilers, internal and external, and vested interests, stage ever more bloody incidents and threaten disorder to derail the peace process. This is a trap of which all must beware. It will take perseverance and cool to disregard provocation and avoid repression. But there is room for optimism.

OPED

Roofless in Sri Lanka
H. Bula Devi writes after visiting tsunami-hit areas
Whether it be a Sunday afternoon or a working day, under the scorching sun or heavy rain, volunteers and hired labourers don’t stop clearing the debris left behind by the Boxing Day tsunami along the southern coastline of Sri Lanka.

Why sacrifice passion for profession?
by Susan Reimer
Once you are under the yoke of a marriage, a mortgage, a couple of kids and a semi-responsible job, you realize something has got to give. As in, give up. And that something is usually something pleasurable, like your book club or your pick-up basketball games or movie dates or sleep.

From Pakistan
Gas pipeline talks begin
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani, Turkmen and Afghan ministers met on Tuesday to discuss a multi-billion dollar gas pipeline, the size of Turkmen gas reserves and security in volatile Afghanistan.

• Free movement of wheat allowed

• Law to curb violence

• Cultural village to be ready soon

• Pak far behind in higher education

REFLECTIONS

EDITORIALS

Third Front again?
Need to overcome opportunism

The Third Front is a legitimate idea worthy of serious pursuit with the potential to make our democracy more representative of the country’s diversity. Yet, if the proposal is greeted with cynicism every time it is mooted, that is because our elected elite has abused the concept of a Third Front. Over the last three decades, a Third Front has invariably been floated as an opportunistic electoral alliance; and, rarely as a cohesive policy-shaped and programme-driven coalition. The first such experiments arose in opposition to the Congress. The post-Mandal, post-Mandir politics compelled a realignment that threw up the United Front, which, thanks to its dependence on the Congress, was short-lived. In the aftermath, the very constituents conveniently made common cause with the BJP for a share of power at the Centre. Given this unseemly record, the CPM, among others, chose to snuff out the idea of a Third Front floated by Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party soon after the UPA assumed office. However, at their recent party congresses, both the CPM and the CPI have resolved to work for a Third Front.

There is a qualitative difference in the way the Third Front is being approached now. First, both the communist parties have set a time-line of three years, implying that, regardless of their differences with the UPA, neither would encourage any effort to destabilise the Manmohan Singh-led government until the next election. Second, with the BJP getting Congressised while in office and the Congress following the economic policies which are at times not of their liking, the two communist parties think it is worth reviving the idea of a Third Front. There is perceived need for a third way

The intent to work for a democratic and genuinely pluralistic Third Front that is equidistant for the Congress and the BJP may be well-meant. But three years is a long time in Indian politics. The players are too many, as are the imponderables. The big question is whether the Left, successful as conductors, can take over the driving seat.

Udhampur and beyond
New rail line will bring about integration

IT goes without saying that the inauguration of the 53-km broad gauge Jammu-Udhampur rail link is a dream come true for the residents of Jammu and Kashmir because it will provide them better transport and facilities and also promote trade, tourism and employment. But the real significance of the Rs 515-crore project lies in its ability to cause greater integration of the border state with the rest of the country. Its inaccessibility had spawned a feeling of neglect among the people which had been viciously exploited by antinational elements. The new avenues that the rail line will provide will act as a salve. Udhampur houses the Army’s Northern Command and its strategic significance cannot be overstressed. Not only that, the rail link makes one more optimistic that Srinagar will also come on the rail map of the country by 2007. It is also planned to extend it to Baramulla.

The foundation stone of the railway line was laid way back in 1983. For once, the long delay in completion is not entirely unjustified. This is one of the most ambitious and daunting projects ever undertaken by the Indian Railways because the line passes through an extremely inhospitable terrain. The 28 bridges and 21 tunnels, including one which is 2.5 km long, on the way make it a marvel of engineering. The section will not only be a showcase for the Railways but also a morale-booster for future projects.

Ironically, the magnificence of the undertaking is also a bane for it. As it is, militants have been targeting various public installations. The railway line is a red rag for them because it brings the valley closer to the rest of the country. Not only that, it passes through terrorist-infested hills. There are reasons to suspect that it might be targeted by antinational forces. Over 700 security personnel have been deployed along the way. They will have to be vigilant for quite some time lest the militants try to turn the dream of Kashmiris into a nightmare. Whatever they may do to disrupt the construction work, the nation should have the resolve and the energy to complete the project by taking the railway line to Baramulla.

Captain knocked out
Ganguly’s cup of woes overflows

IN the cricket contests underway between India and Pakistan, there is now little doubt that any mention of a “Captain’s Knock” refers to the usually unexcitable yogi, Inzamam-ul-Haq. As for Sourav Ganguly, he seems to be more knocked down or about. And to think that we set out as world-beaters to what was described as Pakistan’s “weakest team” only evokes sardonic smiles. The joke, clearly, seems to be on ‘Skipper’ Ganguly who has infused the prefix with a meaning that mocks his recent performance. He has almost skipped taking runs, and his batting spells are so fleeting that bags of Ganguly-inspired gags are floating around. As if this cup of woes was not enough, now the International Cricket Council has banned the Indian captain for six matches because of repeated slow over-rates. That puts him out of ‘action’ in the last two India-Pakistan one-day internationals at Kanpur and Delhi. In November last too, Ganguly was banned for his slow over-rate against Pakistan in the Platinum Jubilee one-dayer in Kolkata.

The uncertainties of cricket seem to be far from glorious for Ganguly, who has captained India well till his recent loss of form. He needs little over 50 runs to become the fourth batsman in cricket history with 10,000 runs in one-dayers. There are still many who see him as India’s greatest captain for his successes though he has failed to connect his bat to the ball in recent matches.

But that’s cricket for you in a country which clamours for icons and – when they falter – bashes them up. It is a merciless adulation, intolerant of human failings. With speculation over whether the ban is the end of the road for Ganguly, this may not be such a bad exit route after all. It could have been worse, and much more cruel, to see him dumped for reasons of ‘performance’.

Thought for the day

Architecture is the art of how to waste space. — Philip Johnson

ARTICLE

A vision for J and K
Internal settlement unavoidable for India
by B.G. Verghese

Jammu and Kashmir is firmly set on the road to normalcy — though peace may remain elusive for a while as spoilers, internal and external, and vested interests, stage ever more bloody incidents and threaten disorder to derail the peace process. This is a trap of which all must beware. It will take perseverance and cool to disregard provocation and avoid repression. But there is room for optimism.

The series of elections held in J&K since 1996, in the face of dire threats by jihadis and others who fear democracy, and the increasing participation in each successive poll indicate that ordinary people seek an alternative to the gun, which has delivered nothing but grief.

President Musharraf will be in Delhi on April 17. The rhetoric emanating from Islamabad suggests that he may indulge in grandstanding, as at Agra. The Pakistan establishment will not admit but probably realises that it faces end game in J&K. It cannot win at the peace table what it has been unable to wrest through open and proxy war, jihadi terror and virulent and misleading diplomatic campaigns off and on for more than 50 years. What it has occupied in J&K is the fruit of aggression, as the UN Resolution of August 13, 1948, states in terms, and no settlement can be based on the proposition that the aggressor must be further rewarded.

Pakistan has no locus standi to plead for self-determination in J&K after periodically denying this at home and quite unabashedly in that part of J&K under its control. And advocates of independence for J&K must remember that the state was in fact independent for 68 days from August 15 to October 22, 1947, when Pakistan brutally intervened.

Mr Khalid Kasuri, Foreign Minister, says Pakistan will not withdraw from where it is not and never has been, namely, Siachen. President Musharraf, in turn, glibly advocates a three-step process to “identify, demilitarise and then change the status” of “seven regions” of J&K that he has conjured up. Thereafter, he proudly posts on his personal web site the proposition that Kargil showed up the reality of the Lahore agreement (which he militarily scuppered and then denounced), and may be repeated. What is one to make of all this bizarre play-acting except a continuing indulgence in loud myth-making or tactical rhetoric for home consumption.

This recapitulation is not to adopt a belligerent posture but to define the “core” issue and demythify the J&K question. The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, did this on his last visit to Srinagar when he said that a settlement in J&K is possible, but cannot be based on a redrawal of established boundaries, such as the LoC, or further vivisection of India along denominational lines.

President Musharraf says a settlement on the LoC is unacceptable and Pakistan must get something more. Realism demands that any ruler in Pakistan must be able to sell an agreement to his own people. However, the LoC + (plus) that General Musharraf seeks has to be non-territorial. A settlement can lie in confirming the LoC as the boundary but transforming relationships across it. The fact of a boundary matters less than its nature. By aspiring to less, Pakistan could actually end up getting far more than otherwise.

A vital prerequisite for this is that India must be able to fashion an internal settlement on its side of J&K. This would entail countering alienation by applying a salve to old wounds caused by human rights violations and disappearances and restoring a sense of dignity, trust and partnership to the people of J&K. They must be satisfied, as in 1947, that they can achieve complete self-determination within the Indian Union even while being able to evolve social, economic and other ties with the other half of J&K across the LoC.

Autonomy for J&K, or a reordering of Centre-State relations, entails a return to a social or federal contract that was unilaterally breached. Unfortunately the question has been reduced to slogans that are devoid of meaning. Thus the starting point can be a “return to 1953” or any other point and working backwards and forwards towards a meeting of minds, without losing sight of practical realities. The fine print of the autonomy document prepared in Dr Farooq Abdullah’s time did recognize the crucial nature of fiscal relationships. J&K, a special category state receives Central subventions in the proportion of 90 per cent grant and 10 per cent loan, which indicates a high fiscal dependency ratio. Likewise, in private conversation, many in J&K admit that they would like the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, the Election Commission and the UPSC to continue, possibly with minor adjustments that can be accommodated. Naming the Governor and Chief Minister as Sadr-e-Riyasat and Wazir-e-Azam, respectively, is purely symbolic, as is the state flag. It would cost nothing and yet provide emotional satisfaction.

Article 370 has little to do with national integration. The Indian Union is defined by Article 1 and Schedule 1 and these make J&K an integral part of India as Uttar Pradesh or Karnataka. The J&K constitution unamendably binds the state to India and provides for fundamental rights that not merely parallel those in the Indian Constitution but go beyond it. The J&K Constitution permitted by far the best and most far-reaching land reforms in the country and does more for the gender rights of women.

The tragedy is a that very few of those who speak glibly in the loudest tones — including most in J&K as well — have little understanding of Article 370 or the state constitution and no knowledge of the restricted constitutional status of “Azad” Kashmir and the colonially-shackled Northern Areas. Despite some attenuation of autonomy since 1953, India’s J&K enjoys far greater freedom than what prevails on the other side.

The battle over Article 370 is more emotional than substantive, and any serious and sober discussion would soon reveal a far narrower field of difference than proclaimed or imagined. The three original heads of accession, foreign affairs, defence and communications cover 37 of the 97 entries of List I (the Union List) of the Seventh Schedule. The Sarkaria Commission found that another 21 entries inhere in the Union or in any federal structure while yet another 25 entries pertain to national institutions or relate to matters that require to be centrally regulated. On this reading 83 of the 97 entries in List I legitimately fall within the purview of the Union.

The State List of 96 entries is within the jurisdiction of J&K. For the rest, the issues in contention are not as wide as believed and relate to some entries in the Union List such as the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, elections, civil services, emergency powers and residual powers of legislation, and the 47 entries in the Concurrent List. Residual powers and the Concurrent List should be repatriated to the state and the rest should not be too difficult to resolve.

The Centre has invited all stakeholders, including the Hurriyat, to talk. The thing to do now is to commence the talks and leave it to those who choose to remain aloof to explain why? Boycotters can claim no veto. The autonomy talks need to be a sustained process and can be implemented in stages as agreements are reached, with many things being amenable to administrative decree.

Concurrently, issues of regional autonomy within J&K must be pursued so that local sentiments about identity, fear of dominance and neglect are addressed. The Regional Autonomy Committee appointed by the Farooq Abdullah administration recommended two options: carving out new regions, which could prove controversial, or devolution to district level local bodies. However, these bodies need to be further empowered, at least to the extent of conforming to the 73rd and 74th Amendments. Should contiguous district councils within the three existing regions wish to combine, this need not be disallowed. Various models for devolution exist in the North- East and in the provisions of Articles 371 A to I of the Constitution and in the Sixth Schedule.

On the economic front, unemployment must be tackled and rising expectations fulfilled. This is necessary in itself as also to absorb in gainful employment after suitable training those who lay down their guns and come over ground. To this end one must move from financial packages to economic delivery. The extension of the railways from Jammu to the valley via Srinagar to Baramulla will be transforming. Unfortunately, although the long-delayed Jammu-Udhampur line was completed months ago, it is only being formally commissioned on April 13 after an unconscionable delay. Connectivity is J&K’s greatest need and to hold this up for some political tamasha is to squander opportunity and breed cynicism.

Construction of the rail line beyond Udhampur is now proceeding apace and should be completed by 2008, the valley section perhaps even sooner. Likewise, the new four-lane North-South National Highway, with a tunnel through the Pir Panjal at about 7000 feet along a snow and avalanche-free alignment is also being taken up. It will reduce the distance from Jammu to Srinagar by some 60 km and permit speeds of up to 80 kmph, thus reducing travel time. The Mughal Road is to be restored and will link the valley with Jammu via Rajouri, crossing the Pir Panjal southwest of Shopian. Thought should also be given making a tunnel under Zoji La beyond to provide an all-year-round connection between the valley and Kargil/Leh.

Air connectivity within J&K needs to be greatly improved and this can be achieved were the DGCA to shed its conservatism and permit small single and twin engine aircraft to operate basic, short-take off-and-landing (STOL) air taxi services to access and open up remote and isolated areas in order to promote better administration, development and tourism. Side valleys and mountain areas should also be connected with environmentally-friendly ropeways operating as feeders to the main road, rail and air corridors, especially for the carriage of fruit, flowers, herbal and other hill produce.

All this will require energy. J&K has a first approximation hydro potential of almost 9000 MW at 60 per cent load factor — possibly more — which is now gradually being harnessed against Pakistan’s desperate efforts to stall all progress on political grounds by raising untenable objections under the 1960 Indus treaty. Criticism of the treaty within J&K and any talk of its abrogation is unwarranted. It has served India well and J&K itself has only utilised part of its entitlement (3.60 MAF hydro and conservation storage and permissible irrigation of up to 1.34 m acres) from the Indus, Jhelum and Chenab, the three western rivers that are otherwise allotted to Pakistan.

The writer is a veteran journalist. This is the first part of his article based on a recent lecture at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. The concluding part will appear tomorrow.

OPED

Roofless in Sri Lanka
H. Bula Devi writes after visiting tsunami-hit areas 

Whether it be a Sunday afternoon or a working day, under the scorching sun or heavy rain, volunteers and hired labourers don’t stop clearing the debris left behind by the Boxing Day tsunami along the southern coastline of Sri Lanka.

Men and women, with their children in tow, turn up in large numbers to clean up the destruction sites so that they are once again teeming with tourists. These hired labourers are actually tsunami victims. The cleaning-up work not only keeps them occupied productively but also gives them a chance to earn Rs 300 a day.

They work for an initiative of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in cooperation with the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS). The Red Cross Movement has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health for the rehabilitation of 33 medical facilities in the tsunami-affected areas, including North and East Sri Lanka.

About 15,000 dwelling units will be constructed in southern Galle, Hambantota and Ampara. The SLRCS will construct 2000 units in Galle district for which the government has identified lands in Arachchigewela, Letchumi Watta akameemana and Weliwathugoda Kappinawalawwatta. Priority will be given to those who lived within 100 metres of the buffer zone, says Upali W.Sirimanne, the SLRCS’s chief relief coordinator for Galle and Mathara districts.

Initiatives undertaken by aid agencies like the Fedration and the SLRCS, NGOs and student groups are working with clockwork precision. Even individuals are making a difference. Take, for instance, Colombo University’s marine ecologist, Prof Suki Ekaratne, who is supporting the villagers and the fishing community by conducting training workshops on carpentry, masonry etc.

“If we have to save our coral reefs from mining, these people have to be trained and kept occupied in alternative jobs,” says Prof Ekaratne.

These private initiatives are in stark contrast to the rehabilitation work of the Sri Lankan government. In spite of ambitious deadlines, not a single house has so far been built by any government agency. The only progress the government has made is in identifying some suitable land for a housing complex and that too only in South Sri Lanka. The North and the East are far away from Colombo.

However, just identifying land and doling out contract to build housing complexes don’t resolve the problem. Since most lands are privately owned, the government has been able to allocate some. But these too are several kilometres away from the victims’ traditional houses on the coast. This has deterred fishermen families and businessmen, who are not willing to move out to far-flung areas.

For instance in Galle division, land for 1,000 dwelling units in Arachchigewela and for 500 units in Letchumi Watta Akmeemana has been earmarked to build houses. But both these lands are 7 km from the shore.

Officially, the victims are stated to be willing to shift to the new place. But Galle being a tourist spot, many small businessmen and fishermen who had shops near the shore are not willing to shift.

Although it is the government that will identify the beneficiaries, Vinita Malini, a victim at the Abeyadana relief camp said: “We read about the plans in newspapers. But such plans don’t suit our basic needs”.

Her neighbour, Gunowardene, too was sceptical of the government’s plan. “How will we set up our business 7 km away when tourists stay close to the beaches? This plan is impractical. They should try for land that is only 1 km away from the shore. We are better off this way under tents because if we violate the rule, the government will withdraw all the benefits that we are getting now,” she said.

Tsunami victims in south Sri Lanka are better off than their counterparts in the LTTE-controlled North and East. In the South, the process of identifying land for their rehabilitation has at least started. In Tiger territory, re-settlement is a distant dream. The victims can only weave dreams and build castles in the air.

The task force that was set up after the tsunami comprising representatives of the government and the LTTE was disbanded after a month of the catastrophe despite it functioning smoothly. Observers said it was a politically motivated move, leading to near chaos.

In the meantime, the ICRC, a neutral body present in this war zone for the last 15 years, is quietly working and assisting the victims. Its young volunteers, despite toiling from sunrise to midnight, are full of energy. From initial emergency phase, the ICRC is now focusing on planning and coordination to help the affected people.

“Along with continuing our earlier projects, we are assisting the victims by helping them move from emergency welfare centers to transit camps and coordinating the humanitarian response with the participating national societies,” said Thierry Meyrat, Head of ICRC Delegation, Colombo.

If in the South the government is mostly dependent on outsiders and private agencies for rehabilitation work, it is ditto for the LTTE in the North and the East. The LTTE wants houses to come up where the victims have been temporarily shifted. “International organisations and NGOs are waiting with material at the door step. Why can’t these organisations construct houses on the land where transit camps have been set up,” wonders Elilam, head of the political wing of the LTTE’s Trincomalee district. Predictably, he blames the government for “blocking the way”.

If the Tamil-dominated areas see the Sri Lankan government as being biased, the Tigers too are under pressure in their area of “control” as it has been unable to resettle the victims even after 100 days of the catastrophe. As they say, the victims are caught between the devil and the deep sea.

Why sacrifice passion for profession?
by Susan Reimer

Once you are under the yoke of a marriage, a mortgage, a couple of kids and a semi-responsible job, you realize something has got to give. As in, give up.

And that something is usually something pleasurable, like your book club or your pick-up basketball games or movie dates or sleep.

Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley is giving up his rock band.

Since his election in 1999, the Clark Kent mayor has been shedding his shirt and tie to become the well-muscled lead singer of an Irish rock band.

(No shrink-wrapped jumpsuit for O'Malley, but the sleeveless T-shirt sends the same message.)

But he is not-officially running for governor now and that will eat up what little spare time — and energy — he has left at the ripe old age of 42.

“At this point in my life, every ounce of my aging creative energies are going to have to be focused on continuing our city's remarkable progress and being laser focused on getting our state moving in the right direction again,” he said in announcing the end of O’Malley’s March.

This isn't exactly the break-up of the Beatles, but it still made me sad.

I have seen O'Malley perform, and it is clear that he is completely happy doing it. I hate to see him give it up, because it echoes all the happy things so many of us give up in the name of grown-up responsibilities.

Granted, if I am the mother of O'Malley's four young children, I am saying to him on any given Saturday night, “You are going where? To do what? Not without taking at least two kids, you’re not.”

Whatever promises he made to Katie O’Malley in return for a kitchen pass to play with the band, it gave him what can only have been a tremendous break from being a mayor.

“It has been a place of respite,” O’Malley acknowledged in a telephone conversation between meetings. (He sounded tired.)

“But increasingly it had been difficult to arrange. When your public profile gets higher, when you get successful, it becomes harder to leave your job behind, even for your hobbies.

“I am happy in a lot of other places, too,” he said, sounding resigned.

There are only so many hours in the day, and for the next 19 months, O'Malley will be running a city, with all the crises and nagging problems that come with it, and he will be — at some point, officially — running for governor of the state.

“It will be a tough campaign on top of a tough job,” O’Malley said.

And it would not do for the candidate to have ladies throwing panties on stage or for a drunken brawl to break out at one of his concerts. Talk about staying on message.

But still, I hate to see any of us give up something we love to do in the name of duty, because we might not get it back when that duty is done. Tomorrows are guaranteed to none of us.

The little pleasures that keep us sane are hard won and harder kept when the busyness of parenting and real life begin to crowd them out.

“We still have a few more jobs before we close out,” he said. “Yeah, the band has been great. It has been a special place. But I don’t think I will ever give up music.”

“I might get together with friends or do an underground CD for release at a later date,” he said, laughing. “Every now and then I might show up at a session, like Woody Allen.”

I remember what my husband, the often beleaguered father of two young kids, said to his younger brother and his wife when they were expecting their first child.

The young couple bowled, had matching bags, monogrammed bowling balls and belonged to a couple of leagues.

“You like bowling?” he asked his brother. “Then bowl like hell.”

I think O’Malley should rock like hell.

— LA Times-Washington Post

From Pakistan
Gas pipeline talks begin

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani, Turkmen and Afghan ministers met on Tuesday to discuss a multi-billion dollar gas pipeline, the size of Turkmen gas reserves and security in volatile Afghanistan.

The long-delayed project envisages a $3.3 billion 1,600-km pipeline running through Afghanistan and Pakistan, providing Kabul with transit revenue and Pakistan with much-needed energy.

Among the reasons for the delay have been the worry about security in Afghanistan and questions over the size of the reserves in Turkmenistan's Daulatabad gasfield. Pakistan's Petroleum Minister Amanullah Khan Jadoon said progress was being made in this direction.

"The Afghan minister has given quite some surety and it appears to us too that there is a lot of improvement in the situation over there," Jadoon told reporters after the ministers met in Islamabad. — The Dawn

Free movement of wheat allowed

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Tuesday decided to allow restriction-free inter-district and inter-provincial movement of wheat following the bumper wheat crop estimates of 22 million tonnes against the target of 20.2 million tonnes.

“The bumper wheat crop will help the government to curtail food inflation,” Advisor to Finance Ministry Ashfaque Hassan Khan said while briefing reporters after the ECC meeting at the PM’s Secretariat here.

The farmers will get Rs 400 per 40 kg as support price for wheat. Inflation has touched double digit of 10 per cent in March 2005 and the government is claiming to ease it down after achieving bumper wheat crop in this season. The higher inflationary trend is impacting heavily the salaried class, pensioners and low-income groups, and independent analysts believe that it will not come down in the next two months.

The ECC was also informed that Pakistan’s trade deficit touched 4.262 billion dollars during the July-March period of the current financial year against 1.592 billion dollars in the same period of the previous fiscal year. — The Nation

Law to curb violence

ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Women Development Nilofar Bakhtiar has said her ministry is bringing new legislation on violence against women in the National Assembly.

Addressing participants of a seminar here on Tuesday, she said there was also dire need to have new legislation to protect working women because they had to face tremendous challenges at work places.

There has never been any proper and effective legislation to combat domestic violence against women in the country’s history, she said. In the recent past the ministry proposed the draft for amendments to the Family Courts Act, 1964, in its Section 5, she added. — The News

Cultural village to be ready soon

KARACHI: A cultural village, which is under construction, would be opened for the general public soon. Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan has taken keen interest in helping to set up the village and also promote cultural activities in the city.

Quality entertainment will be provided under one zone. The metropolis, which is a commercial hub and industrial giant, would have one-window recreational facilities in the upcoming village.

The city of lights has once again become the centre of entertainment, drama and culture, and is emerging as an abode of Urdu literature.

Book bazaars will be set up to cater to book lovers, art in the form of paintings will be exhibited for art seekers and people in general would be entertained. The Governor has pledged a grant of Rs 0.5 million for the initial work to be completed soon so that the village may become functional by next month. It will be funded further, so as to make the entire project a major success. This would tremendously enhance art activities in the city. — The Nation

Pak far behind in higher education

ISLAMABAD: The government and the private sector should embark upon collaborated efforts to further increase the ratio of higher education in the country from 3 per cent to 10 per cent to meet the emerging challenges of the 21st century.

This was stated by Quaid-i-Azam University Vice-Chancellor Dr U. A. Esani while addressing a seminar entitled "Emerging Challenges of Higher Education in Pakistan" here at Hamdard University Islamabad Campus on Tuesday.

Underling the importance of higher education, he said that Pakistan could not achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and challenges of the 21st century without giving due attention to higher education.

Referring to the neighbouring countries, Dr Esani said that Pakistan was far behind in this sector in the region as Iran had 10 per cent highly educated people whereas the proportion in India was more than 8 per cent of its total population. — The News

REFLECTIONS

— Prophet Muhammad