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Avoidable muck-raking
Punjab’s financial mess |
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Coaching masters
Changing scenario in Kabul
Stranger than fiction
Drive for Pro-women legislation Stop unlawful detentions
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Punjab’s financial mess
SO it turns out that the Punjab Government is unable to pay its bills, except the “urgent payments” and salaries. No one should be surprised. It started with inheriting a debt of Rs 48,000 crore from the previous government, and promptly went on to increase it to more than Rs 75,000 crore by the end of its tenure. Even its committed expenses such as salaries are more than its own revenues. How did it achieve that? By not opening new sources of revenue — not charging house tax, land revenue or octroi — and drastically raising populist expenses, such as increasing the recipients of free electricity. The announcement of largesse worth Rs 2,000 crore (per year) towards the end of its tenure was nothing short of an attempt to bribe the voter at his own cost. The disregard for all financial management principles is not as shocking as the recklessness with which this government — as well as the previous one of the Congress — went about raising loans. That the government was only concerned about somehow surviving five years, keeping the voter happy, is evident from the fact that it took loans even against the future earnings of its few agencies such as PUDA that earn some money. Their earnings would now go towards repaying the loans, and not accrue to the state. This devil-may-care attitude is, however, confounding. What if the present dispensation comes back to power? How does it hope to cope with its own mess? If there is any hope for salvation, it lies in certain bold political initiatives, which, if they work, may even prove to be “smart”, more than “bold”, as decent running of the state would only please the voter. Implementing some of the reforms suggested by the Centre, such as a few urban taxes, would facilitate more Central aid. On the single largest subsidy of power, a beginning could be made by giving the farmer cheap power rather than free. Unfortunately, all mainstream parties have practically committed in their manifestos to continue the damaging policies. Maybe a few promises need to be broken.
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Coaching masters
It’s a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black! While the HRD Ministry has been clamouring against the coaching system — accused of commercialising education — it finds its own teachers need support of coaching to crack the basic eligibility test for getting a job of elementary or primary teacher. Barely two years ago, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal had announced more weightage to be given to the class 12 board examination for IIT entrance and had proposed raising the required minimum of 60% marks to at least 80%. He said the government’s move was an attempt to check the growth of IIT coaching centres. The concern was well founded because by an estimate, the coaching industry in India is nearly worth $2 billion. Almost every day one receives pamphlets from coaching centres spread in every nook and corner of major cities and towns, displaying tiny mug shots of their trophy winners — those who cracked IIT-JEE or CAT and so on. Shockingly, if there are coaching centres that start instructing students on how to clear the JEE as soon as in class 7 or 8, primary schools too advocate parents to send their children for coaching. All this is indicative of serious dearth of basic integrity in our education system, which lacks confidence in its efficiency, right from primary schools to the university level. The repercussion of this malaise has now boomeranged into a serious crisis — such a faulty system cannot provide efficient teachers, who are the basic pillars of all educational institutions. The eye-opener has come to the fore, as only 14 per cent of wannabe teachers for primary and elementary schools could crack the Central Teacher Eligibility Test, and only 1 per cent could clear it in Punjab. Now, since coaching centres have been helping the students crack all sorts of examinations, the same institution has come to the rescue of the aspiring teacher. TET GURU, offering mock tests to aspiring teachers, with 2500 registered users, offers 2000 practice questions online. Will the students of such teachers be coached to ask only those very questions? One wonders!
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A house divided against itself cannot stand. — Abraham Lincoln
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Changing scenario in Kabul
While
Islamabad has been at the receiving end for its strategies and policies vis-à-vis Afghanistan, deep inside Pakistan fears what is likely to emerge in Afghanistan. Some of these fears are genuine, some created by its own policies and strategies, and the rest are exaggerated. The first major fear for Pakistan is a hostile Afghanistan. Islamabad is extremely apprehensive of Kabul with an anti-Pakistan sentiment, irrespective of whether it is a Pashtun coalition government there or not. The present government in Kabul led by Hamid Karzai is anything but pro-Pakistan, which heavily weighs in the minds of the strategic establishment in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Why should Islamabad fear a hostile Afghanistan, especially when there is a huge asymmetry in the conventional balance of power between the two countries, favouring Pakistan? Islamabad’s fears are anything but military; the Durand Line that divides both countries is respected only by its violation by every actor concerned. Despite the Taliban being close to the strategic establishment in Pakistan, both could not reach an understanding and make the Durand Line final during the 1990s. A final settlement on the Durand Line is an imperative for Pakistan, for it fears cross-Durand Pashtun nationalism. Despite the tribal differences and the bloody intra-tribal feuds, “Pashtunness” runs deep among the various tribes living across the Durand Line. They consider themselves as Pashtun first, Muslims next and only then Pakistanis or Afghans. Even the mainstream political parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (earlier North-West Frontier Province), including the Awami National Party (ANP), could easily be swayed by cross-Durand Pashtun nationalism. Historically, on numerous occasions, the rulers in Kabul have made repeated attempts to ignite the Pashtun sentiments against the rest. With a substantial Pashtun population within the Pakistan military, Balochistan and Karachi, any Pashtun nationalism would spell disaster for the idea of Pakistan. Today, Pashtuns form the second largest segment within Pakistan’s military and paramilitary forces. Outside the military and their traditional homeland — Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — today the Pashtuns are in a substantial number in Balochistan. The Baloch fear that they might lose their predominance within Balochistan, with Pashtuns becoming the majority in the province. The entire northern areas of Balochistan bordering Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA are full of Pashtun population. More importantly, today, Karachi has become the biggest Pashtun city in the world. There are more Pashtuns in Karachi than in Peshawar or Kabul or Kandhahar. It was not a coincidence that during a recent rally in Karachi, Imran Khan could get a huge crowd to address there which is otherwise an MQM fortress. Thus, the fears over Pashtun nationalism play a major role in shaping Pakistan’s perceptions towards Afghanistan. The second major fear for Pakistan is India’s presence in Afghanistan. Why should Pakistan fear Indian presence if New Delhi could live with Pakistani presence in Nepal and Sri Lanka? Islamabad’s fears are not just India trying to counter Pakistan’s presence in the rest of South Asia. Pakistan fears India’s presence for three reasons. One, Pakistan considers Afghanistan as its backyard and sphere of influence, and hence it does not want any other country to wield any sway — whether Russia, the US or India. More than economic reasons, political and strategic factors have played a significant role in deciding Pakistan’s Afghan policy. Two, Pakistan fears that the Indian presence may embolden the Afghans to consider other options outside Pakistan. Today, within Afghanistan there is a strong anti-Pakistani sentiments running across the Pasthun and non-Pashtun population. While the Tajik and Uzbek components of Afghanistan’s population have been traditionally against any Pakistani influence, the Pashtuns are divided. However, even among the Afghan Pashtuns, there is a strong anti-Pakistan sentiment. Karzai not only represents this segment but also stokes the anti-Pakistan sentiment whenever necessary. Three, Pakistan fears that the Indian presence will make Islamabad irrelevant in the Afghan calculations. Today, everyone within Afghanistan and even in Pakistan agrees that India has the resources available to invest in Afghanistan. What Kabul wants is not just access to Karachi port; it also wants larger and long-term investment, especially with the 2014 deadline fast approaching. While the international community’s interests in Afghanistan may decline after 2014, as they leave, India’s interest and investments are likely to continue. This is where the willingness of the Indian business community to invest in Afghanistan will prove to be a major asset for India. Today, thanks to a better economic outlook, Indian business groups have been heavily investing in China and are willing to enter into Afghanistan in a big way if they get the green signal. This section has the resources and is willing to risk in investing in Afghanistan. Of course, the state will continue to expand its investment in Afghanistan; currently, it is billed to be over $ 1 billion. Contrary to the ability of the Indian state and its business community, Pakistan is facing a resource crunch within and is hoping that the international community will bail it out. Energy scarcity is a major problem today within Pakistan. During the recent months there have been heavy loadshedding, even leading to riots at places; one could see long queues for gas at many places. This means that Pakistan may not have the resources that India has to invest in Afghanistan. Rather, Pakistan will have to be dependent on transit charges if Afghanistan prefers to use Karachi as the main port and not any of the Iranian ports. This is where Pakistan’s next big fear lies, over India’s construction and infrastructural projects linking Kabul with Chabahar — the Iranian port in the Gulf. If this materialises and becomes the primary artery for Afghanistan, it would greatly reduce Kabul’s dependence on Pakistan. Chabahar is situated at the Makran coast, to the west of the much-publicised Gwadar port; Iran is attempting to link Chabahar with Central Asia, cutting across Afghanistan, as a part of its eastern corridor. India is reportedly planning to invest heavily to build a railway line across this eastern corridor. Besides Pashtun nationalism and Indian presence, the third major fear for Islamabad in Afghanistan is the perception of the international community about the role played by Pakistan. There was a time when Pakistan was considered as a springboard and an asset to reach out to Afghanistan. But that is not the reality now. The international community sees Pakistan as a problem in Afghanistan and not as a launching pad, and certainly not as a solution. The loss of global support for Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan would be a big political setback besides the loss of face. Finally, what are the strategies the Pakistani establishment is likely to pursue to address the above concerns? First and foremost, Islamabad would like to have its influence over Kabul intact. This should be the primary reason for Pakistan’s support to the Taliban. As a part of this, Pakistan would even agree to the Taliban brand of Islam being the dominant ideology, as it would undercut any cross-Durand Pashtun sentiment. Second, Pakistan would strongly object to any Indian presence and projects that would make the Afghans independent and Afghanistan self-sufficient. Third, at the international level, Islamabad would insist on Pakistan being a part of any long-term final solution for
Afghanistan. The writer is Director, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies & Visiting
Professor, Pakistan Studies Programme, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
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Stranger than fiction Over
a period of time Mark Twain’s original quote of “Truth is stranger than fiction” has assumed several forms, including “Life is stranger than fiction”. While it may not be routine, certain events and episodes in one’s life do appear to come out straight from a thriller. The story begins roughly 53 years ago when I was not yet a teenager at Dharwar, studying in St. Joseph’s High School. Sometime in January 1959, a day-long excursion had been organised for our class with most of the boys and girls joining in. My father being associated with Karnataka University, we used to stay on the campus, which was quite a distance from the school. There was this university van, which used to drop the children to the school and pick them up in the evening. But the picnic being on a Sunday, a special request had to be made for the van. We enjoyed the picnic near a lake outside the town, but towards the end of the day all the fun was lost as the van, so punctual in the morning, never came back to pick me up in the evening. It had begun to grow dark and I was left all alone. In the absence of a watch, every minute looked like an hour. I remember spending time sitting on a small culvert outside the school gate, looking at the huge hoarding of Madhumati. The checked shirt of Dilip Kumar and large eyes of Vijayantimala alongside a huge old-style kerosene lamp, painted on the hoarding, are still quite vivid in mind. When I had enough of Madhumati, time was spent playing naughts and crosses in the dusty ground or acting the watchman, moving across the school gate. There were no telephones in the vicinity, and I didn’t want to leave the school gate, for the van might come and leave me behind. Even as I began to become somewhat apprehensive, suddenly a car stopped and a familiar voice called out. It was my friend and classmate Harsha Desai, who was quite surprised to find me still at the school gate, waiting. He had, in fact, after the picnic, gone home and was now returning from somewhere when he spotted me and took me to his place. His mother then intervened and told Harsha to stop playing and leave me home, quickly. It was pitch dark by the time Harsha dropped me home. My mother was outside, worried, pacing up and down; father had gone to town, looking for me. At least this outing appeared to have ended in an anti-climax. Later, the same year we moved to Hoshiarpur and, thereafter, there never was an occasion to visit Dharwar or communicate with anyone. Over the years, the picnic had been forgotten but the time spent all alone, on the culvert, in fading light, and then the reassuring arrival of Harsha, had always been tucked somewhere in the depths of my memory. Fast forward to 2012 — while on a vacation and travelling to Goa, by road, I made it a point to halt for the night at Dharwar, for old times’ sake. My family, particularly my grandson, who is now a bit older than what I was then, at Dharwar, enjoyed visiting my old school and the most scenic university campus, where we used to live. But my mind was elsewhere, as I was all along trying to meet Harsha. I had remembered the general location of his house in Saptapur but could not find it. After enquiries even at the resort, where we were staying, Desai couldn’t get anything worthwhile. The available telephone directory was not of much help. Finally, a resourceful waiter got an old address and a phone number which I tried very enthusiastically but found it to be inoperative for the last few years. Next morning, as planned, we left Dharwar for Goa. Late in the evening, while at Goa, a call was received on my cell phone. The caller identified himself as the General Manager of the resort at Dharwar, where we had spent the night. I wondered as to what could have gone wrong, when he reluctantly mentioned that perhaps I had left a slip of paper in the room which the waiter had now passed on to him. He also read out the address and the phone number which had since ceased to exist. I then told him that yes it was me who was looking for Harsha Desai. Imagine the state of my mind when this GM told me in a truly lost-and-found style that he happens to be Hemant Desai and that Harsha Desai is his father, now standing next to him. It was so near and yet so far even as the next few minutes were spent by two very old school buddies exchanging notes on classmates and vicissitudes of life — which is sometimes, indeed, truly stranger than
fiction.
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Drive for Pro-women legislation
Although awareness is rising at all levels — at the state level, the Senate has just given its approval to a bill to set up a national
commission for women —, there is need to evolve mindsets so that society accepts that prohibited practices are intolerable
Pakistan ranked third where women face unprecedented levels of violence and gender discrimination. This is where, according to Pakistan's Human Rights Commission, 90 per cent of women are victims of domestic violence at some point in their lives. This is where historically women face gender crimes such as acid attacks, honour killings, child marriages, rape and domestic violence despite efforts by governments to grant more rights by amending certain laws. Routine lethargy is shown by political decision-makers. Many fail to condemn discriminatory practices and certain anti-women laws on public platforms, while others defend brutal tribal customs - burying young women alive or murdering them is acceptable punishment for disobedience and free will. This has erased confidence in the judicial and investigative mechanism. Attempts to amend laws relating to rape prosecution, and implement anti-harassment laws and legislation for the prevention of violent practices against women have been overshadowed by the fact that the judiciary and the police at times have not assisted, and have in fact exacerbated the issue by failing to categorise violence as a crime and so kept women away from reporting gender brutality. Two laws to curb sexual harassment were passed in 2010: the first was the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2010, with amendments in Section 509 of the Pakistan Penal Code relating to sexual harassment at the workplace. The offence is punishable with imprisonment up to three years or a maximum fine of Rs500 or both. Backed by the then Information Minister Sherry Rehman and supported by AASHA (Alliance Against Sexual Harassment at the Workplace) that campaigns for workplace rights, the second law, the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010, has legal safety nets protecting working women and making it mandatory to appoint ombudspersons at all levels. AASHA's pilot project to curtail workplace sexual harassment even before the act was passed last year stressed the importance of pro-women practices in workplaces through a system of monitoring and accountability - women should be able to report an incident without fear of reprisal to inquiry committees within organisations. Dr Fouzia Saeed at AASHA, who helped draft the anti-sexual harassment policy at the time named the Code of Conduct for Gender Justice (the government did not accept the word 'sexual harassment'), explains the need to understand that gender crimes should not be silently accepted and should be curbed effectively. Last year, when women employees of PIA complained of sexual harassment and approached the Lahore High Court for justice, their allegations had effectively been ignored by PIA's internal committee. AASHA has also formulated an online database, the sexual harassment watch which allows organisations to exchange information on compliance of the law. This wave of pro-women legislation could easily be attributed to the 1999 coming of age of Pakistani women parliamentarians. It hasn't been easy to ensure that women-friendly bills are passed by parliament, as former PML-Q parliamentarian Marvi Memon puts it. Memon and her colleagues, Shahnaz Sheikh and Anusha Rehman, proposed the Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Bill 2011, which recommends 14 years to a lifetime in prison and a Rs1m fine. With a disorganised Assembly refusing to prioritise women-related concerns, Memon's makeshift solution for the immediate implementation of this law suggests that parliamentarians ensure fool-proof investigation into acid crimes reported in their constituencies, offering assistance with prosecutions. In the case of acid victim Maria Shah from Shikarpur, this law has come too late: it doesn't apply in retrospect, so she won't get justice. Pro-women legislation is not easily passed through parliament. Women legislators are quick to remind how security issues and the economy take priority. On Dec 23, 2011, the Senate passed the Prevention of Anti-Women Practices (Criminal Law Amendment) Bill, three years after it was tabled in the Assembly by PML-Q parliamentarian Donya Aziz. It lists three particular offences against women making it unlawful to deprive a woman of her rightful inheritance through "deceitful or illegal means"; force a woman into marriage to settle a civil or criminal dispute; and "compel or arrange or facilitate" a woman's “marriage” to the Quran punishable by imprisonment for three to seven years and a Rs500,000 fine. Implementation will prove challenging because it is aimed at checking the traditional practice of “swara” and “vani” prevalent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Whether this will allow for official monitoring of jirga decisions, and legally prosecute wealthy landowning politician-types for marrying their young daughters and sisters to the Quran, a practice prevalent in Sindh, remains to be seen. This bill makes the offences non-compoundable: an accused person cannot be pardoned legally even if a compromise takes place between two parties. Protecting women against violent practices made unlawful through legislation especially where such actions are seen as part of the traditional fabric may mean a lower rate of conviction. Proponents say the value and impact of these laws decrease when not implemented properly. But these bills simply don't pay lip service to the increasing demand for justice. Regardless of whether or not implementation is successful, their existence alone is indicative of positive social progress. Although awareness is rising at all levels — at the state level, the Senate has just approved the bill to set up a national commission for women — there is need to evolve mindsets so that society accepts that prohibited practices are intolerable. The impact of legislation will change the social fabric when women are empowered through basic education and education on rights. And then they can get enforced their own legal
rights.
By arrangement with Dawn, Islamabad.
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Stop unlawful detentions THE death of another man in police custody in Lahore the other day has again drawn attention to the fact that unlawful detention, which is almost invariably accompanied by torture, is one of the most explosive issues in Pakistan today for human rights activists and advocates of the rule of law. The matter assumes alarming proportions and can cause political crises if people are detained for vaguely defined and arbitrarily interpreted security considerations and their corpses are dumped at odd places as casually as irresponsible citizens throw garbage at their neighbours' doors. Nothing demonstrates a more thorough collapse of the legal order than these cases of illegal detention, torture and death in or as a result of wrongful confinement. And the situation will not get better unless sincere and determined efforts are made to check all forms of abuse of official authority and the relevant processes are properly streamlined. The rot starts with disregard for lawful procedures at the time of arrest. There was a time when almost all arrests were made under warrants issued by competent authorities and arrest without a warrant was an exception to the rule. Now arrest without warrant has become quite common. Indeed, in instances of preventive detention or detention on suspicion of terrorist acts or terrorist intentions the victims are rarely, if ever, shown warrants. Political activists are fully aware of the scandalous practice under which police used to detain them on the strength of blank detention forms (signed in advance by district magistrates). Many problems are likely to be solved if cases of arrest without warrant are reduced to the extent possible, because it may not be feasible to eliminate them altogether. Another departure from civilised norms that has become increasingly evident is that people are taken into custody by men in plain clothes. It is generally assumed that it is necessary for the Crime Investigation Department personnel and other intelligence functionaries to avoid being identified while performing their duties. This is not only absurd but also a violation of the victim's right to be treated in accordance with the law. There is no reason why all those enjoying the power to effect arrests cannot do their job in their official uniforms or why they cannot disclose their names and ranks. This will obviate the possibility of arrests being made by agencies/individuals who do not have due authority. Then every year scores of cases come to light in which arrest/detention is not recorded. If the detainee is held at a police station or a duly notified detention centre a common excuse for non-registration of arrest is that the person has only been summoned to help in an inquiry or that he is being held with a view to persuading a wanted offender to surrender. The condition that anyone invited to help investigation must be given written notice for attendance is not honoured. In such cases redress is not very difficult as the détenu can be recovered by a court bailiff or during a magistrate's visit to the lock-up (that needs to be made frequent). The situation often becomes much more serious when somebody is detained at a secret detention centre/ safe house/ torture cell. At such places there is no limit to torture or the price that may be demanded for freedom. The families of the détenus fear the worst. One has met many old men and women who plead that their relatives may be charged with something so that the fact of their detention (and a possible bar to their liquidation) could be established. It should not be difficult to realise that arrest without warrants or by unauthorised persons, detention without record and internment at an unauthorised and/or secret place deprives a citizen of his fundamental right to due process, causes anxiety to his family and undermines people's allegiance to the state. Respect for a lawful regime demands that all competent institutions/ services/ agencies should notify the people of their detention centres and they should be obliged to detain people only at such places. These centres must be visited without prior notice by the higher officials and also by district and high court judges. The sessions judges in particular must be advised to regularly visit such centres. In addition, organisations of lawyers and human rights activists should be allowed access to all places of detention. Pakistani officials take pride in making a mockery of the legal requirement that each death in custody is judicially probed. Either no inquiry is held or the formality is disposed of perfunctorily. In any case the findings are seldom made public. Not only the administration but the judiciary and parliament also need to use their powers to ensure that each death in custody or each recovery of the dead body of a person believed to have been detained by state functionaries is properly probed and the victim's family granted due protection. Their entitlement to compensation must also be strictly honoured. The primary reason for advocating a radical revamping of the arrest and detention regime is the urgency of establishing an order based on due respect for the basic human rights of all Pakistani citizens, and all other persons who may happen to be present in Pakistan at any time. However, the need to repair the country's image in the eyes of the larger human family also has become quite pressing. Not only the higher echelons of the government but also officials at the various administrative tiers at both the federal and provincial levels should realise that Pakistan can no longer enjoy the privileges of a state beyond the international community's radars. They should learn to pay due respect to the citizens' fundamental rights as recognised in the constitution and in international human rights instruments, at least the ones Pakistan has ratified. The contradictions between Pakistan's laws and practices and international humanitarian law/ international human rights law will have to be removed in order to satisfy public opinion both at home and abroad. The sooner the law-enforcement personnel start respecting the citizens' right to protection against unlawful arrest, detention, torture, involuntary disappearance and death in custody (acknowledged or denied) the better it will be for all parties, the state and the law-enforcement agencies
included.
By arrangement with Dawn, Islamabad.
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THOMAS Reuters Foundation poll of gender specialists reported that Afghanistan in 2011 was the world's most dangerous country for a woman due to poverty, poor healthcare and harmful cultural practices.