O P I N I O N S

Guest Column
Will Sharif’s capacity match his resolve?
The public is now demanding the ‘promised peace’ from Nawaz Sharif and the provincial governments. This has thrown open the question of the role of civil and military security agencies, especially for their repeated failure to prevent terror attacks.
Nasim Zehra
That winning the elections, either at the Centre or in the provinces, was never going to be an unadulterated achievement was always clear. So great are the challenges every government has to face that the period of rejoicing was never going to be an extended one. In fact, Pakistan’s vibrant and independent media, combined with social media and the emerging phenomenon of political parties competing on issues of governance and security, has created a highly demanding context in which elected governments are expected to deliver what they promise. On the democratic track, Pakistan’s politicians recognise that the margin of error now is zero.

Fifty Fifty
To be battered in marriage, and sticking on
There are many women in India who think an occasional slap or mild aggression from their husbands is alright.
Kishwar Desai
Recently, while launching my book, The Sea of Innocence, in London, there was as much to discuss about sexual harassment and violence in the UK as there is in India.

ground zero
Why the new normal with the US is boring
As US Secretary of State John Kerry comes on a date with India, the pulse needs to quicken. India has to push for moving from interminable dialogues to time-bound deliverables.
Raj Chengappa
Two years after John Kerry lost the US presidential election of 2004 to George W. Bush, I asked him how he had recovered from such a major setback in life. Kerry, then an important member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was on a visit to India. I liked his answer. He said, “I am a positive person. It doesn’t make sense to worry about what happened yesterday if you can’t redo it. Let’s make tomorrow better.”

Guest Column
Will Sharif’s capacity match his resolve?
The public is now demanding the ‘promised peace’ from Nawaz Sharif and the provincial governments. This has thrown open the question of the role of civil and military security agencies, especially for their repeated failure to prevent terror attacks.
Nasim Zehra

That winning the elections, either at the Centre or in the provinces, was never going to be an unadulterated achievement was always clear. So great are the challenges every government has to face that the period of rejoicing was never going to be an extended one. In fact, Pakistan’s vibrant and independent media, combined with social media and the emerging phenomenon of political parties competing on issues of governance and security, has created a highly demanding context in which elected governments are expected to deliver what they promise. On the democratic track, Pakistan’s politicians recognise that the margin of error now is zero.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

And if anyone had any doubts, the problems have mounted in no time. On the key issues of security and economy, at least four governments are already under pressure. The first budget presented by Nawaz Sharif’s ace man, Finance Minister Ishaque Dar, has received more than just harsh criticism. If the public and opinion makers appreciate that it’s a tough economic scene, they also insist that it’s merely a rich man’s budget. But the real sting has come from the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry took suo motu notice of the 1 percentage point increase in the GST from 16 to 17. He said it was illegal and burdened the inflation-hit ordinary Pakistani. Implementing it without approval of Parliament was illegal. The Finance Minister, despite initial protestations, had to withdraw the tax. In his third term, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif already realises other institutions and an independent judiciary curtail power constitutionally.

The curse of terrorism too hit Pakistan’s three provinces within the first two weeks. Over 75 people, including university students, nurses, mosque-goers and policemen, have been killed. Parliamentarians from Imran Khan’s PTI and the MQM too have been killed. In Balochistan, the Balochistan Liberation Army burnt down the Founding Father’s residency. The gauntlet is thrown from all fronts — the TTP has owned responsibility for the Karachi attacks and the LeJ is likely behind the Quetta attacks. The public is now demanding the ‘promised peace’ from the Sharif and provincial governments. This has thrown open the question of the role of civil and military security agencies, especially for their failure to prevent the attacks or nab the terrorists.

With the spike in terrorism, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar has been forced to take up the question of who controls the security agencies and the coordination between civil-military intelligence agencies and the Law Enforcement Agencies. The voters are not in a mood to spare those elected. The Interior Minister has now promised to devise, with civilian and military input, the first ever ‘security policy’ of Pakistan.

Sharif’s wise political moves, including conceding to Imran Khan — with maximum seats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — the right to form government and invite Baloch nationalist parties to fill the positions of Chief Minister and Governor in Balochistan, are praiseworthy, but insufficient to tackle the security and governance crisis.

Sharif, who has a penchant for committees, has set up several, including one on energy and another on the economy. He has pulled in individuals from the private sector to get advice. On the energy sector, the circular loan of Rs 530 billion owed to companies is expected to bring down considerably the 18-hour daily load shedding within the promised 60 days. The committee on economy is to guide him on a regular basis. According to the government’s own Economic Survey, all fiscal targets set for 2012-2013 have been missed.

The Prime Minister has come determined, his team claims to have staved off all criticism of nepotism, corruption and incompetence. For starters, the posts of CEO of public sector corporations are to be filled through advertisements managed by head-hunters.

However, bringing in men like his friend Mian Mohammad Mansha, an accomplished business tycoon with interests in energy, banks, etc, does raise the question of conflict of interest. Hiring his friend, who owns an international airport services company, as the head of the Civil Aviation Authority too is questionable. Any move compromising on transparency and credibility is unlikely to be sustainable.

Sharif comes as a man determined on reform. For any economic and security reform, the Ministry of Defence and the army itself are relevant, as is the related Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Prime Minister has retained both the portfolios and appointed as his advisor and assistant in the Foreign Ministry two experienced hands, Sartaj Aziz and Tariq Fatimi. These were key men during the Kargil crisis of 1999, and share the Prime Minister’s views on peace with the neighbouring countries, especially India and Afghanistan.

On national security and defence, the Prime Minister has plans to boast the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) by setting up an independent secretariat which can provide serious input in policy making. Some institutional reforms are also on the cards. Sharif has removed the national airline and the CAA from the control of the Ministry of Defence. Contrary to expectations, the move went without any reaction.

Sharif is building allies on government reform, Balochistan reconciliation initiative, the US drone issue, counter-terrorism and economic reforms. His early moves suggest he understands that the military leadership and the intelligence community must essentially be allies. So far, so good. The meetings with the army and ISI chiefs have been good on issues like dialogue with the Taliban and the drones. The government plans more consultative initiatives with the political opposition and the military leadership in the coming weeks.

The effort notwithstanding, the country finally looks to the country’s ‘chief executive’ to pull Pakistan out of its multiple problems — Nawaz Sharif means business, but will he have the capacity to pull through with his resolve is the million dollar question Pakistanis want an answer to.

The writer is a Pakistani anchor and columnist.

Fifty Fifty
To be battered in marriage, and sticking on
There are many women in India who think an occasional slap or mild aggression from their husbands is alright.
Kishwar Desai

Recently, while launching my book, The Sea of Innocence, in London, there was as much to discuss about sexual harassment and violence in the UK as there is in India.

There has been a spate of cases in the UK as well, dealing with paedophelia, sex trafficking and other instances, each more shocking than the other. Sexual violence is an international issue and many of the problems are similar, including the lack of support given by the police. But the main difference between the two countries is that the UK judicial system is not as clogged as the Indian system, and there is a concerted effort to deliver justice. In fact, what has shocked the nation in the UK has been the number of ‘historical’ cases in which famous, aging television stars have been accused of child abuse, mostly by women who are grown up now but remember the sexual abuse they had suffered when they visited the TV studios as children. All of these have been dealt with speedily by the courts.

Interestingly, even though no actual evidence of the abuse has survived — it has even led to the arrest of various well known men who are now in their 60s and 70s, leading some to call it a ‘witch hunt’. However, the fact that the police and courts are pursuing these cases is a relief for many who were worried that complaints by women are often not taken seriously.

But there have also been some cases where the woman or girl has refused to complain, even if she has been abused. What happens then?

Two recent cases have caught the imagination of the public—one is that of a teacher, 30-year-old Jeremy Forrest, who has just been jailed for five and a half years for ‘abduction’, and for sexual activity with a child. The 15-year-old girl and Forrest claimed to have fallen in love, even though the teacher had been warned by the school authorities not to get involved with her. In court, the girl confessed that, in fact, she had insisted on running away. Knowing that she would carry out her threat, the married teacher had agreed to go away with her. After her family raised the alarm, the two were found in France and brought back to the UK. Despite the teacher’s imprisonment, the girl still maintains that she will wait for him. The girl by all parameters has been sexually exploited but does not appear to think so at all. It is a conundrum that society has to deal with.

On the other hand, another case where the woman is not complaining (so far) is of the ‘domestic goddess’ Nigella Lawson. Having built an international career of 20 million pounds based on her own success as a chef — and her image as a woman who ‘has it all’ — wealth, beauty, talent, husband, children — it turns out that not all is well in paradise. There has been consternation over the photographs published in all leading newspapers of Ms Lawson’s throat being rather warmly pressed by her husband Charles Saatchi, the multi-millionaire ad whiz and art aficionado. Even as his ex-wives step forward to say that he might be terrible but he is not a wife beater, the terror and pain in Nigella’s eyes speaks volumes. Despite his high rank and position, and regardless of his connections (even Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg recently refrained from criticising him), Charles Saatchi was ‘cautioned’ by the police. That means that he will carry a black mark next to his name forever. The 70-year-old Saatchi seems unrepentant, but the reality is that Ms Lawson has left her fabulous marital home and is now living in a not-so-fabulous 10,000-pound per week rented apartment. She has also been spotted looking fairly depressed.

This is a far cry from the confident alabaster-skinned, much photographed woman I saw last year at the Hay Festival, talking about her latest cookbook.

But we already know that sexual and domestic violence occurs in all strata of society. There are many women in India (as surveys prove) who think an occasional slap, or mild aggression (as in the Saatchi case) from their husbands is alright. It’s all part of the chores of being married. And, interestingly, as the human rights lawyer Baroness Helena Kennedy pointed out during my book launch in London, it used to be the same in the UK as well. But now the law in the UK recognises it as being part of domestic violence.

No one will ever know what goes on behind closed doors between a man and a woman. The only reason we learnt about Nigella Lawson’s plight is the incident took place at a crowded restaurant, and someone was able to photograph it. It was also distressing enough to make onlookers feel uncomfortable.

The main point is that even though Ms Lawson might hate to see her ‘perfect’ marriage disintegrate in front of the whole world, she does have a choice. She can choose to remain in a what appears to be an abusive relationship, or she can choose to walk out. By doing the former she is only demonstrating once again the insecurity of women. Often it is said that women stay in an abusive relationship because they need the financial security. This does not apply here as Ms Lawson has a thriving career and millions in her own right.

So what will she do? As victims of violence know only too well (and as I have discussed in my book, “The Sea of Innocence”) there are many reasons for people to remain quiet.

But does this mean that women have to be taught to recognise sexual abuse when it happens to them?