Civil society organisations demand promised NCHR
September 9, 2018 | Published in Dawn. ISLAMABAD: Leading civil society organisations have urged the government to immediately complete the formation of the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), an independent body to protect and promote human rights in the country. The previous parliament passed a bill for the setting up of this commission in May 2012. However, despite passing of more than two years, the NCHR is yet to be constituted. The demand for the NCHR was made by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO), Potohar Organisation for Development Advocacy (PODA), Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), Aurat Foundation (AF) and other organisations in a statement released on the International Human Rights Day 2014. Read more…
“Paralysing effects”
Naseer Memon | January 12, 2014 | Published in The News. As if the country is not enough plagued by a medley of miseries, the World Health Organisation is mulling over placing tough restrictions on Pakistanis travelling overseas. These restrictions are being considered in the wake of a series of polio cases triggered by virus originated from Pakistan and detected in different countries. Such cases were detected in China, Egypt, Israel and Palestine. These cases have alarmed the international community. A European health journal “The Lancet Medical Journal” has also warned that Pakistani polio virus could become a threat for Europe. India has already banned Pakistani travelers who were not immunized. According to a press release issued by Indian High Commission in Pakistan, all adults and children travelling to India from Pakistan after January 30, 2014 are required to carry their record of vaccination as evidence. The action has been taken under the recommendation of Independent Monitoring Board for Polio Eradication. The board will hold a meeting in January in which 23 countries will participate to consider a collective decision. Health Department officials have disclosed that they have been warned by donors and polio monitoring agencies that if the situation did not improve, the country should brace for serious restrictions on visa and overseas travel. Polio cases are being reported from all provinces of Pakistan and FATA. Previously, most of the cases were reported from restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and FATA but it is not confined to these areas any more. Three cases have recently been reported from Multan, Sahiwal and Toba Tek Singh districts of Punjab. Similarly a confounded Sindh government is also grappling with a challenge of spiraling polio cases in the province. Breeding in the cesspool of nepotism, the provincial bureaucracy has very limited capacity and professional-will to confront thisnew challenge. According to a report, 24 per cent of the children who were reported to have contracted polio till November 2011 were those who had received seven or more doses of vaccine. Law and order initially debarred vaccinators to access parts of the province but the recent wave of attacks on polio workers has further deteriorated the situation. But what is causing deeper consternation is a recent trend of refusal by parents which was not so common in Sindh province. Health officials reported an alarming 23,723 refusals in a recent vaccination campaign. Most of these refusals are noticed in the districts of upper Sindh, mainly Shikarpur and Kashmore. Refusals have also been reported from Pakhtun enclaves of Karachi and Jamshoro district. Whereas refusal by Pakhtun communities follows the trend, what baffles is the permeation of this alarming trend among native Sindhi families. North Sindh has a relatively juvenile proclivity of religious extremism and the refusal to polio vaccination merits serious rumination. A network of religious seminaries is fast unwinding in these areas, mostly managed by non-local clerics. Recent years witnessed some grisly incidents in Shikarpur. In 2010, Taliban claimed responsibility for torching 27 Nato tankers in Shikarpur. Shrine of Hajjan Shah was also attacked that claimed two innocent lives and injured more than a dozen. Pernicious rise of extremism is now manifesting in refusal of polio vaccination. The federal government is also perturbed over the sudden surge in polio cases in the province. Sindh had four polio cases by the middle of November. Three more cases — two in Karachi and one in Kashmore — surfaced in less than a month. Five of these cases have been detected in Karachi and one each in Kashmore and Dadu districts. Baldia, Gadap towns and Gulshan-i-Iqbal neighbourhood have been identified as the areas where the polio virus has been active in Karachi. Like Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Karachi has also faced a wave of terror against polio vaccinators. In 2012, the vaccination campaign came to a screeching halt after attacks on a World Health Organisation’s doctor and polio vaccinators in Karachi. In July 2012, a local paramedic associated with polio vaccination was shot dead and a World Health Organisation doctor, Fosten Dido, from Ghana and his driver were injured in two separate attacks in the Sohrab Goth area. Law and order and religious extremism are making Sindh a hotbed of polio in the country. This explains an official estimate of 743 polio cases during the last 17 years in Sindh. UNICEF included seven districts of Sindh among 33 high risk districts in the country. All these districts are located in north Sindh contiguous with South Punjab. These districts include Ghotki, Kambar-Shahdadkot, Kashmore, Khairpur, Larkano, Shikarpur and Sukkur. These districts are afflicted by a chronic law and order situation. Abduction for ransom, murders, honour killings and robberies are rampant in these areas. Dominated by tribal chieftains, north Sindh districts are ruled by criminal gangs. This situation limits ability of immunization workers to reach the inaccessible parts of these districts. Apart from Pakistan, the only two other countries where polio cases were reported last year included Nigeria and Afghanistan. In 2013, Pakistan has emerged as the worst country dwarfing polio cases in Nigeria and Afghanistan. Afghanistan has reported 11 polio cases in 2013 compared to 30 in the previous year. Similarly, Nigeria has reported 50 per cent less polio cases in 2013. Whereas Pakistan reported 85 polio cases i.e. 40 per cent higher than 58 cases in 2012. This indicates the alarming trend of increase in incidence of polio in Pakistan. According to a report, some 7.8 billion dollars have been spent in Pakistan to eradicate polio yet the results are abysmal. What is really shocking is the fact that 24 per cent of the children who were reported to have contracted polio till November 2011 were those who had received seven or more doses of vaccine. A Pakhtun girl Sonia from Gadap, Karachi contracted polio virus even after having received nine doses of vaccine. Security of immunization workers is a major cause of inadequate polio vaccination. In December 2012, over 3.5 million children were missed out in the national anti-polio campaign. Sindh had the highest number of unvaccinated
Ruins without relief
Naseer Memon | January 26, 2014 | Published in The News. Two catastrophic temblors jolted Awaran and Kech districts of Balochistan in September last year. While the episode has been obscured by a series of new headlines in media, miseries continue to shake the affectees. According to the data of the National Disaster Management Authority, 386 people were killed and 816 injured. Malar and Mashkai tehsils of Awaran were the worst hit. The NDMA confirms more than 32,000 houses were flattened out and more than 14,000 partially damaged. Unofficial sources claim that the digits are watered down. Numbers aside, death and devastation is certainly enormous. Life is still scrambling through the heaps of debris particularly in Awaran district. Countless people are still homeless taking shelter with their relatives and acquaintances in neighbouring Lasbela, Hub and other areas. Local communities bemoan that only a fraction of the promised compensation has been disbursed by the government. Hundreds of hapless families are unable to reconstruct their mud houses. Most of the schools and health facilities are not yet restored. Balochistan is a chronic victim of natural and unnatural miseries. Earthquakes, floods and droughts keep visiting the province frequently. Socio-economic indicators of the province are at sub-human level and Awaran is among the bottom districts of the province. Awaran is victim of a double whammy i.e. distressful human development indicators and pervasive militancy. The district is among the least developed areas of the country and the disaster has further devastated the poverty-stricken people. In a national ranking of districts carried out by a renowned research organisation Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), Awaran was 20th most deprived among 26 districts of the province in 2001. It ranked as 93rd most deprived among 100 districts in the country. Another study of SPDC “Social and Economic Development Ranking of Districts of Pakistan” also ranked Awaran at 84th number out of 94 districts. SPDC and the World Food Program reports show 54 per cent population as poor in the district. Awaran is the 4th largest district of the province, sparsely populated with only four persons dwelling per sq. kilometre. According to the district profile of Awaran published by “Punjab Lok Sujag”, agriculture and livestock are the two major sources of livelihood. Out of 488 villages in Awaran and neighbouring Lasbela district only 83 have dispensaries. Most of these health facilities are ailing from shortage of doctors, paramedical staff, medicine and equipment. At the time of earthquake, the district-headquarter hospital had only one doctor seen confounded to manage thousands of injured. Even first aid services were not available to meet the unexpected flow of patients. It compelled the authorities to transport hundreds of injured to Karachi and other areas to save their lives. Poverty is rampant as 88 children out of 1000 live births die within five years and 47 per cent children are underweight. Women are at the bottom of the pit with only 11 per cent girls availing the luxury of secondary education. According to the district profile conducted by Balochistan’s Planning and Development Department in collaboration with the Unicef in 2011, the total population of Awaran district stood at 124,000 and only 49 per cent of the people had national identity cards (NICs). Not having CNIC deprives one from even relief supplies during disaster and invites humiliation when roadside frisking is carried out by security agencies. Immediately after the earthquake, relief operations were commenced. However, the efforts of national and international humanitarian groups suffered severe impediments mainly because of security related confinements. International aid agencies were not allowed to operate and national humanitarian agencies were denied a sacrosanct NoC and thus restricted from mobilising much-needed resources. All this was done under the pretext of security concerns. While relief work was going on, an operation was also launched in the worst-hit parts of the district. Militancy is an undeniable reality in the area. There were instances when the government functionaries were intimidated and deterred from working in the area. Rockets were fired when the chief minister visited the area with his entourage. Baloch nationalist groups alleged that security agencies are trying to control the area hitherto dominated by insurgents. It triggered a fresh spate of skirmishes. In such a hostile situation, local youth and male family members avoided risking their lives and thus couldn’t move to collect relief goods as the routes were unsafe and local people, specially youth, were being stalked. It multiplied the miseries of ordinary disaster victims who suffered agonies and pains merely for belonging to this area. Women suffered the most as they remain immobile due to traditional strictures. Since male-folk could not move fearlessly, it deprived women affectees of food, medicine, water & sanitation and shelter support. Women-specific needs hardly drew any attention in this bedlam and chaos. In fact the government lost an opportunity to reintegrate the disgruntled local communities. Because of harsh attitude of security personnel, local communities are already dejected. Restricting relief operation has further fortified their alienation. It would have been strategically prudent to facilitate relief work rather than hampering it to provide much needed solace to local communities. Thousands of affectees were denied rightful relief support due to unnecessary confinements. Realising the intensity of miseries of local communities and lackluster relief work, at one stage the Chief Minister of Balochistan, Dr Abdul Malik, made a desperate appeal for international aid but the federal government rejected his requests and refused to issue no-objection certificates to the UN and other international agencies. Arguably, the appeal for international aid should be the last resort and one should realise that if a chief minister of the province resorted to that, it must have justified reasons. If provinces are authorised to seek foreign loans and investments, there is no reason to deny their right to seek international support during emergencies if response is listless and insufficient. Whereas international aid appeal injures national self-esteem and pride, absence of adequate relief support hurts thousands of victims as well. Had there been a swift and sufficient
Denying democratic dividends
Naseer Memon | December 1, 2013 | Published in The News. After keeping millions on tenterhooks for weeks, the Supreme Court finally relented to agree with the Election Commission’s views and reluctantly relaxed timeframe to resolve imbroglio on the local governments’ elections. Election Commission’s earnest iterations and the repeated resolutions adopted by the National Assembly and the Sindh Assembly created an ambience where further obstinacy would have triggered another unpleasant clash among the state pillars. Although Supreme Court was blamed for obduracy, the unrealistic timeframe was initially suggested by the concerned provinces themselves. Impracticality of the timelines belatedly dawned on the provinces and shifting gears on the election dates engendered an impression that local government elections are being evaded once again. It prompted Supreme Court to prod provinces to remain steadfast with the committed election schedules. The provinces had to adopt a similar hasty course for legislation on local governments. Indolent response and dilatory tactics of provinces constrained judiciary to impose timelines for the legislation. The provinces consequently embarked upon reckless legislation and still filing rough edges with frequent amendments. These episodes also denuded the sheer lack of professional capacity and political commitment of various actors that blighted the electoral process of local governments. Had the Election Commission and the provincial governments demonstrated their seriousness, no other institution would have drawn justification of encroaching upon their domains. Preoccupied with other pressing priorities, they would have conveniently skirted the local governments’ formation. The Punjab government paved way for another judicial intervention by denying party-based elections in the Local Governments Act. Article 140-A of the Constitution prescribes political devolution in unequivocal terms. In spite of a popular demand and a constitutional obligation, the Punjab government opted for non-party based elections and eventually had to bite the dust. After the court orders, the PML-N government is obliged to rectify the law but only after losing its political grace. Another similar gaffe has been committed by curtailing number of seats for women. Local governments are not only a constitutional obligation but also a logical extension of parliamentary democracy. For about four years now, democracy has been limping without local governments. The previous regime of Pakistan People’s Party wasted three years and did not take any serious steps towards formation of the local governments. In Sindh, the party and its allies remained engaged in endless negotiations on the local government law. Pakistan Muslim League-N held the throne of Punjab for last five years but they also remained glued to status-quo. Both leading parties ostensibly relish democracy and cherish their democratic credentials yet committed a willful default on sharing democratic dividends with citizens. The PPP rightly boasts 18th Amendment as a great triumph of democracy, yet it did not demonstrate the same spirit for decentralising powers from provincial headquarters to districts and lower tiers. Over the time, provincial headquarters have emerged as new power centres imitating Islamabad while treating their own districts. Unelected dictators always avidly promoted local governments, however for the sake of their dictatorial ascendency. It is sheer lack of sagacity, if not political dishonesty to exalt dictators for their ruse of strengthening local government system. In fact, they would create a string of fiefdoms to devolve powers and resources to a coterie of their loyal thus cementing their regime at lower level while abstracting provincial governments which is an indelible constitutional tier of the federation. What is, however, imprudent on part of elected regimes is that in a fit of concentrating their rule in provincial headquarters, they did not like to unbundle their stack of powers. Elected regimes have unfortunately their own appetite for powers and propensity of ruling the subjects rather than serving them. Predominantly composed of extravagant rich who splash millions to get elected, the sordid elite consider it their legitimate right to recover their investments with markup. As a corollary to that, the legislators have relegated themselves to market vendors trading contracts, jobs, postings and transfers. Political parties have thus made the mockery of democracy and actually buttressed the illegitimate authority of elite in the country. Key state functions e.g. providing basic services, livelihood and employment opportunities, security, law & order and justice have thus been delegated to the elected representatives, compelling citizens to pay allegiance to these local power lords. Since a local government system will invariably decentralise basic services and grassroots level development, the elected representatives are reluctant to let them exist, let alone flourish. But if it becomes inevitable, they will employ all means to bring them in their family fold by installing their progenies on local thrones. Large size of constituencies and prohibitively exorbitant electoral campaigns make it affordable only for filthy rich to contest elections for national and provincial assemblies. This elite capture has jettisoned the lower and middle class segments from mainstream politics. Local governments are a small aperture for politically marginalised citizenry, particularly for women, working classes and minorities to acquire some space in political architecture of the country. Denying this space is a denial of democratic dividends to those who sacrificed their lives for decades for restitution of democracy. Political parties will lose moral ground and legitimacy to rule without integrating these marginalised groups. Not allowing local governments to function and gain roots would be tantamount to chopping the branch on which political parties have nested. This unpardonable remiss will take its toll by rendering democracy an unrealised dream. In the long run, a sustainable local government system will bestow sustainability to a fledgling democratic dispensation. Devolving basic services to lower tiers will relieve legislators from a superfluous onus enabling them to veer their focus towards higher level of policy formulation and legislation. Legislators’ penchant for infringing into the domain of service delivery has created a chaos in the society. Revival of local governments and their smooth functioning will help restore eroded confidence of masses. Crippled and debilitated by a deluge of problems in everyday life, hapless citizens can be provided considerable succor even with a sop of basic municipal services.
Laws for lesser citizens
Naseer Memon. The recently promulgated ordinances to deal with terrorism may serve as a tool to steamroller movements of political and civil rights in the country The President of Pakistan has recently promulgated two Ordinances — Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Act, 2011” (ATA) and “Protection of Pakistan Ordinance 2013” (PPO). The official document purports the PPO as a law aimed “to provide for protection against waging of war against Pakistan and the prevention of acts threatening the security of Pakistan”. Both these laws prescribe ruthless measures to prevent terrorism in the country. It vests almost unbridled powers in the law enforcement apparatus ostensibly to curb terrorism by all means. A cursory look at these laws reveals several common provisions rendering them redundant for either one of the two. Delving deeper in the contents of the two laws reflect the lack of altruism on part of the proponents of such draconian laws. Some of the provisions are reminiscent of colonial era legal instruments of brinkmanship to subdue the subjects. These laws also transgress international commitments of the State e.g. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In a country boasting to be a democratic state, it is absolutely imperative to guarantee all possible safeguards for human rights. Already owning a blemished record of disrespect for human rights, the country can ill afford such perverted legislative course. PPO provides that “it shall be lawful for any such officer after forming reasonable apprehension that death, grievous hurt or destruction of property may be caused by such act, to fire, or order the firing upon any person or persons against whom he is authorised to use force in terms hereof”. Similarly, law enforcement personnel are exempted from need of warrants to search any premises or arrest any person. PPO also bestows authority to police and civil and armed forces to arrest and purport persons whose identity is “unascertainable” as “enemy aliens” and presume that they are waging war or insurrection against Pakistan. Section 14 of the PPO further presumes guilt of a scheduled offence and the burden is on the accused to establish non-involvement on war or insurrection against Pakistan. Preventive detention for up to ninety-day is also authorized for those within the purview of 5(5), including those whose identity is unascertainable. Such provisions will legalise pervasive blatant violations of human rights being committed by law enforcement agencies. Supreme Court of Pakistan has also charged law enforcement agencies in unequivocal terms with forced disappearances and dumping of mutilated bodies. The apprehensions gather further legitimacy in absence of an independent watch guard authority to monitor human rights violations. A toothless Human Rights Ministry also lost its sheen after being subsumed into the Ministry of Law and Justice. There is no dichotomy of views that the terrorism should be eradicated. However, such a gigantic task requires the State to demonstrate an all encompassing commitment and determination against all forms of terrorism. Terrorism cannot be compartmentalised as good and bad terrorism. The prevalent ambivalence for terrorist groups has confounded citizens and the international community. The government is brimming with eagerness to talk to the forces who embraced terrorism in the cloak of Jihad. These groups have unleashed a spate of malevolent terror over the past decade that has rendered society and the state institutions paraplegic. They publically claim responsibility of grisly pogroms, abduction and execution of senior army officials, targeting religious and sectarian minorities and homicide of innocent citizens. These laws have been promulgated at the time when negotiations with such groups are being pronounced and passionately pursued. One wonders where this law will be actualized. It is a serious misperception that the current spell of terrorism originated in the wake of 9/11 incident. In fact, the very incident was a bitter harvest of decades-long investment in promoting and nurturing terrorism in this region. Global powers promoted religiosity in this country to sedate their paranoia of communism. Pakistan’s flawed foreign policy bereft of political prescience never adopted a course to serve genuine interests of its citizens. Over the period, religious extremism was made a lynchpin of foreign policy without realising its grave repercussions. Pakistan evolved as a security state right from its inception. Religious sentiment was dexterously exploited to emblazon foreign policy with faith-dictums. It subsequently compelled Ayub and Bhutto to succumb to pressure of religious elements and reinforce their supremacy in the state affairs. Afghan jihad of 80s institutionalised religiosity and it became an integral part of Pakistani society under the umbrella of official patronisation. Indoctrination was so intense and ubiquitous that it has now become next to impossible to extricate religion from state affairs and social fabric of the country. Regrettably, this religious sentiment does not revolve around any spiritual or a value-based transformation of the society; it is rather an aggressive mania that aims at conquering rest of the world to spread Islam. Aggression and violence perpetrated over the past decades has always been condoned and relished as Jihad by the state and non-state actors. Acts of violence and terrorism have thus been cloaked in the sacred garb of crusade. Although a section of state actors belatedly tried to rein the Frankenstein created by the state itself but it was too late by that time. This explains the reasons for an unfathomable confusion in the official ranks about the religious elements when infamous terrorists are canonized by highly responsible officials in public speeches. Citizens and civil society, against this backdrop, have serious concerns over potential abuse of such laws. Civil rights campaigners, especially in Balochistan and Sindh, consider these ominous laws as a tool to steamroller movements of political and civil rights in these provinces. Forced disappearances, subjecting captives to torture and dumping their lacerated and mutilated corpses has became a routine in Balochistan. Sindh has also witnessed a surge in replication of same tactics in recent months. Nationalist parties and civil society activists in these two provinces are rabidly opposing such legislation. Human rights activists express a concern
Assault on rationalism
Naseer Memon | January 1, 2013 | Published in The Express Tribune. What Dr Narendra Dabholkar could not accomplish after years of campaigning, his body did even before its cremation. State Cabinet of Maharashtra approved the law to proscribe superstition and black magic on the next day of his grisly murder. The law remained in cold storage for more than eight years after it was approved by the cabinet but could not see the light of day and lapsed. The law seeks to make it punishable for self-styled godmen to prey on people by offering rituals, charms, magical cures and propagating black magic. Dabholkar laid down his life for this landmark legislation, not too exorbitant a deal for a person whose glow would eclipse moons in the skies of human history. Dr Dabholkar, a septuagenarian crusader for rationality, was silenced by a sanctimonious brigade during his morning stroll on August 20, 2013. It was not an ordinary murder. The assassinated rationalist was an extraordinary soul who relentlessly campaigned for a law against superstition and black magic in India for years. His campaign riled extremist Hindu groups who charged him with apostasy and termed him “anti-Hindu”. His murder sent a shockwave among peace lovers and people who promote rationality in society. The grisly incident reminded such people of their vulnerability across the globe. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, who attended Dr Dabholkar’s funeral in his native place in Satara, likened him with Mahatma Gandhi and compared the murder to the assassination of Gandhi. A man of virtues, charged with apostasy; breathed and died for a cause to liberate human minds from the shackles of blind faith. His family presented the most befitting posthumous accolade by upholding his mission and decided not to scatter his ashes into water as the apostle of rationality believed that immersing ashes of the dead pollutes water bodies. His soul must have found eternal ecstasy that his family decided to scatter his ashes on his farm where his wife Shaila practices organic horticulture. Human history is full of evidences that blind faith never tolerates logic and rationale. Dogmatism has an innate propensity to subjugate pragmatism. Orthodoxy in every religion adopted such a course. Muslim clergy of Spain did not spare 12th century Muslim scholar Ibn-e-Rushd. He was a polymath, possessing mastery on Aristotelian philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, Maliki law and jurisprudence, logic, psychology, politics, Arabic music theory, and the sciences of medicine, astronomy, geography, mathematics, physics and celestial mechanics. He challenged clerics for their literal practice by claiming that philosophers had better sense to understand Quranic allegory through lenses of logic. Not just Islamic clergy but Catholic Church was equally snarled by his writings on rationalism that sneaked into European borders from Spain. He was reviled as a heathen. Similarly, Jewish proselytizers loathed Moses Maimonides (M?s? ibn Maym?n in Arabic). Moses, a great Jewish philosopher and a friend of Ibn-e-Rushd, joined the ranks striving to reconcile religions with reason. He defied Jewish orthodoxy by writing that “If one has the means to provide either the lamp for one’s household or the Chanukah (a Jewish festival) lamp, the household lamp takes precedence”. Orthodoxy barreled its ire towards him and his books were burned publicly. Europe liberated itself from clutches of blind faith some eight centuries ago. Dabholkars of Europe paid no lesser price either. When Copernicus challenged the geo-centrism of Ptolemy with his heliocentric interpretation of universe, he actually challenged the self-proclaimed divine wisdom of Church. Nicolaus Copernicus was a mathematician and astronomer who placed the Sun, rather than the Earth, at the centre. Likewise Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno went beyond the Copernican model: he proposed the Sun was essentially a star, and that the universe contained an infinite number of inhabited worlds populated by other intelligent beings. Bruno actually revealed the continuum of universe, which provoked ire of the clergy. Roman Inquisition charged him with blasphemy and he was burnt at stake. Much adored heroine of France Joan of Arc who led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years, War, was put on trial for charges of “insubordination and heterodoxy” and was burned at the stake for heresy when she was only 19 years old. Twenty-five years after her execution, an inquisitorial court revisited the trial and pronounced her innocent. The court declared her a martyr. Later, she was beatified in 1909 and even canonized in 1920. Countless courageous Dabholkars have been protecting the liberty of human minds through their audacious struggle and heroic battles. Spiraling extremism is an accelerating challenge for rationality in every domain of life. Obscurantist elements are bent upon enslaving human minds and seeking to shape a world where rationale should be subservient to faith. Rationalists like Dabholkar are considered more dangerous than guns and arsenal and therefore eliminated brutally. Whereas the war between rationale and faith is as old as human society is, its recent manifestations are more complex. Political economy of faith has added new dimensions to human society. It has transformed from a banal matter of individual worship to a complex web of militarised political and economic interests. Millions of simpletons are made fodder of this endless insane war. Both faith and counter-faith have been used as a fig-leaf to conceal nefarious motives such as controlling natural resources and dominating regional and global power structures. Forces fighting wars in the name of faith and protection of peace often pursue their ulterior motives. Warriors, most of them in their innocence, are hoodwinked and become fuel for the fire. Since dogma dominates their minds and does not allow altruism to nest in their cerebrum, they turn malevolent. Extremism either in the name of faith or peace has emerged as a serious peril for human society. Societal needs of billions of people are being heavily compromised due to resource drain on wars and illusive security. Conventional security demands are becoming predator for real human security agenda. Millions languishing in hunger, illiteracy, morbidity and unemployment are left with
Radicalisation sans borders
Naseer Memon | September 01, 2013 | Published in The News. If anything that has gripped the whole world with alarming intensity, it is nothing but a rapid rise of radicalisation. It is no more confined to Islamic countries of Asia, Africa and Middle East. The so-called free world is emerging as a hotbed of radicalisation. The post-9/11 war against terrorism has in fact provided it a new impetus and the world has witnessed a far more violent form of radicalisation in the recent years. It would be unrealistic to trace the genesis of this phenomenon in a single incident. In fact, an assortment of complex historical and socio-political factors has shaped and nurtured the current wave. In its current form, radicalisation is no more a localised issue of tribal areas of Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. Although these areas are believed to be epicenters of Islamic radicalisation, Europe and the US cannot be fully absolved of their role, specially in the context of Pakistan that was chosen as a surrogate battlefield for their wars in Afghanistan. The US and its allies even circumvented their much avowed affection for democracy and human rights by underpinning unconstitutional military regimes in Pakistan during 80s and 2000. Their myopic and strayed foreign policy has actually done a disservice and culminated in a global whirlpool of extremism. The US and Europe are now facing a serious internal challenge of containing extremism in their own countries. Thickly populated Muslim cities and neighborhoods in these countries engendered various forms of extremism that occasionally erupt into violent incidents. Dream city of London can be a pertinent example to cite. Visiting the salubrious city as a tourist is a feast but peeping into lives of Pakistani community dampens the verve of recreation. Pakistani immigrants’ neighbourhoods paint a grim picture, where one finds all reasons of consternation. Retrogressive social milieu prevails even after decades when first generation of Pakistanis arrived here. During those heydays, Pakistani community earned respect for their hard work and amity. Pakistani students were known for their stellar performance. Gone are those old good days and almost everything has degenerated. Pakistanis are now besmirched and stigmatised with social and political ills. Youth delinquency has surged, religious extremism has skyrocketed, women fenced in four walls, education attainment on rock bottom and social integration is unraveling at alarming pace. Seminaries are multiplying and formal schooling is being eclipsed by substandard teachings. A generation is growing in social seclusion of Pakistani and Muslim enclaves where identity crisis looms with all perils. Equally appalling is the situation in other cities like Bradford, Manchester etc. France has the highest Muslim population among European countries, where some six million Muslims are living, mostly with North African origin. Social indicators of French Muslim are believed to be a major cause of disgruntlement. From education to employment, Muslims are disadvantaged. As a consequence, Muslim identity is proliferating with an alarming vengeance. The post-9/11 developments have globally demarcated new borders between Muslims and the rest. Uncanny strategic shift of super powers between 1979 and 2001 wars triggered ideological tremors. The jihad espoused by the US and West coddled during the cold war era and patronised more vehemently in 80s refused to wilt with the demise of socialist Soviet Union. As Allies failed to produce one right out of two wrongs, extremism found new legitimacy among the faithful in the wake of post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even second and third generation of European and American Muslims obviously could not remain insulated from the tide. Gradually a piqued Muslim identity started obscuring other domains of social fabric in these countries. Organic process of assimilation rapidly reversed over the years and now vanishing with the speed of light. A survey of British Muslims conducted in October 2006 found that 82 per cent of respondents believed that the British Muslims have become more politically radicalised and 81 per cent believe the war on terror is really a war on Islam. Several other surveys confirm a similar trend among British Muslims. An abominable carnage of 7/7 that claimed more than 50 lives sent shockwaves throughout the Europe that did not fully recover from the nightmare of 9/11. The gruesome incident proved that security shields alone can’t clamp religiosity and the Britain is infested with radicals whose machinations could outsmart its fastidious systems. Radicalisation among Muslim youth is not confined to Britain only; it has straddled across other European countries. According to a recent report of the International Herald Tribune, a large number of young Muslims with Western passport are sneaking into Syria to reinforce rebel crusaders who have waged a war against the government of Bashar al Assad. Some European and American Intelligence officials claim that more Westerners are fighting in Syria than have fought in Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen. Various sources estimate that the number of fighters from Europe, North America and Australia fighting in Syria is more than 600. French Interior Minister Manuel Valls termed it a “ticking bomb”. The phenomenon of radicalisation in Europe is not so simple and does not have single complexion or a linear trajectory. A research report “Radicalisation of Muslim Immigrants in Europe and Russia: Beyond Terrorism” (PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo No. 29) challenges the notion that radicalisation is merely an outcome of social disintegration among various ethnic communities in Europe. In fact it implicitly berates the approach and quotes examples where well-integrated second and third generation citizens were found involved in terrorist acts. The report postulates that the issue is intertwined with global political panorama. The report reads “while some of their own socio-cultural experiences may prepare them to advance what they believe is the cause of fellow Muslims suffering around the world, violent Islamists frame their actions in a quasi-religious, politicised, and almost “neo-anti-imperialist” discourse of global confrontation with the West, shaped and visualised, above all, by what they see happening daily in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan.” These factors are creating a new gulf among Muslims and
Towards a ‘naya’ Balochistan
Naseer Memon | June 11, 2013 | Published in The Express Tribune. The political sagacity of stakeholders in Balochistan has rekindled the fading hopes for restoration of peace and prosperity in the province. For the last several years, Balochistan has remained a tinderbox, with hundreds of people brutally killed in an orgy of extrajudicial murders and targeted shootings. The state had virtually abdicated the province and left it at the mercy of an assortment of militant outfits and corrupt politicians. Local people, especially the educated young, are frequently picked up and their mutilated bodies are dumped and often brutalised by carnivores in desolated areas. Dozens of young Baloch are still missing and their familes are inconsolable — no state institution has as yet been able to adequately address their demands despite making skyrocketing claims. Hopes were attached with the previous regime when the PPP government was ruling both the province and the centre. Although a series of measures were introduced to sedate the restive province, a lack of political will stymied the desirable results. Aghaz-e-Huqooq Balochistan, the 18th constitutional amendment and 7th National Finance Award (NFC) all failed to alter the grotesque ambience. Huge financial resources were funnelled and a special job quota was allocated for the province, but the cesspool of corruption and bad governance eroded all potential benefits. The share of Balochistan increased from 5.1 per cent in 2006 to 9.09 per cent in the wake of the 7th NFC. As a result of that, Balochistan’s share increased from Rs45 billion in 2009 to Rs83 billion in 2010, Rs93 billion in 2011 and Rs114 billion in 2012-13. The province also received an additional Rs10 billion against a surcharge on natural gas. In 2012-13 the province earmarked 35.8 billion for development projects and this year, Balochistan was the only province with a surplus budget, yet only a pittance reached the masses. The Balochistan conundrum merits a genuine effort and not empty overtures. While the previous government made generous financial allocations for the province, it installed a corrupt and inefficient team to fix the issues of the province. Ghost projects, unbridled crime and unhindered piling of dead bodies sufficiently testify to the lack of sincerity on the part of the previous regime. The province remained a hotbed of violence and crime and Islamabad remained mostly indifferent. Not even a semblance of government was felt there for the last five years, which engendered persistent despair and anguish among the local people. The choice of Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, a consensus candidate with proven integrity, as the chief minister of Balochistan augurs well for the province. With a credible Baloch nationalist as chief minister, a pro-democracy progressive PkMAP representative in the Governor’s House and a sensitised and steadfast government in Islamabad, there would be in place the best possible combination to extricate the province from the quagmire of crisis. An immediate challenge for the new government would be to ensure that no more dead bodies are received and missing people are retrieved to pacify the enraged and traumatised Baloch. A transparent governance structure would be the next desire of the people of Balochistan. Judicious use of development spending can bring some solace for the disgruntled masses. Dr Malik’s government would have to confront a number of other irritants. In the long run, the right over decision-making and benefits accruing from Gwadar port and other coastal resources would make up the political agenda of the province. Education, health and drinking water services are also in tatters. The province merits a long-term development plan by harnessing the enormous potential of mineral resources of the province. Projects like Saindak and Reko Diq should benefit the local population on priority. A leadership with prescience and commitment can bring Balochistan back from the brink. Published in The Express Tribune, June 11th,
Aid addiction
Naseer Memon | May 16, 2013 | Published in The Express Tribune. Pakistan is poised to be the largest recipient of UK aid with an expected 67 per cent increase, which will jack up the amount of aid to 446 million pounds next year. In a country blighted by a faltering economy and tumbling social care support, this magnanimity sparked a new debate. A disgruntled British parliamentary committee lamented that the increase in aid should be made contingent upon greater tax collection from the rich and clamping down on corruption in Pakistan. The chairman of the Committee, Malcolm Bruce, said that “we cannot expect people in the UK to pay taxes to improve education and health in Pakistan if the Pakistani elite do not pay meaningful amounts of income tax”. Considering Europe’s economic recession, such vexation is likely to spiral in the coming years. Pakistan’s tax administration is debilitated by inefficiency, corruption and apathy by the elite. Except the salaried middle class who has no option, everyone else can easily escape the porous tax net. Pakistan has one of the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios, with only nine per cent of GDP contributed by taxes, and trails behind other Asian countries, e.g., Afghanistan (11 per cent), Sri Lanka (13 per cent), India (16 per cent) and Thailand (17 per cent). The chairman of the FBR made a startling revelation at a meeting of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Finance, last year, by sharing that 84 per cent of tariff and duty rates have either been exempted or reduced to benefit certain influential lobbies. He aptly termed it a “Financial NRO”. This explains another flabbergasting fact that during the past five years, the government took loans of Rs604 billionfrom the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and vitiated the benefit by issuing tax exemptions of Rs719 billion during the same years. In a country of 180 million, only 3.5 million persons are registered taxpayers, 1.5 million of whom are dormant and one million are salaried employees. It is hard for anyone on earth to countenance this obnoxious perpetuation. The UK — one of the largest social sector financer of Pakistan — is at the cusp of stagflation and soaring youth unemployment. Concomitant yawning economic disparities and suicides have dwarfed all past records in Europe. According to a research conducted in the UK, 30 per cent of income in 2005 remained with the top five per cent of earners. The Topical youth NEET (not in employment, education and training) has crossed 1.2 million in Britain, whereas, Greece, Spain and Italy are enduring a tailspin. May Day witnessed highly charged protest rallies in major cities of Europe. In this backdrop, a teeth-baring reaction to aid is plausible. Although geopolitical interests of the US and the UK have a perforce to ensure sustained flow of aid to Pakistan, this may, however, entail stringent conditions in future years. Pakistan, as a surrogate battlefield for the US and its allies, had been receiving a generous dole-out for decades, though, at an exorbitant price of self-esteem and pride. Aid effectiveness is yet another conundrum. While billions of dollars are funnelled, citizens are still entangled in perpetuating poverty, terrorism continues to torments lives and the country endures perennial political instability. Demand for drastic measures to reform a dishevelled polity and economy cannot be parried any longer. In a rapidly changing economic vista, in the so-called developed world, Pakistan needs to device strategies to wean away from foreign aid and plug breaches in the national exchequer. Prosperity and dignity can never be achieved through begging bowls. http://tribune.com.pk/story/549776/aid-addiction/