Rescue & Recovery

Pakistani environmental volunteers rescue a dolphin which was stuck in a canal at Indus river in Sukkar, 450 kilometers (280 miles) southeast of Karachi, Pakistan. The dolphin was rescued from a link canal and taken back to the river Indus.

An official displays seized Buddha statues to the media in Karachi. Pakistani officials intercepted postal parcels destined for China and recovered the statues which they confirmed from experts that they were centuries-old antiquities related to the ancient Gandhara civilisation.

Nation pays tribute to Quaid today

The nation pays tribute to the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, on his 132nd birth anniversary on Thursday.The day will be observed with seminars and special ceremonies at which services and contributions of the Quaid will be remembered.

Television and radio stations will air programmes highlighting the life, thoughts and achievement of the great leader. National flag will be hoisted on government and private buildings across the country. National leaders have issued statements and messages for the occasion.

President Asif Ali Zardari said in a message that it was important to recognise that social development guaranteed national security and stability.“We need to appreciate that democracy, development and social and human welfare are no less guarantors of peace and security,” the president said. He said militants and their “godfathers wanted to make Pakistan a security-driven state instead of a welfare-oriented state, because it suits their political agenda”. Stressing the need for defeating the elements preaching hatred, the president said that the Quaid’s birthday was an opportunity for the people to rededicate their lives to the father of the nation’s ideals.“The Quaid-i-Azam believed in the power of ballot and not bullet, and stood for constitutionalism, rule of law, respect for human rights, tolerance, pluralism and honouring the mandate of the people.” President Zardari urged the people to reclaim the Quaid’s Pakistan and unleash their creative powers through freedom and an end to terrorism and violence.“It is a day … to pause and ponder as to what steps we must take to restore the ideals and principles for which the Quaid created this homeland of ours.”President Zardari said it was unfortunate that the country suffered extremism, poverty, unemployment and inflation because of dictatorships and unrepresentative rulers.He said it was sad that militants and their supporters were threatening the Quaid’s ideals and depriving people of basic necessities of life.

A thought for the Quaid

On this day, each year, the man who founded Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, is paid tribute to – in special television programmes, newspaper supplements, in articles and in editorials such as this one. But it is unfortunate that it is, essentially, on just one day of the year that thoughts turn to the Quaid-e-Azam. Though, no doubt, as a sensitive, honest and moderate man, Jinnah would have been appalled to see the state of the country he created, there is much that can be done to better its plight by simply taking guidance from the thoughts and personal examples of Jinnah.

In the first place, it is obvious Jinnah abhorred extremism. There are many incidents and many speeches, including of course his much quoted address to the constituent assembly of Pakistan on August 11, 1947, to prove this. Muhammad Ali Jinnah would have been horrified to see how inaccurate his prediction, that divisions between Punjabis and Pathans, between Shias and Sunnis, between Muslims and non-Muslims, would ‘vanish’, has proved to be. His advice has clearly gone unheeded. Our leaders of the past, and also the present, must answer for this. In our bid to combat the violence that today threatens to destroy us, we should make more use of the Quaid-e-Azam’s call for an end to all kinds of communalism. His words, his thoughts, have in the past been suppressed. Today they must be circulated as freely as possible; made accessible to every citizen. Muhammad Ali Jinnah rises above controversy. For this reason alone using his example can make a difference.

There are other contents too of that speech, made as Pakistan prepared to take a place on the map of the world, that have been ignored. Jinnah then, and on other occasions, referred also to nepotism and jobbery as a ‘great evil’, warning he would not countenance it. Today, as tales of ‘favourite daughters’ dominate the headlines, we should look back at the past and feel ashamed. There are other ways too in which we have let down Jinnah. As a politician and a professional, his personal integrity was undoubted. He despised corruption and bribery, describing it as a ‘curse’ or ‘poison’. Historical accounts exist of how he refused to entertain parliamentarians at state expense, suggesting that they take tea at their own homes before attending meetings at his official residence. Such notions have no place in Pakistan today. Lavish expenditures from the exchequer are the norm; Mere words mean little. If we as citizens feel any kind of affinity for man we call the ‘Quaid-e-Azam’ or to the land he so tirelessly fought to establish, we must pay tribute to him through deeds. The tide of evil, militancy, incompetence and corruption that has swept over us must be turned back.

Peace on Earth

Forty years ago, almost to the day we saw our home planet Earth, from another world – the Moon – for the first time. It hung in the blackness of space a brilliant blue and white jewel. The men in the Apollo spacecraft who saw and photographed it cried out in wonder at the beauty of the sight of their home. The seas and continents were clearly delineated, but there was no sign at that distance of human habitation. There were no visible borders between countries, the differences of colour and ethnicity invisible, no indication of the diversity of human and animal life or any sign of the conflicts being waged across its surface. It looked, deceptively, a world at peace. Today it would look the same as it did forty years ago. The polar ice-fields may seem a little smaller perhaps, but the illusion of peace is still in place.

The harder realities may have been invisible to the astronauts but they are all too visible to us, and the perfect jewel when viewed from a distance is shown to be deeply flawed the closer you look. Flawed, but good in parts. On this day also within our country and around the world Christians are celebrating Christmas, and countless millions will come together for prayers and celebration. This festival at year’s end is older than all of the religions practiced today and we now know that prehistoric communities had feast-days at this time of year as well.

They celebrated at the solstice as we do and looked forward to the longer days and the sowing and growing of spring and summer. For us on this day of celebration and worship in 2008 we look forward through clouds of uncertainty – multiple conflicts, the poverty of billions, crime and disease. Yet on this day we can and should set aside whatever differences may separate us and join together in a festival of kindness, conciliation and the joy of sharing. Such sentiments are invisible from outer space and will be for the rest of time, but we say to you on this day let there be peace on Earth and goodwill to all men. Invisible the sentiments may be, but they have a value beyond every jewel there is in our jewel of a world.

Dangerous Deeds

The continuing violence in Karachi, in which at least more than forty people have now died, is the outcome of a thoughtless fanning of ethnic hatred. While the warning delivered by the MQM about Talibanisation in the city holds true in fact for the country as a whole, the problem cannot be attributed to the activities of a specific group. Attempting to do so is dangerous. So is the call given for people from outside the province to leave the city. The fact of the matter also is that political forces, should they choose to do so, are almost certainly capable of bringing the mayhem that has so badly shaken life and the city's sense of security to a halt. The fact they have opted not to do so is alarming.

In the past too we have seen similar fires of ethnic strife being stoked in Karachi by forces interested only in guarding their self-interest. The fact is that today the city is a multi-cultural one. There can be no attempt to undertake an ethnic cleansing within it. As they attempt to grapple with the firestorm that has raged across Karachi now for four days, engulfing vehicles, shops and other business, despite the fact that 'shoot on sight' orders have been issued and the Rangers called out, the authorities must also consider the longer-term future of the city. Broader issues have to be considered as a means to deal with it. One of the common features uniting the various kinds of violence we see in our country is the easy availability of small arms. The lack of faith in the state's ability to maintain law and order means many people feel compelled to keep their own arsenals, large or small, in order to defend themselves. The descent of Karachi into complete anarchy as the rule of law collapsed is one reason so many felt they have no option but to take things into their own hands. The authorities must first of all demonstrate they are capable of protecting citizens. This of course is the primary duty of the state.

In addition, we need a drive to remove arms from the hands of citizens. A full scale de-weaponisation campaign must be initiated, with the backing of all political groups. Such a drive is the only way to restore any kind of lasting peace to our streets. Political forces must also come together to agree on a code against any action that can stir up ethnic strife. Such hatred has been responsible for far too much violence over the years. Karachi today is seeing the mayhem it can generate in its very worst form. A way must be found to end such tendencies, otherwise there can be little hope of the peace, progress and prosperity that people in Karachi and those elsewhere most yearn for.

An open Letter to Indians

I write to you as a Pakistani who has always wished for peace and prosperity of the entire subcontinent. We may not see eye to eye on history, but violence between Pakistan and India negates the raison d'etre of Pakistan. That is why it is in Pakistan's own interest to have peace with India and get down to the task of building a prosperous and peaceful Pakistan.

Horrified by the violence in Bombay (the city was renamed Mumbai by rightwing Hindu fanatics, but I reject such name changes, be they in Pakistan or India). I began writing an article which spoke of Bombay's common heritage for both India and Pakistan, of Jinnah's long connection to it (he famously told the Indian High Commissioner in 1947 "Oh, I love Bombay and long to be there."), of Bombay's status as the premier Asian city embodying the values of secularism and multi-ethnic cultural ethos, and so on. I quoted Pakistan's President who said "there is a little Indian in every Pakistani and a little Pakistani in every Indian." I seconded Adil Najam's "Today I am a Mumbaikar too" sentiment (except that I amended it to "Bombaywallah"), but just before I finished the article, I happened to turn on the news. After two minutes of the news, I deleted the article and I am glad I did.

Look, I am not going to apologise to anyone for being a Pakistani. Get it out of your head. You cannot take the internal contradictions of your polity and blame it on us. The fact is that just like not everything that happens in Pakistan is your fault, not everything that happens in India is ours. The events of the Samjhauta Express – in which your media similarly went crazy blaming Pakistan, but which turned out to be the doing of a rightwing Hindu fundamentalist group – should be an eye-opener for you. I have been watching your news channels, and what they are doing is disgusting. They are accusing Pakistan without any real evidence. One of the militants supposedly "confessed" to being from "Faridkot" in Pakistan. Perhaps you would like to show me where Faridkot is on the Pakistani map, because until I heard its name on the Indian media I was not aware of this great factory of jihadi terrorists in the Land of the Pure and despite several attempts I haven't been able to locate it on the map of Pakistan.

Next, your media spoke of RAW's intelligence intercept of Nov 17, which showed a mysterious Pakistani ship heading for Bombay. Interestingly, despite this, the alleged Pakistani ship managed to penetrate through Indian waters amid an on-going naval exercise which had mobilised a large section of the Indian Navy. The exercise – codenamed "Defence of Gujarat" – was aimed at stopping "Al Qaeda and Pakistani ships," and yet, at the height of this exercise, the "Pakistani ship" snuck through with its deadly cargo. Of course, these ten militants – who had according to Bombay police never visited the city before – then holed themselves up at strategic points in the city and held a city like Bombay hostage for 60+ hours. If this is true, perhaps you should first prosecute your naval chief. But this is unbelievable, to say the least.

For years I have fought against those of my fellow Pakistanis who blame any and all insurgencies within Pakistan on you guys. I have taken to task those Muslims who quite outrageously accuse the Jews of creating 9/11 themselves. The fact of the matter is that Muslims have been involved in terror activities all around the world, and there is no denying that – no reasonable person would dare deny this, and sadly there are not many reasonable people in the Muslim world. This points to our lack of introspection. However, what about your own lack of introspection? One friend from India suggested that the Hindu nationalists didn't have courage (I'm omitting the actual word here) to execute something like what happened in Mumbai. I would not be so callous as to underestimate the determined followers of a great ancient creed which continues to be the life force of close to a billion people. The Samjhauta Express bombing also showed that there is an ultra-nationalist section in the Indian Army which is in cahoots with Hindu nationalist forces.

I was shocked initially at the immediate reaction by the Indian government and their belligerent tone. But as I thought about it, I understood the difficult position Prime Minister Singh is in. With elections looming, this incident presented a clear and present danger to Congress's chances. Unfortunately for the Congress Party and its coalition, which includes, among others, the Indian Union Muslim League – the only surviving heir of the pre-1947 Muslim League – is never going to be able to outdo the shrill voice of the BJP and its rightwing coalition when it comes to "desh-bhagti." The only real way out for it was to try and expose the real elements behind the Bombay violence which would strengthen their hand. Instead, they've chosen to blame Muslims in general and Pakistan in particular.

We in Pakistan have our own problems, and by no means are we a strong state. We've been victims of terrorism even more than India has been. However, rest assured that a war with us – while completely disastrous for Pakistan – will leave you in ruin as well. All the great dreams and aspirations you have of India as a world power will stand shattered and broken. If Pakistan fades, its ghost will continue to haunt you for centuries to come. In fact, Pakistanis would tell you that this is a good year for us to go to war. With Pakistan hit by a slowing economy and a growing discontent, a war would unite the disparate groups in this country.

In terms of economic losses, you would lose as much more as Bombay's stock exchange has market capitalisation when compared to the Karachi Stock Exchange. This would be a good example of MAD – mutually assured destruction. All because some parties wanted to win the elections by making Pakistan a scapegoat. This, you might say, would be the first and only case of destruction by democracy.

Instead, let us choose the path of cooperation and acceptance. Let us fight the lesser terrorism caused by violence and the greater terrorism – poverty – together. Let us, as Indians and Pakistanis, join hands in making South Asia truly prosperous. And let us, for once, learn to tell the truth.

Women & Democracy

THE relationship of women with the state in Pakistan appears to depend on three interrelated sets of relationships: (i) the relation between the state and the individual citizen; (ii) the relation between the state and the ethnic or religious group to which a citizen belongs; and (iii) the relation between women and the ethnic or religious group with which they identify.

The extent to which a woman is allowed or denied her fundamental rights granted by the state is mediated by her ethnic or religious group and its relationship with the state.

In a liberal bourgeois democracy these relationships are further complicated by the need to accommodate ethnic and religious parties in coalition arrangements. Elections increasingly deliver ethnically split verdicts in which no single party gets a simple majority and the party with the largest number of seats is forced to rely on others to form its government.

In return for support the smaller parties extract their pound of flesh in the form of ministries, lucrative positions and compromise on certain ideological standpoints. This not only creates large cabinets it also requires backtracking by political parties on clearly enunciated principles.In political bargains the greatest backtracking is invariably witnessed on the issues of women’s rights and equality.

The clearest evidence of such political manoeuvring is the manner in which the PPP inducted two ministers, Israrullah Zehri as minister for postal services and Hazar Khan Bijarani as minister for education. Israrullah Zehri is on record defending the brutal murder of five women (the figure is disputed) who it is alleged were buried alive in Balochistan. Hazar Khan Bijarani is said to have presided over a jirga that ordered that five girls aged two to five be handed over to a rival clan to settle a dispute.

The overriding need to accommodate people from the smaller provinces and minority ethnic groups to ensure their support for the government has negated the fundamental rights to life and security for women. Such political compromise for expediency ignores the manifesto of the party which states: “The Pakistan People’s Party has an unflinching commitment to the cause of gender equality ever since it was founded in 1967” and “The party will take institutional initiatives to prevent crimes against women in the name of tribalism, such as honour killings and forced marriages”. Despite repeated protests by various sections of society this travesty of justice has not been reversed.

Other parties with stated commitments to women’s rights and equality have also exhibited misogynist biases against women by failing to show a modicum of respect for their female colleagues. The remarks about two women being equal to one man by Ishaq Dar of the PML-N, and the subsequent refusal by party members to allow Sherry Rehman to record her protest is an incident reflective of the deeply prejudiced attitudes of our lawmakers.

The bewildering insensitivity was further demonstrated by Chaudhry Nisar Ali’s nomination of Hanif Abbasi as head of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Women’s Affairs despite the presence of a number of worthy women candidates in the parliament. The heartening fact is that the PML-N women parliamentarians themselves protested. The PML-N’s manifesto also promises to “promote participation of women in national development and their social, political and economic empowerment”. One wonders how women’s political empowerment would be possible when even their most basic rights to represent themselves are not acknowledged.

As if all this were not enough there are rumours circulating that the Ministry of Women Development would be given to the JUI-F. Apart from this party’s known aversion to women’s equality and freedom, it is vital to remember that its members had stated that the implementation of the Protection of Women Bill 2006 was like challenging God. One of the demands of the JUI-F for supporting Asif Zardari’s presidential bid was the revocation of parts of the Women Protection Act. Maulana Fazlur Rahman and his associates were seen roaring with laughter over an anti-women song at the maulana’s brother’s valima reception. The song was about marrying four times as one wife was not sufficient.

Patriarchal and misogynist attitudes are deeply ingrained in our social, economic, political and ideological structures. It is too much to hope that those entrusted with making the country’s laws would reflect a morality higher than the rest of the nation’s. However, one can expect the lawmakers to have read the constitution and know that killing citizens, men or women, is murder and that murder is a crime. The country’s law does not allow so-called honour to be invoked as a justification for vile murder. It is also reasonable to expect that lawmakers would not pass statements contrary to the law to justify crimes.

Since one cannot depend on individuals to rise above their ethnic or religious prejudices, one has to rely on systems. The assumption underlying liberal democracy was that over time it would eliminate the pre-modern identities of caste, clan, tribe and sect and create the modern identity of the citizen whose relation to the state would be a direct one and not mediated through local, cultural and customary structures. It was also assumed that broad-based political parties, premised on shared economic issues, would replace narrow sub-nationalist, ethnic, sectarian and fundamentalist outfits.

Instead, politics itself became ethnicised, and sub-national, sectarian and tribal sentiments were articulated in the political arena. The state capitulated to such sentiments in the process itself becoming tribal and sectarian. Multiple legal systems distorted democracy and laws came to be premised on religion and tribal customs.

The Qisas and Diyat law is a major example of a tribal law becoming entrenched in the state’s legal structure. The tribal state allows parliamentarians like Ajmal Khattak, Salim Mazari, Israrullah Zehri and Hazar Bijarani to legitimise the murder and trafficking of women as cultural tradition.

The sectarian state allows violence against women to be condoned through laws made in the name of religion. Political compulsions force parties like the PPP to establish the Sharia in parts of Pakistan like Malakand. With the collusion between the Sharia, tribal and customary law, and Anglo-Saxon legal principles, women’s rights and equality are sacrificed at the altar of political expediency.

If democracy has reinforced rather than weakened tribal, sectarian, fundamentalist and ethnic articulations, it is because Pakistan’s social and economic structures were not transformed significantly to meet the needs of a viable democracy. The most fundamental requirement for democracy is secularism so that the legal system of the country can ensure equality and justice to all citizens irrespective of religion, sex or ethnic belonging. A single legal system based on democratic and secular principles would eliminate parallel ones and establish a direct relation between women citizens and the state. Their relation to the state would then not be mediated by the immediate reference group but by their status as equal citizens.

Living with HIV

New findings, highlighted on World AIDS Day which fell Monday, indicate the disease may be far more prevalent in our society than we think. The latest indication of this reality has come from the town of Jallapur Jattan in Punjab, where an NGO found 342 positive cases last year. The National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) has since undertaken an investigation in which it is re-testing those identified by the NGO. Over 100 have so far been confirmed as HIV positive, while the screening process continues. The NACP has itself conceded its estimate of only around 70,000 HIV positives cases in the country may be an underestimate. It is believed that a pattern such as that discovered at Jalalpur Jattan could be in place in many other parts of Punjab, particularly in places from where migration is high.

International agencies have in the past warned on more than one occasion that the prevalence of high-risk behaviours in the country put Pakistan at risk of an AIDS epidemic. A few years ago, high rates of prevalence were found among Injecting Drug Users in Larkana. There is a need now to sit up and take note. The NACP needs to play a much more active part in updating its own figures. The initial findings from Punjab must be followed up on and strategy re-devised in their light so that we can do what is possible to prevent a large-scale outbreak of the infection amongst populations across the country.

The Post-IMF facility scenario

What happens when the money from the IMF loan is used up?

FOR all practical purposes, Pakistan has been assured payment of $4 billion by June 2009 and $3.6 by June 2010 under IMF’s standby facility, approval thereof by IMF executive board is now a formality since IMF’s terms of lending have already been agreed by Pakistan (though not debated openly).

Given the current state of the economy, ruined by successive regimes, and no workable alternative offered by critics or available to the government, the IMF package may, at least, prevent default on external debt repayments.

While the IMF funds would pay the debt instalments due until June 2010, with this fresh debt and small chunks provided by S. Arabia, China, IDB, ADB and WB the total external debt will cross $54 billion. Policy makers should worry about generating resources to pay the annual instalments of this huge debt, and keep the economy going, with minimum affordable levels of inflation, incomes and unemployment.

Critics of the IMF package should accept that the economy’s current state reflects the then government’s inaction during 2004-08 when stricter fiscal discipline could have avoided distress borrowing from the IMF. That scenario can be repeated if politicians still don’t focus on preventing revenue waste or misuse. Besides, by 2010, with rapidly depleting funds, IMF may not have the $3.6 billion it intends to lend then.

A change of focus is imperative because a perception prevails that in recent years, foreign inflows were wasted, a stark reminder thereof being the baffling trade deficit ($20.75 billion) recorded in FY08. While the mercenary attitude of banks and businesses is largely responsible for this crippling gap, blindness and sometimes active participation of state functionaries in escalating it is unforgivable.

Import of plant and equipment was a big contributor to the trade deficit that escalated during 2004-08. Not a bad development in itself but signs are emerging that some of these costly imports (paid for by export earnings, remittances and investment flows) were bogus transactions that brought in junk. In fact, these overtly legal transactions facilitated flight of capital worth billions of dollars.

This organised fraud was unmasked by a recent discovery (hushed up soon thereafter) that scores of containers disappeared from Port Qasim over a period of time without being screened for what they contained or being accounted for in the port’s record. .

What no parliamentarian asks for is the institution of an independent multi-stage verification process to ensure the imported goods being as per import documents. This no longer poses a problem given the fact that Port Qasim has the facility to x-ray containers and produce images of the contents of the containers – particularly important in case of expensive imports of plant and equipment.

What we need is a stiffly implemented procedure that makes it imperative for port and customs authorities to tally the specifications of the containers’ contents with the packing lists sent by exporters along with the shipping documents based on which imports are paid for. What also need to be inquired into and up-dated are the technical abilities of the customs staff to credibly complete this procedure.

A more basic issue is determining the appropriateness of the equipment being imported; with DFIs now extinct, and banks lacking this technical capacity, a question mark hangs thereon. In good times, scrutiny down to this level may seem overly intrusive, but not when Pakistan must spend every penny very wisely and ensure that it imports appropriate equipment. Politicians should ensure institution of such checks.

The many instances wherein export rebates were paid out fraudulently should have triggered a revamp of the rebate claiming system. To-date, except for half-hearted investigations into these scams, we heard nothing about a system revamp and augmentation, which reflects poorly on the parliamentarians; given this track record.

Posting FBR inspectors in business houses to check that GST and WHT being collected by them are paid to FBR is flawed; it will corrupt the system even more. The solution lies in mandating GST and WHT collecting agents to use foolproof FBR-designed software for recording sales, tax collection, and its payment to FBR; that FBR thought of introducing this globally employed check only now is amazing.

The other area needing parliamentarians’ focus is the mandate given to moneychangers that lends itself to differing interpretations by moneychangers, regulators and law enforcers. This mess can’t go on any more. The state must re-define very precisely the inflow and outflow types the moneychangers can handle. Experience leaves no room for the moneychangers to undertake any kind of outflows.

Under the terms agreed with IMF, Pakistan must cut its fiscal and current account deficits. This target can’t be achieved unless the government comes up with a clear strategy for raising domestic resources and, simultaneously, cuts both public expenditure and imports. This is a colossal challenge because it will require making sacrifices and optimising economies, neither a pleasant proposition.

To ease both, we need a strategy and action plans for (a) revamping the taxation system to tax un-taxed or inadequately taxed sectors, (b) provide infrastructure support to exporters of high value-added goods, (c) set up agro-based industries to make this sector a major exporter that also creates jobs in rural areas, and (d) revive competitiveness of import substitution industries to steadily cut imports.

This should be our first priority completing which in a purpose-oriented fashion would require vision and consultation. The crucial condition for success would be incorporating in a transparent manner the stakeholders’ view (not selectively but openly), to forestall vested interests undermining national priorities. Implementing this strategy is imperative for stabilising Pakistan’s macroeconomic indicators.

The government seems obsessed with hastily privatising big state assets, which is odd. Such an effort entails extensive preparatory work to avoid charges of favouritism and corruption. Also, this isn’t the time for such risky ventures because investors with credentials for generating optimal post-privatisation economic benefits may not come forward until Pakistan’s macroeconomic indicators depict stability.

So far, only highlights of the plan prepared by a panel of economists to achieve macroeconomic stability have been released; the plan is yet to be shared in full and debated with the stakeholders who must own it and strive for its success. Are the planners scared about the real world bursting into the musings of their ivory tower, or is some other flawed consideration holding them back?

Pakistan Re-open Refugees Camps

A displaced Pakistani family sits in front of their tent in Kachagari camp

Pakistan has reopened camps originally set up in the 1980s for Afghans who fled the Soviet occupation to provide shelter for those made homeless by offensives against militants on its northwest border.

'I never thought I would become a refugee in my own country. Never ever,' Ghulam Ahmed told at Kachagari camp on the outskirts of the city of Peshawar.

Grey-bearded, illiterate, with no idea of his age, Ahmed said he could only hope it was a bad dream as he sat atop a pile of blankets grabbed from relief workers for his family of eight.

A few years back, authorities began dismantling camps in and around Peshawar in a bid to persuade the Afghans to go home.

Peshawar had been a focal point for volunteers for the guerrilla war, covertly funded by the United States and Saudi Arabia, to drive the Soviet Union out of Afghanistan.

But the refugee camps later served as breeding grounds for militants who joined the Taliban and other groups to keep the cycle of violence spinning in Afghanistan. But in recent years the conflict zone has spread to Pakistan's tribal lands.

Kachagari, near the Khyber tribal region, was closed for Afghan refugees last year.

Bulldozers destroyed the mud-walled homes the Afghans had built to replace the original tents.

Today in Kachagari, more than 1,700 tents, each meant for a family of six, have been pitched in the dusty earth among the ruins of the deserted Afghan homes.

The camp was only reopened on Sept. 28 and it now hosts more than 11,000 people, mostly from the Bajaur tribal region where a military offensive began in August to clear out Taliban, al Qaeda and other militant groups.

The military says more than 1,500 militants have been killed while 73 soldiers have also died in fighting in Bajaur since August, though no independent verification of casualties is available.

Unlike past offensives, the military has relied heavily on air power to push back the guerrillas.

DESTITUTE AND DESPERATE

At the entrance of Kachagari, two hospitals built with Saudi aid for Afghan refugees have been converted to offices for the camp management.

Scores of tribesmen jostled for food, blankets, tents and cooking oil supplied by U.N. and other aid agencies.

'I had my own grocery shop in Bajaur. I had some agricultural land. I was not that poor,' Ahmed said.

Security guards brandished batons to restore order among the desperate men.

Nearby, dirty-faced children, some without any trousers, played in the dust, oblivious of what was happening around.

'This is now our fate. It happens here daily,' said 25-year-old Aslam Khan, as he watched the miserable scene.

The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, is providing non-food items such as tents, blankets, sleeping mattresses and kitchen kits.

It also provided funds for levelling the ground to set up the camp.

UNICEF has set up latrines, provided drinking water, and opened makeshift schools.

Kilian Kleinschmidt, Assistant Representative of the UNHCR, said U.N. aid agencies launched an appeal for $54 million under their Humanitarian Response Plan in September to help these displaced people.

He said only around half the amount had been received.

However, he said, they planned to revise the appeal in view of the growing numbers of people fleeing the conflict zones.

Klienschmidt said nearly 35,000 displaced people had been registered in two camps in Kachagari and seven other camps elsewhere in the northwest.

'By mid-December, we expect up to 70,000 people will be in these camps,' he added.

Jalozai, one of the oldest camps east of Peshawar, was closed this year. It will be reopened on Tuesday, Klienschmidt said.

WIDENING CONFLICT ZONE

Besides Bajaur, security forces are battling militants in nearby Swat Valley.

Pakistani officials anticipate that a crackdown will be launched next in Mohmand tribal region neighbouring Bajaur.

Social scientists say the longer people stay in these camps, the greater the risk becomes that jobless young men will turn to crime and militancy.

'Many of these people are poor. The first and foremost thing for them is to survive and because of this they are more prone to get into militancy,' said Johar Ali, a professor of sociology at the University of Peshawar.

One American aid worker and his driver were gunned down and an Iranian diplomat was kidnapped and his guard was killed in Peshawar this month. Afghanistan's ambassador-designate was kidnapped from the city in September.

Kleinschmidt said security in these camps was a major concern for aid agencies.

'We need to ensure that the camps remain safe and the people there understand that it's not acceptable that ... they involve in any (other) activities.'

Ethnic Tension Grips Karachi

At least 38 people were killed and over 100 injured in three days’ violence erupted on Saturday in the metropolis. Dozens of vehicles were torched in different areas, while unknown miscreants continued to damage public and private properties in the city. In a fresh act of violence, unidentified gunmen killed five more people in Raees Amrohi Colony of Orangi Town, increasing the death in three days’ violence to 38.

Meanwhile, Sindh Government imposed a three-day ban on pillion riding in the city on Sunday.Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani and Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah took a serious note of the situation and sought a report within 24 hours. They also directed the law enforcement agencies to keep a close eye on the miscreants’ elements.

The series of violence, started from Banaras Chowk on Saturday evening, continues in various parts of the city. So far, 40 miscreants have been held by police from various areas of the city in connection with ongoing violent incidents.

A fire set by rioters rages at a timber market in Karachi

Pakistani paramilitary troops keep guard as mourners walk with an ambulance carrying a coffin of a victim of Saturday's violence between rival political parties, for burial in Karachi

Pakistani paramilitary troops keep guard at a road to ensure security in Karachi

Labourers remove planks of timber after rioters set ablaze several shops at a timber market.

Fire fighters struggle to extinguish a fire torched by rioters at a timber market in Karachi

Child protection law on the cards

The government is contemplating a law for protection of children and safeguarding them against abuse by creating an environment to help their upbringing in a healthy and pleasant atmosphere.The law proposes setting up courts to solve custody disputes and checking violations of children’s rights.“The idea to frame such law and set up institutions to provide protection to children came after a recent incident in Karachi in which three women had abandoned their eight children at the Edhi Foundation,” Law Minister Farooq H. Naek was quoted by Local Newspaper.

A meeting to discuss possibilities of framing the law to protect the rights of children was called by the law minister in which Minister for Social Welfare Samina Khalid Ghurki was specially invited to help devise the Child’s Protection Bill as early as possible.

A sub-committee, comprising secretaries of the two ministries and the relevant provincial governments, has also been formed and tasked to come up with suggestions for setting up institutions for protecting children from all kinds of discrimination and abuse.

Despite the fact that Pakistan ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990 that calls upon governments to take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination and punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, and beliefs of the child’s parents, but no law has yet been made.

The proposals that were discussed during the meeting suggested the setting up of a national commission on child’s right at the federal level and child protection bureaus at the provincial level.The idea also includes creating posts to appoint protection officers to check violation of rights of children.The proposal suggests setting up courts at the provincial level in consultation with the high courts where the cases of children in need of care would be heard and decided, especially disputes relating to custody.

International Childrens Day in Pakistan - Part III

Boys play in the debris of a government school after it was attacked by militants with explosives in the troubled area of Swat valley. A large number of schools have been destroyed due to militancy and violence in Pakistan's northern regions.

School papers lie on the ground after a government school was attacked by militants with explosives during the early morning on Wednesday 26th December, 2008 in the troubled area of Swat valley.

Children wash themselves along Lyari Lake in Karachi due to unavailability of water in their area in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. As the world observes International Children's Day, children in Pakistan still struggle for basic necessities such as food and water.

Children walk past a pile of garbage in a street of Twin Cities.

International Children's Day in Pakistan - Part II

Two boys carry garbage sacks as they search for recyclable goods in a street. Majority of the nation's children cannot afford to go to school and instead start working at an early age to earn money for themselves and their families.

A young girl along with her father beg for their livelihood at a roadside.

As the world observes International Children's Day, a young boy works as a mechanic and repairs a motorcycle.

Young girl sells stickers for her livelihood at a main intersection in Islamabad. Although the government says it is fully aware of its responsibilities in protecting the rights of children and providing them better facilities of life, majority of Pakistan's children don't even have basic education.

International Children's Day in Pakistan - Part I

A young boy busy in giving final touches to wooden furniture in Lahore instead of attending classes at a school.

Local children display broken pieces of a US missile in the rubble of a house hit by the missiles in Indi Khel village near Bannu, Pakistan on Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008. Children in the troubled regions of Pakistan are being constantly exposed to violence and attacks.

A schoolboy watches a cobbler repair his school bag at a roadside shop. More than 25 per cent of Pakistan's 150 million people live below the poverty line, despite the country's economy growing by 6.6 per cent last year, and 8.4 per cent in 2004-5, its highest in two decades

A boy carries wood on a bicycle too big for him to ride on in Islamabad.

Over 5 Million say ‘NO’ to Violence against Women

More than five million people around the world have sent a clear and unequivocal message to their governments to take decisive action in stopping the relentless cycle of violence against women, at the conclusion of an Internet-based United Nations campaign on Tuesday.

The UN Development Fund for Women launched its ‘Say no to violence against women’ awareness-raising campaign last year, calling upon governments to make the ending of violence against women a top priority.

The initiative amassed more than five million names on its website petition, easily surpassing its original target of one million signatures.Academy-award winning actress and Unifem Goodwill Ambassador Nicole Kidman presented the signatures to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at a ceremony at the UN Headquarters.“Women are abused at home, trafficked across borders or [become] victim to widespread and systematic sexual violence in conflict,” Ms Kidman told reporters before the ceremony. “As long as one in three women and girls may be abused in their lifetimes, violence against women must be everybody’s business.”She added that the document containing the campaign signatures was “a start” in the push to force “decision-makers” to implement laws, educate both men and women, and provide the protection, health and legal services needed in the fight to eliminate violence against women.“Through Say NO, people in the farthest corners of the world have become engaged. This is a large new constituency that we will continue to evolve and mobilise in the years to come,” said Unifem executive director Inés Alberdi.Heads of State and ministers representing 60 governments joined more than 600 parliamentarians from over 70 countries in adding their names as a public expression of commitment to tackling the problem.“This high-level support for the issue is crucial,” said Ms. Alberdi. “Without strong political will, there will be no decisive action.”

Quake affectees struggle through cold!

The temperature is dropping every passing day in the quake-hit areas of Ziarat threatening the lives of thousands of earthquake survivors who were spending nights in the tents provided to them.
'Whole nights our children cry due to the cold weather,' a 40-year-old survivor Manzoor Ahmed told Dawn in the Ahmedon area which was badly affected in the recent earthquake. He said the tents so far provided to the affected people cannot protect them from the freezing temperature.
'We need winterised tents immediately to protect our families from further misery,' another survivor Akhtar Mohammad said, adding that there was no shortage of food and other items but people were not getting winterised tents as needed.
Children are falling ill due to the severely chilly weather and the number of such children is increasing with every passing day.
'Countless children suffering from throat infection and chest congestion are arriving in the field hospitals every day for treatment,' a lady doctor visiting the earthquake-hit areas said. She said the freezing weather is threatening the health of children and women in the affected areas. However, the heath department denied that an epidemic was spreading in the affected areas and said that four lady doctors and physiologists were visiting those areas on a daily basis and providing medical treatment to the women and children.
However, official sources said that the provincial government and aid agencies were sending winterised tents and other relief goods for the earthquake survivors. They said the provincial government and the International Committee for the Red Cross have so far sent 2800 winterised tents in the worst-affected earthquake areas of Ziarat district while Muslim Hands dispatched some 800 shelter houses for the survivors. ICRC was also sending 2000 more winterised tents for the affected areas.
'We are making all out efforts to arrange winterised tents and shelter homes for the quake-hit areas to save the lives of quake survivors,' a senior official of the provincial government told, adding that Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani has appealed to the federal and provincial governments, aid agencies and other organisations to send maximum number of winterised tents to protect earthquake survivors from the severe cold weather.
Fourteen teams comprising the Army, FC, officials of Revenue department and the local administration have completed the losses's survey in almost half of the quake-struck areas of Ziarat and Pishin districts.
According to official sources 75 per cent survey of 120 villages of the five union councils of Pishin and 49 villages out of 92 villages of four union councils of Ziarat districts had been completed.
They said the public heath engineering department has installed water filtration plants at five places in the affected areas to provide clean water to the people.

Karachi an Atmospheric Brown Cloud hotspot

A view of the main commercial district of Karachi is seen engulfed in smog February 22, 2008

Karachi and twelve other mega-cities of Asia has been declared as Atmospheric Brown Cloud (ABC) ‘hotspots’ by the UN environment agency as soot levels in these cities comprise ten per cent of the total mass of all man-made particles.
A three-kilometer-thick ‘brown cloud’ of man-made pollution, which stretches from the Arabian Peninsula to China to the western Pacific Ocean, is making Asian cities darker, speeding up the melting of Himalayan glaciers and impacting human health, says the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in a regional assessment report with focus on Asia.
The report on ‘Atmospheric Brown Clouds’ released on Thursday states over the Asian hotspots, the annual natural plus anthropogenic (AOD) exceeds 0.3 and the absorption optical depth is about 10 per cent of the AOD, indicative of the presence of strong absorbing soot accounting for about 10 per cent of the amount of aerosols.
The annual mean surface dimming and atmospheric solar heating by ABCs over some of the hotspots range from 10 to 25 per cent, such as in Karachi, Beijing, Shanghai and New Delhi, says the report.
In addition to Karachi, the UNEP’s new publication points out Bangkok, Beijing, Cairo, Dhaka, Kolkata, Lagos, Mumbai, New Delhi, Seoul, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Tehran as being ABC ‘hotspots’.
Atmospheric Brown Clouds (ABCs), resulting from the burning of fossil fuels and biomass, has resulted in the formation of particles such as black carbon and soot which absorb sunlight and heat the air, experts write in the study released today in Beijing.
The clouds also ‘mask’ the actual warming impact of climate change by anywhere between 20 and 80 per cent because they include sulfates and other chemicals which reflect sunlight and cool the surface.
The artificial lowering of temperature by ABCs is leading to sharp shifts in weather patterns, causing significant drying in northern China while increasing the risk of flooding in the Asian nation’s south. Monsoon precipitation over India and South-East Asia has dropped up to 7 per cent since the 1950s, with the summer monsoon both weakening and shrinking.
Meanwhile, the health and food security of 3 billion people in Asia are threatened by ABCs, which impacts air quality and agriculture.
The solar heating of the atmosphere by ABCs is ‘suggested to be as important as greenhouse gas warming in accounting for the anomalously large warming trend observed in the elevated regions’ such as the Himalayan-Tibetan region, the study says, leading to the retreat of glaciers.
The acceleration of the retreat of the Hindu Kush-Himalayan-Tibetan (HKHT) glaciers since the 1970s, in conjunction with the decrease in the summer monsoon rainfall in the Indo-Gangetic Plain region, is a major environmental problem facing Asia, threatening both the water and the food security of South and East Asia. Glaciers and snow packs provide the head-waters for Asia’s major river systems, including the Indus, the Ganges, the Brahmaputra, the Mekong and the Yangtze.
If the current rate of retreat continues unabated, these glaciers and snow packs are expected to shrink by as much as 75 per cent before the year 2050, posing grave danger to the region’s water security. This potential threat should be viewed in the context of the low per-capita water availability in South and East Asia, around 2000 - 3000 m3/cap/year, far less than the world average of 8549 m3/cap/year, the report says. The most serious health impacts of particles associated with the ABC include cardiovascular and pulmonary effects leading to chronic respiratory problems, hospital admissions and deaths. The clouds contain toxic aerosols, carcinogens and other harmful particles. Review of the available evidence indicates that there are likely to be very significant public health impacts from the ABC.
While the effects of the clouds on food production and farmers’ livelihood could be immense, more research must be done to determine their precise role, it acknowledges, adding that the possible impact of ABCs could include elevated levels of ground-level ozone, which could result in massive crop losses of up to 40 per cent in Asia.
Concern for a worsening situation in the future is highlighted by projections which suggest that the annual surface mean ozone concentrations in parts of South Asia will grow faster than anywhere else in the world and exceed 50 ppb by 2030.
Another important characteristic of ABC forcing in Asia is that it introduces large north-south asymmetries in the forcing and large land-sea contrasts. Since these are the driving forces for the monsoonal climate, ABCs have become major forcing terms for regional temperatures, circulation and precipitation.
There currently exist only a few unevenly distributed ozone monitoring sites across the whole of Asia, making it difficult to obtain a true picture of the current Asian ozone climate and how this varies by geographical characteristics
Global ozone projections suggest that some of the largest increases in ozone concentration will occur in South and Southeast Asia from now until 2030. Such projections would see South Asia becoming the most ozone polluted region in the world, with annual surface mean concentrations reaching 52.2 ppb (parts per billion).

Pakistan's Cost of War on Terror reaches new heights

Pakistan’s estimated cost of war on terror has edged up to Rs678 billion in 2008-09 up 40 per cent from Rs484 billion spent over last year immensely impacting the socio-economic costs of the country.
As a result of being a partner in the international counter terrorism campaign, Pakistan is currently facing major challenges including growing fiscal and current account deficits; rising inflation; growth deterioration; and depleting foreign exchange reserves, revealed the draft Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) – II of the finance ministry.
The estimated costs include both direct (actually spent) and indirect-- on account of loss of exports, foreign investment, privatization, industrial output, tax collection, etc being a frontline state in the war on terror.
Statistics released by finance ministry showed that the expected direct cost due to war on terror would reach Rs114.03 billion in the year 2008-09 from Rs108.527 billion last year. While the indirect cost would edge up to Rs563.760 during the year under review against Rs484.367 billion last year.
According to the report, the anti-terrorist campaign, which began as a result of the unfortunate 9/11 event in the United States in 2001, over-strained Pakistan’s budget as allocation for law enforcement agencies had to be increased significantly, which meant erosion of resources for development projects all over Pakistan, particularly in FATA and nearby NWFP areas in addition to human sufferings and resettlement costs.
Several development projects, started earlier in the affected areas are afflicted with delays, which may ultimately result in large cost over-runs. Since the start of the anti-terrorism campaign, an overall sense of uncertainty has prevailed in the country, which has contributed to capital flight, as well as, slowed down domestic economic activity making foreign investors jittery.
It is apprehended that Foreign Direct Investment, which witnessed a steep rise over the past several years may be adversely affected by the on-going anti-terrorism campaign in FATA and other areas of NWFP.
Pakistan’s participation in the international campaign has led to an excessive increase in the country’s credit risk, which has in turn made borrowing from the market extremely expensive. Pakistan’s sovereign bonds have under-performed due to increased law and order concerns amongst other reasons including domestic political and economic instability. Besides this, the report said Pakistan’s participation in the anti-terrorism campaign has also led to massive unemployment in the affected regions. Frequent bombings, worsening law and order situation and displacement of the local population have taken a toll on the socio-economic fabric of the country.

UNFPA Reveals that......

UNITED NATIONS, New York, 12 November 2008—Development strategies that are sensitive to cultural values can reduce harmful practices against women and promote human rights, including gender equality and women’s empowerment, affirms The State of World Population 2008 report from UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. Reaching Common Ground: Culture, Gender and Human Rights, launched 12 November 2008, reports that culture is a central component of successful development of poor countries, and must be integrated into development policy and programming. The report, which coincides with this year’s 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is based on the concept that the international human rights framework has universal validity. Human rights express values common to all cultures and protect groups as well as individuals. The report endorses culturally sensitive approaches to development and to the promotion of human rights, in general, and women’s rights, in particular. “Human rights are everybody’s work, and being culturally sensitive and understanding the context is everybody’s business,” said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Executive Director of UNFPA. Culturally sensitive approaches call for cultural fluency—familiarity with how cultures work, and how to work with them. The report suggests that partnerships—between UNFPA and community-based institutions and leaders, for example—can create effective strategies to promote human rights and end their abuses, such as female genital mutilation or cutting. Culturally sensitive approaches seek out creative solutions produced within cultures, and work with them. “Communities have to look at their cultural values and practices and determine whether they impede or promote the realization of human rights. Then, they can build on the positive and change the negative,” said Ms. Obaid. The State of World Population cautions that cultural sensitivity and engagement do not mean acceptance of harmful traditional practices, or a free pass for human rights abuses – far from it. Values and practices that infringe human rights can be found in all cultures. Understanding cultural realities can reveal the most effective ways to challenge these harmful cultural practices and strengthen beneficial ones. Despite many declarations and affirmations in support of women’s rights, the report argues, gender inequality is widespread and deep-rooted in many cultures. Coercive power relations underlie practices such as child marriage—a leading cause of obstetric fistula and maternal death—and female genital mutilation or cutting. These and other harmful practices continue in many countries despite laws against them. Women may even support them, believing that they protect their children and themselves. The UNFPA approach encourages change from within, says the report. The Fund works with governments and a variety of local organizations and individuals through a “culture lens”. “There are people within every culture who oppose harmful cultural practices. Our experience shows that we can work closely with them for cultural change to protect human rights,” said Ms. Obaid. The report emphasises the importance of a culturally sensitive approach not only to development, but also to humanitarian response. It stresses that humanitarian assistance in conflicts must protect whatever progress women have made towards gender equality, including reproductive health and rights. Describing women as victims and men as aggressors ignores cultural realities and the variety of responsibilities that women take in wartime as heads of household, breadwinners, caregivers and combatants. Culturally sensitive approaches are essential for reaching the Millennium Development Goals, says the report, including Goal 5: to improve maternal health. “To be healthy throughout the life cycle – before pregnancy, during pregnancy and after pregnancy – is a human right,” said Ms. Obaid. The report concludes that analysing people’s choices in their local conditions and cultural contexts is a precondition for better development policies. “Cultures change, for better or worse, in good times and bad. The report is about promoting human rights in all circumstances,” said Ms. Obaid. “Culture is not a wall to tear down. It is a window to see through, a door to open to make greater progress for human rights.”

UN Regional Information Centre for Western Europe Press release

Pakistan ranks 127 out of 130 countries in gender gap

Pakistan has ranked abysmally on the global gender report, showing huge socio-economic gaps

According to Global Gender Gap report 2008 released by the World Economic Forum on Wednesday, Pakistan ranked 127 out of 130 countries in this year's Global Gender Gap rankings.
The Global Gap Report 2008 (GGGR), published each year by the World Economic Forum, said that the social and economic empowerment of women was still very low and they were still struggling for their livelihood and survival.
The report provides a comprehensive framework for assessing and comparing global gender gaps since the 1992 report. It ranks countries according to gender equality rather than women empowerment.
The report has fourteen gender gap indices. These include economic participation and opportunity available to women, educational attainment, health and survival as well as political empowerment. Pakistan has ranked poorly in almost all categories. However it has fared well in empowering women politically as it ranks 50th out of 130 countries.
Norway leads the world in closing the gender gap followed by Finland, Sweden and Iceland. Germany (11), United Kingdom (13) and Spain (17) slipped down the ranking, but remained in the top 20 slot. Many countries like Netherlands (9), Latvia (10), Sri Lanka (12) and France made significant gains.
The report identifies gaps in most socio-economic areas of the country. Pakistan ranks 117th in both women's literacy rate and workforce population. In life expectancy it ranked 115th. In enrollment for primary education the country ranked 110th. In wage equality for similar work Pakistan ranked 60th, while in years for a female head of state it ranked at number 5.

Counting the poor

A NEW World Bank report makes grim reading for Pakistan: the pre-existing high levels of malnutrition have combined with high inflation to drive up the number of the poor. Unsurprising for anyone following the news recently, the real problem is what lies ahead.
The first step to improve the plight of Pakistan’s poor is to produce accurate, up-to-date and credible data on the country’s poor — a failure of all previous administrations. Even today the battle over the number of poor continues. A local newspaper has reported that a tussle between the Planning Commission (which has put the incidence of poverty at 35 per cent) and the finance ministry (which claims an incidence of poverty of 22.3 per cent) has jeopardised $500m of World Bank funding. Without consistent data on poverty there is little chance that any anti-poverty policy will succeed.
The second step is politically even more difficult: acknowledging that Pakistan is a poor country and has limited resources to help its poor. Given this reality the government must be extra vigilant in ensuring that the quantum of resources set aside for the poor are used as efficiently as possible. As blanket subsidies have fallen out of favour and targeted subsidies (such as the Benazir Income Support Programme) are ramped up the government must work to ensure the new programmes deliver transparent, politically blind aid to the poor. Under the old system, general subsidies came under fire for being over-inclusive: whether rich or poor you could purchase wheat flour, petroleum products, electricity and fertiliser at the same price as anyone else. Under the new system of targeted subsidies, the purchasing power of only those deemed to be poor will be increased. While the new system is theoretically preferable it is only good for those inside the net of such social protection schemes — the poor outside the net will inarguably be worse off. So the government must be vigilant to not create a new class division among the poor: the politically ‘correct’ poor and the politically ‘incorrect’ poor as decided by the government of the day.
Finally, poverty will remain a problem in Pakistan as long as the long-term macroeconomic policies continue to produce poverty. Against the near-unanimous opinion of local economists, the previous government embarked on a consumption-led growth spurt financed by inflows of money from abroad — an approach that left the country perilously exposed. Agriculture, which employs more than 40 per cent of the labour force, and manufacturing sectors that could take advantage of Pakistan’s low-skilled labour force were left to stagnate as the services sector was fawned over. A more cautious, thoughtful process of development is needed. In every crisis is an opportunity: the present government could build a lasting legacy if it opts for major economic surgery rather than the oft-used band-aids of the past.

Poverty increases to new heights in the year 2008-09

Poor people reach to get free food in Karachi, Pakistan on Monday, Oct. 27, 2008. Pakistan's political and security problems are deterring foreign investment and exacerbating the country's economic problems

The economic stabilization programme of the government is expected to send approximately 8 to 10 million more households below the poverty line with addition of 1 million to the number of unemployed in 2008-09.
A panel of Pakistan’s top economists in a report entitled ‘Economic Stabilisation with a Human Face’, said that poverty incidence increases, mainly due to high inflation and higher food prices in past years.
‘If we add the inflation and unemployment effects together, the preliminary estimate indicates an addition of 6 percentage points to poverty incidence since 2004-05’, the economists said.
Using either 2004-05 or 2005-06 poverty figures based on the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM), preliminary estimates are that roughly 15 million additional individual fell below the poverty line up to 2008-09.
This means approximately 8 to 10 million additional households below the poverty line in 2008-09. Increase in poverty headcount as a result of high inflation is expected to have increased faster since January 2008.
The economists said poverty incidence is expected to increase by 2.7 percent points in 2008-09 and by 2.0 per cent points in 2009-10. It is estimated from Integrated Social Policy and Macroeconomic Model (ISPMM) that poverty increased by 3.5 per cent points in 2007-08, due particularly to the explosion in food prices.
Therefore, by the end of the two-year stabilization programme the incidence of poverty in the country may have risen significantly, they added.
Unemployment increases to 6.5 percent in 2008-09 (from 5.3 percent in 2006-07) adding 1 million to the number of unemployed. However, employment is expected to grow cumulatively by about 3 percent over the two year period.
The labor force will expand by almost 3.3 per cent per annum. Consequently, the number of unemployed is projected to increase by about 1.8 million by 2009-10. This will imply an increase in the unemployment rate by over one-thirds.
The impact of the stabilization programme has been simulated with the help of an abridged version of the large, econometric ISPMM developed by the Social Policy and Development Centre (SPDC), Karachi.
The economists are of the opinion, the process of adjustment in the face of very large and unsustainable macroeconomic imbalances do impose high social costs, especially in terms of rising poverty and unemployment. But, as emphasized in the counter-factual scenario, when no significant attempt is made to stabilize the economy, the outcome could be much worse. Additionally, the stabilization programme will have to include a strong component of social safety nets to mitigate against the rise in unemployment and poverty.
The economists said it is essential that the highest priority for protection be afforded to the most vulnerable segments of the household economy where uncertainty can lead to irreversible damage – in the shape of high morbidity and mortality, decline in the nutritional status of children and women, and withdrawal from school.
The program announced by the government-Benazir Income Support and the Punjab Food Support program- cover about 5 million households. The programme will have to increase from Rs56 billion to about Rs84 billion to mitigate the impact of the stabilization programme and reduce the number of people below the poverty line.
In addition there is an urgent need to tackle the rise in unemployment. The proposal is to start employment intensive public work programs initially in districts with high poverty levels. Given resource constraints these need to be made part of the existing People Works Program in an operational way on which Rs28 billion have already been allocated.
The government may need to allocate initially around Rs10 billion from the PSDP for a national employment guarantee programs in poor districts at a wage below the market wage so as to target the poor.
Pilot school nutritional support programs can be initiated in districts/regions identified as being vulnerable to nutritional shock. This will require an adding Rs500 million, up from Rs100 million already allocated in the budget.
Incentives of microfinance and housing finance credit line, by commercial banks through a special tax credit on the quantum of annual lending. There is need on an urgent basis to build-up a National Social Policy Platform that must be used to implement targeted social protection measures.

Every sixth child in IDP camps is malnourished

More than 15 per cent of the children, living in the camps set up by the government for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) of Bajaur tribal region, are suffering from malnutrition.
According to a preliminary report of a survey by the United Nations (UN), prevalence of the global acute malnutrition in children was up to 15 per cent in the Kacha Garhi camp.
This was revealed during a meeting of the donor organisations held at the provincial directorate of health. It discussed the health situation of the IDPs in 10 camps in different districts of the NWFP with special focus on the nutritional status of children and women.
According to initial screenings, the situation in other camps might be worst than the Kacha Garhi camp. The situation in others areas including camps in Lower Dir, Mardan, Charsadda and Nowshera might be worst as they were transitional camps and lacked basic facilities, they added.
Nutrition training on the Community Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) had already been completed in the Kacha Garhi camp and 10 persons, including lady health visitors, social organisers, field monitors, health management information system coordinators, data entry operators besides trained birth attendants had started screening of children between 6 to 9 months of age.
Besides screening of pregnant and lactating women for assessment of malnutrition prevalence was also being carried out.To make the exercise result-oriented, the Health Department staff had undertaken registration of moderate and severely malnourished children as part of supplementary feeding programme and therapeutic feeding programme respectively.
Apart from this, nutritional education regarding preparation and administration of the supplementary and therapeutic foods would be provided to the dwellers of the camps.
After completion of the survey, breast-feeding corners would be established to promote exclusive breast-feeding up to six months of age in order to encourage mothers for breast-feeding of their children. The meeting, which took exception to non-participation of the representatives of the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UNHCR, requested the department of health and health cluster members to coordinate with nutrition programme in the camps.
There were 4,504 families or 31,154 persons residing in the IDPs camps while 6,441 families consisting of 67,766 IDPs lived with friends and relatives. So far, only one child had born in the Kacha Garhi camp, whereas three deaths had occurred: one in Kacha Garhi and two in other camps.
The already established tents would be covered with sheets to protect the IDPs. It was informed that the establishment of new camps at the Jallozai had been delayed due to refusal by the University of Engineering and Technology to spare their land and currently it had been planned over 1,600 kanals of land there. The land would be levelled to house an estimated 3,000 families there with water and sanitation facilities.
In the wake of the law and order situation, specially in the Kacha Garhi and the proposed Jallozai camps, the provincial police officer, had been asked by the governor to provide security to the people.

Indian police summon 110 youth in Occupied Kashmir

Indian police have summoned 110 youth to police stations in Islamabad township for their participation in pro-liberation marches in occupied Kashmir according to the APP.
A top police officer said that police have prepared list of 110 youth of different localities of the township and have summoned them and their fathers to police stations, KMS reported.
A youth, who participated in demonstrations at Islamabad on last Friday, told newsmen that some policemen visited his residence on Sunday morning and asked him to come to Sadder Police Station along with his father. He said policemen told him that he was being summoned for participating in demonstrations.
A youth of Mehman Mohalla, said that two policemen visited his house few days back and directed him to be present in the police station along with his father. He said when he visited the police station he was subjected to severe questioning there, adding, 'It is not for the first time that police have been harassing the youth for participating in freedom marches.'
The parents of some of the youth said that police officials had warned them that in case their wards participated in the demonstration again, they would be booked under the infamous Public Safety Act (PSA).
Terming the act of police as an attempt to muzzle the voice, Mirwaiz of South Kashmir, Qazi Yasir said, 'After failing to stop the youth from participating pro-freedom protests, they have resorted to harassing and torturing them and their family members.' These acts won't deter them from participating in freedom marches, he said.

Captive Humanity

Some say we live in liberated times. But Pakistan’s hinterland harbours myriad tales of captivity. However, a recent step in the right direction promises changing fortunes for beleaguered hundreds: a sessions and an additional district judge in Hyderabad released a total of 124 brick kiln workers on Saturday 8th November 2008. These were produced by the police under court orders and were some of many claims registered against kiln owners, accusing them of keeping workers in bondage. This occurred shortly after the Supreme Court issued a last opportunity to the federal government and other respondents to contest appeals against a Sindh High Court order that dismissed 94 petitions of detention of bonded farm workers in Sindh. The appeals date as far back as 2002 and were moved by two petitioners, Dongar Bheel and Kanji Bheel and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
Despite the promulgation of laws and attempts by successive governments to initiate labour reforms, it is tragic that lives continue to reek of the brutality that plagued a scheduled caste labourer — the famous case of Mannu Bheel that evoked international ire. Mannu had taken an advance sum of money from Rind, a zamindar, who not only refused to pay his wages but also sold a number of Mannu’s family members to another landlord. Regrettably, the vicious cycle spins on: Dongar also alleges that 18 of his kin were held in bondage and 12 relatives in Kanji’s case were held as bonded workers.
This scourge of slavery persists despite the fact that the Constitution of Pakistan ordains ‘…the state shall ensure the elimination of all forms of exploitation and the gradual fulfilment of the fundamental principle, from each according to his ability, to each according to his work’. Pakistan is also a signatory to the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, and the ILO Declaration of Fundamental Principals and Rights at Work; both treaties pledge freedom to choose employment and an amenable work environment. Captive labourers are also a direct violation of the country’s indigenous Bonded Labour System Abolition Act, 1992, adopted following an ILO warning of censure. Sadly, ideals often collide with reality. Doctrines of ethics may shine on paper but have a long journey before they can make inroads into feudal-run, impoverished backwaters of Pakistan. This is a collective human tragedy spun by poverty and illiteracy and these areas can only be tackled if easy loans are available to haris to ward off the curse of debt bondage. There has been repeated emphasis by NGOs on the monitoring of kilns and other work units, where a majority of these excesses take place and police patronage to influentials must also be eliminated. However, the abolishment of the feudal system and land reforms remain the ultimate lights at the end of a long, dark tunnel.