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