Bullets and burning busses - I

‘Ethnicity will continue to make and break states’

Unless diversity is respected and democracy encouraged, ethnic issues can explode at any time causing great carnage, as has been witnessed in Karachi recently where ethnic strife is showing its brutality

Ethnicity is like a ticking time bomb and unless diversity is respected and democracy is encouraged, it can explode at any time. Also, ethnic identity will continue to play a role in the break-up and rebirth of the world’s states.

Ethnicity will remain a potent factor in formation, de-formation and reformation of states. Other factors also matter. Diversity must be respected and democracy must be encouraged. However, in the next 90 years we are likely to witness very volatile times.

Pakistani ethnic identity is still quite far away as ‘We are even more unique than Israel. Judaism has a very strong connection with ethnicity. It’ll take another two hundred to three hundred years’ for a Pakistani ethnic identity to develop.

‘We have not even begun to create a genetic Pakistani identity. Perhaps this will change after more inter-marriages’ between the different ethnic groups inhabiting the country.

However, people often forget to mention the Madina city state founded by the Holy Prophet (PBUH) 1,400 years ago. Yet, today both the holy cities of Makkah and Madina were under monarchical rule.

‘Man has had a limited experiment with statehood. We are really learning how to run a state.’ Regarding the explosive growth of states in the modern era, i can say that, when the United Nations was formed in 1945, there were 50 member states; today there were 192, which came to about two new states a year. I attribute this growth to nations forming after the decline of colonialism as well as the fall of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

It is worth to note that there are six major factors contributing to the formation of states: continuity in land and people (ethnicity); states formed by invasion, conquest, migration and amalgamation; post-colonial constructs; integration of adjacent entities by war and revolution; religion-based states and finally, new entities arising from disintegration.

If we Compare the troubled regions of Kosovo and Chechnya, both these regions – the first a former Yugoslav province and the second a Caucasian republic under Russian administration – shared many things in common: they had Muslim majorities, both were conquered by non-Muslims as well as the fact that both experienced communist rule.

Among the differences, Kosovo’s ‘liberation’ was supported by Nato and the US, Chechnya did not attract similar support. Also, ethnic upheaval increased in Kosovo after the Nato bombing targeting Serbian forces, Russian suppression in Chechnya was the same before and after the two wars Chechen separatists fought with the Russian state.

The western bombing of Kosovo ‘a show of remarkable compassion’ and an example of ‘new military humanism’.

A police vehicle patrols beside a burning passenger bus on a street in Karachi

Relatives mourn the death of a family member at a local hospital after shootouts in Karachi

Bullets and burning busses - II

At least 20 people were killed and two dozen vehicles torched in different sections of Karachi, officials said Wednesday. Ethnic violence was a suspected trigger of the shootouts in Karachi, a teeming city with a history of such clashes between Pashtuns and descendants of migrants from India. Following are the some snapshots how the violence goes on;

A motorcyclist rides past a burning bus

A man walks past vehicles set on fire by protesters

A close-up of a vehicle caught on fire

Parliamentary soldiers patrol a tense area in Karachi

Paramilitary force soldiers detain people suspected of the violence in Karachi

Bullets and burning busses - III

At least 20 people were killed and two dozen vehicles torched in different sections of Karachi, officials said Wednesday. Ethnic violence was a suspected trigger of the shootouts in Karachi, a teeming city with a history of such clashes between Pashtuns and descendants of migrants from India. Following are the some snapshots how the violence goes on;

A youth pass a burning truck on a street

People chant slogans against Taliban at a rally in Karachi

Rickshaws ride past a burning truck on a street

Local residents of a troubled area look out from their home

A man walks past a street filled with vehicles set on fire by protesters

Precursor of more turmoil

HRCP's 2008 report highlights some longstanding concerns and gives a

sense of the challenges ahead

The year 2007 ended on a bleak note with the assassination of Pakistan's liberal leader and former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto. Though dejection and pessimism ran high, with elections around the corner, many felt hopeful for a change and looked forward to rebuilding the nation's morale. However, 2008 did not end on a more different note.
The 238-page State of Human Rights in 2008 report published by Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) provides statistics and recommendations on all human rights issues. It highlights some long-standing concerns such as terrorism, rights of minorities and freedom of speech and also brings forth new challenges, the primary challenge being talibanisation of Pakistan.
The issue of safety versus terrorism remains a primary focus in the report. Rule and enforcement of law present a worrying picture of disintegration. With the knowledge that things are worsening in 2009, reading many known and unknown events of last year just increases a sense of derangement and dread. Even though the suicide attacks last year were less in number (67) than in 2007 (71), they were more deadly. Compared to 927 lives lost in 2007, 973 people lost their lives to violent attacks in 2008.
Interestingly, NWFP, FATA, Islamabad and Punjab were the most hit areas with only one suicide attack in Balochistan and none in Sindh. However, violence rampant in Karachi did its part in increasing the number of deaths in the city than those killed by suicide bombs in the entire country. Citing Karachi Citizen Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), the HRCP's report places the number of victims of all forms of violence in Karachi at 777 compared to 344 violence-related deaths in 2007.
The astounding increase is further highlighted by the fact that out of those 344 deaths in 2007, 155 were killed during one big attack on Benazir Bhutto's motorcade in October. Thus incidences of violence increased manifold in 2008, a testimony to the government's failure to provide safety to the citizens.
Whereas parallel justice system and vigilante action have further exacerbated the law and order situation in the country, they also highlight the absence of a swift and fair justice system and effective law enforcing institutions. Thus the jirgas in various parts of the country continued to challenge the writ of state in 2008. However, public frustration in face of neck-breaking economic and religio-social pressures and rising apathy to brutality was abundantly visible in the vigilante actions of burning alleged robbers and dacoits in three different areas of Karachi and Lahore.
The country's prison system does not help public anger and numbness to extreme violence. The prison system, according to the report, houses an "overwhelming majority" of "under trial prisoners" burdening already crowded prisons. Karachi's Central Prison has 5,800 prisoners against its capacity of 1,600. The poor conditions have led to various jail riots and protests. Instead of serving as correctional institutions, the prisons are hardening the convicts and non-convicts alike.
The section on fundamental rights of movement, thought, religion, expression, assembly and association presents a familiar picture -- one that has become a reality of life in Pakistan. Examples of extremist bent of mind are presented in the report on the rights and safety of minorities. The report details an incidence where a mufti claimed it was permissible in Islam to murder Ahmedies on a programme aired on one of the largest television channels in the country. In the days that followed, three Ahmedies were killed in Sindh. Unfortunately nothing was done as the government took no notice of the killings and the television channel and the anchor were not called for explanation.
Other minorities also continued to suffer in 2008 under the controversial Blasphemy Law. Jagdeesh Kumar, a Hindu factory worker in Karachi, was killed outside his workplace because he was accused of blasphemy. The killers included many of his coworkers.
Out of 15 cases registered against Muslims under Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code, 13 cases were in Punjab. Similarly, out of 16 cases registered against Ahmedies, 12 were in Punjab, and all 6 new cases registered against Christians were in Punjab as well. Such figures hint at the ease with which such laws are being abused in Punjab for personal gains rather than pointing towards the more sacrilegious nature of Punjabis. The federal cabinet's approval, however, of the Sikh Marriage Ordinance, 2008, is a welcomed initiative for the minorities. This ordinance allows marriages solemnised under Sikh personal law to be registered in Pakistan.
It is unfortunate that women and children are still a disadvantaged section of the society. HRCP's report reflects that women's bodies continue to be the bearer of family honour. This concept leads to gruesome violence against them in order to bring shame either to them or their family. Such violence includes rape (350 cases reported in 2008), gang rape (445), stripping (13), honour killing (612), acid attacks (37) and amputation (4). The report also quotes Acid Survivor Foundation, Pakistan (ASF) which reported 54 acid burn victims in the first four months of 2008. Another horrifying new tradition of "eliminating fallen women" has surfaced in those areas which have seen increased Talibanisation. Thus, HRCP's findings show that on average, 3 women were killed in Pakistan for various reasons in 2008.
One positive initiative regarding women, however, has been the submission of Protection from Harassment Bill, 2008 and Domestic Violence Bill to the National Assembly for deliberations. It is hoped that these bills will not only be passed, but stricter enforcement will be ensured to bring relief to women.
HRCP's findings reveal that children have not fared better in the past year. The report quotes the latest UNESCO figures that confirm Pakistan's net enrolment ratio is 73 percent for boys and 57 percent for girls. The gender gap has widened from 19 percent in 1972 to 25 percent. According to the statistic by the UN, the dropout rate in Pakistan is 50 percent higher than in other countries of the world. In addition to lower resources to education and health, girls' school bombings in Swat have prevented 17,200 girls from going to schools. UNESCO's report termed Pakistan's education system a failure with the sector riddled with weak governance and high inequality in finance and basic education. In addition, reports of child recruitment by armed militias increase the urgent need for educational and economic reforms in the country.
HRCP's report reflects the descending turmoil in Pakistan. What is more unnerving is that, with just four months into the new year, this document already reads a precursor to more alarming events of 2009.

The green generation

Living in the twenty-first century, we are faced with atypical challenges, demanding non-traditional and extraordinary responses. Climate change and global warming are threats that have surfaced on the scene in this century, and crammed both the natural and social sciences communities equitably. The disruption of delicate poise of all variables in earth's climate has been linked with global warming, resulting mainly from the burning of fossil fuels: coal, oil and gas. The carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from the fossil fuel burning, especially after the Industrial Revolution in the mid-nineteenth century, is resulting in unprecedented changes in earth's ecology.

According to Fourth Assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the average global temperature is expected to increase by 1.8-4.0 degrees Celsius over this century, resulting in increased frequency and intensity of extreme climate events – such as heavy rains, severe sea storms, droughts, glaciers retreat, sea level rise, etc – causing large-scale damages. There is an emerging consensus in both the scientific and political communities that the global warming must not exceed 2.0 degrees Celsius in order to keep the magnitude and extent of climate change within manageable limits, but this level can only be reached with drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Scientists are riveting on the agendas of cleaner and efficient energy technologies, and of reducing the world's energy dependence on fossil fuels. Renewable energy technologies characteristically generate energy from , such as , , hydel, biomass, , etc. Renewable energy systems encompass a broad, diverse array of technologies, and the current status of these varies considerably. Some technologies are already mature and economically competitive, such as geothermal and hydropower, while others need additional support to become competitive without subsidies.

By their nature, renewable energy sources are generally carbon-free or carbon neutral. Most long-term energy projections show that renewable energy will play a major role in the global energy supply in the second half of this century, with capacity increasing gradually in the first three decades. According to 2006 report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), titled Changing Climates: The Role of Renewable Energy in a Carbon-Constrained World, the global energy demand will continue to grow, increasing by approximately 50-60 percent by 2030; hence, renewable energy technologies at a competitive cost offer promising prospects of meeting the world's energy needs as well as of fighting global warming.

Starting on April 22, 1970, from Kent in the United States, each year the world marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement for healthy and sustainable environment. The Earth Day 1990 went global, giving a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helping pave the way for the 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. At the turn of the century, the Earth Day had Internet to help link activists around the world, reaching out to hundreds of millions of people in a record 184 countries. The Earth Day 2000 sent the message loud and clear that citizens the world around wanted quick and decisive action on clean energy.

The Earth Day 2009, being celebrated today, will mark the beginning of the Green Generation Campaign – a two-year initiative striving for a carbon-free future based on that will end our common dependency on fossil fuels – that will culminate with the 40th anniversary of the Earth Day in 2010. In Pakistan, the World Earth Day with focus on renewable energy has a special significance of providing us the opportunity to concentrate on alternate energy resources (renewable energy), not only to meet the growing energy demands of expanding economy but also to be environment friendly.

The worst power crisis has been demonstrating itself acutely for the last two years. The long hours of terrible load shedding paint a grim and bleak scenario, making even the more skeptical to reassess their opinion on renewable and localised energy generation for Pakistan's major population centres. According to Alternate Energy Development Board (AEDB) sources, Pakistan has a total electrical energy capacity of 19,522 megawatts (with a shortfall of over 6,000 megawatts), of which 64 percent is produced by the burning of fossil fuels, 33 percent by hydel sources and only 2 percent by nuclear sources.

In recent years, the annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate has been 7 percent, while the corresponding increase in demand for electricity has been 8-12 percent per annum. The demand for electricity is projected to be 162,590 megawatts by 2030, with a shortfall of over 143,000 megawatts, requiring an investment of $150 billion. According to the Mid-Term Development Framework (MTDF), prepared by the Planning Commission of Pakistan, 5 percent of energy demand is to be met by renewable sources by 2030. However, predominant sources of energy remain natural gas (45 percent), followed by oil (19 percent) and coal (18.5 percent).

The geo-strategic location of Pakistan offers a paradigm of inexhaustible renewable energy projects. Solar, wind and mini-hydel energy options are more feasible, given the geography and climatic conditions as well as the maturity of the technology worldwide, but options of bio-fuel are also being explored. Wind energy is now almost competitive with natural gas-derived electricity, and solar is not that far behind as well. Many European countries and the US have carried out successful experiments. India too has made huge inroads into these two sectors.

According to AEDB sources, the current alternate renewable energy capacity of the country (excluding large hydro projects of over 50 megawatts capacity) is about 25 megawatts, but the potential is gigantic: marking 346,000 megawatts from wind and 2.9 million megawatts from solar energy. The revelations are woozy and boggle every Pakistani that why we are not exploiting this potential? In addition, potential for other alternate renewable energy technologies – such as geothermal, wave energy, tidal energy, biomass, etc – has not been researched to date. Given the right kind of support, over 10,000 megawatts can be added to the national capacity through renewable energy resources by 2030.

There are ambitious plans to install projects generating 700 megawatts of wind energy at Keti Bandar and Gharo through the private sector; develop solar products, such as solar lights, solar fans, solar cooker, solar geyser, etc; provide electricity to already identified 8,000 remote, off-grid villages in Balochistan and Sindh through renewable energy sources; and replace 5 percent of total annual diesel consumption with bio-diesel by 2015 and 10 percent by 2025. What we really need is a focussed and integrated effort, commitment, and proper planning to meet the energy needs of the country using clean mechanisms.

The lack of coordination between various agencies responsible for developing the alternate renewable energy sector must be addressed. Tariff subsidies need to be considered to attract investors. Laws and taxes should be designed to encourage self energy generation by the domestic sector, such as use of solar heating, solar geysers, etc. A growing renewable energy industry would offer new prospects of employment and business opportunities to local manufacturers and service providers. Investment in renewable energy, conforming to international concerns of low-carbon economy, is a win-win game and the government should focus on it without further delay.

My NWFP - An Introduction

North West Frontier Province is a province of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, located on both banks of the river Indus and stretches from the Himalayas in the north to the deserts in the south where it is bordered by the Baluchistan and Punjab provinces. On its western flank is the rugged terrain of neighboring country Afghanistan, which is accessed via the historic Khyber Pass through the mountains of the Suleiman Range. Its borders touch or are close to those of China, the Tajikistan and the disputed territory of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in the north. The capital of the province is the city of Peshawar.

It covers an area of 74,521 sq. km. According to the 1998 census, the total population of N.W.F.P. was approximately 14 million out of whom 52% are males and 48% females. The density of population is 187 per sq. km and the intercensal change of population is of about 30 percent. Geographically the province could be divided into two zones: the northern one extending from the ranges of the Hindukush to the borders of Peshawar basin; and the southern one extending from Peshawar to the Derajat basin. The northern zone is cold and snowy in winters with heavy rainfall and pleasant summers with the exception of Peshawar basin which is hot in summer and cold in winter. It has moderate rainfall. The southern zone is raid with hot summers and relatively cold winters and scantly rainfall. Its climate varies from very cold (Chitral in the north) to very hot in places like D.I. Khan.

Its snow-capped peaks and lush green valleys of unusual beauty attract tourists and mountaineers from far and wide while its art and architecture no less known than the historic Khyber Pass. Once the cradle of Gandhara civilization, the area is now known for its devout Muslims who jealously guard their religion and culture and the way of life which they have been following for centuries.

The warlike Pukhtoons, who live in NWFP and the adjoining areas of Afghanistan, making them a race apart, a chosen people, and no one, has ever managed to subdue them. The Mughals, Afghans, Sikhs, British and Russians have suffered defeat at their hands. The Pukhtoons are divided into numerous sub-tribes and clans, each defending its territory and honor. In addition, the Pukhtoons serve as Pakistan's first line of defense along the Durand Line, the border drawn in 1893 by Sir Mortimer Durand, then foreign secretary of British India.

History:

The North-West Frontier Province, or NWFP, runs for over 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) along the border with Afghanistan. A historic gateway to South Asia and once heart of ancient Gandhara Kingdom - maintain a unique heritage. The legendry route from Peshawar to Kabul in Afghanistan is the feature of the province’s most widely known (and infused with romance) in the world beyond. In the days of Kushan kings the land was called Lotus Land. The classical Gandhara territory was the Peshawar valley including hilly areas of Swat, Dir extending to the east and beyond the Indus to Taxila. Rudyard Kipling had set his books in this land and one of his glamorous character is Murad Ali, "who came from that mysterious land beyond the passes of the north."

The North-West Frontier Province, or NWFP, runs for over 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) along the border with Afghanistan. A historic gateway to South Asia and once heart of ancient Gandhara Kingdom - maintain a unique heritage. The legendry route from Peshawar to Kabul in Afghanistan is the feature of the province’s most widely known (and infused with romance) in the world beyond. In the days of Kushan kings the land was called Lotus Land. The classical Gandhara territory was the Peshawar valley including hilly areas of Swat, Dir extending to the east and beyond the Indus to Taxila. Rudyard Kipling had set his books in this land and one of his glamorous character is Murad Ali, "who came from that mysterious land beyond the passes of the north."

The region has been historically and strategically important due to passes leading into India (before partition), through which the invaders came from central Asia. Alexander the Great conquered the region 326 B.C., but his garrisons were unable to hold the region. In the early centuries A.D., Kanishka and his Kushan dynasty ruled the area. The Pukhtoons arrived in the 7th century, and by 10th century the conquerors from Afghanistan had made Islam the dominant religion of the region. In 12th century, Babar annexed it to his Mughal Empire, the region paid nominal allegiance to the Mughals in the 16th and 17th century. After Nadir Shah's invasion in 1738, it became a feudatory of the Afghan Durrani’s kingdom. The Sikhs later on held the area, which passed over to Great Britain in 1849. The British maintained large military forces and paid heavy subsidies to pacify the Pukhtoon resistance.

Britain separated the region from the Punjab of India in 1901 and constituted the North-West Frontier Province, whose people voted to join newly independent Pakistan in 1947.

From 1955 to 1970 the North-West Frontier Province was a section of the consolidated province of West Pakistan. In 1970, the region was once again granted provincial status.

The province has many archaeological remains, engaging buildings as well as human cultures, native tribes and folklore that are the assets of rich archives augmented by the natural beauty of the diverse panorama in the region. The heritage carries with it a sense of identity, place and purpose that successive generations derive from these assets, which has inspired living traditions and customs.

People and Culture:

"They are fond of liberty, faithful to their friends, kind to their dependants, hospitable, brave, hardy, frugal, aborious and prudent."

Pakhtoon designates a person who speaks Pashto. Pathan is a Hindi term adopted for them by the British. The racial composition of the Pukhtoons is less than clear. The tribes who dwelled in the area in the days of the Greek historians are believed to be part of the great Aryan horde which had moved down from Central Asia a millennium earlier. Over the course of centuries, the Greek, Persian, Turk, and Mongol invaders who passed through the Frontier have added their blood.

Nearly one-third of the population of NWFP is non-Pakhtoon. In the tribal areas, they are called Hamsaya or Kadwal. In the border areas of Hazara and Derajat, social norms more closely resembling those in Punjab and Kashmir may be discerned. Clan groups remain important, but mainly as social networks, particularly for marriages. Chitral has a separate language and culture of its own; a visible difference crossing over from Dir is that the carrying of arms is uncommon. Most distinct are the indigenous Kalash, people now confined to three small valleys in Chitral. Their way of life is rooted in the worship of ancestral spirits and trees. Their unique customs attract a lot of attention from visitors. However, due to the conversions of the Kalash to Islam, their age-old traditions are rapidly becoming extinct.

Around 68 per cent of the households in NWFP are Pukhtu speaking, eighteen per cent are Hindko speaking while Seraiki is the mother tongue of four per cent. Around eight per cent of households speak local languages, such as Kohwar in Chitral district, while Urdu and Punjabi speaking migrants account for only two per cent of the households.

Pukhtoon Society

The Pukhtoon society comprises both the people of the tribal areas and the settled districts of NWFP. The tribal society has been the focus of many studies as it has kept alive the true Pukhtoon ethos. The Pukhtoon of the settled districts have however been subject to external influence and have moderated some of the more traditional aspects of their culture and customs. The Yousafzai, Muhammadzai and Khalil tribes belong to the settled districts and have limited links in the tribal areas. All other Pukhtoon tribes of the settled districts have extensive affections and consanguninal ties with the tribal Pukhtoons.

The Pukhtoon society is individualistic despite the rigid behavior prescribed by clan membership. While Pashto speaking people constitute one cultural and social entity, Pukhtoon society is divided into tribes, based on genealogies. The tribes are sub-divided into Khels, which may be equated with clans. Within the Khels, the basic division is the expanded family group. The leader of each family group is called a Malik, and the most important of a group of Maliks is designated as the leading Malik of the Khel. The usual object of allegiance is the Malik, and in settled districts, a Khan. They gain their title by their ability to lead followers in public affairs. A Pukhtoon Malik is however no more than a first among equals, and acquires the status through personal merit and the ability to inspire fellow tribesmen. Primogeniture is not recognized, and leadership is accorded to the most capable.

The social structure in the settled districts has altered a great deal from the tribal order. The Khans have lost much of their original leadership role in the settled districts. Agriculture is a notable characteristic of the culture of both the settled and tribal areas. In the former, it is however more developed in terms of irrigation, cultivation of cash crops and utilization of modern technology. The literacy rate is higher in the settled districts, especially for women. The trend towards having nuclear rather than extended families is also more pronounced in the settled districts.

Jirga(Pukhtoon Assembly)

The Jirga is the Pukhtoon assembly in which all public and private affairs are settled. The Jirga, of which the Khan is the head, now contends with the state judiciary in the settled districts. Rules of the federal and provincial governments are enforced through state intervention. The decisions of the village Jirga in the districts have to be reinforced by the court of law if the law enforcement authorities have also registered the case. Unlike in the tribal areas, a legal permit is required for the manufacture and possession of arms and ammunition. The Hujra is traditionally a male club and social centre, which exists in every village of the tribal as well as settled areas. It is the focus of community opinions and actions. While Hujras exist in the villages of the settled districts as well, they have lost much of their functional importance.
Traditionally, the conduct of Pukhtoons was guided by a code of honor called the Pukhtunwali. The foremost commandment of the Pukhtunwali is Badal or revenge (revenge is a dish which tastes better cold, Pukhtoon proverb). The obligations to take revenge for wrong falls not only upon the man who has suffered it, but also upon his family and tribe. Insults and retaliation hence involve clans and perpetuate blood feuds. The most frequent causes of trouble are money, women and land (zar, zan, and zamin). In rare instance, feuds are terminated when the weaker party throws itself on the mercy of its enemy, called Nanawati or acceptance of a bonafide truce, when blood money may be accepted in lieu of revenge. The third component of Pukhtunwali is Melmastia, or hospitality towards a guest, stranger, or an enemy if he seeks it. A formal escort or assurance of safety to a guest or enemy is called Badragga. The Pukhtunwali provides for law and order in a harsh environment, and is still a strong force in the tribal areas.

Women are intelligent and aggressive within the limits prescribed by custom. They play an important role in arranging marriages and alliances between families. Women also provide the practical means of implementing Melmastia. Women of the working classes are responsible for domestic work, some outdoors. They do not observe Purdah in the same way as the affluent classes. With modernization, more and more women have emerged into the working world and can be found performing well in offices and industries
Family

An attractive feature of the Pukhtun way of life is the joint family system, which signifies their deep love for the family's solidarity and welfare. The desire for communal life emanates from a consideration of economic security and integrity. All the family members, even the married sons, live jointly in a house large enough to separately accommodate each married couple under the authority of the father who as head of the family, manages the family affairs and exercises an immense influence in his own domain.

All the earning hands of the family, married as well as unmarried, contribute their share of income to the common pool of resources. All expenses on food, clothing, education, health, birth, marriages and deaths are defrayed from the common fund. The mantle of authority falls on the eldest son's shoulders after the death of the father or when old age renders him unable to discharge his functions. The internal management of the household rests with the mother who exercises her authority within her own sphere of influence. The joint family system, however, is gradually giving way to individualistic trends under the impact of modern influence. It is losing its hold, particularly in educated classes and well off sections.

Favourite Places:

NWFP is exceptionally rich in variegated sights for tourist attraction. The gorgeous plains, snow capped high mountains, gushing springs, splendid waterfalls, spell bound lakes and charming networks of rivers are the valuable sources of aesthetic as well as visual beauty for the tourists.

The mountains to the north, particularly the Himalayas, Hindu Kush and Karakoram are amongst the most spectacular in Pakistan, offering some of the best opportunities for trekking and climbing in the world. The north half of the province consists of five river valleys running roughly parallel, north to south namely Chitral, Dir , Swat , Hazara and Kaghan. These valleys are on the northern edge of the monsoon belt, which is why they are fairly green and partly wooded in their southern sections.

The contiguity of province with the Central Asian region and Xingjian province of China attracted many immigrants, businessmen, warriors and fortune seekers in different ages. Among them some used to settle while some moved towards the other sides of the river Indus.

Peshawar valley and its surrounding areas had been the melting spot for different civilizations, the interaction among different races and their co-existence led to a rich cultural heritage. The glimpses of which are evident from the Ghandhara archaeological sites at Gur Ghattree Peshawar, Takht-Bhai(Mardan), Shahbaz Ghari(Mardan), Nimo Gram Buddhist Stupa (Swat), and collection of Ghandhara Art preserved at Swat Museum, Chakdara Museum(Dir Lower) and Peshawar Museum.

Of Struggling Times

People drag a pipe to get water from a government funded water supply along a drain covered with garbage at a slum area in Karachi. Pakistanis are facing shortage of clean drinking water due to lowest level of water in the country's dams, according to Pakistani Meteorological Department.

Children attend an evening class under poor lighting in a makeshift classroom set up in shops in slums of Karachi. There are hundreds of such private schools all over the country where students are deprived of basic facilities like desks and school buildings. The government claims it is paying attention to education and health, but on the ground the reality is different.

Pakistani farmers thrash their wheat crop in Dadu, 300 kilometers from Karachi. Pakistan is facing serious crisis of wheat shortage which soars up the prices of wheat flour and its products. Pakistan government import wheat to meet the shortage.

A firefighter struggles to extinguish a fire at a paint factory in Karachi

Pakistani children ask for food during food distribution in Rawalpindi. Pakistan is on a rapid trajectory to failure as a democratic and stable state, and needs a boost of $4 billion in aid and loans each year to begin turning around, a private foreign affairs group has concluded.

Social transformation

Taliban-type forces in all major cities threaten schools to stop educating girls else they will be bombarded.

IT is no secret that today’s Pakistan is different from what it was before the 1980s. Society’s norms are changing, especially from the perspective of women. Intolerance is slowly increasing towards working women, an issue that must be addressed.

This attitude towards women cannot be resolved simply by increasing the number of female parliamentarians. Real empowerment of women can only come about when there is strong legal protection provided to women at the workplace. In addition, it is necessary for the media to monitor the treatment of women.

The present government tried to empower women through working on some useful legislation. This year in February the cabinet approved two bills making sexual harassment at the workplace a punishable offence. The first bill mandates every public, private or semi-private organisation to have a code of conduct against sexual harassment at the workplace and to constitute a three-member committee to handle individual complaints. It establishes the authority of the said committee and related major and minor penalties.

The second bill is an amendment to the Pakistan Penal Code through Section 509A which defines sexual harassment and makes it a punishable offence. Although the bill awaits parliamentary approval, women in the country are hopeful regarding an improvement in their status.

However, there is a gap between the government’s promises and actions. This is clear from a case at the Pakistan Audit Department where a senior officer was accused of sexually harassing a female colleague under his supervision. The department’s preliminary inquiry established the charges against the officer and recommended disciplinary action against him. Later, when the department sought permission from the competent authority, which in this case was the prime minister, to proceed against the said officer, the accused requested an inquiry officer other than one from the PAD. Interestingly, this inquiry officer exonerated the accused on the basis that the complainant had not submitted a written complaint. No credence was given to the fact that the accused could not produce any witness in his favour during the proceedings while over a dozen witnesses had appeared on behalf of the prosecution.

Furthermore, the extra-departmental inquiry is in contravention of the draft bill which only provides for an independent ombudsperson for the complainant under the aegis of the National Commission for the Safety of Women if she is not getting a sympathetic hearing from her own department. What is worse, the Establishment Division is even considering the accused for promotion to BPS-21.

Given this situation, one wonders what will happen to the bill once it comes up for discussion in parliament. With the likes of Maulana Fazlur Rahman and his brother or tribal chiefs sitting in the assembly, there is the danger that they might extract major concessions from the government before the bill is finally passed. After all, parliamentarians such as Israrullah Zehri could always justify changes or their resistance to women’s empowerment on the basis of archaic tribal traditions or societal attitudes.

But then the attitude of society is something that evolves or is constructed by many factors such as the approach of policymakers, opinion-makers and others. Human agency is critical in constructing social attitudes and norms. Should we forget that a few decades ago, especially during the 1960s and the 1970s, we had a different social attitude with greater liberalism than what we see today?

Liberal society then was the result of attitudes of the critical human agency. Watching some television dramas these days will explain the changes that key sectors such as the media are bringing to society. For instance, there are plays in which we are shown love affairs between the maidservant and the master of the house. The underlying message is that the lady of the house, who is probably educated and a working woman, is not good enough when compared to the less educated or illiterate maid.

Such an exercise in perception-formation feeds into attitudes at the workplace. At the risk of generalising matters it could be said that the man or boss could begin to perceive educated women at the workplace as those who are not attending to their homes and can, hence, be mistreated.

Such representation of women in the media is also an indicator of the larger danger of a kind of radicalisation in society that has gradually begun to threaten life in the country, especially in urban centres. Given such representation, is it strange that families of working women should be threatened in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore? The other day I was talking to a friend who was in a dilemma over not being able to send her four-year-old daughter to school as it had received threats from militants in Lahore. Taliban-type forces in all major cities threaten schools to stop educating girls else they will be bombarded.

Should civil society not do anything about it? The answer is no. Given the threat of radicalisation, civil society must congregate to protest and show its resolve to fight radical elements in society. Those claiming to be the soldiers of God should not get the right to determine the future of state and society for their own power interests. Such an exercise must go hand in hand with a movement for bringing greater justice and fairness to state institutions.

It goes without saying that change will only come about when the media adopts a more constructive attitude vis-à-vis social issues. Women constitute half this country’s population. They deserve a better work environment and treatment. Portraying those who are capable as useless creatures is nothing but a travesty of justice. Without capable women, who are protected by the legal system, state and society will not be able to grow.

Injustice and economic health

Child abuse often occurs if parents are not watchfull

ECONOMIC factors usually form the prime reasons for most of the violence in the country. In the case of terror though, the impact of economics has been isolated from that of the extremist view of religion and the sources that promote it. In fact, there is a need to identify various factors that converge to give rise to violence if there has to be a resolution on whether the fruits of economic growth will actually stem the rising brutality.
Various forms of violence include domestic violence against women, rape, murder, child labour and abuse and the killings of blood relatives and others, to name a few. While it is true that people in an economically developed environment would be less prone to these crimes, it is important to ascertain if there is a purely bivariate cause-effect relationship between economic development and violence. If not, then the issue necessitates identification of other variables that should be addressed ahead of or along with efforts for economic improvement.
A case in point reported last month was that of a young Indian woman who sold her newborn son for $120 to pay her medical bill. Reportedly, she had been abandoned by her husband. The question is, can it just be the economy? How can a mother part with her infant for a reason that is hardly life-threatening? Is a robust young woman incapable of generating financial resources? Her defeatist attitude reflects some hidden facts, such as an unstable emotional state, which although exacerbated by economic demands clearly transcends them.
In another incident, some months ago, a woman put her four children up for sale in a bazaar in interior Sindh as her ‘innocent’ husband was in prison. The act certainly got her enough mileage as the provincial government had her husband released – she used an economic tool successfully in her pursuit of justice.
In the first case, there appears to be a lack of desire to retain the child for reasons best known to the woman. In the second one, the woman wanted her family together and successfully attained her goal. There are scores of impoverished families in the country but not many come up with the repugnant idea of selling off their children.
Child abuse often occurs if parents are not watchful. For many, child labour is abominable. Nonetheless given the lack of educational and economic opportunities available the poor start preparing their children for a vocation from a young age, just like the affluent send children to school. However, it is up to the parents to select a place that is congenial. If these children are abused, both economic hardships and indifferent parents are to be blamed.
Killing children and other family members is believed to be yet another manifestation of poverty. Among scores of the impoverished, a negligible percentage resorts to this inhuman behaviour. There is, therefore, a need to rule out the influence of drugs and alcohol, gambling, other forms of crime, and poor intra-family relationships before correlating poverty and killing. This is a subject of case-specific studies undertaken in order to identify specific variables that cannot be generalised.
Since domestic physical violence against women is more common among the poor and low-income groups, it is connected to income levels. However, other factors include the belief that women are inferior and can be beaten up by men; an aspect supported by an inadequately informed clergy. Physically strong women are trained not to resist as it is a ‘divine’ right bestowed upon their men. In this context, the issue cannot be dealt with unless women are armed with ample knowledge about the interpretation of religious texts which, in turn, requires education and economic empowerment. Should we then expect this violence to continue until indigent women have easy access to development?
Actually, this violence will go on for as long as we continue to ignore the influence of male supremacy and distorted ideas. Wrong notions have to be confronted with an aggressive mass campaign about the rightful status of women in society. Mass information campaign will equip women to stand up to injustices at individual and family levels. There is a dire need to enable the tyrannised to rise to various socio-economic levels so that tyranny is quashed before or alongside economic growth efforts. Needless to say, fighting injustice is not contingent on the state of our economic health.

The high cost of medical negligence

The state-run healthcare sector is in a state of shambles

THE tragic report of a young woman who gave birth under traumatic conditions at the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Hassanabdal and had to be shifted to another medical facility raises many questions about the state of the health delivery system in the country. The relatives of the woman, who subsequently died, have alleged negligence on the part of the medical staff at the tehsil hospital. The medical superintendent there has denied the charges. While it is too early to comment on this case, it is a fact that patients at public-sector health institutions do not get proper medication or a high level of professional care or satisfactory surgical and diagnostic facilities. It is no surprise then that there are many patients who, like the young woman mentioned above, suffer at government hospitals. While we can blame individuals for this state of affairs, it is clear that it is our policymakers’ criminal neglect of hospitals in the public sector that has led to this situation. They have failed to establish a health system in Pakistan that provides decent services to citizens who cannot afford the high charges levied by private hospitals. The tehsil hospital in the news did not even have a blood bank.

Nevertheless, we cannot absolve the medical staff of all blame. Inadequate hospital facilities should not be an excuse for physicians, surgeons and others in the profession to shirk from their responsibility of caring for patients to the best of their ability by routinely monitoring them. This, after all, is crucial to the healing and recovery process. It is also important that all public complaints of negligence or poor treatment should be addressed — even if these are based on faulty premises. Every hospital should be required to have a department that attends to complaints in an honest and impartial manner. If negligence is estab-lished, corrective measures should be taken and compensation given. The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council has a role to play in such cases. After all it is the final arbiter in disputes where a doctor is in the dock.

2009 dawns as deadly year for journalists

DawnNews report Tariq Malik was killed by assailants in Lahore last month

Thirty-five journalists were killed on the job during the first quarter of 2009 – 15 more than during the same period last year, media watchdog group Press Emblem Campaign (PEC).

The Geneva-based organisation also listed a slew of journalists who have been abducted, imprisoned or detained in various countries in what it described overall as a ‘serious deterioration in media work and media protection.’
Pakistan was the deadliest region for journalists, with five killed so far this year, followed by conflict-torn Gaza Strip and Iraq, with four deaths apiece, the group said in its latest monthly report.
Journalists were also killed in 13 other countries during the first three months of this year, including in Afghanistan, Madagascar, Mexico and Sri Lanka. Among those being detained are US journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling, who are being held at a facility in Pyongyang after being apprehended last month on North Korea’s border with China.
The PEC called for their immediate release along with others including Roxana Saber, who has been held in a Tehran prison since late January.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday appealed for the release of 31-year-old Saber, who was arrested on the orders of an Iranian revolutionary court.
The PEC also highlighted the plights of journalists kidnapped in Pakistan, Sierra Leone and Somalia.

‘1,838 children abused in 2008’

SAHIL, an NGO against sexual abuse of children, has its published annual report titled ‘Cruel Numbers 2008’ which has recorded 1,838 total incidents of sexual abuse of children in the country.

According to details, Punjab topped in recording 1,254 sexual abuse cases following Sindh with 453 cases, 81 cases in the federal capital, 35 cases in NWFP,10 cases in Balochistan and five cases were reported in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

According to the report, 1,298 girls and 540 boys have fallen victims to sexual abuse with the rate of 5.3 children sexually-abused in the country. The report further added that 220 girls and 126 boys were abducted with an intention of gang-rape. Almost 12 girls and 20 boys were murdered after gang-rapes, the report said while adding that 140 girls and 54 boys were attempted to abuse sexually and 21 girls and 18 boys were murdered after frustrated-attempts to abuse them sexually.

The report further said that 3,968 people were involved in sexual abuse of children in which 2,986 people were close relatives of the children while 650 were strangers, 71 were relatives and 208 women helped sexual abuse of girls in the country.

The report said that 82 sexually-abused children were of the ages between 1-5 years, 281 were of 6-10 years, 451 were of 11-15 years, 204 were of 16-18 years and ages of 820 children were not known.

Sahil Coordinator said the data was collected with the aim to know the reality so that relevant strategies for prevention, intervention and protection could be made in the future. He said the aim of producing this report was to inform the general public and child policy-makers with the incidents of child sexual abuse occurring in Pakistan. He said the child sexual abuse was not an individual or family problem rather it was a serious concern for the whole society. He said the data further revealed that almost three children per day were sexually abused in the country and the boys were as vulnerable as girls to the incident of sexual abuse.

Shared opportunities

History has often proved that the vital nature of freshwater provides a powerful incentive for cooperation.

Faced with increasing population, growing food demand and climate change, water is becoming a progressively scarce and fluctuating resource. As a result, there has been an increasing competition between countries vis-à-vis their right to water. River basins shared by more than one country cover over 45 percent of the world's land surface area. Currently, 263 trans-boundary or international river basins are being shared by two or more countries. Reservoirs of freshwater also move silently below international borders in underground aquifers. Currently, there are more than 270 known trans-boundary aquifers.
In this context, sustainable development and management of water resources are the major short- and long-term challenges. Global warming, which is changing the rainfall patterns and increasing the risk of water-related disasters like floods and droughts, is further worsening the situation. Moreover, glaciers and ice fields – the immense reservoirs of freshwater stored in the world's mountainous and polar regions – are also melting at a fast speed.
It is projected that 1.8 billion people would be living without enough water by 2025, thus competition over this precious resource could become an increasing source of tension – and even conflict – between countries. "Fierce national competition over water resources has prompted fears that water issues contain the seeds of violent conflict. If all the world's peoples work together, a secure and sustainable water future can be ours," opined Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the United Nations.
An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. The UN General Assembly responded by designating March 22, 1993, as the first World Water Day. Thereafter, this day is celebrated every year to focus attention on the importance of freshwater and to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. This year, the theme of the World Water Day is 'Shared Water – Shared Opportunities' and special focus has been placed on trans-boundary waters.
The objective emphasised is that nurturing the opportunities for cooperation in trans-boundary water management can help build mutual respect, understanding and trust between countries, as well as promote peace, security and sustainable economic growth. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) leads the activities of the World Water Day 2009, with the collaboration of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
One of the major aims of water management is to continually reconcile the competing interests of all water users – be they individuals, corporations, interest groups or sovereign entities. The management of water-related conflicts, confrontations, competitions and cooperation is, thus, part of water resource management in its broadest sense. This may range from overseeing peaceful cooperation between users of a resource to facilitating negotiation of disputes between countries. Though shared water resources may be a source of conflict, their joint management should be strengthened and facilitated to promote cooperation between the users.
The World Water Day holds great significance for Pakistan. Melting water from the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindukush glaciers contributes more than 60 to 70 percent to the flows of the Indus River System. The agrarian economy of Pakistan – with about 90 percent of the land being arid, semi-arid or hyper-arid – depends largely on this water for irrigation. The trans-boundary Indus River System has been a hotspot between India and Pakistan since the partition. In 1960, the Indus Water Treaty facilitated by the World Bank, provided the basis for dividing the waters of the Indus Basin Rivers between India and Pakistan.
The Indus Water Treaty gave three eastern rivers – Ravi, Sutlej and Beas – to India and three western rivers – Sindh, Jhelum and Chenab – to Pakistan. As an upper riparian, India is allowed specific uses of water from these rivers, but such projects should not curtail downstream flow in any manner. The generation of hydel electricity is one such use, but it is a highly circumscribed privilege: there should be no reduction of water flow to Pakistan. However, against the provisions of the treaty, India's Baghliar Dam project has badly affected water flows to the Chenab river, thus the venture has resulted in conflict and heightened tension between the two countries.
Another dimension to the issue of trans-boundary water management is that of climate change and global warming. The ever-increasing concern of glacier depletion due to global warming, resulting in decreased flows, threatens agricultural economies in particular. There is a consensus in the scientific community that the Himalayan glaciers are receding faster than glaciers in any other part of the world.
On average, the Indus River System receives up to 80 percent of its flows from snow and glacial melt. This figure is likely to increase considerably over the next two to three decades, followed by decrease in flows due to glacier depletion. The cross-boundary-induced climate changes in the Himalayas pose a serious threat especially to Pakistan; the excessive water that the upper riparian (India) is unable to store will be leashed into the country at a short notice, bringing widespread damage to its assets and agriculture.
The total number of water-related interactions between countries is titled in favour of cooperation: there have been 507 conflict-related events as opposed to 1,228 cooperative ones. This implies that violence over water is not a strategically rational, effective or economically viable option for countries. In the 20th century, only seven minor skirmishes took place between countries over shared water resources, while more than 300 treaties were signed during the same period.
The UN Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses was adopted on May 21, 1997, after 27 years of negotiations. It sets out the basis rights and obligations between countries relating to the management of international watercourses. International water law concerns the rights and obligations that exist, primarily between countries, for the management of trans-boundary water resources. Such legal rules and principles are dedicated to preventing conflict and promoting cooperation of shared water resources. The primary substantive rule of international law is that countries must use their international watercourses in an equitable and reasonable way, and without causing significant harm to their neighbours.
In the context of conflict-ridden Indo-Pak relations, the Indus Water Treaty has a unique standing. It has survived two wars and has functioned well so far. The treaty serves to act as a model for conflict resolution by providing the mechanism for settlement of disputes related to the sharing of waters of the Indus Basin. In the scenario of depleting water supply, major water storage projects are needed to be built and operated with regional collaboration. Regional peace, economic development and cultural preservation can all be strengthened by countries cooperating over water. "Water has the power to move millions of people – let it move us in the direction of peace," said Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the USSR.

World Meterological Day 2009

(.....Weather, climate and the air we breathe.....)

In the efforts to improve our standards of living and economic development, human beings have been slowly destroying the planet’s soil, water, air, and biodiversity, with disastrous human and ecological upshots. The increasing human population and human consumption puts ever more pressure on the world’s ecosystems and natural resources, as people search for ways to increase production. The emission of greenhouse gases and aerosols into the atmosphere also impacts long-term climate change. The scientific community is generally of the consensus that urban growth, land-surface modification and climate change, all spurred by an explosion in global population, are altering the composition of our air. Those changes can dramatically affect weather and climate and, in turn, our health and that of ecosystems.
Numerous scientific studies link air pollution to respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses, cancer and nervous system disorders, as well as airborne and heat-related diseases. The atmosphere deposits contaminants in our waterways and on our land, harming not only people but also animals and plants. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates in its report “Air Quality Guidelines” (2006) that two million people die prematurely every year due to air pollution. The primary culprits are tropospheric ozone and related smog pollutants, particulate matter, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide. These pollutants are responsible for large numbers of death and injury due to respiratory and heart diseases, particularly in developing countries.
The interdependence of the weather-climate system and global pollution is a critically important field of study for the 21st century. The United Nations agency, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) comprises 188 countries and territories and works closely with their national meteorological and hydrological services, particularly in developing countries, to strengthen their abilities to better observe weather, climate and water-related phenomena, to produce forecasts and to make this information widely available on a timely basis. Each year, on 23 March, the WMO, its members and the worldwide meteorological community celebrate world meteorological day around a chosen theme. This year’s theme is “weather, climate and the air we breathe,” to enhance the importance of observing the changes in the atmosphere, analysing the relationship between pollutants and the weather-climate system and then making air-quality forecasts and climate predictions.
In Pakistan, poor air quality has become a point of concern not for environmental enthusiasts or esoteric communities but for the general public due to its economic consequences. According to the World Bank’s Report, “Pakistan Strategic Environmental Assessment” published in September 2007, indoor air pollution alone is the reason for 30,000 child deaths per year, nearly 50 percent of the environmental damage cost is attributed to illness and premature mortality caused by indoor and outdoor air pollution. Around one-third of the cost, or 1.8 percent of GDP, is due to death and illness resulting from waterborne diseases caused by inadequate water supply, sanitation, and hygiene. Using conservative estimates, the report finds that the mean annual cost of environmental degradation is approximately 6 percent of GDP.
On paper, there have been many legislative efforts to attain environmental health in the form of Pakistan Environmental Protection Ordinance 1983, National Environment Quality Standards (NEQS) and National Conservation Strategy Report (NCSR), 1992 but little is done for their enforcement except lip service. Our isolation from the consequences of our actions is more the result of a naive thinking that either our actions would have negligible impact on the surroundings, or that this impact would affect others and not us. It remains to be our gullibility as opposed to reality that the air we breathe knows no boundaries.
The population growth has resulted in a significant increase in vehicle usage and electricity demand—both of which largely require the combustion of fossil fuels, releasing reactive gases into the atmosphere. A flood of vehicles, a consequence of industrialization and urbanization, swarm the roads in the cities all over the country. The vehicles and the industries spew carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and small particles called particulate matter into the atmosphere having hazardous health consequences. Mega cities of Punjab have been facing constant fog problem every winter for quite some years, which may be attributed to transboundary pollution form India. Dense fogs often trap the air pollutants, causing them to accumulate in great quantities—so-called smog. The smog can result in corrosive sulphuric acid droplets that irritate respiratory tracks and cause pervasive environmental damage. Other current sources of human-made pollution include forest and vegetation burning and waste incineration. The poor air quality has agricultural and forestry repercussions as well. Air pollution can damage the cells of trees and plants, harming their leaves and lowering growth rates. The food supplies can also be put to risk.
More consequential effects of greenhouse gas emissions is global warming and climate change, affecting people in a variety of ways: changing the weather, raising sea level, melting glaciers and ice sheets, increasing vulnerabilities to natural disasters and altering the water and food cycles, to name just a few. A warming climate can exacerbate air pollution in a number of ways. Climate change is expected to increase desertification patterns worldwide, thus increasing the risks posed by sand- and dust storms. It also increases the risk of drought, which can lead to more fires and, in turn, more aerosols. Climate-change models indicate that fires will continue to increase in both frequency and intensity with rising global temperatures. On a more local level, higher temperatures can strengthen urban heating, trapping more pollutants within cities. More generally, climate change can exacerbate heat-related pollution events.
Air pollution is a serious threat facing all nations in the 21st century. Working together, meteorologists, hydrologists, atmospheric chemists and environmental scientists must increase their understanding of air pollution and devise coping strategies. There is a need for good regional modelling and cooperation across research disciplines. Because air quality issues cross not only disciplines but also borders, they require international collaboration at the highest levels. Conserving the environment therefore, calls for a multi-pronged participatory strategy, as we all are at once, part of the problem and part of the solution.