NWFP schools’ closure

The shortage of teachers has forced the closure of 367 government-run primary schools for girls and boys across the NWFP, more than 30 of them in Peshawar alone. As a result, over 36,700 students are now out of school, most of them in remote areas where there is no option of taking admission in another school.
The problem lies not in the shortage of teachers per se, but in the fact that the teachers in most of the now-closed schools, which were located in far-flung areas, managed to obtain transfers to other schools of their choice — mainly located in urban areas. Security concerns and transport problems discourage teachers from working in remote areas. Furthermore, teachers in urban areas receive more attractive allowances.
This is an unacceptable state of affairs. The number of educational institutions, primary schools in particular, in the NWFP has always been far from adequate. The situation plummeted in recent years when the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and other militant outfits put schools, particularly those for girls, in their crosshairs. With this threat having been reduced to some extent, it is now essential that schools stay open and, indeed, try to increase the numbers of admissions.
That people want their children to have access to education is evident from the fact that the schools now closed remained functional for many years after their establishment, and were staffed by teachers appointed by the Elementary and Secondary Education department — teachers who have now abandoned their positions and left thousands of students in the lurch. The matter merits urgent attention by the authorities: education is not just a constitutional right but also plays a critical role in lifting people out of poverty and darkness. Proper education is also crucial to ensuring that anarchic elements never, in future, find the province conducive to their activities.

Dismal realities

If anyone remains to be convinced about the truly dismal state of affairs prevailing in the country, they would find ample evidence in a report released on Monday by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. A roundup of the statistics of 2009, the report reads as an indictment of the state’s inability to protect its citizens. Unsurprisingly, terrorist attacks are identified as constituting the greatest threat to fundamental rights. The report estimates that over 3,000 people were killed during the year under review in 2,586 incidents of terrorism across the country, including 108 suicide bombings. Yet the civilian population has not been left unscathed by even the various state-sponsored and state-supported efforts to combat the militants. Meanwhile, the HRCP report refers to complaints about extra-judicial and revenge killings in the aftermath of the Swat operation where in a disturbing trend echoing the Taliban’s tactics, bodies were found strung upside down, bearing warnings that anyone supporting the militants would meet the same fate. Furthermore, the HRCP claims, the principle that military operations against terrorists should be carried out in a manner that does not violate the human rights of combatants and non-combatants was not always followed.
The news is bad in other areas too. As compared to the previous year, 2009 saw a sharp increase in violence against women and religious minorities, while new incidents of ‘enforced disappearances’ continued to be reported from across the country. Crimes such as target killings, kidnapping for ransom, ‘honour’ killings and domestic violence continued to be committed with impunity, with little evidence of success in the state’s efforts to contain them. No one in government appears to recognise that quite apart from terrorism and militancy; there is an urgent need to improve the lot of the people. After years of suffering, the people crave security for their lives, properties, livelihoods and future. The HRCP report estimates that of the 70 million children in the country almost 20.3 million do not go to school. What we will see in future years is an increasingly uneducated and brutalised population that harbours great resentment against the state.

Eradicating polio

Battling the spread of the polio virus and its eventual eradication from the country are among the major public health challenges confronting Pakistan. Though there have been several official polio awareness campaigns and immunisation drives, some lacunae remain which need to be plugged if the virus is to be eliminated.
While discussing anti-polio efforts at the start of the latest eradication campaign in Karachi, the country representative of the World Health Organisation pointed to some of the problems hampering polio eradication efforts, specifically with reference to cases detected in the city. He said that as per available data, most of the cases detected in Karachi were found in people who had come to the metropolis from other parts of the country. He reiterated the need to incorporate the migrant population in the overall anti-polio campaign instead of excluding it from official plans. The WHO official also stressed upon the government to ensure that migrants’ health, education and sanitation needs are met, particularly the provision of drinking water.
Karachi has always been a magnet for migrants from within Pakistan and abroad, primarily due to its status as the country’s economic capital. But ever since the armed forces initiated their operations against militants in the tribal belt and Malakand, a steady trickle of internally displaced persons has also been arriving in the city. It is imperative that those taking refuge in Karachi because of conflict or economic reasons are included in the anti-polio drive. And as Waziristan and Malakand have been relatively pacified, the federal and provincial governments should take the anti-polio drive to these areas, making it a priority to send immunisation teams to far-flung regions. The efficacy of the anti-polio vaccines and drops must also be guaranteed while the authorities should counter the negative propaganda generated by extremist elements regarding the vaccine.
With regard to the tribal areas and Malakand, if the government can prove it holds the welfare of the people dear by immunising their children and looking after their health needs, it may go a long way towards winning hearts and minds.

Load shedding > Nation’s patience

Electricity shortfall rose to a staggering 4,500MW on Wednesday, forcing the Pakistan Electric Power Company to resort to a massive 10-hour unscheduled load shedding across the country.
Karachi suffered eight to 10 hours of power shutdown.
Although figures released by Pepco put the deficit at 3,021MW, the prolonged country-wide load shedding belied those figures.
The company said the total demand was 12,441MW on Wednesday and it generated 9,420MW. Pepco said its thermal units produced 2,550MW, independent power producers contributed 5,535MW and 1,332MW came from the hydel component.
Wapda, however, disputed the figures on hydel generation, saying its peak hour contribution was about 2,500MW, and not 1,332MW as claimed by Pepco.
According to reports reaching , the duration of load shedding was between 12 and 15 hours on Wednesday. This is despite the fact that use of tubewells is at minimum these days as wheat crop has matured in Sindh and the last watering has been completed in Punjab. Had these 200,000 tubewells been operational, rural areas would have been virtually without electricity.
The textile industry called for a strike on Thursday on other accounts, but the situation was not any better than a shutdown on Wednesday either.
“No one now knows when will electricity go and come, and for how long. All this is taxing the industry of its financial promise,” he said.
The Karachi Electric Supply Company suffered a serious blow to its generation capacity as the Pakistan State Oil refused to continue fuel supply to the power utility on loan.
KESC’s shortfall reached 500MW on Wednesday.
While industrial areas faced about six hours of loadshedding, power outages stretched up to 10 hours in residential areas of the city.
The situation drew the attention of Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad who called both the KESC CEO and PSO MD to the Governor’s House and told them that people must not suffer because of an unsettled technical dispute between the two companies.

Growing Suicide Attacks

An additional number of 216 Pakistanis have so far been killed in 15 incidents of suicide bombings across Pakistan in the first 70 days of this year, compared with the first 70 days of 2009 during which 11 such assaults were carried out.
According to available facts and figures, Pakistan has seen an unprecedented rise in the number of suicide attacks and subsequent killings during the first six weeks of 2010, which killed 321 people and injured over 500 in 15 suicide bombings that took place across Pakistan in the first 70 days of 2010 (between January 1 and March 12), showing 216 more deaths compared with the first 70 days of 2009 (between January 1 and March 12) during which 105 people were killed. Therefore, the daily average killing rate for the first 70 days of 2010 comes to four and a half people while the weekly killing rate stands at 10 people. According to the data compiled by the Punjab home department, 145 people were killed in five incidents of suicide bombings in January this year; another 101 people lost their lives in seven such attacks in February while 75 people have so far been killed in the first 12 days of 2010.
At least 45 people lost their lives in the latest suicide attacks in the Cantonment area of Lahore on January 12, killing 45 people, including at least half a dozen Army Jawans. Hardly three days earlier (on March 12),at least 18 people were killed, including nine policemen when a suicide bomber riding a car ripped through rented offices of the Special Intelligence Agency (SIA) in the Model Town Society. However, the deadliest suicide attack of 2010 was carried out on January 1 when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden double cab pickup in the middle of the volleyball ground in Lakki Marwat, killing 105 people. The dead included policemen, Frontier Constabulary personnel as well as volley ball players. Another significant incident of suicide bombing took place on February 4, 2010, when three US military personnel were killed in a suicide car bombing attack on a forces convoy in Koto area of Dir Lower. The dead included three schoolgirls and a Frontier Corps soldier. The blast took place near a girls’ high school that pulled the building down, injuring 130 others.
Before the dawn of 2010, the year 2009 had proved to be the bloodiest one for the people of Pakistan since Islamabad joined hands with Washington in the war on terror. At least 1,217 innocent people were killed and 2,305 injured in 80 bloody attacks carried out by human bombs in 12 months of 2009 (between January and December 2009). The last year had proved to be the bloodiest in terms of the number of suicide attacks and the subsequent death toll since the 9/11 episode, especially after the Lal Masjid operation carried out by the Army in July 2007. Of the 1,217 innocent Pakistanis who lost their lives in suicide bombings in 2009, the number of civilian casualties stood at 863 while the remaining 354 martyred belonged to the security and law-enforcement agencies. Of them, 137 belonged to the police, 102 were Army officers and Jawans, 51 were the FC personnel, 28 were staff members of the Inter-Services Intelligence, 22 belonged to the Khasadar Force, 12 belonged to the Pakistan Rangers and two others were employees of the Pakistan Navy. On average, around 72 civilians and 30 security and law-enforcement agencies’ personnel lost their lives every month in 2009 due to suicide bombings.
Authorities investigating the unending spate of suicide bombings are of the view most of these attacks have been carried out by the Punjabi Taliban belonging to four sectarian-cum-Jihadi groups which are working in tandem with the Pashtun-dominated Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. They believe several South Punjab-based members of the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami, who had taken part in the Afghan war, have now tied up with the TTP to carry out suicide attacks across Pakistan, especially targeting key military installations. South Punjab has grabbed the attention of Pakistani authorities over the past few months because of involvement of the Taliban in a spate of Fidayeen-style suicide bombings, including the one targeting the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi on October 10, 2009

Climbing Crime Rate

Overall crime rate in the country is today higher than what it was two years ago. Official figures prove that the overall crime rate, both at the Centre and in all the provinces, has increased despite tall claims made by the present federal or provincial rulers.
The ANP-led Frontier government had done considerably well as it did not let the crime go as high as had been seen at the Centre or in other provinces. In case of the NWFP, it is interesting to see that the cases of rape/Zina have decreased during the ANP government as against the MMA government of Akram Khan Durrani.
The crime of rape/Zina has also seen a decrease in Balochistan, which is today ruled by the PPP but was previously under the command of the PML-Q-MMA coalition. Figures show that despite all the resources at its disposal in Islamabad that comes directly under Prime Minister Gilani and Interior Minister Rehman Malik, the crime situation has been worse than before. Strangely, the rape/Zina cases in Islamabad during the last two years were far more than this crime in the whole of Balochistan.
Recently, The News ran a story on prices of daily use commodities, which also shows an enormous increase during the first two years of the present democratic set-up as against the prices in early 2008. It is also a failure of the political parties and their governments to ameliorate the worsening conditions of the ordinary citizens, and ensure the safety of their life and property.
Official figures show that the countrywide reported crime during 2006-07 include a total of 20,082 cases of murder, which increased to 24,036 in 2008 and 2009. Rape/Zina cases registered in 2006-07 were 4,300 as against 5,712 in 2008-09. There were 19,909 kidnapping cases in 2006-07, but this crime rose to 29,602 in 2008 and 2009. The crime of kidnapping for ransom, which has become a business owing to governments’ apathy, also saw a rise from 569 in 2006-07 to 1,058 in 2008-09. Car theft cases have also seen a phenomenal increase from 42,056 in 2006 and 2007 to 61,108 during 2008-09. The incidents of dacoity, robbery, burglary and other crimes have also increased during the last two years. However, it is interesting to note that the cases of cattle theft have decreased from 22,421 to 18,100.
Punjab: The Punjab government has been pathetic in checking crime. Total recorded crime in 2006 and 2007 was 342,149 and 344,561, respectively as against 374,076 and 383,383 in 2008 and 2009 respectively. It happened despite the government’s claims of good governance and merit based appointments in the police department.
Details show that in 2006-07 a total of 10,211 murder cases were registered, which have been increased to 11,190 in 2008-09. The rape/Zina cases increased from 3,309 to 4,611, kidnapping crime from 15,569 to 23,211, kidnapping for ransom incidents from 272 to 347 and the number of cars stolen increased from 24,622 to 35,258. However, cattle theft cases have been reduced from 20,702 in 2006-07 to 16,352 in 2008-09.
Sindh: The total crime in 2006-07 has risen from 55,598 and 60,414 to 77,296 and 90,202 in 2008-2009 respectively. The murder cases in Sindh rose from 4,232 to 5,428, rape/Zina cases from 452 to 487, case of kidnapping from 3,010 to 4,552, incidents of kidnapping for ransom from 193 to 375 and car theft cases from 13,925 to 20,376.
NWFP: The Frontier government has done comparatively well by not letting the crime go too high. The total recorded crime during 2006 and 2007, when the province was led by the MMA government, was 224,649, which has risen to 228,087 in 2008 and 2009. The details show that the murder cases in 2006-07 were 4,760 but rose to 5,985 in 2008-09. What is interesting to note is the decrease in the rape/Zina cases in the province from 323 during the last two years of the MMA regime to 270 during the first two years of the ANP’s government.
The cases of kidnapping, however, saw a rise from 1,027 to 1,391 and the cases of kidnapping from ransom enormously increased from 91 to 249. The cars stolen in the province were 1,269 in 2006-07 but in 2008-09 this number has increased to 1,678. The Frontier has comparatively less rate of stolen cars and cases of kidnapping for ransom; however, certain areas of the province are considered as sanctuaries for kidnappers and car thieves.
Balochistan: The province of Balochistan has generally been a low crime rate province, but it too showed an increase in crime rate during the last two years. The total crime registered in 2006 and 2007 in the province was 7,696 and 8,343 respectively. Now these numbers have increased to 9,830 and 10,215 in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
The details show that the murder cases in Balochistan have increased from 703 to 1,211 in the last two years; however, the rape/Zina cases saw a decrease from 66 to 44. The case of kidnapping increased from 258 to 389, but the incidents of kidnapping from ransom jumped up from mere 6 in 2006-07 to 58 in 2008-09. The cases of car theft also enormously increased in the province, where a total of 1,216 vehicles were stolen in 2006-07, but in 2008-09 such reported cases rose to 2,261.
Islamabad: The crime in Islamabad has also increased despite the fact that it comes under the direct command of the president and the prime minister and the interior minister. Despite all kind of resources available with the federal government and Islamabad authorities, the crime in Islamabad has risen from 4,248 and 4,397 in 2006 and 2007 respectively to 5,644 and 5,552 in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
The murder cases rose from 176 to 222, the Zina/rape cases rose from 150 to 238, the crime of kidnapping increased from 35 to 59, the incidents of kidnapping for ransom raised from mere 7 in 2006-07 to 26 during the last two years whereas the number of cars stolen from Islamabad increased from 1,027 to 1,535 during this period.

The Replica Factories of Darra Adam Khel

Located in between Kohat and Peshawar, Darra is famous for manufacturing and sale of local made weapons. The skilled craftsmen of Darra are able to manufacture exact replicas of any kind of gun in the world.
The skills of these craftsmen are passed down from father to son. A Good craftsman in Darra can earn 10-15,000 and an ordinary one can earn 3-5,000 rupees. Even the arms dealers in the cities buy stocks after ordering them first.
These craftsmen gain experience in manufacturing different parts of weapons. With their experience, they can analyse the parts and sizes of a new weapon after simply looking at it. Many types of Pistols, Revolvers, Double Barrelled and Single Barrelled weapons are manufactured here.

Polythene Threat

Polythene bags continuing to blot Pakistan’s landscape demonstrates how the resolution of such issues requires not just political will and efficient law-enforcement but also the cooperation of citizens.
These non-biodegradable ‘conveniences’ constitute a serious environmental and health hazard. Apart from being an eyesore, they choke drains and sewerage systems; upon entering rivers or the sea, they have an adverse impact on aquatic life; buried underground, they never decompose; and when burnt, they produce organic, toxic pollutants. It is not that the harm caused by polythene bags has not been recognised; their sale and use has been banned in Balochistan since 2001, while both Punjab and Sindh have also promulgated ordinances prohibiting the manufacture, sale and use of polythene bags below a certain thicknesses. Nevertheless, the problem of shutting down units that manufacture the material and ensuring that people refuse to use them has proved too great for the authorities, and the bags continue to be widely available.
What is needed is political will: there is no dearth of laws to control the unauthorised manufacture and use of polythene bags but they are not being enforced with sufficient strictness. The issue has even come up for discussion a number of times in the National Assembly but has failed to garner the lawmakers’ attention.
It is time to formulate a policy at the federal level to control this menace, and to look into the environment ministry’s proposal to encourage oxo-biodegradable bags by reducing the duty on the import of the oxo-biodegradable additive used in their manufacture. Yet such efforts on the governmental level will have minimal impact unless citizens do their part by refusing to use polythene bags. Society needs to make an effort towards eradicating this menace, for in doing so it shall be investing in an environmentally clean future.

Lower Sindh - Heaven of pre-historic relics

Lower Sindh and Lasbela in Balochistan hold relics of pre-historic periods, said noted scholar and archaeologist from Italy, Dr Prof Paolo Biagi.
He was delivering a lecture on ‘Recent research on the pre-history of lower Sindh and Lasbela’ at the Sindhi Language Authority. The lecture was jointly organised by the Sindh Education Trust, the SLA and Institute of Sindhology.
He said relics as old as 7,000 years could be found in Gadani, Lasbela and Karachi’s coastal area.
Coastal area was connected with Mehargarh with regards to old relics. Tharo Hill in Thatta district was of great historical value and importance as far as pre-history period was concerned, the scholar said and added that the triangular stones found at Tharo Hill were not only beautiful but also invaluable.
He said that he would excavate Tharo hill in January next in collaboration with the Archaeology Department of Sindh University for the discovery of new evidences regarding pre-history period.
Vice Chancellor, Sindh University, Mazharul Haq Siddiqui praised Prof Biagi for conducting this important research work for discovering new chapter of the cultural history of Sindh.
He said that the research work of the great scholar had opened new avenues for further research on the pre-history period of Sindh and exhorted the students, especially of Archaeology Department to follow into the footsteps of Prof Biagi.
Prof Aijaz Qureshi spoke on the research work of Dr Biagi and stressed the need for exhaustive research in the field of archaeology.
Chairperson Sindhi Language Authority, Dr Fehmida Hussain on behalf of the host institutions, thanked the scholar on his informative lecture and said that the authority will always cooperate and collaborate in such lectures.
The Director Sindhology, Shoukat Shoro also spoke on the occasion. A large number of writers and archaeology students attended the lectures and asked questions from Prof Biagi.

On the verge of Destruction

The Ghazi Ghat jungle is rapidly losing its geographical features, thanks to grabbers, encroachers, timber thieves and last but not the least, the government itself as a Danish School, the brainchild of the incumbent chief minister, is likely to be constructed on a chunk of land gradually ‘snatched’ from the jungle.
The vanishing jungle spreading over 2,100 acres on the eastern bank of the River Indus was once considered the `darkest’ place in this district owing to its thick plantation.
Gangs of alleged criminals preferred making it their haven. The secret abodes also helped the gangsters precisely execute ‘jungle warfare’ against any possible invasion, mainly by the personnel of police or other law-enforcement agencies, in hot pursuits.
There are four jungles in this district which are under the control of the Punjab Forestry Department. The Essanwala jungle spreads over 7,072 acres, Ghazi Ghat 2,106, Ahmed Mohana 2,306 and Bait Sohni 698 acres.
Though the government announces plantation drive twice a year, not even a single sapling is planted in the fast shrinking Ghazi Ghat jungle over the years.
Rather, the existing trees are being chopped down one after the other, giving the once most shadowy place in this district a ‘bald’ look.
The environmental degradation owing to cutting of trees is yet another factor being perpetually overlooked by the government agencies responsible for preserving the forests. A lot of wildlife has lost its natural habitat and warnings of eco-warriors are going unheeded.
According to forestry parameters, plantation of around 725 trees per acre is requisite to give that piece of land status of a jungle.
But, during a recent visit to the jungle, this correspondent found that this 2,106-acre jungle did not have roughly 2,100 trees in toto and has turned into a terrain dotted with scattered farms and settlements.

New Discoveries

Afghan Talibans attempted to destroy a beautiful first century Buddha statue carved into a rock in the NWFP, located on the border of Afghanistan, but failed in their attempt and ended up destroying a nearby rock.

The unearthing of another Buddhist-era site in the formerly beleaguered Swat valley comes as pleasant news.
Initial excavations by an Italian archaeology mission at Kandak and Kota in the Barikot area have apparently revealed treasures that include prehistoric rock carvings, paintings of social and hunting scenes and pottery specimens “preserved in good condition,” according to the mission’s director. The Italians deserve kudos for continuing their work under the most trying circumstances during the past many years since Swat became the scene of utter lawlessness because of militancy in the area. Indeed, Italian archaeologists are no strangers to the valley where they have had a presence since the discovery of the riveting Butkara site in the late 1950s in the backyard of the administrative capital, Saidu Sharif.
No doubt, the many foreign archaeologists, particularly the Italians in Swat and the French in Mehrgarh, Balochistan, have played an important role in preserving Pakistan’s historical treasures. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the role of the national archaeology department as the custodian of these and other historical sites. For instance, we have not heard of the fate of the artifacts housed in the Swat Museum at Saidu and the Chakdara Museum on the road to Dir.
Such concern is justified when one considers that a giant, 130-foot-high Buddha rock carving in Swat’s Jahanabad area was dynamited by the Taliban in September 2007. It was the tallest Buddha carving in South Asia next only to the Bamiyan masterpieces in Afghanistan, which had met a similar fate at the hands of the Taliban in that country. As has been underscored before, it is essential that we hear from the official custodians whether or not our national heritage in Swat remains in safe hands. So far there has been nothing but silence from them.

Plastic bags - Danger to Environment

Polythene bags cause environmental pollution if they are not collected and disposed of properly. Leftover used plastic shoppers chock drainage systems and blot the landscape. The practice of burning them is also extremely harmful to human and animal health.

Despite the existence of laws banning production and sale of polythene bags in three provinces of the country, the industry continues to flourish, choking drainage systems in major cities and blotting the landscape in every nook and corner of the country.
Ironically, the issue did come up for discussion more than once in the present National Assembly, but failed to attract attention of lawmakers who let it go without seeking any policy statement by the environment minister.
Asenior official of the environment ministry said there was no dearth of laws to control unauthorised use of polythene bags, but it needed political will on the part of government. The official said Pakistan was probably the only country in the world where polythene bags were used with impunity.
The official argued that the federal government needed to come up with a plan to fight the menace of plastic shopping bags.
Led by Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh had enacted necessary laws to discourage use of plastic shopping bags, but circumstantial evidence suggests there is no let up, and the industry continues to pollute the environment. The government of the NWFP is yet to do necessary legislation in this regard.
According to official documents available the Balochistan government was the first one to promulgate an ordinance on March 17, 2001, to prohibit the sale and use of polythene bags in the province.
Next was the government of Punjab which promulgated an ordinance on Feb 18, 2002, to prohibit manufacture, sale, use and import of black polythene bags or any other polythene bag below 15 micron thickness in the province. However, anyone who has recently travelled on the G.T. road could easily see plastic bags littering both sides of the road.
Taking a cue from Punjab and Balochistan, the Sindh government promulgated an ordinance on Feb 1, 2006, to prohibit, manufacture, sale and use of black polythene bags including polythene bags below 30 micron thickness in the province.
The ministry of environment has also proposed legislation to ban non-biodegradable bags and in their place encourage oxo-biodegradable bags. The private and public sector organisations, including utility stores, have been asked to introduce biodegradable bags.
The ministry has also recommended to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) that duty on import of oxo-biodegradable additive for the manufacturing of biodegradable bags be reduced from 6 to 0 per cent.
Polythene bags cause environmental pollution if solid waste containing these bags is not collected and disposed of properly. Leftover used plastic shoppers chock drainage system and create an unaesthetic view of environment. The practice of burning them produces dioxins and furans, which are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and extremely harmful to human and animal health.