Post FLOOD Scene!

Nearly one year after devastating floods swamped vast tracts of land across Pakistan, affecting over 20 million people, many survivors are still struggling to rebuild their lives as this year’s monsoon season is about to start, says a report by IRIN, the UN information unit.

“I have patched up my house the best I could, using what few resources I could gather – but the roof consists of just plastic sheeting in some places, and it really offers little protection to my extended family of 11,” Ghulam Hussain, 40, a villager in the Thatta District of Sindh Province, told IRIN.

The first monsoon rains of 2011 have started falling, according to the Meteorological Office, and this is raising anxiety. “We have been able to repair our badly damaged home, but we are still afraid of what may happen now that the rains have begun,” Ahmed Daud Khan, in the town of Nowshera in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Province, told IRIN.

The two have good reason to be afraid. Last week flash floods killed seven people in the South Waziristan tribal agency on the Pakistan-Afghan border after heavy downpours led to houses collapsing.

In Sindh Province, said World Vision Pakistan, the Indus river has already risen. Coupled with melting glaciers and snow in the mountainous north, the situation is threatening 30,000 people in 30 villages in Ghotki District.

The province was the worst hit by the floods, but media reports say 57,000 people have not received assistance. Many have been unable to rebuild or fully repair homes mainly due to large-scale mismanagement in the running of government schemes to help them.

Local residents say a government investigation into alleged scams earlier this year, achieved nothing.

Some piece-meal rebuilding efforts have continued, including the re-housing of 334 families in the Dadu and Thatta districts of Sindh in new homes built by the Pakistan Army, but a paucity of funds has adversely affected efforts. Donations, for example, have generally been slow to come in even though innovative methods such as mobile phone games were used to solicit much-needed resources.

“People want jobs,” Oxfam country director Neva Khan said in a press statement. “They are not looking for handouts. They want to work their way out of poverty and rebuild a better life than before. They are calling for food they can afford, health care when they are sick, and somewhere to live – the most basic of basics.”

Early this month, Ahmed Kamal, spokesman for the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), told the media in Islamabad that the Authority had worked out a contingency plan to tackle any new flood emergency. “NDMA is following two plans for floods, including a plan for a worst-case scenario under which a maximum of six million people can be affected, and a likely scenario under which 2.2 million people can be probable victims,” he said.

But many remain skeptical. “My fields were destroyed, and my house reduced to sticks of timber, and my own wrist broken while trying to save my family,” Azeemullah Khan, a villager in the Charsadda District of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Province, told IRIN. “I am still struggling to earn a living or just put food on the table. Some NGOs helped us in the beginning, but then we were left on our own. The words of government officials mean nothing to me.”

Support still needed

Locals in Lahore told IRIN that rehabilitation of the affected areas has started, but most areas are still without basic infrastructure. Similarly, the Watan Card scheme that the government started, to support those affected, has not helped many people, especially widows who were unable to get any money because they did not fulfil the “head of the family” requirement.

In Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Province, Nathan Shah, an area in Sindh that was completely submerged, normalcy is yet to return. The area was to have been built into a “model” settlement, but nothing has happened.

Last week, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos warned: “Families affected by the floods continue to need support to rebuild their livelihoods. The 2011 monsoon is about to start and up to two million people are again at risk from flooding, partly due to lack of funds for reconstruction.

“Major efforts are needed immediately to reduce the vulnerability of these families and implement urgent recovery and flood preparedness work on river banks, irrigation channels and other infrastructure.”

According to the UN, moderate flooding could result in the worsening of conditions. For example, on 24 May, a heavy downpour flooded Suleman Mountains

which run through Balochistan and into Afghanistan, close to the Punjab-Balochistan border district of Dera Ghazi Khan. While local authorities provided initial relief assistance to 4,000 affected people, stored wheat and the cotton crop were destroyed.

“The [2010] flood had a severe impact on people’s homes, livelihoods and assets,” said a government assessment report: “Most people do not know when they would be able to resume their livelihoods.”

The floods, it noted, wiped out about 2 percent off Pakistan’s annual growth rate and “inflicted a massive damage” of US$10 billion on the economic infrastructure. World Vision said acute malnutrition rates reached 22.9 percent in flood-affected areas of Sindh.

“The areas affected by floods were consistently lagging behind in terms of socio-economic and educational indicators as compared to the areas unaffected by the floods,” the report said. “The loss to infrastructure and livelihood sources will push them behind further. The people most severely affected were predominantly small farmers and unskilled labourers.”

At least 1,200 people died in the floods, the world’s second worst in 10 years, according to the Belgium-based Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters.

Women most affected

One group that has suffered most in the flood aftermath are women.

“Violence against women has since increased. With no steady income and homes, a lot of the flood victims vent their anger on their wives, sisters and daughters,” said Sonu Khangrani, head of the Sindh Rural Support Organisation. “In these societies it is considered a norm if a man barters his 10-year-old daughter for a new wife.”

Some teenage girls, he added, had run away from their homes because parents tried to sell them off. “All these cases were from the flood-hit areas,” Khangrani told IRIN. “We were able to help the younger flood victims with regards to trauma and hardships, [but] we could not do much apart from providing legal support to the girls.”

Rahim Bux (not his real name), a 50-year-old man from Shikarpur, married away his 16-year-old daughter for Rs. 50,000 ($581) in February, but the girl ended up in a brothel. “I intended to use the money to rebuild our house, get a better roof than the thatched one that we had,” he said. “What I did not know was that my daughter would end up becoming a prostitute.”

The floods, a Federal Investigation Agency official said, opened doors for traffickers. “Poverty is rampant and when you offer money for a ‘bride’, people are more than willing to give away their daughters,” the official, who identified himself only as Fahim, said.

A trip to Karachi’s red light area along Napier Road reveals that girls as young as 12 were bought from flood-hit communities. “My father thought that I was being married off,” Bux’s daughter Nida told IRIN at the brothel where she lives.” What he did not know was that I would be sold off by my husband.”

The brothel owner, Jamal Ara, wants Rs 120,000 ($1,400) to release Nida. “I got Nida for slightly over 100,000. If her parents or for that matter anyone wants to take her away, they are more than welcome to buy her back,” he said.

Ineffective law

Pakistan enacted a Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking Ordinance in 2002, but it has done little to stop trafficking.

“Kashmore, Jaffarabad, Nasirabad, Larkana are districts that were badly hit by the floods,” Fahin added. “These are notorious for violence against women and here the [trafficking] rings are very active. There have been cases where girls as young as seven were kidnapped and sold.”

“Since it is a matter of honour, people do not register the complaints if it is a girl who goes missing. Rather the emphasis is on tracking down the victim and killing her to “redeem’ their honour.”

According to the UN’s Amos, more than $600 million is still needed to support early recovery activities including rehabilitating water wells, refurbishing the primary health care system and rebuilding schools.

“I am extremely concerned,” she noted, “that the lack of funds is preventing the pre-positioning of necessary medical supplies and the continuation beyond July of the district level Disease Early Warning System.”

(Published in Daily DAWN)

54pc Pakistanis face `multi-dimensional deprivation`

About 54 per cent of Pakistani population is facing a “multi-dimensional deprivation” — lack of basic necessities like education, health and good standard of living — as the country fell two steps down to the 125th position on the world index of human development compiled by the United Nations.
A report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released on Tuesday said that 54 per cent of the population was facing intense deprivation of basic necessities of life, while another 11.8 per cent was at the risk of “multi-dimensional poverty”.
The report said that Pakistan`s ranking on the Human Development Index (HDI) dropped from 123rd position last year to 125th position this year. The report was launched to mark the 20th anniversary of Human Development Report “The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Development” to commemorate the contribution of late Dr Mahbub-ul-Haq to the concept of human development.
Out of scores from 1 to 5 for gauging human rights violations, the report said Pakistan ranked 4th. In terms of democracy-related scores from 0 to 2, Pakistan stood at 1 number.
The report said that 51.2 per cent population was deprived of education, 29.2 per cent of health and 42.9 per cent of good standard of living.
The report said that 10 per cent population had no access to water and 55 per cent was without sanitation. It reported 896 deaths per million due to indoor and outdoor air and water pollution, while 8,953 people per million had been affected by natural disaster.
The “Top 10 Movers” highlighted in the 2010 report — those countries among the 135 that improved most in HDI terms over the past 40 years — were led by Oman, which invested energy earnings over the decades in education and public health. Other nine top movers are China, Nepal, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Laos, Tunisia, South Korea, Algeria and Morocco.
Remarkably, China was the only country which made to the “Top 10” list due solely to income performance; the main drivers of HDI achievement were in health and education.
Between 1980 and 2010, the HDI value in Pakistan increased by 58 per cent (average annual increase of about 1.5 per cent). Pakistan is ranked 10 in terms of HDI improvement, which measures progress in comparison to the average progress of countries with a similar initial HDI level.
Similarly, Pakistan`s life expectancy at birth increased by more than nine years, mean years of schooling by about three years and expected years of schooling by almost four years. The country`s Gross National Income (GNI) per capita increased by 92 per cent during the 30-year period.
In 1980, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh had close HDI values for countries in South Asia. However, between 1980 and 2010, they experienced different degrees of progress towards increasing their HDIs.
According to the report, Pakistan`s 2010 HDI of 0.490 is below the average for countries in South Asia. It is also below the average for medium human development countries. From South Asia, Pakistan`s 2010 “HDI neighbours” — the countries which are close in HDI rank and population size — are India and Bangladesh, which had HDIs ranked 119 and 129, respectively.
The report introduces the MPI, which identifies multiple deprivations in the same households in education, health and standard of living. In Pakistan, 51 per cent population suffers multiple deprivations while an additional 12 per cent is vulnerable to multiple deprivations. The average percentage of deprivation experienced by people in multi-dimensional poverty is 54 per cent.
The MPI, which is the share of the population that is multi-dimensionally poor, adjusted by the intensity of the deprivations, is 0.275. Pakistan`s HDI neighbours — India and Bangladesh — have MPIs of 0.296 and 0.291, respectively.
Speaking on the occasion, Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said the HDI had become one of the most influential and widely-used indices to measure human development across countries. He said the government, in consultation with the Planning Commission, was working on a reform process which focussed on restructuring of public sector enterprises.

Twenty-seven Pakistani languages may extinct soon

Around 27 languages spoken in Northern Areas, Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and surrounding border areas of Pakistan are facing extinction, said a Unesco report.
The report, in connection with International Mother Day observed on Monday (Feb 21), revealed that language is the source of communication, education and progress and their extinction discontinue the transfer of social values to the coming generation and eventually the language are declared as dead languages.
In Pakistan, Punjabi has the highest number of speakers which are 48 per cent of the total population. However, Sindhi language is spoken by 12 per cent, Pashto and Urdu 8 per cent, Balochi 3 per cent, Hindko 2 per cent and Barohi 1 per cent.
The most common languages spoken across the world include: Chinese, Spanish, English, Hindi, Bangali, Punjabi and Urdu.
According to a research, Punjabi is ranked 11th and Urdu at 19th position among the most popular languages in the world.
To save languages, as they are the identity of a nation, Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) is giving equal importance to all languages of Pakistan and a comprehensive program has been formulated in this regard.
Chairman PAL, Fakhar Zaman said all the languages spoken in Pakistan are the national languages of Pakistan and Urdu besides being a national language is the official and Lingua of Franca of the country.
“All the languages of the country are Pakistani languages and we should strive to make the mother languages as part of curriculum on the primary level,” he said.
The book consisting of the selection of prose and poetry written in every language from 1947 to 2008 are being published separately by the PAL.
These languages include Urdu, English, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi, Brahvi,Seraiki, Hindko, Sheena, Balti, Khawar and Kashmiri.
He said that PAL will organize seminars and conference on National Languages in all province and Islamabad. PAL to give due promotion and status to all the languages and that the mother tongues will be given due importance and financial assistance of the institutions working in this regard will be increased.
He also proposed to the government that Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto and Balochi Universities like Federal Urdu University should be established so that the message of unity, brotherhood and solidarity should be spread through the federation.

Media in Pakistan

I got forward email this week from a friend of mine. I found it very interested and decided to share on FD Blog. Email was about wining notes of one of our young youth in US condulate Lahore's "Speak up & Win" Essay Competition.

Ms. Faiza Idrees Sindhu

Her winning note is:

"Media freedom is an essential for a democratic mode of state governance. Democracy promises the rule of law, the right to differ and oppose, and respect for the views of others. Freedom of press is violated when terms like censor, stop, shut, change, chop ,cut, prevent, prohibit, suppress become everyday command for the voice of pen. Oppression, repression and suppression have always given birth to corruption. Pakistan has an ever changing political scenario; the making and breaking of political coalitions, protests against the policies and policy makers, sectarian crises, inflation and terrorism have become everyday cries.

The expanding media is a new player in the political scene of Pakistan due to the enlarged media space, increased viewer-ship and their heightened political engagement. I believe that free media should be a synonym for a responsible media. Media has a great responsibility; it has to fulfill the decisive task of supporting a free debate, assisting the due representation of all possible viewpoints and giving voice to the silent majority. It has to keep the ruling authorities, state institutions and media itself under the accountability microscope. In despotic and intolerant societies, information is controlled on the basis of the “need to know” and restricted to a powerful few. Right to know and freedom of speech are my natural rights. Free flow of information is helpful for a citizen in forming opinion regarding ongoing political and social issues and public opinion is always helpful for government officials in forming public policies."

2010 - Year of Drone Attacks

The American drones carried out a record number of 124 attacks in the tribal areas of Pakistan in the 12 months of 2010, more than double the number of predator strikes conducted in the 12 months of 2009, killing 1184 people, compared with 2009’s death toll of 760 in 53 such attacks.

According to figures compiled by the Pakistani authorities, on average, the US drone attacks targeting the al-Qaeda and Taliban hideouts in the tribal belt of Pakistan, killed 98 people every month, 23 people every week and three people every day in 2010. These attacks recorded an overall 134 percent increase in 2010 compared with the 2009’s figures, jumping from 53 strikes in 2009 to 124 attacks in 2010.

Similarly, an overall 56 percent increase was recorded in the number of people killed by the drones, compared with the 2009’s figures -going up from 760 deaths in 2009 to 1184 in 2010. The monthly increase in the drone-related killing ratio in 2010 (compared with the 2009) comes to 55 while the monthly increase in the ratio of drone strikes (compared with 2009) comes to an unprecedented 150 percent.

Similarly, while there was 53 percent weekly increase in 2010 in the number of people killed in US drones compared with 2009, an unprecedented 130 percent weekly increase was recorded in the number of attacks in 2010, compared with the 2009.

Most of the drone attacks were conducted on the basis of human intelligence, provided by both Pakistani and Afghan tribesmen, who spy for the US-led Allied Forces stationed in Afghanistan.

The figures show that on average, ten more persons were killed by the American drones every month and two more persons were perished in such strikes every week, compared with 2009’s figures. Similarly, 71 more drone attacks were carried out in Pakistan in 2010 compared with 2009’s figure of 53. And 424 more persons lost their lives in these attacks compared with the 2009’s total figure of 760.

As always, most of those killed by the US drones were innocent civilians. Ten groups remained prime targets of the American predator strikes in 2010, which included the fugitive leadership of al-Qaeda, the commanders of the Pakistani and the Afghan Taliban, the commanders of the Islamic Jehad Group, Uzbekistan Islamic Movement, Islamic Army of Great Britain, Brigade 313, Haqqani Militant Network, Lashkar-e-Islam and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.

The escalation of the US predator strikes in the Pakistani tribal areas bordering Afghanistan can be gauged from the fact that these attacks have seen an unprecedented increase since January 2009, when Barack Obama took over the Presidency, replacing George Bush.

According to the month-wise break-up of the drone attacks and the subsequent human losses, 132 people were killed in 11 attacks in January 2010, 82 persons were killed in 10 hits conducted in February, 98 people were killed in 10 more attacks in March, 47 persons were perished in six such strikes in April, 84 people were killed in eight drone strikes in May, 69 persons were killed in seven such assaults in June and 66 more lost their lives in six attacks in July.

But the velocity of the deadly attacks intensified in September 2010 ever since the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) began the air campaign in Pakistan. A record number of 21 drone attacks in September killed 145 people, followed by 16 such strikes in October, killing 136 persons. Another 124 lost their lives in 14 drone attacks in November and 138 more were perished in ten more such attacks in December 2010.

The favourite target of the American drone strikes in 2010 remains North Waziristan, which is generally considered as a haven for the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, the Haqqani Network, al-Qaeda terrorists, and a host of Pakistani and Central and South Asian terrorist groups. Of the 124 strikes carried out in 2010, the largest number of 104 hit their targets in North Waziristan, killing 987 people, 10 attacks in South Waziristan killed 101 people, six attacks in the Khyber Agency killed 82 persons and four such strikes in the Kurram Agency perished 14 more.

As per the region wise ratio, of the 1184 people killed by the US drones in 2010, 83 percent were killed in North Waziristan, 08 percent were killed in South Waziristan, 07 percent were killed in Khyber Agency while 01 percent were killed in Kurram Agency. Similarly, North Waziristan had to face 84 percent of the total 124 drone strikes in 2010, followed by 08 percent attacks suffered by the residents of South Waziristan, 06 percent in Khyber Agency and 03 percent in Kurram Agency.

But still, the number of the people killed in the drone attacks in 2010 was less than those killed in the incidents of suicide bombings across Pakistan. While the American drones carried out 124 attacks in 2010, killing 1184 people, the human bombs killed a record number of 1271 Pakistanis in 53 acts of suicide bombings across Pakistan.

Anti - Corruption Day in Pakistan

As the Anti-Corruption Day is being globally observed today (Thursday), the PPP government has decided not to do so, ignoring it for the third year since it came to power.
The government has turned down the Transparency International’s (TI) request for observing the occasion, which was observed during the Musharraf era in collaboration with the government, TI and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC). A report of global anti-corruption watchdog on Global Corruption Barometers is due to be launched today, examining the most corrupt departments among the Army, media, judiciary, public office-holders, parliamentarians, Customs and others.
The last time this day was observed was in December 2007, a fact confirmed from the NAB officials privy to details. The FIA that has launched the anti-corruption drive is not observing this day either. All those whose task is to eradicate this menace are facing corruption charges, starting from President Asif Ali Zardari, down to Law Minister Babar Awan, who controls the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who has launched a crusade against this menace through the FIA, itself a corrupt department training its guns at the TI chairman of Pakistan Chapter, Adil Gillani.
This day is being globally observed at a time when Pakistan has further gone down in the corruption ranking, from 42nd in 2009 to 34th in 2010, according to the TI report. Adil Gillani, who is facing death threats and prosecution from the government quarters, had recently contacted Justice (retd) Deedar Hussain Shah, Chairman NAB, yet another controversial figure with his eligibility challenged before the Supreme Court.
Contrary to the present practices of non-observance, Pakistan has been celebrating this day since the passage of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in 2003 in Merida, Mexico. The UNCAC is the first legally binding global anti-corruption instrument.
The International Anti-Corruption Day is being celebrated at a time when the entire ruling machinery is plagued with corruption charges and the latest addition in this respect is the Minister for Religious Affairs, Hamid Saeed Kazmi, who together with former DG Haj Rao Shakeel and Secretary Religious Affairs Agha Sarwar Qazalbash is facing serious charges of irregularities in hiring buildings for Pakistani pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.
Intriguingly, all three of them are close friends of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, whose wife Fuazia Gilani had her loans worth millions of rupees written off through a bargain with the NAB. Likewise, President Asif Ali Zardari stands at the top with regard to charges of corruption for whom the NRO was promulgated by former President Musharraf for a political deal, only to be revoked later on by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Law Minister Babar Awan, under whose administrative control is the NAB, faces charges of receiving fee as lawyer to the Haris Steel Mills’ owner in the Bank of Punjab scandal to buy’ judges’ favour. Interior Minister Rehman Malik, with several accountability references against him pending in courts, ordered the FIA to cleanse the society of corruption.
A recent US diplomatic cable revealed Malik admitting before the US ambassador that he had his past white-washed by instructing the prosecutors to declare before the courts that charges furnished against him were baseless. His three-year sentence restored by the Lahore High Court in corruption-related cases was pardoned by Zardari, who previously had remitted three-month sentences of all prisoners, just to bring out of the bar his crony, Ahmad Riaz Sheikh, a convicted man appointed additional DG FIA (Economic Crimes Wing). Malik had also told the ambassador the government would resort to the same strategy in case the Supreme Court revokes presidential immunity for Zardari.
The FIA, which is on an anti-corruption drive these days, has many corrupt officials appointed at key positions. Instead of cleansing its own department of corrupt elements, the FIA is on the lookout for such elements in other departments.

Village Situation - Case study of NooPur Shah Islamabad

Less than a kilometer from the sprawling residential complex of Pakistan’s prime minister, villagers have to scrabble for firewood in the dirt if they want a cooked meal.

Noor Pur Shahan is typical of many villages in the country, where supplies of cooking gas, clean water, electricity, classrooms, and also hope for the future, are hard to come by.

Improving government services for millions of increasingly frustrated Pakistanis is critical for bringing economic and political stability to a country the United States sees as an indispensable ally in its global war on militancy.

Many say the current system of governance only benefits Pakistan’s political elite and the wealthy. And it’s one that drives disaffected young men to join Muslim militant groups violently opposed to the government, analysts say.

The administration of President Asif Ali Zardari, like many before it, is accused of being too corrupt and inept to ease widespread hardship. It denies the allegations.

But in Noor Pur Shahan, where goats roam on winding roads beneath lush mountains about 8 km northeast of the capital, these denials ring hollow.

“The government only looks after the rich people,” said Mohammad Aleem, an elderly man with a long white beard, as he clutched his cane.

Conditions are unlikely to improve anytime soon. The cash-strapped government slashed development spending after summer floods caused nearly $10 billion in damages.

Securing reconstruction funds may not be possible unless Pakistan persuades Western donors spending will be transparent and accounted for.

The International Monetary Fund, which has kept the economy afloat since 2008, wants Pakistan to implement politically sensitive economic reforms such as imposing new taxes and eliminating electricity subsidies.

WHERE IS THE AID?

Washington has pumped billions of dollars into Pakistan since the country joined the U.S. war on militancy after the September 11 attacks on the United States.

Little seems to have trickled down to the poor.

In the center of Noor Pur Shahan is a water purification plant inaugurated in 1963 by former Pakistani military leader Ayub Khan. The water largely flows to government offices in Islamabad. That means most residents are deprived of clean supplies.

Mukhtiar Hussain, a worker at the plant for 32 years, says villagers break pipes to steal water for their homes. “Things have gone from bad to worse,” he said.

Critics accuse the government of neglecting education as well, and warn that social ills will deepen.

At Noor Pur Shahan’s state-funded boys secondary school, over 1,000 students are taught in 12 classrooms.

“There are only 20 computers and one teacher for computer studies,” said principal Iqbal Khan Niazi. The facility has not had clean water for three years. There are no playgrounds.

Umair Akhtar, 18, a villager, believes the army, which has ruled Pakistan for more than half of its history, would do a better job running nuclear-armed Pakistan than civilian governments, even though that would hurt the country’s democratic credentials.

He applied for a job in the CDA but says he has “no money to bribe people.”

Pakistan’s government may be too preoccupied with a host of problems to notice the plight of people like him.

It faces stubborn Taliban insurgents who continue to carry out bombings despite army offensives, a possible showdown with the powerful Supreme Court, and relentless US pressure to help stabilise war-ravaged Afghanistan.

For some Pakistanis, God alone is the answer.

“We want to instil the fear of God in the students and want then to follow the life of the holy Prophet Mohammad. That is the answer to all problems,” said Niazi, the village’s school principal.

Children Protection

In a society where children are perhaps the most vulnerable of all sections of the population, any effort for their protection is welcome. In this context, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has taken a progressive step by passing the Child Protection Bill 2010 in September.
The bill is designed to provide care and protection to children “at risk” through the establishment of a child protection court as well as a provincial commission along with other associated mechanisms. A proposed amendment sponsored by the MMA calling for the age limit of children to be lowered from 18 to 15 was rejected and perhaps rightfully so, as according to international norms adulthood is deemed to begin at age 18.
The KP government has taken a bold initiative considering the fact that both the centre and the provinces have been extremely tardy when it comes to legislation designed to protect children’s rights. Laws have been written up but have been gathering dust for years, either waiting to be taken up in the federal and provincial legislatures or their passage has been blocked on procedural grounds. Hopefully Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s move will prompt the provinces and Islamabad to enact similar laws.
Yet, to truly end exploitation and give the children of Pakistan access to education, health, nutrition and a safe and secure environment, laws must be implemented. There are lots of good laws on the books. It is their implementation which is lacking and which is key to achieving the aims for which they were framed.
Also, some experts are of the opinion that the Child Protection Bill 2010 is a little vague when it comes to describing children “at risk” as well as the assessment procedure that would allow the authorities to determine which children are at risk. These concerns can possibly be addressed in future amendments.

Children at risk

In the event of a disaster, groups that are already disadvantaged, such as women and children, become even more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. In the post-flood situation, apart from the victims’ immediate needs such as shelter, food and medical attention, the protection of children is also a major concern.
According to Unicef, out of the 20 million or so people affected by the floods, over half are children. A report by the agency on the floods’ effect on children says that “children have been or are at risk of being separated from their families, they are at risk of abuse … and have witnessed death and destruction”. There are also reports that boys from flood-affected families are being lured into prostitution in some parts.
In the aftermath of natural calamities worldwide we have witnessed elements taking advantage of children. After the January earthquake in Haiti some American missionaries were convicted of illegally transporting a busload of Haitian children into the Dominican Republic without any paperwork. In Pakistan, after the 2005 earthquake the adoption of children was banned to prevent the risk of child abductions. Though people may be well-intentioned in wanting to take children away from the scene of tragedy, it doesn’t justify ignoring due process. In the current scenario the trafficking and abuse of children cannot be ignored as the state grapples with the post-flood situation. In present conditions, protecting the welfare and rights of minors is more important than ever as the chances of their exploitation are far greater considering that the whole social structure in many parts of the country has collapsed. Vigilance is key in this regard.
The state and society — especially rights organisations — must play a proactive role in ensuring the safety of children so that they are kept from harm. It is also important that a child protection law is passed and implemented at the federal level. Presently, such a law only exists in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is essential that the federal government passes a law that can protect children from all forms of abuse both in times of crises and otherwise.

22 Drone Attacks in September

The U.S. government increased the number of missile attacks this month against militant guerrilla groups in northwest Pakistan to the most this year, according to researchers who monitor the campaign.
The U.S. so far has launched 22 missile strikes in September, almost a third of this year’s total of 76, according to a count maintained by the Washington-based New America Foundation. The policy research group counted four such attacks in August and five in July.
All of this month’s reported strikes -- which typically are fired from remotely piloted Predator or Reaper aircraft -- have hit Pakistan’s Waziristan region, a Taliban stronghold that borders Afghanistan, the foundation said.
Nineteen of the missile raids have hit North Waziristan, a district dominated by the Taliban factions of Afghan commander Jalaluddin Haqqani and Pakistani guerrilla leader Hafiz Gul Bahadur. Al-Qaeda’s operational chief for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Sheik Fateh, was killed this month by a drone strike, Agence France-Press said yesterday, citing unidentified Pakistani security officials.
“The last time there was a flurry of strikes comparable to this was in January, following the suicide attack on a CIA base in Khost, Afghanistan, in late December 2009,” said Katherine Tiedemann, a research fellow at the New America Foundation. “There were 12 strikes reported that month.”
There may be several reasons for increased attacks, said Alan Kronstadt, a Pakistan analyst with the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.
“There’s been a need seen to keep pressure on the Haqqani group,” Kronstadt said in an interview.
After floods that ravaged much of Pakistan, the U.S. also “wanted to send a message there would be no relaxing for them in whatever interim there is” before counterterrorism operations on the ground resume, Kronstadt said.
This month’s spike in missile attacks is part of a yearlong escalation. The U.S. has fired more than 75 missiles into Pakistan so far this year, up from 53 in 2009, according to the New America Foundation’s count.

Rs50 bn loans written off

Pakistani banks have yet again quietly written off Rs50 billion fresh loans outstanding against their borrowers during the last two years and at the same time, Pakistan’s total borrowing from World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) reached to $31billion.It has been revealed that Islamabad was now paying $3.6 billion interest alone each year on these foreign loans. Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh shared the mind-boggling figure of loan written off by the Pakistani banks in the National Assembly during the question hour. In the same session, Minister of State for Economic Affairs Division Hina Rabbani Khar, however, made revelations about the total foreign loans of three lending agencies followed by annual payment of interest by the Government of Pakistan.
These two figures about the loans — one written off and other obtained from the international lending agencies — were presented in the National Assembly during the question hour by Hina Rabbani Khar.These facts tell a sorry state of affairs as how on the one hand the country was massively borrowing from the international institutions to meet its own financial gaps and on the other how their own banks were busy in writing off the massive amounts running into billions.
The Supreme Court is also seized with loan write off case of 2007 when it was reported in the media on the basis of Auditor General’s report that Pakistani banks had written off Rs60 billion. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had taken a suo moto notice of this story. The Supreme Court is yet to take any decision on this case since 2007 and banks continued to write off loans. One official said, “we had to differentiate between the genuine written off loans and those who were using their clouts to get those principal and marks up written off every year.”Meanwhile, in a reply to a question by Sheikh Salahuddin, the finance minister said a sum of Rs50.854 billion was written off by the banks during the last two years. Replying to another question of MNA Raja Asad, Hina Rabbani revealed that the country had borrowed $31billion till June 30, 2010 from WB, ADB and IMF and was paying $3.6 billion as interest each year. Giving the break up of loans, she said world had given $11.4 billion loan and was being paid $1.6 billion every year as interest on these loans. Pakistan took $11.58 billion from ADB and was paying $1.4 billion as interest on annual basis. $8billion have been borrowed from IMF and $445 million per year are being paid to them as interest.

225 suicides in a month

At least 225 people including 73 women committed suicide during the run of last one month.
According to Pakistan Commission for Human Rights, the most of people put an end to their lives under juggernaut of poverty and hostile circumstances. The report said at least 351 incidents of suicides and suicide attempts were reported during last one month; however, only 39 FIRs were registered against these incidents.
According to the report, at least 18 people were killed in the name of honour in Sindh, of them, Ghtoki’s eight year old Dadan is also included. The report said at least 27 people including 21 women were sexually maltreated across the country; of them, Matli’s four-year-old and Tando Muhammed Khan’s five-year girl are also included.
According to experts, the hike in suicidal incidents in the country is an alarming phenomenon thanks to the rampant non-tolerance in the society.

Discrimination in Aid Distribution

It is no secret that ethnic, sectarian and religious minorities in Pakistan face discrimination, but recent reports that this deplorable mindset is affecting flood relief efforts are deeply disturbing. On Monday, a large number of people in Hyderabad were driven to taking out a protest rally against the maltreatment of minority community flood victims. They cited two occasions when they were attacked and driven out of a relief camp.

A day before that, flood-affected families at an emergency relief camp in Thatta district complained that they were being refused aid, even by government officials, because they were Dalits. There have been numerous other reports: people being refused shelter because of their ethnicity, caste or religion, being discriminated against in the distribution of aid goods and being driven away from or forced to live on the very margins of the few camps that exist.

Discrimination on ethnic and religious grounds is deeply entrenched in Pakistan and will not change overnight. Yet that it is being used as an excuse to strip people of their rights as equal citizens even during a time of calamity is abhorrent. Whether Muslim, Hindu or Christian, high caste or low caste, the flood victims are all equally deserving of the attention of official and non-official aid channels. Resources are scarce and the desperate number in millions. Providing help across the board to the best of its abilities, irrespective of any ideology, is the first task of the state and society. Apart from the victims’ equal right to survival essentials such as shelter, potable water and food, the fact that the country was even before the floods rent along ethnic, sectarian and religious grounds must be kept in mind. Discrimination at this time will only deepen the divide and cause resentment that could unravel any possibility of future cohesiveness.

"Innocent Faces" from the flood

Images of children at flood relief camps from across Pakistan, as water ravages the country and renders millions homeless.

Serious Problems - Who cares

Coverage of the provincial budget announced by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Humayun Khan on Saturday has been dominated by the theme of ‘balanced budget’: Rs294bn of expenditure matched by Rs294bn of revenue. At first blush, this may seem to be a good thing. But scratch below the surface and serious problems become apparent. First, the province’s revenue projection relies heavily on money flowing from the centre as promised — a pledge that is already looking shaky. For example, if the Rs25bn in hydel power profit arrears is not forthcoming, a serious hole will appear in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s finances. The sum is part of Rs110bn that was awarded to it in an arbitration with the centre and is to be released to the province over four years. Yet, privately provincial officials are pessimistic that the arrears will be released, pointing to the fact that the province has only been allocated Rs6bn as hydel generation profits for the next fiscal year — several times lower than what they believe is owed.
Next, on the expenditure side of things, while the NFC award last year has increased transfers to the province and therefore improved the fiscal space, a majority of the money is to be spent on salaries, and a great many of those salaries are paid to employees who are not needed. It seems that in a war-torn, recession-hit economy, provincial administrators have struck upon a favourite ploy to appease voters: giving them jobs in government agencies. At least three new government departments have been created rather than trying to encourage job creation in the private sector.
The main challenge, then, for the government going forward will be to mobilise its own resources. Relying on uncertain federal receipts and making unnecessary provincial expenditures will only destabilise its finances. For example, the Rs21bn allocated to the police has more than doubled the present year’s outlay — arguably a necessary step — but the centre cannot be relied on to keep footing the bill. To be sure, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has suffered disproportionately over the last years from militancy; however, that should not be used as an excuse to further delay reform.

Missing Persons Case

The reassurance given by the chief justice at a meeting of the National Judicial Policymaking Committee in Quetta on Friday with regard to efforts to find the ‘missing’ persons should give some hope to the affected families. The apex court has been seized of the matter for five years now but the current government, like the previous one, has done little to recover the missing, a large number of whom belong to Balochistan where Gen Musharraf launched an operation to rein in Baloch nationalists.
The families of those gone missing have alleged that their dear ones were picked up by intelligence agencies on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities, and that some may have been extradited to interrogation camps on foreign shores. That is why, unfortunately, the term ‘missing’ is often used as a euphemism for those presumably picked up by intelligence agencies and kept in illegal confinement without being arraigned in a court of law with charges brought against them for trial under due process. The number of such people is said to be in the hundreds. Few have been located or recovered so far.
The recently formed judicial commission to probe the phenomenon and help locate the whereabouts, or indeed fate, of those gone missing is a step in the right direction. Yet, the commission alone cannot ensure their recovery as there is hardly anything by way of official record concerning those held in illegal custody or prosecuted without due process. It is a particularly sensitive issue in Balochistan given the province’s many genuine grievances against the modus operandi of a highhanded federal and military intelligence and security apparatus. For democracy to take root it is crucial for the missing persons to be located and administered justice and for their tormentors to be held to account for violating the law.

NWA Operation

Pakistan is buying time in North Waziristan - gathering intelligence, building alliances and insisting any assault into the Taliban and Al-Qaeda fortress take place at its own time and choosing.
Part of the tribal belt on the Afghan border, North Waziristan is home to 350,000 people but considered a stronghold for the most dangerous militants in the world and largely impenetrable.
It is also a rumoured hiding place of Osama bin Laden.
Commanders are walking a tightrope, balancing US pressure for action against fears that a major push into the hornet's nest would make enemies they cannot beat and drag Pakistan into a new wave of violence.
As well as the bin Laden connection, North Waziristan's mountains are also a refuge for Pakistani Tehreek-e-Taliban who escaped an offensive in neighbouring South Waziristan and networks fighting US forces in Afghanistan.
Among those using bases in North Waziristan are the Haqqani network, created by Afghan warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani and run by his son Sirajuddin; Afghan Taliban; Pakistani warlord Hafiz Gul Bahadur and his ally Maulvi Sadiq Noor.
They are blamed by the United States for fuelling the nearly nine-year insurgency in Afghanistan, for attacking the 142,000 US-led Nato troops there and for working to destabilise the Western-backed government in Kabul.
But they are also men whom the Pakistani security establishment believes pose no direct risk to the homeland because their activities are targeted across the border, while homegrown Taliban pose a more immediate threat.
Opening a new front against the likes of Haqqani and Gul Bahadur would, Pakistani officials believe, make enemies out of well-trained, well-financed groups that are potentially valuable allies when US troops leave Afghanistan.
Given the risks involved and strain on Pakistani troops, with forces actively engaged in six of the seven tribal districts, analysts say fears of a backlash, including attacks on civilians, are holding the army back.
Last year saw a huge surge in attacks in retaliation for military offensives in Swat and South Waziristan, followed this year by a relative decline.
Around 140,000 troops are deployed along the western border, leaving 100,000 in the east, where Pakistan meets India, and commanders are wary of leaving that frontier more exposed.

After Phet Disaster

Cyclone Phet came and went. Luckily, it had lost much of its intensity as it continued on its trajectory along the coast of Balochistan and Sindh and did not cause the large-scale devastation feared earlier. By Monday, the Met office had downgraded Phet to a “well-marked low-pressure area” hovering over the Indian state of Rajasthan. It added that there was little chance of heavy rain in Sindh anymore. But it was not completely smooth sailing for the coastal belt.
Several deaths were reported in Karachi while power had still not been restored to parts of the metropolis by Monday evening. Many areas of Thatta and Badin — where the storm made landfall — also remained inundated. Yet it seems Balochistan has borne the brunt of the stormy weather. Although there were no reports of fatalities as people were evacuated from the vulnerable areas, the material damage has been considerable.
The torrential rains and gusty winds accompanying Phet tore along the Makran coast, particularly affecting Gwadar and Lasbela districts. Power supply, which had been disrupted in many coastal towns as the storm struck, has not been restored, while countless houses have collapsed. Certain areas are reportedly under four feet of water. Dozens of boats in Gwadar have also been damaged. Contact with the affected areas of Balochistan is also difficult as key roads and bridges are either damaged or have been washed away.
Though all the affected areas in Sindh and Balochistan need attention, the latter province requires a little extra effort on the government’s part. Claims of neglect following the far more destructive cyclone of 2007 are still fresh in the people’s mind. The inattention of the past must not be repeated or it will give disgruntled elements the chance to exploit the situation. The prime minister’s promise of aid should be fulfilled through immediate action and aid. Speedy reconstruction and relief efforts should be ensured. There is also a need for officials to come up with a long-term plan that can minimise the risk to settlements from the havoc that natural disasters wreak.

Peace Returns to Swat

On Thursday, a statement released by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan welcomed the restoration of peace in Swat, citing the reports of a fact-finding team. This is encouraging and testifies to the Pakistan Army’s efforts since the military operation was launched last year. However, lasting stability hinges on several factors and requires more than the efforts of the army alone.
First, the security forces must refrain from adopting a ham-fisted approach. No illegal practices should be associated with the army. Yet the HRCP fact-finding team says that the security forces were in some areas committing human rights violations. These include extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions and the forced displacement of families of suspected militants. This is counterproductive and must cease since it tarnishes the image of the army while alienating the local people.
Secondly, the role played by the army in maintaining peace must slowly but surely be handed over to non- military agencies such as the police. The task of infrastructure development and rehabilitation must also be entrusted to civi- lian bodies. That the army repaired and rebuilt over 200 schools is praiseworthy, for instance, but sends the signal that civilian organisations are not in charge. The confidence of the people will not be restored unless the region appears safe enough for the army to be seen to be taking a back seat.
Third, the region needs a more efficient justice system. This will not only restore confidence in the state but also reduce the need for illegalities such as arbi-trary detention and extrajudicial killings. Only 57 of the nearly 3,000 cases registered against suspected militants since May 2009 have so far been decided, and there have been three convictions. This is unsurprising since there is only one anti-terrorism judge for the seven districts of Malakand division. Such deficiencies must be addressed if peace in Swat is to be sustainable.

40 Million under Taliban Rule

Human rights group Amnesty International said Thursday that nearly four million people are effectively living under Taliban rule in northwest Pakistan and have been abandoned by the government.
The 130-page report entitled “As if Hell Fell on Me: The Human Rights Crisis in Northwest Pakistan” is likely to ruffle Pakistani officials who believe they made great strides last year in regaining ground from the Taliban.
The London-based organisation said there were credible reports that at least 1,300 civilians were killed during fighting in the northwest in 2009.
There has been little official word on civilians hurt in anti-Taliban campaigns.
“Nearly four million people are effectively living under the Taliban in northwest Pakistan without rule of law and effectively abandoned by the Pakistani government,” said Amnesty's acting head, Claudio Cordone.
The group called the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) a “human rights free zone” and said more than one million displaced people were “in desperate need of aid”.
It urged Pakistan and the Taliban to prevent loss of civilian life and allow unfettered aid workers' access to provide food, shelter and medical supplies to the injured and displaced.
“We have an historic opportunity regarding Fata right now,” Amnesty's Asia-Pacific Director Sam Zarifi .
The international community has put up donor funds and Pakistani troops are operating in an “unprecedented” six of the seven tribal agencies, he said.
“The old tribal order has been hugely disrupted by the Taliban and we have a civilian government in Pakistan that has talked about short and medium-term reform. There is an opportunity to do something about the people of Fata.”The British colonial-era law governing Fata denies residents basic rights and protections, including their rights to political representation, judicial appeal and freedom from collective punishment.
“The Pakistani government has to follow through on its promises to bring the region out of this human rights black hole and place the people of Fata under the protection of the law and constitution of Pakistan,” said Cordone.
Amnesty, which based its report on nearly 300 interviews with residents in the northwest, accused Pakistan of launching “heavy handed” operations, including “indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks”.
It said the Taliban were guilty of systematic abuses, killing those who challenge their authority and imposing their rule through torture and other ill-treatment, targeting women, teachers, aid workers and political activists.
Insurgents increased the likelihood of civilian casualties by dispersing themselves in communities and blocking roads to prevent villagers from escaping “heavy bombardment by government forces”.
But a Pakistani security official contacted challenged Amnesty to visit Swat, where commanders say a decisive battle last year returned much of the northwest valley to relative normality after a two-year uprising.
Significant territory that fell to the Taliban had been regained and urgent efforts were being made to stabilise the areas allowing the displaced to return as soon as it was safe, the official said.