Election on time

IT IS reassuring to hear from President Pervez Musharraf that election would be held on time next year. A reiteration on this score was essential because of the feeling in some quarters that the Afghan situation might interfere with the holding of election due this month next year. The occasion for the president’s declaration was the meeting he had with a group of Muslim League (Like-minded) leaders in Islamabad on Tuesday. The meeting was part of a new round of consultations with the politicians. However, contrary to press reports, the meeting had nothing to do with the president’s forthcoming visit to New York and the talks he is to have with President Bush. Instead, it focused on the internal situation, with the president denying rumours that he was considering broadening his government to include some politicians.

Ever since the Supreme Court’s ruling requiring the present military-led government to hold election by October 2002 and hand over power to a representative set-up, this government has not done anything contrary to the apex court’s directive. Instead, in the “road map” he gave to the nation on Aug 14 Gen Musharraf laid down the time-table for the election and pledged that power would be transferred to the elected representatives in November 2002. While all this is reassuring, one cannot ignore the effects of the Afghan situation on Pakistan’s domestic scene. A large majority of the people approve of the government’s decision to join the world anti-terrorism coalition but there is a small minority which remains strongly opposed to it. There are also others who, while supporting the government’s policy, are appalled by the loss of civilian lives in the aerial strikes in Afghanistan.

While one can understand venting opposition to the policy of cooperation with the anti-terrorism coalition through peaceful protests and rallies, it is difficult to see the logic of resort to “wheel-jam” strikes and forcible shutdowns of factories and businesses as an expression of dissent. These have often involved serious disruptions, besides violence and deaths. Some parties have now threatened to stage a long sit-in at Islamabad and resort to another country-wide wheel-jam strike. These simply are the wrong methods of trying to change the government’s policy.

Mercifully — barring the week after the aerial strikes began — anti-government demonstrations have been more or less peaceful. The government, too, has exercised commendable restraint in dealing with such cases. It is time both the government and its militant opponents realized the risks of a domestic confrontation at a time when a war is raging in the neighbourhood. While one hopes that the war in Afghanistan would come to a quick end, one also hopes that all segments of society would do all they can to maintain domestic peace and harmony so as to facilitate the holding of election and the transfer of power to the people’s representatives. In the heat of the Afghan war, this single important point should not be lost sight of.

Task before new governor

LT-GEN Khalid Maqbool has taken office of the Punjab governor amidst growing administrative chaos and a worsening law and order situation. While he has promised to work with the existing team of ministers, it remains to be seen how things shape in future. The district government system which was inaugurated with great fanfare some months ago following the local council elections, is a long way off from solving the people’s problems. In fact, in the absence of proper planning, the functioning of grassroots institutions has virtually come to a standstill. Civil servants, supposed to assist the elected representatives, seem to be in no mood to work, as if still in mourning over the loss of their colonial titles. Unseemly showdowns between the elected representatives and bureaucrats over petty matters, including occupancy of bungalows of former commissioners and DCs, have dragged on for months. As a result, the crucial task of streamlining the administration and providing relief to the suffering people has been neglected. Lack of knowledge and understanding of the new rules and regulations of local government has added to the drift.

Cantankerous local council sessions have ended on a chaotic note and, most of all, the financial crunch has affected the critical task of development. Moreover, the role envisaged for the nazims and elected representatives in the sphere of law and order still doesn’t seem to be clear. It would be unrealistic to expect of the latter to play an effective role in this respect unless the police are made answerable to them. But at the same time, the elected representatives have to begin asserting themselves to achieve positive results in this regard. The crime graph is rising and eroding public confidence in the administrative machinery. The new governor fortunately has first-hand experience of the working of the Punjab administration in his capacity as corps commander, Lahore, following the military take-over in October 1999. His association with the National Accountability Bureau as its head should also come in handy in understanding problems of day-to-day administrative working. Redressing people’s grievances obviously should be one of his priorities. It is also to be expected that he will be able to inspire the confidence of his team of ministers and senior officials and set things right in the interest of the well-being and security of the people.

Peaceful end to blockade

THE blockade of the strategic Karakorum Highway by religious militants is virtually over. Fortunately, the entire episode, which threatened to culminate in a bloody showdown between the protesters and law enforcement agencies, has been defused through negotiations. While there are reports of some resistance in certain areas, most of the militants have withdrawn from their positions and traffic is beginning to ply on the highway once again. For six days, groups of heavily armed militants had blocked off this vital highway in protest against the government’s support to the US-led anti-terrorism campaign in Afghanistan. The militants had taken up positions along the highway and on nearby hilltops and had placed huge boulders on the road to block traffic. As a result, the Northern Areas had been virtually cut off from the rest of the country, creating food and fuel shortages in the region. Any attempt by the authorities to forcibly remove the blockade carried grave risks of a bloodbath. Instead of using force, the government decided to negotiate, employing the services of certain respected ulema as mediators. Gradually and reluctantly, the militants decided to call off their protest without a shot being fired. The government has done well to handle this potentially explosive situation with tact and patience. It must now make it clear to those who lead such protests that blocking such a vital highway not only amounts to political blackmail but also adds to the misery of the people of the Northern Areas.