| November 10, 2001 | Saturday | Shaba’an 23, 1422 |
Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)
Bad time for travel trade
Juvenile prisoners
COLIN POWELL’s statement that the US could target Iraq after the war against Afghanistan was over cannot but cause serious concern to the Muslim world. Talking to reporters after a meeting with his Kuwaiti counterpart, the US Secretary of State said nations such as Iraq which were or still are engaged in developing weapons of mass destruction “should not think that ... we will not turn our attention to them.” After the goals of the Operation Enduring Freedom were over, America, he said, would turn its attention to terrorism throughout the world. While Secretary Powell spoke of action against Iraq after the operation against Osama bin Laden and Taliban was over, there are others in the US who would not wait even that long but would want the current campaign to be widened straightaway. Those who belong to this camp include influential congressmen, retired diplomats, former intelligence hands, and think-tank intellectuals — among them, former CIA chief James Woolsey, ex-ambassador to UN Jeanne Kirkpatrick, and author Francis Fukuyama.
Recently, a group known as Project for a New American Century (PNAC) sent a letter urging President Bush to punish not only Iraq but also Lebanon, Syria, Iran and the Palestinian Authority. This group includes people who hold important positions in the Bush administration, including Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, Vice-President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff Lewis Libby, top Bush aide Elliott Abrams, Defence Undersecretary Douglas Feith, Defence Policy Board chief Richard Perle, and Florida Governor Jeb Bush, the president’s brother. Astonishingly, the letter asked President Bush to attack Iraq “even if evidence does not link Iraq directly to the (September 11) attack.” This being the state of mind of some of the top Bush officials, one wonders what chances the world coalition has of staying together for a successful completion of the operation in Afghanistan.
The September 11 carnage has been roundly condemned by the entire world. Also, some of the world’s leading Muslim nations, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey, have offered full assistance to the US-led world coalition for the purpose of bringing Osama bin Laden and his group to justice and punishing the Taliban government for harbouring the al-Qaeda group. This was quite a bold step, because these Muslim governments have to face their own people, who, despite condemning terrorism, are opposed to indiscriminate bombing which involves enormous human casualties. Thus, even to think of extending the current campaign to other Muslim countries would be sheer madness. Already, the military campaign against Afghanistan has all but bogged down. To widen the war while the coalition has its hands full in Afghanistan would only complicate matters. Worse still, Muslim states may then find it impossible to continue to cooperate with an extended military campaign.
It is significant that the PNAC consists of people who are known to be “passionately committed to Israel.” This is the kind of group that would not mind hurting America’s vital and long-term interests at the altar of Israel’s unending quest for lebensraum. It wants the Bush administration to make a number of more Muslim countries a target of US military strikes. This is as quixotic as it is dangerous. It is time saner counsel prevailed in Washington. Even the very idea of expanding the war is too dangerous to be entertained.
PAKISTAN’s travel and hotel industry could not have seen worse days. The attacks of September 11 and their fallout have caused business to drop by as much as 80 per cent. Because of this, more than 30,000 employees have been laid off. Hotels in only three cities — Peshawer, Quetta and Islamabad — are doing reasonably well but that is only because of the massive influx of foreign journalists who want to get as close as possible to the war in Afghanistan. PIA too has had its share of problems. An expected profit of Rs 130 million for the month of September was wiped out and the airline suffered a loss of Rs 300 million in October. Falling revenue and severe cash flow problems have also necessitated the introduction of a mandatory retirement scheme that could result in a significant proportion of the airline’s workforce being laid off. With no end in sight of the bombing in Afghanistan, the future looks pretty grim for travel agencies or hotels. Tourist arrivals — already overstated by the inclusion of business travellers — are down substantially because of security concern.
In the short term, perhaps the only thing travel agents and hotel owners can do is cut costs and try to ride out the present crisis as best as they can. That said, it needs to be pointed out that the tourism industry was never a thriving one in Pakistan. We have never been able to attract tourists the way India, Nepal or even Sri Lanka (despite its civil war) manage to do. Other than a lack of facilities and infrastructure, the problem has essentially been one of image. What with religious fanaticism, bad law and order and all manner of socio-cultural inhibitions, Pakistan has never been able to counter the negative image people overseas have of the country. Along with steps to improve services and facilities, efforts have to be made at various levels to brush up things and project the country’s scenic and cultural assets in a more positive light. Thus alone can we expect to have our fair share of tourists visiting this country.
THE book entitled ‘State of Children in Punjab’ has drawn attention to some of the revolting features of incarceration of young offenders in the province. They are usually kept with adult inmates in disregard of the requirement of segregation. In this connection, the book has quoted a survey of juvenile sections of Lahore district and central jails conducted in February 1993. It revealed that the two prisons had 200 inmates ranging between the ages of 12 and 21. Moreover, children were not treated as undertrials. Court proceedings were often delayed and the children had to suffer long incarceration. Over 52 per cent of the undertrial children have spent more than two months in jail and as many as 36 per cent had been there for more than four months. This was despite the legal provision for early hearing of juvenile cases. The problem was compounded by the inadequacy of legal aid for children.
There were no recreational facilities in jails, no TV or radio sets or reading material for children. They are locked in barracks from 4 pm to 6 am and older inmates allegedly sexually abuse them. Such a state of affairs is most depressing. It shows that the Convention on the Rights of the Children (CRC) which Pakistan was supposed to follow in reviewing the legislative and administrative framework of its juvenile justice system, is not being properly observed. A suitable infrastructure is needed so that young offenders do not suffer undue delay in cases and also have sufficient opportunities for reform and rehabilitation. Recreational and educational facilities for children together with release on parole and setting aside of remaining sentences can go a long way towards achieving this objective.