| November 25, 2001 | Sunday | Ramazan 9, 1422 |
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Trapped Pakistanis
Lahore mass transit plan
HISTORY seems to be repeating itself once again following the announcement that President Pervez Musharraf intends to carry on as president after October 2002, when the Supreme Court has decreed that elections to the national and provincial assemblies must be held. He had made his intentions clear in an interview during his recent US tour and has reiterated this position once again in a meeting with editors in Islamabad on Friday. Musharraf, who also holds the post of chief of army staff, made it clear that while the scheduled elections will take place as planned he will remain the president in order to safeguard the institutional and economic reforms his government has undertaken. He also stated that there would be no interim government in the build-up to the elections.
While the announcement does not come as a surprise, it raises a number of important questions. The most contentious issue is the manner in which the general intends to extend his term as president. Rather than seeking some kind of legitimacy by getting himself elected via a referendum or through a future assembly, President Musharraf seems set to use powers vested in him by the Provisional Constitutional Order to extend his tenure by three to four years. This is an unfortunate course of action to follow, given the history of Pakistan where rulers have regularly tailored or mangled constitutions to suit their personal interests. One can also question the wisdom of General Musharraf holding on to the post of president after 2002. Surely Musharraf can continue to keep a watchful eye on any future government from the powerful vantage point of chief of army staff. Perhaps the reason for using the PCO is that every conceivable means of holding on to power following the end of military rule has been tried and tested in Pakistan and has become suspect in the eyes of the public. From Ayub Khan’s use of an electoral college of Basic Democrats to Ziaul Haq’s patently bogus referendum and subsequent eighth amendment, the country has witnessed how military regimes take the most tortuous paths to keep themselves in power behind a facade of civilian rule.
Having made the decision to remain in office, Musharraf must now work single-mindedly to ensure that free and fair elections are held on schedule. He must feel confident enough to trust the representatives of the people to carry on with the complex task of governing Pakistan. There is enough merit in some of the government’s policies to ensure continuity. The president must realize that incessant meddling by the military, as much as the corruption and incompetence of successive civilian administrations, have combined to lead the country from crisis to crisis. It is time now to break this vicious cycle of military interventions and withdrawals. Given the crisis at our doorstep, and the dangers and opportunities it has created for the country, there is urgent need to have a government that enjoys the support of the people. The broad consensus among the major political forces in the country on a range of important issues is the best protection against the rise of a violent but small minority of extremist forces.
THE families of hundreds of Pakistanis missing or trapped inside Afghanistan are understandably worried about what is in store for their near and dear ones. In Kunduz alone, according to reports, there are several hundred Pakistanis and other foreigners, mostly Arabs, Chechens and some Indonesians. While the Northern Alliance’s warlords have hinted at offering amnesty to the Afghan Taliban, they have not shown the same degree of compassion towards the Taliban’s foreign comrades. Astonishing as it may appear, the Pakistan Foreign Office has done little to stir itself on the matter. Obviously, Islamabad has no line of communication with the Alliance leadership. Which is a sad commentary on its Afghan policy: its total support to Taliban in the latter part of the last decade gave it enemy status with the Northern leadership. For this reason, worried Pakistanis are using satellite telephones or sometimes venturing to go into Afghanistan themselves to rescue, or to know the fate of, their relations. More important, the issue has domestic political implications for Pakistan, since some tribal groups have hinted that they would take non-Pakhtoon Afghan refugees hostage. This is a grim scenario and could lead to a bloodbath if the Alliance leadership shows recklessness in dealing with foreign volunteers, including Pakistanis.
Unfortunately, the US has not shown the kind of responsibility that was expected of it. Perhaps, it would be more fruitful if Pakistan got in touch with Tehran and Ankara because of their contacts with the Northern leadership. Understandably, Kofi Annan, too, has not displayed any zeal to save the lives of non-Afghan Taliban because of American indifference. It is time Pakistan informed all permanent members of the Security Council of the gravity of the situation and used its clout with Beijing and western capitals to avert a bloodbath.
IT is distressing that the implementation of the mass transit plan for Lahore prepared by the Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency is being held up by inadequacy of resources. The plan has great significance in the context of easing worsening traffic congestion and handling the problems resulting from the rapid expansion of Lahore. It envisages the construction of a ring road round the city, an elevated expressway from Niazi Chowk to Data Darbar and access roads to the new airport terminal. The project involves the construction of a number of flyovers and grade separations and improvement on 11 busy crossings. Besides alleviating traffic congestion, it would help the civic authorities to meet some of the challenges of a megacity which Lahore now is. It was one of the reasons why the new city government was supporting it as its priority project.
Resource availability remains the biggest hurdle in the plan’s implementation. Construction has been delayed by the non-availability of foreign assistance since the May 1998 nuclear tests. Chances of external assistance improved after the lifting of most sanctions against Pakistan. A delegation of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which promised to finance the light rail transit project, is scheduled to visit the city shortly. A feasibility of the light rail transit has already been completed. Work is expected to start on it as soon as the Japanese assistance becomes available. The government must make efforts to line up proper resources for it and convince possible investors that the project was feasible for investment and geared to long-term plans for meeting urban challenges. One hopes the Lahore project will not suffer the fate of Karachi’s mass transit scheme, which has all but been scuppered. The Karachi project was first visualized in the seventies. But it fell victim less to the non-availability of resources and more to the lack of will on the part of successive governments to ensure its implementation. Whether Lahore or Karachi, the lack of fast, cheap and modern transport systems in our cities is a sad commentary on the sense of priorities of our economic planners.