Dangerous escalation

THE nerve-racking tension in the subcontinent went up by several notches in the last couple of days as New Delhi stepped up its diplomatic and military offensive against Pakistan. The expulsion of Pakistan’s high commissioner in New Delhi has been followed by heavy artillery shelling, targeting civilians, across the working boundary. The precipitate action also includes placing the paramilitary personnel in the occupied territory under the Indian army’s command and the coast guard under the Indian navy’s. These moves follow threatening statements by BJP hawks, including prime minister Vajpayee. In the wake of the Jammu attack, the Indian government once again blamed Pakistan and pledged in Hindi what international wire agencies said could be translated as “retaliation” or “revenge.” Not to be outdone, the Indian army chief said “the time for action has come.”

These moves appear ominous when seen against the background of New Delhi’s persistent refusal to talk to Islamabad. The Agra summit, no doubt, failed, but both Pakistan and India had pledged to carry the peace process forward. However, the terrorist attack on the Indian parliament building last December became the turning point in relations between the two countries. The BJP government has since then followed a jingoist policy. It refused Pakistan’s offer of a joint inquiry into the attack; it also declined an FBI offer to help establish the truth behind the mysterious attack. Instead, what the BJP government did was to mass troops along Pakistan’s border. Efforts by powers friendly to both somewhat lessened the tension during the winter. But New Delhi continues to glory in the display of military power, saying the troops would stay deployed until there is evidence that Pakistan has stopped “cross-border terrorism.” In the meantime, Pakistan has taken a number of bold steps to curb terrorism, banned several extremist parties, arrested hundreds of their activists, and declared that it would not allow its territory to be used for terrorism against anyone. Yet India’s response has been arrogantly negative and self-righteous. It has refused to talk to Pakistan to de-escalate the tension or to hold negotiations for a peaceful solution of the Kashmir issue.

The world is aware of the risks involved in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation between the two nuclear powers. World capitals, including Washington, Moscow and Beijing, have repeatedly called upon Pakistan and India to exercise restraint and resume talks. Pakistan has accepted each and every offer and agreed to negotiate with India anywhere, anytime, but New Delhi’s response has been one of hauteur stemming from great power pretensions.

There is need now for calling a halt to the slide into the unknown. Each time, it is India that has taken one precipitate step after another to create bilateral tensions. The latest decision to expel the chief of Pakistan’s mission in New Delhi and the stepped-up artillery attacks are examples of the war hysteria the BJP government wants to maintain. Pakistan’s policy is based on confidence stemming from the justness of its cause as from a firm resolve to repel any aggression. All it wants is negotiations with a view to ending the stand-off on the border and solving the Kashmir problem. One hopes friends of India and Pakistan will put pressure where pressure needs to be put and stress on India the need for accepting the offer of talks as a way of defusing the crisis that at some stage could spin out of control.

Unsafe hospital practices

NEWS of negligence on the part of the paramedical staff at our public hospitals may not be anything new, but it is most disturbing and the practice needs to be curbed with a firm hand. The latest cases of such negligence are reported from a number of public hospitals and dental clinics in Peshawar. These include lack at proper sterilizing procedure at the Khyber College of Dentistry, the Lady Reading Hospital and the Hyatabad Medical Complex, to name only a few. The situation in other cities is not any different. In Peshawar, a group of doctors and surgeons have complained of not being provided sterilized instruments and surgical equipment either because the hospitals do not have the facilities in working order or simply because the subordinate paramedical staff is careless and apathetic. No wonder, the incidence of infectious diseases in Pakistan is alarmingly high.

Turning a blind eye to such negligence amounts to criminal conduct on the part of the hospital authorities, especially considering that all infectious diseases, including certain types of hepatitis, HIV and Aids, are incurable. Even among the treatable diseases, acute jaundice and tuberculosis, among others, can be fatal, and are quite common. Also, the incidence of malpractice involving repeated use of disposable syringes and tubes and careless use of dressings, X-ray equipment and tools by the lower hospital staff is a common practice. Unfortunately, the operation theatres at large public hospitals, which often charge an operation fee for the use of these facilities, are also not safe from such hazardous practices. The government needs to pay urgent attention to this matter and ensure that public hospitals do not become a major source for the spread of infectious diseases, thus adding to the miseries of the hapless patients, besides overstretching the capacity of the public health-care institutions.

Summer water scarcities

THE water shortage being experienced by the citizens in various parts of Lahore during the current hot weather speaks of the apathy and inefficiency of civic management. There are areas in which water pressure is low, especially during the peak morning and afternoon hours when consumption increases substantially. This naturally causes much suffering to the residents. A growing demand for water is a serious problem in view of the rise in population and the development of new housing colonies and commercial sectors. Getting an adequate supply is the right of every household. But the system is riddled with far too many problems of leakages, theft and so on to ensure an adequate and uninterrupted supply to the consumers. Installation of unauthorized water pumps on supply lines do accentuate scarcities during summer, but then there is sometimes no other way to meet one’s day-to-day needs except by resort to this practice.

The systemic shortcomings of Wasa as also inadequate investment in water generation have in no small way added to the water shortage. Although Wasa has now increased pumping to meet additional demand, there are leakages caused by the rusting of underground pipes and other technical faults that result in considerable waste of water. Cast-iron lines laid in many parts of the city require replacement because of cracks. Wasa has to release a lot of water by opening fire hydrant valves for removing rust in such pipelines. Appeals to people to refrain from wasting water are generally not heeded. The Parks and Horticulture Authority, for example, wastes huge quantities of water by running fountains and watering grass in parks when it could easily draw water by sinking tubewells instead of wasting water meant for drinking. But basically it is Wasa which has to spruce up its infrastructure, check unauthorized connections and recover millions of rupees in arrears from various departments to ensure an adequate supply of water to the city.