| September 13, 2002 | Friday | Rajab 5, 1423 |
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Al Qaeda shoot-out
Illogical & uncalled-for
ELECTORAL rigging has come close to being developed almost as a fine art in Pakistan. Since the 1977 polls, hardly any election outcome has enjoyed total public credibility, and how the results of the last two elections were doctored still remains somewhat of a mystery. In these circumstances, the Election Commission’s moves towards transparency for next month’s elections will be carefully watched. It has just made the welcome announcement that sealed ballot boxes will be opened in the presence of polling agents and that the results will be announced at each polling station, with polling agents and observers allowed to watch the count. A copy of the results, signed by polling agents, will be given to the latter and also posted outside each polling booth. On the basis of the statement of count in respect of all polling stations in a constituency, the returning officer will prepare preliminary results that will be signed by the candidates or their election agents. This procedure was not followed during the last election and consequently there was widespread suspicion of a discrepancy between the counts at individual polling booths and the consolidated constituency results as announced on state-owned media. If such a discrepancy arises now, it will be possible to challenge it on the basis of the signed tallies obtained at the polling booths.
This is of course just one aspect of ensuring fair elections. Voter registration and preventing bogus voting are equally crucial. The registration process is over, and there’s very little that political parties can now do to check all electoral rolls. But their vigilance can help staff on duty at polling stations to prevent multiple voting by the same person or to detect false identity papers. Whether political parties have the resources and the organizational capacity to man all polling booths with their agents, especially polling stations in the rural areas, remains a big question mark. The indelible ink used to mark the thumbs of the voters who exercise their franchise has in the past proved as susceptible to soap and water and a little scratching as ordinary ink; a more lasting solution will have to be devised to this particular problem. There are innumerable other details that depend on our collective sense of honesty and public morality, and since both qualities are in short supply, fingers should remain crossed about what will actually happen on polling day. Free access to polling booths for candidates’ agents and election observers, including international observers, will be important to prevent later accusations.
Political parties meanwhile continue to accuse government officials of seeking to influence the outcome by playing favourites among parties and candidates. Official pressure is said to have been used in some instances to persuade apparently winnable candidates to change party loyalties. Many of the nazims may also be tempted to play a partisan role. There is, then, the entire question of access to, and projection by, government-owned radio and television. The major parties deserve equal and sufficient airtime to get their message across, specially in view of the fact that the ban on political activities was lifted belatedly and electioneering greatly circumscribed by the ban on rallies and processions. The process of disqualification of candidates also continues to be marked by controversy. There can be many invidious ways of managing an election that come close to rigging, and the days left between now and October 10 will be a test of the government’s commitment to hold a fair poll. The test for the political parties lies in creating enough interest among their followers to ensure a respectable turnout on election day. The bickering that has been going on within the many alliances and parties is hardly conducive to inspiring much popular enthusiasm.
THE death of two Al Qaeda men and the arrest of five in a shoot-out in Karachi on Wednesday brings out certain awkward facts for Pakistan. The first bitter truth is that the Al Qaeda network is not only alive; it considers Pakistan its best sanctuary. Those killed and arrested were not merely in hiding. If they were, they need not have armed themselves; they might have been planning an operation somewhere in Karachi. But the fact that the gun battle lasted several hours, during which they also managed to hit six policemen, shows Al Qaeda activists still retain their operational capability and have the capacity to fight back. That the shoot-out should have occurred in Karachi also reaffirms the point that the tribal areas are not their only refuge and that Pakistani cities also serve as a haven for them. Karachi’s urban jungle specially suits them because they can melt away in its polyglot and multi-ethnic matrix without a trace and go about without arousing suspicion. This makes the task of the intelligence and law enforcement agencies particularly difficult and challenging.
Of late, these agencies have had some success — as in the Daniel Pearl case, or in arresting the suspects in the attack on the American consulate in Karachi. But what lies ahead is a tough task. It has been made more complex by the fact that there are organizations and people who are still sympathetic to Al Qaeda and other religious militants. What Al Qaeda’s aims and objects in the post-Taliban era and in the aftermath of the presumed death of Osama bin Laden are remain unclear. But the disappearance of the central leadership of any guerilla or terrorist outfit is always dangerous, since individuals and groups then begin to operate on their own without any fixed aim and without any regulating mechanism as to their options and targets in a given situation. That makes them more unpredictable and lethal. All this only serves to underline the need for the intelligence agencies to be vigilant and be on the lookout for clues.
OWNERS of motorcycles made in China have complained that the Sindh excise and taxation department is harassing them for no reason. According to a report from Larkana, the complaints came after the owners of the new motorcycles went to the local excise and taxation department to register their bikes. Their registration applications were rejected because, according to some dealers, vested interests were at play and they did not want people to buy the cheaper and more affordable motorcycles. The police and excise department are said to be harassing them at the behest of these vested interests, which could be the bigger motorcycle companies and dealers who fear that their sales will decline in the face of competition from the cheaper Chinese brand of motorcycles.
Perhaps the Sindh government would like to clarify the matter because surely there cannot be anything as illogical as letting a particular brand of motorcycles to be imported and then making it difficult for people to buy them just because some dealers may feel threatened. It is the right of the consumer to buy what he likes and can afford. And surely the police and excise department staff in Larkana and other cities in the interior of Sindh have better things to do than to chase people driving Chinese motorcycles.