| September 18, 2002 | Wednesday | Rajab 10, 1423 |
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Clash over power
PCSIR’s problems
DESPITE Iraq’s decision to allow an unconditional return of UN weapons inspectors, war clouds continue to hover over the Middle East. Within minutes of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s announcement that Baghdad had agreed to a return of inspectors, Washington dismissed the Iraqi offer, calling it “a tactic that will fail.” In fact, the US seems to have shifted its position by saying, in a brazen show of intransigence, that what matters is not inspection but disarmament. All along this period of crisis, the world had been urging the Baathist regime to agree to the inspectors’ unconditional return so as to avoid the danger of war and more misery for the people of Iraq. Baghdad’s stand was that it would not do so, thus exposing the region to the devastation of an American-led offensive. However, on Monday, Baghdad surprised the world by accepting the inspectors’ return unconditionally.
The Iraqi offer was conveyed in a letter to Mr Kofi Annan, who in turn passed it on to the Security Council. That the secretary-general should have thanked the Arab League for its “key role” shows how relieved he felt over Baghdad’s decision. Coupled with its acceptance was Baghdad’s willingness to start immediate discussion on “the practical arrangement” for the return of the inspectors. While the world heaved a sigh of relief at the Iraqi decision, the US surprised friends and foes alike by declaring that the issue was not inspection but Iraq’s disarmament. A White House spokesman insisted that a UN resolution requiring Iraq to disarm was still needed and said it was time for the Security Council to adopt a motion that “will actually deal with the threat” Iraq poses. The state department wants the new UN resolution to make it clear to Iraq that there would be “consequences” if it failed to comply with it.
One wonders what a new resolution is meant for, because the American demand has been met. The US had accused the Saddam regime of following a secret weapons programme. Baghdad denied it. But now that it has agreed to let the inspectors in, the crisis should come to an end, and the UN men be allowed to do their job. Instead, the US seems determined to pursue its objective of punishing and removing Saddam Hussein. In fact, it is hard to avoid an impression that America feels disappointed that the Iraqi acceptance has deprived it of the opportunity for a quick strike. It is time for America’s Arab friends to realize where the problem lies. America’s real aim is to make a terrible example of Saddam Hussein, inspection or no inspection. If the Arab League managed to prevail upon Baghdad to agree to a fresh round of weapons inspection, it now faces the more formidable job of making Washington see reason, stop its war threats and let the UN inspectors get on with their job — instead of looking for fresh pretexts to go after Iraq. One hopes America’s European friends, besides Russia and China, will make Washington see the untenability of its stance. The issue is simple: the inspectors should be permitted to verify the truth behind the contradictory American and Iraqi claims about Baghdad’s secret weapons programme and till they submit their report, Washington should stop fuming and fulminating.
THE clash in a Peshawar suburb on Monday between paramilitary forces and people protesting over electricity load-shedding is another indication of the contempt with which people’s basic needs continue to be ignored. There was firing between the protesters and the paramilitary men in which the nazim of the area was killed. According to some reports, he was part of the demonstration against Wapda. Other accounts say he was trying to pacify the agitated residents and was hit by security personnel. The protesters were armed and some of them even had rocket launchers, which they used to attack a police station — action that cannot be excused. Clearly, the Frontier continues to be awash with arms as before. However, the apparently trigger-happy behaviour of the paramilitary men also calls for a full investigation. It was the killing of the nazim that incited the crowd to violence, with pitched battles fought between the two opposing sides in which several policemen were reportedly injured.
The incident should not be confused with the trouble in the tribal areas where tribesmen have been resisting the installation of electricity meters. In this case, the citizens were regular consumers angry over the fact that over the past two months power to their villages was cut off during the day by Wapda, resulting in the drying up of the Sarband Canal. It is unfortunate that the Peshawar protest led to violence and the death of an elected representative. But even a cursory glance at newspaper files reveals a number of recent incidents in which people have been forced to come out on the streets to complain about lack of electricity and water. Government functionaries talk glibly of the essence of good governance and poverty reduction and sustainable development. But when it comes to day-to-day miseries being faced by the people, they have nothing to say. One deplores the ugly turn the Peshawar demonstration took, but the dunderheads in various government agencies should realize that it is their own callous attitude that is driving people to desperation. Political parties should realize that they have a better chance of mobilizing voters and votes on such issues as the provision of the basic amenities of life than through abstract rhetoric.
THE chairman of the Pakistan Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) is right in saying that the viability of his organization depends on forging links with industry and the business sector. Its 25th general council meeting was also told that its operation and research had to be reorganized to make its products commercially viable. Part of the blame for the organization’s poor track record has to do with the low priority successive governments have placed on the promotion of science and technology. Add to this the fact that most of the nation’s universities have an almost non-existent culture of research and inquiry, and the reasons for the PCSIR’s lacklustre performance becomes clearer.
Circumstances have now forced it to realize that it has to develop products that actually have a chance of selling in the market. For example, in August it tried to market a tonic which if taken would help ‘energize’ a person’s brain. It is easy to see that, given the fact that the PCSIR is not exactly known to be a pharmaceutical outfit of repute, there would have been few buyers. One would also like to point out here that over 90 per cent of its budget is usually spent on salaries with little left for research. While the government has increased the PCSIR’s funding, the amount set aside for research is still quite meagre. All the more reason, then, to heed the chairman’s advice to use it to maximum effect.