| January 8, 2003 | Wednesday | Ziqa’ad 4, 1423 |
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Power cut disparity
Why this tree cutting?
IT IS difficult to reason with a country that, because of its security considerations, wishes to impose checks on the entry of foreign nationals or on those already living in that country. Whether the security threat has been overblown and whether the procedures adopted to guard against it are just, fair and non-discriminatory, may be debatable, but the right of a country to formulate rules according to its own needs and perceptions cannot be questioned. What has happened in the case of the new National Security Entry/Exit Registration System adopted by the United States is that it is directed specifically against nationals of mainly Muslim countries, including Pakistan. This covers not merely new arrivals, but also nationals of the ‘listed’ countries resident in the US — many for years and decades. The implementation of the system has been abrasive, sweeping and in many cases humiliating for the individuals concerned.
Pakistan says it has taken up the matter with the US government. The contention put forward by Islamabad and by many Pakistani American associations is that since Pakistan is a close ally of the US in the “war on terror”, its nationals should be excluded from the category of countries whose citizens are to be kept under surveillance. The sense of hurt is understandable, but, at the same time, it should be remembered that the soil of Pakistan has proved a fertile ground for breeding terrorists. From the Pakistan government’s own accounts, several Al Qaeda fighters have been arrested here and deported. It is also known that many foreigners involved in the Afghan war have fraudulently obtained Pakistani national identity cards and passports in the past. Secondly, being a partner in a venture that has expanded far beyond its original focus is hardly something that can be used to prop up a largely moral argument. If presented in the way it is being done, Pakistan’s case remains weak. If the “close ally” contention has to be employed at all, it can be used to greater advantage by suggesting that out-of-status Pakistanis against whom there are no criminal charges should be legalized — a step that will benefit thousands of our nationals.
The issue should be seen in a broader perspective. The new internal security system is applicable only to Muslims, which brings it into conflict with all established concepts of civil liberties and makes a mockery of America’s claim to be the world’s most enlightened democracy. All ‘listed’ countries should together raise this point more forcefully with the US administration, legislators and media people and work closely with civil rights groups. Fair-minded Americans are themselves beginning to get worried about the domestic implications of the Bush administration’s paranoia, which is aggravating racial prejudices. They fear that the US may be turning into a police state in which political dissidents may also be subjected to a McCarthyist witch-hunt. The term “terrorism” has become a catch-all that can be used to justify any high-handed intrusion into the lives of ordinary, peaceful men and women. The stereotyping of Muslims follows the same pattern that was once evident in the treatment of African Americans, who were blamed for all crime in the country. An argument along these lines, specially if made by the affected countries in concert, might sound more compelling rather than pleas for special consideration on the basis of strategic ties.
THE five per cent cut in the KESC’s power rates, announced by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), on Monday, will be received with mixed feelings. While even a reduction averaging 5.5 paisa per unit is welcome, the consumers were expecting a 12 paisa per unit cut as promised by the government on December 20. The reduction in power rates is different for different categories of consumers: for residential consumers, excluding ‘lifeline’ consumers using up to 50 units, it is five paisa per unit and for industrial and commercial consumers six paisa per unit. Lifeline consumers have remained excluded from relief for the last four years.
In case of Wapda consumers, Nepra has given a relief of 12 paisa per unit — the same as promised on December 20. The divergence in the two cases is explained by Nepra by saying that the relief is being provided under the quarterly fuel price adjustment mechanism. During the last quarter, the price of furnace oil declined from Rs 13,177 to Rs 12,002 per ton and the value of the dollar from Rs 60 to Rs 58. These declines have been taken into account by Nepra in determining cuts. The lesser amount (5.5 paisa per unit) for KESC consumers has been justified on the ground that the increase in power rates in October last was not passed on to KESC consumers. Inclusive of the October exclusion, the reduction in rates now also comes to 12 paisa per unit.
When the December 20 cabinet decision was announced, the intention was to provide relief outside the quarterly adjustment formula which has been in operation for quite some time. That relief has yet to materialize. Perhaps it will form part of the recommendations of the cabinet committee set up to formulate a special relief package. The government should see to it that the promised package is not unduly delayed.
IT IS that time of year again in Islamabad when trees are being cut down wholesale. This time it is the beautiful shady Sumbul and Gulmohar trees in the F-8 residential sector which have been chopped down. Photographs of the sawed tree trunks strewn on the roadside awaiting removal by the contractor that had axed the trees appeared in several newspapers recently, including Dawn. The chopped tree trunks were a sorry sight, with green leaves and twigs scattered on the road.
The wholesale cutting of trees, whether authorized or illegal, is common elsewhere in the country also. Karachi and Lahore have both suffered on this account. In the latest instance in Islamabad, a media coordinator with the ministry of environment estimates that over 200 trees were brought down. The explanation given by officials is a flimsy one — that they were merely responding to complaints from residents about the nuisance caused by the feathery flowers of the Sumbul trees. The other excuse was that the trees were already “mature”. Neither of these two reasons justify the action.
In other countries, only diseased, dying or dead trees are cut down, and even then only as a last resort after it has been ascertained that nothing can be done at all to protect or save a tree from dying. But we are not only felling mature trees, it is estimated that only about 40 per cent of the saplings planted every year in the tree planting campaigns actually survive and grow into adult trees. The authorities concerned surely ought to be more environment-conscious rather than behave like the timber mafia.