| January 18, 2003 | Saturday | Ziqa'ad 14, 1423 |
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Workers’ killings
Road deaths
ONE must welcome the move Pakistan and Russia are making to improve their relations as is evident from the outcome of the two-day session of the Pakistan-Russia Consultative Group in Moscow. The two sides expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the exchange of views and the “commonality of positions” on a number of issues. It has also been announced that President Pervez Musharraf will visit Moscow early next month. Even though the USSR has ceased to exist and the Russian federation is not Pakistan’s neighbour, Russia, even in its present state of flux, is an important player on the world stage. A country that stretches from the Pacific to the Baltic, it has a historic interest in Central Asia. The impact of Tsarist and later Soviet communist policies on Central Asian culture and political institutions is profound. For that reason, Pakistan, which has cultural ties with the people of Central Asia and seeks to develop political and economic ties with them, must work in tandem with Russia. More specifically, Islamabad needs to re-assess its relations with Moscow in the post-cold war context and remove the misunderstandings of the past.
The seeds of misunderstanding were sown when Pakistan became a member of western military alliances and provided bases to the US. In response, Moscow drew closer to New Delhi politically and militarily and lent unqualified support to India on Kashmir and other bilaterally contentious issues. Pakistan’s close military and political ties with China also did not go down well with Russia, which became the principal supplier of arms to India. The relationship hit a new low when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, and Pakistan once again became an American ally, with both Islamabad and Washington arming the Mujahideen for the jihad against the occupiers. The Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan did not contribute to an improvement of relations with Pakistan because of Islamabad’s political and military involvement in the civil war and its support to the Taliban regime.
In the post 9/11 situation, with Pakistan having ditched its Taliban protege, Islamabad should make serious efforts to improve its ties with Moscow. Pakistan is now a front-line state in the US-led coalition’s war on terror. It has also taken some steps to control religious extremism at home and made it clear that it will not allow its soil to be used for terrorism against any state. Moscow still feels concerned over the activities of Islamic militants in some Central Asian states, and Islamabad would do well to come clean on this score. Russia’s membership of the original Shanghai-5 (now six) shows its desire to work closely with regional states to combat terrorism. Tehran and Kabul too have made attempts to strike an understanding with the Putin government on this issue. It is time Islamabad realized that improving political and economic relations with Moscow is in Pakistan’s long-term interests. Russia is home to nearly 20 million Muslims, and it regards Central Asia as its “near abroad.” Pakistan should keep these considerations in mind, address Russia’s sensitivities and lend full support to the Shanghai group in its attempt to combat forces of bigotry and extremism. Russia may be temporarily in eclipse, but its assets of human and economic resources are intact. Sooner or later, it will acquire the position that its size and history entitle it to. Russia is also a scientifically advanced country, and Pakistan can gain a lot by developing scientific and technical cooperation with Moscow.
TWO Muttahida Qaumi Movement workers were shot dead in Karachi on Wednesday night after the by-polls in the city had closed, although no connection has so far been established between the elections and the killings. One worker was also injured, and he has alleged in his report to the police that the attack was carried out by some MMA activists. The veracity of the allegations will be known only after the incident has been fully investigated. But the attack has raised fears of a recrudescence of the old rivalry between the religious parties, chiefly the Jamaat-i-Islami and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan (Noorani), and the MQM. The religious parties held sway in Karachi and Sindh’s urban centres till their hold was broken in the 1987 local body elections, when the MQM emerged as a major political force. This trend was consolidated in the general elections that followed in 1988 and 1990.
The local body polls under the Musharraf dispensation and then the elections last October saw something of a revival in the fortunes of the religious parties in Karachi, along with their major successes in the Frontier and Balochistan. There has inevitably been a rise in tensions again between the two groups, neither of which can be said to be averse to resort to violence as a mode of political action. There is, besides, the intense rivalry between the MQM and the Mohajir Qaumi Movement. That is why the citizens of Karachi are worried: they have seen peace after a long time in their city, and they cherish it. They hope that now that we have a provincial assembly, political and even ideological differences will be rationally and coolly debated, and the hotheads among political workers firmly kept in check. There has been enough of bloodshed in the city — bloodshed that created a culture of violence and intimidation. It is time to put the past behind us and to work within a democratic framework.
THURSDAY’S collision between an NLC trailer and a coach in Karachi was another tragic reminder of the havoc caused by rash driving on the city’s roads. Five persons were killed and 19 injured in the incident. According to statistics recently provided by the city’s DIG traffic, accidents involving heavy vehicles are the major cause of road deaths. Last year, over half of the 653 people killed in traffic accidents in Karachi were victims of accidents involving such vehicles. Minibuses, trucks, buses and water tankers, in that order, were the worst offenders. Three factors are at the heart of the traffic chaos: the exploitative system that governs transport, the power of the transport mafia and the dismal performance of the traffic police. The harsh system under which transport operates in most parts of the country seems designed to encourage rash driving. Drivers are forced to complete an unreasonable number of trips per day under a ruthless time-keeping regime that compels them to speed to escape severe penalties. As the DIG pointed out, there is no trade union to look after the interests of drivers and no job protection.
Meanwhile, the exorbitant rates of interest that small transporters pay to acquire buses forces owners to clock up as many trips as possible to get a good return on their investment. One effective way to cut down the accident rate is to streamline this exploitative system, perhaps by regulating drivers’ hours of duty and offering loans on easier terms to transporters. This will not be an easy task as transport is generally part of the unregulated informal sector. However, the authorities and transporters could sit down together and try to reach an understanding on this important issue. The police must also share part of the blame for the chaos on the city’s roads. Rather than spending their time extorting money from small fry such as motorcyclists, the police need to radically alter their priorities by penalizing all those who violate traffic laws.