| March 3, 2003 | Monday | Zul Hijjah 29, 1423 |
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A draconian proposal
Combating tuberculosis
THE long process that began with the general elections of October 10 has finally come to an end following the recent Senate polls. Almost five months have passed since the elections, during which the country has remained in an uneasy political limbo. While both the October polls and the Senate elections were marred by charges of pre-poll rigging and brazen manipulation, arm-twisting and so forth by the powers that be, the country now has elected upper and lower houses firmly in place. It is time, therefore, for the politicians to take a break from the long period of behind-the-scenes moves and manoeuvres and get down to the business of running the country. Despite the best efforts of the establishment, the electorate delivered a split verdict in October, with the ruling PML-Q eventually gaining the slenderest of majorities in both the upper and lower houses of parliament. In the National Assembly, the government faces a strong opposition in the shape of the PPP and the MMA, who have fundamental differences with the government on a number of key issues.
The most obvious differences are over the Legal Framework Order, with both the PPP and MMA unwilling to recognize the constitutional package that President Musharraf enforced before the polls. This debate, while absolutely fundamental, is likely to be a major obstacle in the smooth functioning of parliament. With the government and opposition at loggerheads and unyielding over key constitutional issues, it is difficult to see how other pressing and more concrete issues will be addressed. It is important, therefore, for the two sides to come to some sort of agreement on this and other contentious issues in a spirit of reasonable compromise and accommodation in the larger interest of a smooth and reasonably trouble-free democratic transition. So far, that transition has been more in form than in substance. It is for the politicians on both sides of the divide to make that happen.
The LFO issue must be sorted out once and for all if the assemblies and governments are to have any chance of getting down to the composite, and, in the given context, the highly complex business of governance. Another major source of discord is the peculiar status of the country’s political leadership. Three of the country’s most popular parties are being run in absentia from abroad by their respective leaders — Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif and Altaf Hussain — who between them command a large number of seats in parliament, are all, by choice or compulsion, out of the country at present. This state of affairs is not only incompatible with the demands and requirements of democracy, but has also badly distorted Pakistan’s politics. In the case of Altaf Hussain, senior MQM figures are constantly commuting between Karachi and London before any major decision is taken. The failure of the PPP to get any stake in power this time, despite a decent showing in the October elections was clearly a reflection of this remote-control form of leadership. Decisions being thrashed out in face-to-face meetings between the party’s local leadership and various political groupings were constantly being vetoed from afar. This, more or less, is also the case with the PML(N), which has perforce to seek guidance from Jeddah on crucial matters.
It is time for the politicians to return to the country to face the music or allow alternative leadership to take charge of party affairs and take decisions. The government, for its part, must give them an assurance that they will not be subjected to political victimization and will allow the law to take its course. Pakistan faces a huge number of problems that are waiting to be tackled. It is in the interest of both the government and the opposition to show some flexibility and accommodation to make the system work this time round.
AMERICA’s chief policeman, Attorney-General John Ashcroft, has come up with yet another proposal that could sharply abridge civil liberties in his country and be used against people from a specific ethnic background and faith. The proposed Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 seeks drastic penalties for American citizens suspected of supporting terrorist organizations. These include rescinding their citizenship and sending them back to their country of origin. The proposed law, among other measures, seeks to sanction the arbitrary arrest and secret detention of US citizens and allow the US government to tap telephones of its citizens without a court order. These measures take the excessively intrusive surveillance system that is in practice in America after September 11 a step further, and include the right of the FBI to screen the reading lists of library patrons.
Other than the fact that such Orwellian measures have little if any value in terms of actually helping the US government succeed in its objective of apprehending terrorists, most of them seem to go against the basic notion of fundamental human rights. Rights groups in America, led by the American Civil Liberties Union, have already severely criticized this proposed law claiming that it, along with the existing Patriot Act, would “fundamentally alter the constitutional protections that allow citizens to be both safe and free”. Clearly, the proposed law could be used to target particular communities settled in the US, especially those from Muslim or Middle Eastern backgrounds. American citizens of Pakistani origin would also have much to lose from the passage of such an act. Hopefully, good sense will prevail over the Bush administration and force the likes of Mr Ashcroft not to push proposals that will do little to enhance domestic security but much to increase discrimination and a sense of resentment among millions of law-abiding Americans.
ACCORDING to a recent study conducted by non-governmental organizations, tuberculosis is on the rise in Pakistan. An estimated eight million people contract the highly infectious disease annually, out of which 17 per cent are children. Some two million people succumb to TB every year which is an alarmingly high figure given that it is a curable disease if diagnosed in time and treated properly. The study reveals that people from lower income groups are at a greater risk of contracting TB for obvious reasons that include unhygienic living conditions, exposure to contaminants and pollutants, low awareness levels and malnutrition. Noting the higher prevalence of TB among Afghan refugee children, the study voices concern over the possibility of its spread to other segments of society. It concludes by predicting that the number likely to be infected by the disease may rise to 10.2 million by 2005 if no action is taken to arrest its spread.
The government has tried to arrest the spread of the disease by running public awareness campaigns and by providing affordable treatment for the disease. But it seems that these efforts are not keeping pace with the high growth rate of TB. One very disturbing finding of the study is the high incidence of TB among children. Not only is it more difficult to diagnose the disease among children but its treatment too is often less successful. The government must make concerted efforts and dedicate more resources to combat the threat of TB and devote a larger effort for its prevention as its treatment requires enormous amounts of money.