A way out of the crisis

THE opposition’s campaign against the Legal Framework Order disrupted the proceedings of both the National Assembly and the Senate on Friday, prompting anxious observers to wonder where the protests are leading this perennially unstable country. As a result of the rumpus, the National Assembly session had to be adjourned till Monday while the Senate was indefinitely prorogued. This was the second time this week that the National Assembly had to be abruptly adjourned and the contagion seems to have spread to the Senate. In the upper house, angry opposition members chanted slogans against the LFO and President Pervez Musharraf for almost five hours without a break, as the treasury benches tried to put up a feeble resistance. Similar unruly scenes were witnessed in the lower house too.

The controversy over the LFO seems to have brought both houses to a complete standstill and have prompted dark warnings from the prime minister that the methods of resistance adopted by the opposition could well put the system in jeopardy. This is not a good omen. Despite offers of talks with the opposition, the government seems unwilling to take the necessary lead and change its stated position on the critical issues at stake. For the government, the LFO is part of the Constitution and no loud protest can alter that reality. On the other hand, the opposition is equally determined not to budge or yield to pressures or threats concerning the fate of the fragile democratic dispensation now in transition. Today, Pakistan faces a number of daunting challenges on both the internal and external fronts. The threat from a belligerent India continues to loom, Afghanistan remains unstable and threatens to lurch back into anarchy, while the post-war uncertainty in the Middle East spreads its dark shadows far and wide. These are not without implications for Pakistan’s security and internal stability. Given this scenario, the constant disruption of parliamentary proceedings can only distract the elected representatives from focusing their minds on the pressing issues that demand immediate attention.

What is required is the will on both the opposition and government sides to go beyond their stated positions on the LFO and make a serious effort to break the continuing deadlock. In an ideal world, parliament would be the most appropriate forum to debate this issue of fundamental importance and try to work out a settlement. However, the current polarization means that such a debate would soon degenerate into a slanging match between the two sides. A way out of the trap of rigid posturings must, therefore, be found by the government inviting a small and representative group of opposition parliamentarians to engage in a serious and open-minded dialogue on the controversial LFO. While this group tries to thrash out an acceptable compromise, there must be an agreement to allow parliament to function normally without any further disruptions. Amidst all the noise and fury it is easy to forget that large parts of the LFO are not controversial. There are only three components of it that deeply divide the government and the opposition, which can be resolved if the necessary seriousness of purpose and realism is brought to bear on a process of conciliation through give and take.

President Musharraf’s election through a referendum as president for five years is one such issue, along with his decision to retain the post of chief of army staff. It is not impossible for the two sides to find a middle ground on the issue. The president could perhaps announce a timeframe for giving up his army post and expect parliament to elect him president for a certain length of time. While this step will not be palatable to many, it will at least be a step forward in the way of ‘demilitarizing’ the political system. Then there is the issue of Article 58 (2)b, through which the president can dismiss the assemblies at his discretion. On this an understanding could be reached on taking away the president’s powers to sack the assemblies while retaining his prerogative to dismiss an errant government. The house would then elect a new leader from within the assembly without requiring to go through the rough and tumble of fresh elections all too frequently, as was the case in the 1990s. As for the contentious National Security Council, the government must seriously think again about the need and wisdom of having such an incongruous body transplanted into the country’s political system. The proposed NSC could at best be an advisory body comprising all those elements that deal with vital national security issues, including the three service chiefs. It must not at any cost be a statutory body that is above parliament or impinges on the powers of the elected governments and assemblies. A veto-wielding National Security Council is anathema in a democratic system of government.

These are among the outlines of a possible solution on which the government and the opposition could focus their attention in a serious and open-minded manner. The determination must be to find a way out of the logjam at all costs. It is time for parliament to play the role it has been elected for rather than wasting its energies on an endless tug of war. Pakistan badly needs a period of political stability that only democracy can bring. Politicians from across the spectrum must join hands to save the system because the alternative to democratic rule is simply unthinkable and could badly damage the interests of the country in these dangerous times.

Factories in inner-city

THE commercialization of residential areas in inner-city Karachi has long been a growing problem. The vested interests of small entrepreneurs and petty traders, together with pervasive corruption among official functionaries at various levels, have defied a lasting solution of this grave problem for a long time. Consequently, inner-city areas such as Lyari, Saddar, Mithadar, Kharadar, M.A. Jinnah Road and adjoining localities, have been commercialized to a point where living in these areas has come to pose serious health hazards to the residents. Warehouses, automobile workshops and factories emitting toxic fumes and waste such as sulphur and lead particles, combined with vehicles emitting deadly carbon monoxide, have multiplied over the years, causing high levels of environmental pollution affecting people’s health.

There are an estimated 400 manufacturing units in these areas, including ginning mills, steel and recycling factories, and small- to medium-sized units producing plastic goods, soap and chemicals. Without proper provisions for the disposal of industrial waste, these units discharge lethal levels of pollutants. The ill-effects of these pollutants on human life include the possible onset of respiratory ailments, infections, tuberculosis, kidney failure and even cancer among the exposed population. Children are believed to be at a much greater risk of contracting these diseases than adults living in these areas. The Pakistan Environmental Protection Act of 1997 prohibits the setting up of manufacturing units in residential areas, but its provisions have largely remained unenforced. It is time the city district government, which is responsible for the upkeep of the city and the enforcement of the anti-pollution law, acted in the public interest and called the offenders and violators of the PEPA regulations to book. Commercialization of residential areas, even if such development contributes to the exchequer in terms of taxes, cannot be justified at the expense of public health.