| May 7, 2003 | Wednesday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 4, 1424 |
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CSS candidates’ plight
Calamity in the North
THE success or failure of the recently unveiled roadmap for peace in the Middle East hinges on one important question: will President George W. Bush be able to muster the political will and determination to defend the peace proposal from its influential opponents? The roadmap, put together by the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, envisages the creation of a viable Palestinian state by the year 2005. This is conditional on Israel and the Palestinian Authority taking a series of reciprocal and verifiable steps according to a strict timetable. In the first phase, the Palestinian Authority will have to carry out certain political and institutional reforms. By reducing the powers of the PA chairman, Yasser Arafat, and by reconstituting his cabinet under a new prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinians have already kept their part of the deal so far. It is now for the Israelis to reciprocate by freezing the construction of Jewish settlements and eventually dismantling them. The Palestinians have also pledged to crack down on the militants committing acts of terrorism against Israeli civilian targets. Israel will have to reciprocate by pulling its troops out of occupied West Bank and Gaza. This Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is most unlikely to do unless he is left with no choice but to comply and go along the road charted in the peace map.
While the roadmap has been welcomed by mainstream Palestinian groups, it has been strongly criticized by radical elements like Hamas, who see it as being designed to pit sections of Palestinians against one another in the name of fighting terrorism. Israel, meanwhile, has grudgingly accepted the roadmap but with a number of caveats. These reservations could well be used to scuttle the proposals in the future if US pressure is not brought to bear on Tel Aviv in the right measure and with full force. The Oslo peace process, it must be remembered, were deliberately sabotaged by the Israelis who decided to settle the Palestinian issue by brute force rather than negotiations. Unfortunately, the timeframe of the new process will coincide with the run-up to next year’s US election. President Bush must surely be haunted by the memory of his father who, after his triumph in the first Gulf war, had launched a peace offensive in the Middle East. His election-eve falling out with the Israelis, including a showdown with Ariel Sharon, lost the Republicans vital Jewish vote and support, which was one of the factors leading to his electoral defeat.
As an aspirant for a second term, President Bush is also likely to be vulnerable to the powerful pro-Israeli lobby in the US Congress and among the Christian right, which forms such an important part of the Republican vote bank. Already, half the members of the Congress have come out strongly in favour of the hardline policies of Ariel Sharon. To add to President Bush’s problems, an influential lobby of neo-conservatives close to the White House has been publicly denouncing the roadmap and urging the government not to offer any concessions to the Palestinians. This is a formidable lobby to stand up to, especially in an election year. On the other hand, President Bush is under intense pressure from the EU, Russia and most Arab nations to ensure that the roadmap’s proposals and timetable are strictly adhered to by the Israelis. The world knows only too well that Israel will deliver only if it remains under constant pressure from Washington. One only hopes that the president will keep his nerve in the face of relentless pressure from the pro-Israeli lobby. If the US is unable to maintain a balance between the two parties to the conflict and another peace process falls victim to Israeli intransigence, the consequences for the region could be unimaginable.
THE inordinate delay by the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) in placing some 800 candidates declared successful in the CSS 2001 exams in different occupational groups is most unfortunate. The successful candidates have been waiting for their assignments since September 2002 when the results were announced. The delay has caused considerable harm to the future of these candidates since they have yet to begin even their mandatory training at the civil services academy. The FPSC has meanwhile justified the delay saying that a pending court case prevents it from proceeding with the group allocation process. However, the candidates disagree, pointing out that there is no stay order as such preventing the FPSC from going ahead with the group allocations for the 2001 candidates. Besides, the pending court case in question relates to the examinees of a different year and, therefore, should not in any way be a hindrance to the processing of the cases of the successful candidates of the 2001 CSS exams.
This makes it plain that the Federal Public Service Commission’s reason for the delay in processing the cases of the 800 candidates in question is neither valid nor justifiable. It is against the principles of justice and fair play to keep that many young men and women in a state of suspense and frustration for that long about their future. The careers of several hundred highly qualified men and women are at stake, and for no fault of their own. The FPSC needs to ask itself why, in the absence of any specific stay order, it did not initiate the process of assignments for those who successfully passed the 2001 exam. Since seven months have already passed following the announcement of the results, the FPSC should take immediate measures so that the successful candidates of the 2001 exam can get on with their CSS careers. This is hardly the kind of treatment to be meted out to individuals who choose to make a career out of public service.
THE Northern Areas had hardly recovered from the severe earthquake which hit the region in November, when unprecedented rain and snowfall throughout the first week of May left another trail of death and destruction in the area. Six women and children, all belonging to a single family, were killed when their house in Skardu district collapsed on Friday. The harsh weather has damaged hundreds of other houses and shops and has destroyed crops and cattle. Life in the region has practically been paralyzed for a week now as virtually all roads, including the Karakoram Highway, have been blocked by landslides or mudslides, flights to the region have been suspended, and electricity and telephone systems disconnected. The 17th session of the Northern Areas Legislative Council in Gilgit has also been prorogued, since a majority of the members were unable to attend because of the blockade of roads.
Accessibility, or rather the lack of it, has often been cited as the major reason hindering the speed and effectiveness of emergency rescue and recovery operations whenever a calamity hits the Northern Areas. Since the region is known to be prone to natural calamities, the government, in coordination with the army and NGO-affiliated emergency rescue agencies, ought to devise a standby emergency plan. The plan would involve positioning rescue and rehabilitation resources at key points in the Northern Areas which can be mobilized as soon as possible whenever a disaster strikes. A major component of this rescue and rehabilitation operation would have to consist of a permanent fleet of helicopters and heavy equipment needed to quickly remove debris, clear and repair roads, and restore electricity and telecommunication lines. The government should allocate the necessary resources to activate such a plan so that the suffering and hardship of the people of the Northern Areas can be mitigated whenever a calamity hits the area.