Encounter at Camp David

THERE has been a great deal of media interest in the Musharraf-Bush meeting scheduled for today at the US presidential retreat at Camp David. Publicists in both Pakistan and the US have pointed out that the meeting’s venue is one that is usually chosen by American presidents to welcome visitors in a specially friendly and informal setting. President Pervez Musharraf is technically no longer Pakistan’s chief executive; the country has an elected prime minister and parliament. The head of state in a parliamentary democracy is not entitled to take any important decisions on behalf of his government. But the practical realities are such that everyone know that it is the Pakistan military that calls the shots on sensitive issues, and no eyebrows appear to have been raised over the omission of any elected minister from the Musharraf entourage.

There may also be a certain logic to it. The Americans are aware of the fact that, on the question of the “war on terror” and Afghanistan, it was President Musharraf and the military that took the fateful decisions that set Pakistan on a new course. This was immediately after 9/11 and before the country’s general elections. So in a sense it is Gen Musharraf and the army that he heads which represent an element of continuity between what was done and what still needs to be done. The situation in Afghanistan has far from stabilized despite all the bunker busters that were thrown at the country. There are reports that Al Qaeda and Taliban remnants have been regrouping, as the weekend’s massive US-Pakistan joint operation in the tribal areas shows. President Musharraf must emphasize on the Americans that they will have to give up their reluctance to let the international security force spread out in Afghanistan. At present, it is confined to Kabul and its environs, permitting the peripheries to be used by anti-Kabul elements at will, putting Pakistan’s own border forces under strain. Continuing unrest in Afghanistan keeps the militant pot within Pakistan also boiling, with its repercussions for our struggling democracy.

The military, again, has been the major determinant of policy on Kashmir and vis-a-vis India. President Bush will no doubt urge the Pakistan leader to persevere with current peace initiatives and not merely restrain the hotheaded elements within the establishment and the jihadi groups but also make them understand that the world has changed. Events since 9/11, the Iraq war, and the new belligerent face put on by America have increased, not lessened, Pakistan’s vulnerability. The room for manoeuvre is becoming increasingly restricted. Seeking more economic and military handouts will put us in greater thrall to the US and its objectives in the Middle East and South Asia. The American keenness to have army detachments from India and Pakistan in Iraq for peace-keeping duties can only involve us more deeply into a complicated scenario: both countries should rule out any participation unless it is under UN auspices.

The only way in which American pressure can be neutralized is by the countries of the region on their own agreeing to live in peace — a perception that was perhaps behind the Indian prime minister’s sudden and unexpected offer to resume talks with Pakistan. If we need America, America needs us too. It should be hoped that President Musharraf will return from his tour of the US and other western countries with a heightened awareness of the absolute necessity of the country’s own political and democratic institutions being strengthened to take decisions for the sake of regional peace, internal stability and economic progress.

Azad Kashmir budget

THE Azad Kashmir budget for 2003-04, presented in the A.K. Legislative Assembly on Saturday, generally falls short of the territory’s development and socio-economic needs. Having a total outlay of Rs 13.2 billion, it allocates only Rs 3.8 billion for the crucial task of uplift, showing an increase of 16 per cent as compared to the outgoing development budget. As before, non-development expenditure, estimated at Rs 9.3 billion, makes a major claim on the budget. Total receipts have been estimated at seven billion rupees: three billion from the state’s own sources, Rs 2.3 billion as its share in federal taxes and Rs 1.72 billion from Azad Jammu and Kashmir Council. The federal government will provide Rs 2.28 billion to bridge the deficit.

Significantly, the communication sector has received the maximum share of Rs 1.11 billion in the ADP, which is 34 per cent more than the current year’s revised allocation. Construction of link roads and bridges and implementation of schemes for water supply can help improve the people’s quality of life. In the social sector, health has been given Rs 245 million against Rs 165 million in the current year’s budget. Stress has been laid on preventive health care and first aid in far-flung areas. Education, which received Rs 300 million in the outgoing year, has been provided Rs 375 million for the next fiscal year, envisaging construction of schools and upgrading of some existing ones. An important provision relates to information technology for which Rs 80 million has been earmarked. Physical planning and housing have been given Rs 368 million, while Rs 196 million has been allocated to agriculture.

However, considering the state’s considerable potential for energy generation, the allocation for this sector seems to be inadequate. In all, Rs 539 million have been allocated for electricity, hydro-power and water sector. The AJK government plans to seek soft-term loans from international donors to tap this resource. Efforts to this end must be expedited in view of the critical importance of power generation. Energy development is essential if investors are to be attracted to help set up small industries in order to tackle widespread problems of poverty and unemployment. In this connection, the move to set up economic zones can be useful but there is also the need to encourage expatriate Kashmiris to invest in AJK. Income-generation and skill development schemes, together with efforts to promote traditional Kashmiri arts and crafts, can help reduce poverty and create jobs. The sum of Rs 20 million for schemes for women’s uplift is quite meagre. However, much depends on effective utilization of funds and on-time completion of projects, especially those sponsored by international development organizations.

Why so many breakdowns?

BRAVING the hot and humid weather, Karachiites are again at the mercy of elements. The city’s power supply is as erratic this summer as it has been in the many previous ones. Year after year citizens have suffered at the hands of an ill-managed and inefficient Karachi Electric Supply Corporation and there seems to be no relief in sight. Long blackouts night after night have become the norm, making it impossible for people to get a good night’s sleep. The weather these days is so hot and humid that one simply cannot do without a fan.

Summer is no unforeseen calamity. The KESC is well aware that power consumption goes up in summer months when many more people use air-conditioners and most have perforce to keep their fans on longer than usual. Interruption in power supply affects citizens in more ways than one: power-operated water pumping facilities stop functioning interrupting water supply as well. It is time the authorities showed a little more empathy for the plight of hapless consumers by upgrading and fixing the power supply lines and infrastructure.