Not another crisis

THE Sanad issue is now getting complicated. Unless handled with wisdom, realism and circumspection by all sides, it could cause political chaos and has the potential to destroy the political system that came into being as a result of last year’s election. The disqualification of a Kohat MNA belonging to the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal has wider implications. Obviously, the decision by the election tribunal of the Peshawar High Court could ultimately affect the eligibility of all those legislators in all the six legislatures who have Sanads and not graduation degrees. This means nearly 160 legislators belonging to the six houses could be disqualified. That has evoked angry reaction from the MMA, which proposes to hold protest rallies in major cities tomorrow. That the rallies will be led by Muttahida bigwigs such as Maulana Noorani, Fazlur Rahman and Qazi Hussain Ahmad shows the extent of the MMA’s anger. At a press conference on Tuesday, Maulana Fazlur Rahman alleged that the election tribunal’s decision was politically motivated, and that the judiciary was under government pressure on the issue.

While dealing with the Sanad issue, certain facts must be kept in mind. First, it is the government itself which did not object to the election commission’s decision that the Sanads should be considered equivalent to college degrees. Second, the University Grants Commission also came to the same conclusion. Consequently, candidates holding madrassah degrees were declared eligible for contesting the October election, and they took the oath of office as MNAs, MPAs and Senators. As a result of this political process, legislators holding Sanads are in government in two of the provinces. In the NWFP, their political grouping is in a majority and running the provincial government, while in Balochistan the MMA is part of the coalition. If the election tribunal’s decision is extended to cover all legislators with Sanads, this will virtually unhinge the political process now in place. In the meantime, the Supreme Court, too, is also dealing with a petition challenging the election of legislators holding madrassah degrees. The MMA has boycotted the court proceedings. This is the wrong approach to adopt. As law-makers they have to respect and uphold the judicial process, whatever its limitations and shortcomings. The Kohat MNA may appeal to the higher judiciary, and one does not know what the verdict will be. The MMA, instead, has decided to take to the streets, even though as politicians they could think of better ways of registering their protest.

The issue here is one of saving the present political dispensation from collapse. Since it is the government which framed rules making a university degree or its equivalent compulsory for contesting elections, it has to take the lead in resolving the crisis that has arisen out of the graduation factor of eligibility. For instance, it could pass a law providing for the Sanad-holding legislators to continue in office till the expiry of the present term irrespective of what the judiciary finally decides in specific cases. It could also approach the Supreme Court seeking a ruling that could give a one-time exemption to Sanad-holders, even if the judiciary finally holds that the Sanads are not equivalent to college degrees. The issue, which has the potential to prove highly disruptive of the political process still in its early phase of transition, should not be viewed as one of technicalities by either side. In the given context, it is more substantive than technical and needs political handling on all sides.

In pursuit of unilateralism

THERE seems to be no end to the American propensities for unilateralism in dealing with inter-state relations. The latest in the series of such bullying acts is the suspension of American military aid to some 50 countries which refused to sign a document of exemption for US soldiers and personnel, who may be required to appear before International Criminal Court to answer charges of war crimes and other offences under international law and conventions. The neo-cons in the Bush administration rushed a new law through Congress that prohibits US military aid to all countries that refused to sign the exemption document so as to use military aid as a leverage against non-compliant nations. Meanwhile, officials in Washington boasted that 44 countries had already signed the desired document and seven others had struck secret deals with Washington, implying that the remaining 50 needed to be taught a lesson. The US suspension of foreign military aid came into force on July 1 — the deadline for signing the exemption document.

As a matter of policy, the US has been systematically renouncing or repudiating any and every international moves that might affect its interests or its citizens in any way regardless of all moral or legal considerations that may be involved. It has consistently erected barriers in the form of domestic legislation that imposes penalties and sanctions on countries refusing to toe Washington’s line. America not only refuses to be part of any international mechanism — refusal to join International Court of Justice is another case in point — that might limit its options or be incompatible with its interests, but does all it can to discourage other countries from doing so. Aimed at thwarting a smooth functioning of International Criminal Court, the latest move is more serious in that it shows Washington’s desire to protect even its rogue elements from being brought to justice for criminal excesses, say, in occupied Iraq. The aim in doing so is largely to give US marines stationed in foreign countries complete immunity from legal answerability for all crimes — from rights abuses to genocide to rape and torture. Just goes to show how dangerous a unipolar world can become as the US is left free to decide its future destinies according to its own lights and unilateralist perceptions.

Kite flying ban

A ban, with a stiff maximum penalty of eighteen months in jail, imposed on kite flying in Lahore shows that the government’s patience has run out. The three-month prohibition seems to be proof that other methods, like using a mass awareness campaign to persuade people not to use metal or glass thread in flying kites have failed. Over the past few years many people, especially children have died or been seriously injured because of the dangerous thread, which is more akin to a sharp wire. Many have had narrowly escaped death and have had their throats cut by metal or glass-mixed threads. Other than that, the city has suffered thousands of power breakdowns, especially during Basant, because of the metal wire. It must be said with some regret, though, that cracking down on this activity will close an outlet for the city’s entertainment-starved people and threaten the livelihood of many people engaged in production and sale of kite-flying material.

Genuine concerns behind the ban apart, it is unclear to what extent the decision will achieve the intended purpose. The use of metal wire has been banned several times in the past, but to no effect. Repeated warnings to people not to use such threads have not been heeded. The reason why such bans did not work before is because of the difficulties in pinpointing and catching the culprits and inadequate enforcement. Besides, no measures were taken to check the production of kites under those bans, which were on sale often with the connivance of the local police. If the Lahore city government wants the ban on kite flying to work this time, then it must ensure that these same mistakes are not repeated. Also, open spaces can be reserved for kite flyers to regulate the activity and minimize the dangers involved.