Some positive signs

THERE are clear signs now of a thaw in national politics. No agreement has been reached on any of the contentious issues yet, nor does anyone expect a quick breakthrough on a complex issue such as the Legal Framework Order. Nevertheless, some positive moves made by both sides seem to indicate that they now realize that a hardening of postures on the issue would serve no purpose. A positive development is the opposition’s decision to withdraw the no-trust motion against the deputy speaker. This, the opposition says, is in response to Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali’s offer of talks on the LFO. If meant seriously, the offer would seem to mark a departure from the government’s stated position that the LFO has already become part of the Constitution.

Reflecting the new mood of moderation and compromise on both sides, Monday’s proceedings in the National Assembly followed a smooth and undisturbed pattern. More significantly, addressing a press conference in Multan, Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani denied that the opposition had any plans to launch a countrywide agitation. All that the opposition wanted to do on August 14, said the chief of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, was to hold a public rally. Similarly, the opposition’s protest rallies against the verdict on the Sanad issue last Friday was a rather low-key affair. If things follow this course, there is no reason why a compromise on the contentious clauses of the LFO should prove too difficult to reach.

The LFO is bad in law in the sense that it is not the public will, nor has it been ratified by the parliament. It consists of arbitrary changes in the Constitution effected through ordinances by a military ruler whose main motive was to institutionalize the military’s dominant role in politics. What is more, by empowering the president — who now happens to be the army chief as well — to dismiss the government and the National Assembly at his discretion, the LFO turns the country’s parliamentary system of government, as envisaged in the 1973 Constitution, into a presidential one in all but name. For this and other reasons of fundamental importance to the constitutionally provided system of government and power-sharing scheme, the LFO must be modified and such issues as Clause 58-2(b), the National Security Council and the president also being the army chief must be so revised as to accommodate the opposition’s point of view on these issues.

In the meantime, the opposition has done well to desist from street agitation as a mode of political action. For too long has this nation remained hamstrung by the politics of agitation and its consequences. This must change and a more constructive approach brought to bear on resolving issues of difference and contention between the government and the opposition. More so now that far too much is at stake politically, economically and constitutionally in removing the LFO and other hurdles in the way of carrying the present democratic transition to its logical end.

Peshawar district budget

THE Peshawar city district’s budget for 2003-04, with a total outlay of Rs 4.16 billion, has a surplus of some Rs 220 million. Rs 386 million has been earmarked for development projects, which is a big improvement on last year’s meagre allocation of Rs 71.4 million allocated for this purpose. However, the city district government, after creating a big fuss with the provincial government over the measly amount, failed to spend even that much on development during the year. The explanation offered by the Nazim during his budget speech that the funds in question were not utilized because of “certain procedural complications” is not very convincing. Hopefully, this time the city government would do better on that account.

Peshawar city has seen a tremendous growth over the past decade and the city’s urban problems have also multiplied, making the existing infrastructure and services inadequate. Today, the city needs an expanded bulk water supply system to reduce a growing population’s dependence on subsoil water, whose reserves stand largely depleted as a result of excessive pumping. Transport and roads are two other critical areas that need urgent attention. The Rs 50 million earmarked for making improvements in these two sectors, thus, may not be sufficient. This will need to be supplemented by some funds from the Rs 76.6 million allocated for the works and services department. Most of the Rs 770 million allocated for education will go into footing non-development bills in the schools run by the city government, as there are no plans to open new schools during the current financial year. Similarly, Rs 83.3 million allocated for health is barely enough to keep the existing public health services running, and there are no plans to enhance their capacity. The only saving grace in the budget is that no new taxes have been levied, and there is a Rs 220 million surplus, which should be utilized for enhancing capacities in all the critical areas that need immediate attention.

After the rain

WHAT happened to Karachi’s roads, traffic and electricity after Monday’s rain is a sad commentary on the way the authorities run the city. It might have rained heavily at times but 20 millimetres is not a downpour by any stretch of the imagination. However, by the look of things, especially from the many inundated roads, it seems that the city had a deluge of massive proportions. If less than an inch of rain can knock power out of many localities for hours, create mini-lakes on almost every street and cause traffic jams lasting several hours, then one shudders to think what might happen if there is a heavy cloudburst. Many of Karachi’s residents actually dread the coming of rain since they know what will befall them in its wake: no power for hours, phones will go dead, and to make matters worse, getting home from work will be an ordeal.

One cannot wish away all of this but the shattering effects on the city’s civic infrastructure and services could at least be minimized with some careful planning and prompt implementation. Instead of making hollow claims such as that the city is ‘ready to meet any rain emergency’, the authorities should ensure that all stormwater drains are free of refuse, especially plastic bags, particularly during the weeks preceding the monsoon. Secondly, the traffic police’s field staff must be told not to desert their posts during a downpour or else face action for dereliction of duty. On Monday evening, even the signals in most places were not working, thanks to KESC’s distribution network which breaks down under the slightest of pressures. The power utility, for its part, must seriously work on a plan to improve its network so that it can withstand the rain. This will also help minimize the chances of innocent bystanders being electrocuted.

It also needs to be said that some of the unnerving traffic snarls and bottlenecks that thousands of people encountered on Monday night could have been mitigated had motorists acted with some civic sense.