Finding common ground

STATEMENTS by political leaders over the past few days have brought us no nearer to a resolution of the deadlock that has paralyzed parliament, and even the system envisaged under the Legal Framework Order is in a state at best of suspended animation. The Jamali government, the MMA and the ARD all continue to speak in different languages. The two opposition alliances held separate rallies on Independence Day, the MMA in Rawalpindi, the ARD in Lahore, after having failed to agree on one venue or one theme. The ARD public meeting appears to have been more focussed on the country’s basic crisis of democracy, while the MMA had a wider agenda that included issues such as recognition of Israel and the despatch of troops to Iraq. The opposition as a whole has claimed that the rallies mark the start of a mass mobilization campaign, although, given the lack of political work at the grassroots, it appears unlikely that the opposition parties will be able to bring out the people on the streets in any sizeable number in the immediate future. It would, however, be a mistake to underrate the potential for an eruption of popular discontent if the present state of affairs is endlessly stretched out, with the government unable to outline a coherent plan to solve the citizens’ mounting economic and social problems.

Parliaments, apart from serving as forums for policy-making by the widest possible consensus, also provide a focus for the ventilation of grievances. In the nine months since last October’s election, our parliament has met for only 42 days against the 130 days it is supposed to be in session in a calendar year. The days on which sittings have been held have been marked by opposition protests, and practically no work has been done. The president has been unable to address a joint session of parliament so far. The hiatus at the top has affected the local body system also, with the result that everywhere there is a sense of drift. If it is prolonged, signs of popular discontent will surely begin to emerge: the riots over water and electricity in Karachi could turn out to be the thin end of the wedge.

The government seems remarkably complacent in the face of the domestic chaos created by the deep divisions over the LFO. It remains engaged in a game of dividing the opposition, seeking to keep out the ARD and trying to win over the MMA on the crucial questions of the president’s uniform, the National Security Council and Article 58(2)(b). The MMA has reportedly agreed to the president simultaneously remaining chief of the army staff for another year, and this is possibly the best bargain that the government can get. Yet even the MMA’s credibility is daily undermined by government spokesmen, the latest instance being Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali’s assertion that only the president, and not the opposition, can decide when Gen Musharraf should cease to be COAS. Negotiations are held one day, and then are broken-off. The door for talks is not closed, declare both official spokesmen and opposition leaders. This particular door is now beginning to creak and lean dangerously on its hinges.

The MMA is said to have decided to requisition the National Assembly and is reported to be in a conciliatory mood. Perhaps a deal has been quietly agreed on, but how long-lasting it will prove unless two of the country’s biggest parties in the ARD are ready to endorse it shouldn’t be a matter for too much conjecture. Despite defections, the PPP and the PML-N still enjoy the loyalties of almost 80 MNAs. If the “system” is to begin to function and deliver, a negotiating process that ignores these two parties will stand little chance of success, and it should be the endeavour of everyone to mark out, through compromise and flexibility, a common ground where all political parties can meet.

Oil spill: the lesson

THE chairman of the Karachi Port Trust, on whose shoulders rests the greater blame for the Tasman Spirit disaster, said at a press conference on Wednesday that the KPT could impose a fine of Rs 10 million on the ship for causing damage to the harbour and the beaches. In the absence of any comprehensive survey to determine the extent of damage, one wonders what is the basis for this figure. Besides, is this figure enough for the purpose it is intended for. The figure looks paltry considering the extent of damage done to marine life and the ecology of the area. Both the minister for communications and the KPT chief have admitted that they do not have a full picture of the extent of the oil leakage. We also do not know whose financial loss the spilled oil is. This being the position, it would be premature to go into a settlement with the ship-owners. Obviously, the KPT should marshal all facts and do some homework before penalizing the shipping company.

One of the problems that has emerged from this crisis is the reluctance of the KPT and the communications ministry to share information with the public. From the day the tanker got stuck, very little information has been given, and whatever was given often turned out to be sketchy or incorrect. It is time the government woke up to the fact that an environmental disaster has taken place in Karachi and that action is needed to undo the damage and restore normal life on the beaches. The entire episode holds one big lesson for those responsible for navigation close to the nation’s biggest city — such a disaster must not be allowed to happen again. A contingency plan must be prepared so that the KPT and others should know how to cope with the situation should an oil tanker again get caught in squally weather and shallow waters.

Banning tobacco ads

PARTICIPANTS in an anti-smoking seminar held in Islamabad the other day rightly voiced their concern over Pakistan’s lax policy on tobacco advertising. The state-owned and private electronic media are the most preferred vehicles for the promotion of tobacco products because the advertisers know that these have a wide reach in a country with a low literacy rate. An estimated 39 per cent of adult Pakistani males and 10 per cent of females are regular smokers, and the figures have not gone down significantly since 1971 — a time when the link between smoking and rising mortality rates was not quite established. The government has since then raised taxes on tobacco products manyfold — 63 per cent in excise duty, 15 per cent in sales tax and a whopping 34 per cent in import duties, where applicable. But it has done little to check tobacco advertising over the mass media.

Laws banning such advertising altogether are by far much stricter in other countries around the world.

The Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization and a number of non-governmental organizations had jointly organized the said seminar, which concluded by saying all the right things, but stopped short of recommending a ban on tobacco advertising. Instead, it urged the government to “discourage” the practice of depicting young smokers as heroes in media campaigns.

Was this because the government and the Ministry of Information earn a good amount of money in taxes and fees from all such advertising? The Prohibition of Smoking and Protection of Non-Smokers Ordinance, 2002, which is otherwise quite stringent in its provisions, surprisingly, takes a very liberal view of tobacco advertising. The information ministry and the government would do well to remove this anomaly and stop being the beneficiaries of a killer product. The human and financial costs of this flawed policy far outweigh the money the government may be raising in taxes and fees from tobacco advertising.