ACCORDING to the Quran, every human being is born, among other things, with two vital elements. One is the spirit (Ruh) that Allah has breathed into him (32:9) and the other is the soul (Nafs) that Allah has designed (according to His own scheme of things) (91:7).

Some people interpret the word spirit in the context of the verse (32:9) as the vital principle or source of life only, but more than that it is reflective of something unique to the human beings. In so far as life is concerned, an animal,too, has got life. But what is unique to the human beings are some of the Divine attributes like wisdom, creativity, vision and mercy. It, therefore, appeals to reason that beside the basic source of life, the word spirit in the verse also refers to these attributes a fraction of which might have come along with the spirit breathed into the human beings. That’s what the words “some of His spirit” in the verse (32:9), among other things, imply. Beyond that we cannot say anything about the spirit for want of requisite knowledge (17:85).

The soul acts as the main animating force in the human beings or to be more specific it serves as the prime mover of all human actions, right or wrong, good or bad. According to the Quran, every human soul has three inclinations. One is the inclination towards doing wrong, evil and sinful acts termed as Nafs-i-Ammarah (12:53). The other is the inclination towards realization and repentance i.e. to realize immediately if one does something wrong that what he has done is not right, and repent over it or rather reproach himself for it termed as Nafs-i-Lowamah (75:2). The third is the inclination towards doing good and righteous deeds termed as Nafs-i-Mutmainnah, also called the soul at peace (89:27).

These inclinations are in turn influenced mainly by two elements. One of them consists of the frailties or weaknesses common to all human beings. They are: inability to resist lust (4:27,28), leaning towards unfairness and injustice (14:34), hastiness (17:11), ingratitude (17:67), contentiousness i.e. not prone to easily accepting one’s own faults (18:54), niggardliness i.e. reluctance to part with what one has (17:100) and anxiety (70:19,20). The frailties influence the above-mentioned inclinations in the sense that they either activate Nafs-i-Ammarah or suppress one or the other of the two other inclinations of the soul.

For example, inability to resist lust, hastiness and leaning towards unfairness activate Nafs-i-Ammarah and thereby impel one to do wrong and evil deeds. Contentiousness suppresses Nafs-i-Lowamah because a person having the tendency of not accepting his own faults rarely repents over whatever wrong he does. Likewise, niggardliness suppresses Nafs-i-Mutmainnah because a person who is not prepared to part with what he has rarely spends anything in the Way of Allah.

The other element having direct impact on the inclinations comprises faculties that the human beings have been endowed with. Some of these faculties like wisdom, creativity, vision and mercy have already been mentioned. About the others, the Quran says “He gave you hearing and sight and heart (i.e. intelligence and affection as it implies in the Arabic idiom) that you may be grateful” (16:78). Human beings have also been endowed with the faculty of conscience i.e. the ability to make distinction between right and wrong in regard to one’s own conduct (91:8). And above all they have been provided necessary guidance (76:3).

Of all the faculties common to human beings, the inability to resist desire is the main moving force of Nafs-i-Ammarah and hence the basic cause of evils that the people do. Desire by itself is not a bad thing. It is a part of human nature and is the main source of motivation. It becomes a bad thing when it turns into lust and overpowers the faculties of reasoning and conscience or as the Quran says when it is infected by vanity (22:52). The Quran says “and who goes farther astray than he who followed his lust without guidance from Allah” (28:50). It further says “but those who do wrong follow their lusts without knowledge” (30:29). And it says again “and do not follow lust for it will lead you astray from the Way of Allah” (38:26).

The first murder committed on earth was because of envy, an offshoot of uncontrolled desire, when one of the two sons of Adam killed the other (5:30). The Quran also says “your craze for more and more and mutual rivalry for worldly gains has made you heedless” (102:1). Craze for more and more worldly gains and the resultant rivalries are also the offshoots of lust.

The Quran enjoins the purification of soul (91:9) which could obviously be suppression of Nafs-i-Ammarah and activation of Nafs-i-Lowamah and Nafs-i-Mutmainnah to the desired extent. With the aid of faculties and guidance that Allah has bestowed on the human beings they can control or overcome their frailties, including lusts, and thereby suppress Nafs-i-Ammarah to the desired extent.

The story of Hazrat Yusuf narrated in the Quran could be the best example. Hazrat Yusuf controlled his lust when he perceived the Divine argument (12:24). He was helped by three elements in perceiving the Divine argument and thereby avoid what he was invited to do. One was the use of mind coupled with the Divine guidance which helped him to distinguish between right and wrong. The other was the conscience that helped him know that what he was invited to do fell in the category of major sins. And the third was the fear of Allah that impelled him to restrain himself. As the Quran says “O believers if you fear Allah He will provide you with a criterion (to judge between right and wrong” (8:29).

The same faculties and guidance coupled with the fear of Allah that enable a person to suppress Nafs-i-Ammarah can also be of great help in activating Nafs-i-Lowamah impelling him to repent over whatever wrong he happens to do and vow not to do any wrong again, as well as Nafs-i-Mutmainnah impelling him to do good and righteous deeds. The Quran says “But those who had been given knowledge said: Woe unto you: The reward of Allah for him who believes and does right is better, and only the steadfast will obtain it” (28:80). According to the verse, the persons who have knowledge i.e. who are guided by Allah, can be in a better position to know as to what the reward of Allah for doing righteous deeds could be and who can obtain it.

Thus the most effective way of controlling and making right use of the soul could be the use of appropriate faculties animated by the fear of Allah and His guidance and not the forsaking of the world and living a life of abstinence as some people think.

AFTER a confrontation that lasted for ten months, India is now taking its time to allow the process of dialogue to begin, following the much-applauded olive branch offered by Prime Minister Vajpayee last April.

Indeed, the impression one gets is that there are inputs from both hawks and doves as calls for progress in improving ties alternate with accusations of terrorism, over incidents that have to be investigated before assigning the blame to Pakistan. Shortly after the knee-jerk reaction of Mr. L.K.Advani to the explosions in Mumbai, accusing Lashkar-i-Taiba (an organization banned in Pakistan), the Mumbai police announced the arrest of four Indian Muslims alleged to be motivated by the anti-Muslim excesses in Gujarat.

Mr. Yashwant Sinha, the Indian foreign minister, used his recent foreign visits to highlight what he said Pakistan’s continued involvement in terrorism, and the refrain in official statements form New Delhi invariably links a dialogue to the cessation of cross-border terrorism by Pakistan. That it is the people of Kashmir who are continuing their fourteen-year old struggle for self-determination, after decades of repression that has assumed the aspect of “state terrorism” a la Israel, is conveniently ignored. The BJP tactic appears to be to concentrate India’s propaganda on Pakistan-bashing, that is expected to yield dividends in state elections later this year, and in national elections due next year.

How to explain the refrain in Indian media that Mr. Vajpayee’s hand of friendship still remains stretched and that it is Pakistan which cannot abandon its terrorist ways. An objective analysis of what has happened since April 18, when the Indian prime minister launched his third peace initiative (after summits at Lahore and Agra), would show that Pakistan has taken repeated initiatives to advance the process of dialogue.

The problem is that India tends to respond negatively to Pakistani initiatives or proposals, no matter how well intentioned they may be. President Musharraf had proposed an agreement for a ceasefire along the LoC in response to repeated allegations of infiltration from Pakistan, and had earlier also suggested an increase in the number of UN observers along the LoC. India had rejected both the proposals. India has a habit of insisting on its own proposals such as that for joint patrolling of the LoC, which is unworkable under the present circumstances. This approach was repeated late last month, when the civil aviation delegations of the two countries met in Islamabad to work out modalities of restoring overflights that India had unilaterally terminated in December 2001. As this was the second time that India had taken such unilateral action, which is against international norms, Pakistan had proposed a joint declaration against unilateral termination by either side.

India’s refusal to agree with the suggestion led to the meeting ending without a result. Incidentally, the adverse effects of the closing of air space to each other’s flights is affecting India much more seriously, as India had close to 120 flights a month that are affected as against only 14 for Pakistan.

Except that high commissioners have returned, and the bus service has resumed, there is very little sign on the Indian side of any moves towards dialogue. As the indigenous movement inside Kashmir continues, Pakistan is held responsible, despite the fact that the incidents take place deep inside occupied Kashmir, and India has nearly 700,000 armed men to repress the freedom struggle for rights promised in UN resolutions.

After the last incidents near Srinagar, Mr. Vajpayee declared that resumption of dialogue was not possible until such terrorist acts ceased. Since the liberation struggle of the Kashmiri people is proceeding inside Kashmir, this amounts to saying that India has no intention of resuming the dialogue.

The positive steps, since Mr. Vajpayee’s offer of April 18, have mostly been at the people-to-people level. Apart from groups of businessmen and media people, parliamentarians have exchanged visits though the Pakistani leadership received Indian groups at the highest level, Pakistanis met only opposition leaders, the ruling BJP avoiding contact that might be construed as official. There is clear evidence that public opinion on both sides wants a reduction in tensions between the two neighbours, as well as enhanced cooperation that would be to mutual advantage.

Despite the improvement in atmospherics, which Pakistan is trying to reinforce by such measures as the recent release of 269 Indian fishermen, India’s overall strategy continues to be negative aimed at weakening and isolating Pakistan. Since the restoration of diplomatic ties with Afghanistan, India’s numerous missions set up in the country are busy fanning and exploiting anti-Pakistan sentiment.

Many of the Northern Alliance leaders, who have held powerful posts since the formation of the Karzai government, have promoted Indian interests. In its goal of developing trade with Central Asia, it is bypassing the shortest route through Pakistan and Afghanistan and concentrating on transit through Iran.

India’s long-term global strategy currently focuses on the nexus with the US and Israel and the BJP leadership has established personal ties with top Zionist leaders in the US as well as with Israel. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon paid a visit to India. The Indian armed forces are acquiring state of the art weapons from Israel and the US, on top of massive purchases from Russia. A large order has been placed for advanced trainers from Britain. While anxious to avoid an arms race it cannot afford, Pakistan has to maintain credible deterrence both in the conventional and non-conventional fields.

One line of speculation has it that the Indian leadership may want to exploit the apparent political standoff between the opposition political parties and the government over the LFO that has prevented the parliament from functioning properly in Pakistan. However, political wrangling when there is a profusion of parties occurs everywhere, and if there is any suggestion that local rivalries are being exploited, the people would reject those playing into hostile hands.

The recent statement by the US government that it is stepping up efforts to reduce tensions between India and Pakistan is to be welcomed, because that could be a major factor in turning the BJP leadership from confrontation to conciliation. The inclination of the hawks in BJP, led by Mr. L.K.Advani is to build up anti-Muslim sentiment within, and foster anti-Pakistan feelings without.

These policies feed the quest for Hindutva internally, and for Great Power status internationally when the Islamic world is being targeted in the name of terrorism. However, the Bush doctrine of pre-emption as practised in Iraq has created worldwide concern over the ruthless use of military power when real remedies lie in social and economic reforms.

The month of September may offer an opportunity for high-level contact when President Musharraf goes to New York to address the UN General Assembly and Mr. Vajpayee is also expected to be there. They could well re-start the Agra process. The main point is that having provided the opening last April, that was welcomed and reciprocated by Pakistan, Mr. Vajpayee owes it to posterity to proceed with the preliminaries, such as a meeting at the foreign secretary level.

In offering the olive branch last April, Mr. Vajpayee had called it his third and possibly last effort to promote peace in South Asia (after Lahore and Agra). Since then, his stance, and that of his more radical colleagues has become almost inflexible, in insisting on an end to “cross-border terrorism” before the resumption of dialogue. The Saarc summit is approaching, following agreement to hold it in Islamabad from January 4-6, 2004. One would hope that India would act in the spirit of the offer, rather than keep blowing hot and cold, while maintaining a generally hostile overall stance towards Pakistan.

SOUTH ASIA is a complex and geopolitically sensitive grouping of eight countries. These are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. As a whole, the region houses over 1.4 billion people, of whom more than one-third live in extreme poverty on less than one dollar a day.

This conglomerate of teeming humanity faces numerous challenges, the foremost amongst which is rapid and sustained economic growth to make a notable dent in the incidence of poverty. Despite its human potential, the region’s social indicators remain pitiful. Corruption is endemic. Most countries in the region are found leading the corruption lists compiled by organizations such as Transparency International (Pakistan once achieved the distinction of being placed second in its rankings of corrupt countries).

There is a serious deterioration in public security and safety. This is compounded by weak law enforcement and political interference with the judiciary. Centralization of power and corruption often make strange bedfellows. South Asia has one of the most centralized public administrations in the world — a legacy of colonialism that persists despite more than half a century of independence.

The countries of the region have been unkind to nature in abusing the bountiful resources it has placed at their disposal. They suffer from arguably the most polluted environment in the world. Their major rivers in long stretches (especially in and around urban areas) appear to be open sewers. Their rapidly expanding cities and towns (often in an unplanned urban sprawl) lack basic public amenities and services. Their villages remain isolated and backward.

Travel between these countries is subject to a restrictive regional visa regime, particularly where citizens of Pakistan and India wish to visit each other’s countries. The year-long military standoff between the two South Asian rivals has made travel in South Asia prohibitively expensive and time consuming. Cultural exchanges between the countries of South Asia are still pitifully few.

It is a region of extreme contrasts. It abounds in contradictions, mutual mistrust and suspicions. Every layer of history can be found in the same societies, ranging from the ancient and medieval to the modern and thriving. It boasts one of the largest pools of technical talent in the world but remains technologically backward. It has one of the largest hydroelectric potentials in the world, yet suffers from an acute shortage of energy. The majority of its villages still lack electricity.

Mutual acrimony and failure to realize natural advantages have overshadowed what could be potentially one of the most lucrative and thriving regional trade regimes in the world. Informal and illegal trade continues to the detriment of governments. One estimate places the unrecorded trade between Pakistan and India alone at five billion dollars a year through third country and smuggling channels. South Asia has to learn from the experience of regional trade and economic groupings such as the European Union and ASEAN.

Where does Pakistan stand in this sketch of the regional scenario? We have only in recent years embarked on economic liberalization and reform. We still have a long way to go. International donor agencies have been engaged in funding our reform efforts. Notable amongst these is the World Bank (WB). The WB’s new regional vice-president for South Asia, Mr. Praful Patel, visited us not so long ago. Our government has requested him to raise the current average funding to Pakistan from $600 million a year to one billion dollar.

We require additional funding for the second phase of reforms under WB tutelage, with a focus on investment in three sectors: water and power, roads, and human development. Without investment in improvement of absent or deteriorated infrastructure, we have little chance of achieving what the WB considers a necessary GDP growth rate of six to eight percent in order to halt the rising trend of poverty. But the WB has made it clear that the levels of funding will depend on performance.

The biggest culprit from amongst the public sector units that swallow some Rs 100 billion a year from the budget and continue to drag us back are the electricity utilities — Wapda and the KESC. Last year they ate up between them some Rs 76 billion; this year’s budget allocates a Rs 54 billion bailout for these white elephants.

Sadly, the tall claims that attended the takeover of the electricity utilities by the military during Nawaz Sharif’s last term have been found to be misplaced. The electricity utilities continue to blunder along much the same path, except that the military management at the top level constantly tries to justify its continued existence by making unsubstantiated assertions of ‘progress’. Wapda and the KESC have one of the highest rates of line losses in the world, with the former at 26 per cent and the latter a whopping 42 per cent. To add to technical losses because of degraded infrastructure we have the persistent phenomenon of theft, obviously with the collaboration of line staff.

The WB is least impressed with our power sector. It sees it as the critical obstacle to growth. The utilities’ financial improvement plan (FIP), which Water and Power Minister Aftab Sherpao tried to present to the WB vice-president with a shiny gloss, does not inspire confidence. The finance ministry and Wapda blame each other for non-observance of the FIP. Wapda and KESC continue to pile up huge losses. The electricity utilities are nowhere near making an appreciable dent in collecting public sector defaulted dues. This outstanding debt is arguably equivalent to Wapda’s annual deficit. What a travesty! The government cuts its nose to spite its face.

The failure to act against delinquent government departments and ministries that do not pay their electricity bills has landed Wapda and the KESC in the soup. Wapda has revealed through its head that it has moved Nepra for a tariff reduction of 60-70 paisa per unit. How will this sit with the IMF, which has imposed the conditionality that without the FIP showing that the utilities are in, or nearly in, the black, no tariff reduction is permitted?

The claim seems far-fetched, and more of a PR exercise than rooted in reality. It is time for the men in uniform who have so signally failed to turn the utilities around in over four years to go back to their real duties and hand Wapda and the KESC over to civilian professional management. The much vaunted military discipline is clearly not what the utilities require.

The government continues to claim (including to the WB) that it achieved a GDP growth rate of 5.1 per cent in the last financial year despite the contradiction of this claim by none other than the governor of the State Bank, who told us it was actually 4.6 per cent. This year’s target is pitched at 5.3 per cent. In the absence of meaningful investment, this target seems difficult to achieve, let alone the 6-8 per cent the WB would like. The WB and our government are wedded to the second phase of reforms, including reforms in the capital sector, human development and governance. These reforms are to be carried out at the federal, provincial and district levels.

The capacity to implement the desired reforms would have to be improved at all three levels if they are to have any chance of success. Only if this condition is realized will the growth of the order of six to eight per cent become a realistic hope. Higher rates of growth are required if the accelerating rate of growth of poverty is to decline, let alone be reversed.

The government claims 32.1 per cent of people in Pakistan live below the poverty line. Independent economists and analysts dispute this figure, arguing that those living below the poverty line constitute 40 per cent of our population. Poverty has increased since General Musharraf took over, the relative economic stabilization achieved during the last three and a half years notwithstanding. This is understandable, since the shyness of capital has meant slower growth, fewer jobs, and therefore economic distress at a mass level.

Even if the WB’s objective of a growth rate of six to eight per cent were to be achieved somehow, would this automatically and meaningfully translate into a decline in poverty? A great deal depends on how the rise in national income is distributed. Given the reliance of our economic managers on the private sector, the likelihood is that the overwhelming bulk of the incremental national income would go into the pockets of those who least need it — our moneybags. The ordinary citizen would still be looking up for crumbs to ‘trickle down’ from the high table.

Investment and its concomitant effect on growth is unlikely to accelerate dramatically in the midst of the kind of political uncertainty that has the country in its grip since the October 2002 elections. With each passing day, the costs of lost investment are rising. The government must follow up on the betterment of management in units like Pakistan Steel by instituting turnaround management by professionals in all the public sector units, especially the power utilities. Investment in public infrastructure can act as a Keynesian fillip to stimulating demand, something the economy dearly lacks because of the erosion of the purchasing power of large sections of the people.

The private sector, foreign and domestic (apart from those with capital already invested on the ground, such as the textile industry), is unlikely to bail out the economy by putting its money where its mouth is unless political stability through a viable and sustainable system is ensured. Therefore, painful as it may be, the logic of the situation suggests that the ‘doctored’ democracy of General Musharraf, which promises soon to make the appellation military-mullah alliance a reality, is not a long-term bet for the economic goals the WB and our government agree on, but are unlikely to get to.