| November 25, 2003 | Tuesday | Ramazan 29, 1424 |
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Shevardnadze’s exit
Certifying unfit vehicles
IF peace has not broken out in South Asia, one can at least draw satisfaction from the fact that Pakistan and India are making progress in that direction. Since Mr Vajpayee’s April 18 statement offering talks to Pakistan without any conditions, things have not moved as fast as expected. Nevertheless, there has been progress, even if at a snail’s pace. Among proposals made and accepted are the decisions to enhance the level of diplomatic representation, increase the strength of diplomatic staff, the resumption of the Lahore-New Delhi bus service, and the exchange of visits by parliamentarians and businessmen. More important, there has been an agreement on a resumption of cricket ties, with the Indian side due in Pakistan in February. Although there has been no progress on the resumption of air links, the two sides at least seem keen to sort this matter out. Last month, the Indian side came up with a package of proposals, including the start of a Srinagar-Muzaffarbad bus service, travel between Karachi and Mumbai by sea, a resumption of the rail link across the Sindh-Rajasthan border, the establishment of “visa camps”, and the permission for citizens over 65 to walk over into India.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali announced Pakistan’s decision to observe a unilateral ceasefire along the Line of Control in Kashmir with effect from Eid. He hoped that New Delhi would reciprocate the gesture, for without that “our action will remain incomplete.” More important, the prime minister has accepted several of the 12 Indian proposals made on Oct 22, including those relating to the Muzaffarabad-Srinagar bus service, the Karachi-Mumbai ferry service and the revival of air links between the two countries. He also made some new proposals, including that relating to prisoners and a Lahore-Amritsar bus service. Impressive as the proposals are, one notes with regret the absence of a composite and purposive dialogue covering the whole gamut of the Indo-Pakistan relationship.
In his Srinagar speech, the Indian prime minister had offered talks to Pakistan without any pre-conditions. This meant that India would not link the start of talks to Pakistan’s support to what it calls “cross-border terrorism.” Yet, Indian leaders have continued to dither on a dialogue, saying that talks could not begin unless Islamabad stopped infiltration. This contradicts Mr Vajpayee’s Srinagar proposal. The point for New Delhi to realize is that real progress towards a normalization of bilateral relations is not possible without a resolution of the Kashmir dispute. Bus, train and ferry services are all peripheral issues. If the gains made over the last six months are to be built upon, New Delhi has to adopt a more positive approach to the question of substantive talks. Its participation in the Islamabad summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is still in doubt. One hopes India will attend it. This should serve to break the stalemate and open the way for a meaningful dialogue. One must here welcome the statement made in Washington by Mr K.C. Pant, a member of India’s National Security Council, that the Kashmir issue could be solved and that New Delhi was willing to discuss it. This is a positive statement, and even though it seems to have been made for the benefit of his American hosts, Islamabad must examine it to determine whether his views indicate a possible shift in the Indian stance on talks on Kashmir.
THERE is a lesson or two to learn from the fall of the Georgian strongman, President Eduard Shevardnadze, on Sunday. Founder leader of the post-Soviet Union independent Georgia, Mr Shevardnadze’s was a glory that receded fast in the face of the corruption charges against his administration, his inability to govern in a transparent, democratic manner and his personal failings when it came to delivering on promises. Georgia, at the beginning of his decade-long rule, declared independence from a collapsing Soviet Union whose spokesman to the outside world was none other than Mr Shevardnadze himself in his capacity as the USSR’s last foreign minister. He then oversaw the painful but swift recovery of Georgia from the throes of a bloody civil war that ended in at least two breakaway regions but escaped the dire fate of disintegration. He survived two attempts on his life in a struggle to uphold the ideal of an integrated, democratic and prosperous Georgia — an ideal that has largely remained a dream. This was because Mr Shevardnadze’s iron-fist rule could only keep his country intact but could not make it more democratic, less corrupt and prosperous.
The opposition-led ‘velvet’ revolution triumphed when the army finally refused to do Mr Shevardnadze’s bidding to restore order by dispersing hundreds of thousands of angry Georgians who took to the street of capital Tbilisi, demanding his resignation. Mr Shevardnadze’s exit was negotiated by the Russian foreign minister just in time so as to allow him the only possible way out of the crisis that was entirely of his own making. Soon thereafter, his plane was airborne heading for an undisclosed destination — probably Russia. The popular uprising gained momentum within days after the November 2 parliamentary election that the whole world believed was massively rigged in favour of Mr Shevardnadze’s party. Today, ten years after independence, Georgia once again stands at the crossroads: the challenge of governing this once prosperous but now impoverished and misruled country is a daunting one. It is therefore all the more important that fresh elections are held as soon as possible and power transferred to a democratically elected government.
THE manner in which the Motor Vehicle Inspectors (MVIs) issue certificates of roadworthiness to vehicles that are not up to the standard is a practice that has long been the bane of the certification process. A report in this paper shows how vehicles that are clearly unfit to be on the roads are passed by the MVIs without even a cursory check because the owners grease the palms of the relevant officials. At the same time, perfectly fit vehicles are denied a certificate because their owners are not willing to pay bribes for a certificate. A visit to the inspection ground in Karachi shows the presence of several middlemen who can help strike a deal with the relevant police officials for fitness certificates even for vehicles that have not been brought there for inspection.
The DIG Traffic says that because of the inadequacy or absence of proper testing equipment at the MVI offices, the discretionary powers of the vehicle inspectors are often used to determine fitness. In his opinion, if these discretionary powers are restricted following the installation of proper vehicle testing and monitoring equipment, corruption would automatically be minimized. This argument is flawed as it condones the malpractice of the MVIs without any indication of action to be taken against them. It also does not address the problem at hand. It seems that the people of Karachi will continue to suffer the problem of vehicular pollution unless funds are provided for testing equipment. In the mean time, damaged and unfit vehicles of all kinds continue to emit smoke and make noise, seriously affecting people’s health. And the police remain impervious to all this as if fitness of vehicles plying on the city roads is nothing much to worry about.