| 14 February 2004 | Saturday | 22 Zilhaj 1424 |
Slump in housing
Basant blues
True to its track record, Israel has decided to boycott the International Court of Justice which is to begin hearing the "wall" case later this month. Since all political attempts to stop Israel from going ahead with the wall have been exhausted, the UN General Assembly correctly recommended that the ICJ hear the case.
For quite some time, there were feelers from Tel Aviv that it would boycott the hearing. On Thursday, the Sharon government made this decision official, saying that the world court had no jurisdiction to hear political cases.
It also said that such referrals would lead to "spurious cases" being referred to the international tribunal. One does not know how the ICJ will rule, but it is obvious that Israel has no chance; if it had, it would have not chosen to boycott the world court hearing. Incidentally, the ICJ's decisions are non-binding.
Israel, of course, has never cared about censures by international institutions. It has been condemned repeatedly by the General Assembly on several counts.
These include its human rights violations in the occupied territories, its attempts to alter the Arab-Islamic character of Al-Quds, and its ecological crimes in the form of destruction of Arab orchards and the felling of citrus and olive trees.
The list is endless. But it has never worried because the General Assembly's resolutions too are non-binding. However, Security Council resolutions are binding on UN members, but Israel has violated them, too. So far, Israel has violated 32 Security Council resolutions.
While the ICJ verdict may not be binding, the hearings would enable the Palestinian side to present its case to the world court. This way the coverage of the hearings by the international media would serve to bring to the notice of world opinion Israel's true intentions behind building the wall.
Several layers deep, and consisting of ditches and barbed wire, the wall is apparently designed to keep suicide-bombers out. Its real aim is to steal more Palestinian land.
Israel may need no prodding to defy world bodies, but it has been encouraged in its defiance by the positions adopted by the US and the European Union. Last month, the US and EU declared that they did not see how a World Court hearing on the wall would help bring peace to the holy land.
This is indeed an extraordinary way of encouraging Israel in its designs. As a Palestinian spokesman has pointed out, while the US and EU ask Palestinians to give up violence, they block any attempt by the latter to solve issues by peaceful means.
The truth is that Israel fears that an ICJ decision against it could lead to a Security Council resolution of a similar nature. This fear is baseless. With America there, Israel can rest assured that the UN council can pass no anti-Israel resolution.
The hearing is to begin on Feb 23, but with America involved with presidential primaries, there is little chance that the US electronic and print media would go out of their way to report the court's proceedings, casting Israel in a bad light.
Slump in housing
The Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) has raised a valid point in its threat to shut down its business in the construction sector. The government's many incentives to this sector, especially the reduction in excise duty on cement (a major provision in the federal budget presented last June), have not had the desired effect.
In fact, thanks to excess liquidity in the economy after 9/11, many commercial banks and financial institutions have also introduced housing loan and leasing schemes for prospective home builders and buyers. However, for various reasons, the industry, whose revival could have a major ripple effect through the rest of the economy and help cater to the demand for affordable housing, has yet to take off.
For starters, the commercial banks need to shed some of the extreme caution that they seem to practice when it comes to providing housing loans; otherwise a large part of the potential might remain untapped.
There is no point in having excess liquidity or spending a huge lot of money on advertising campaigns (publicizing housing loans) when the criteria for approval of cases are unduly stiff.
Part of the reason for the poor response is also that the schemes have interest rates that are generally far higher than those advertised. The low rate advertised is usually offered to only those applicants who meet a host of conditions, many of which are exceedingly stringent.
The other issue is an element of profiling which seems to have crept into the whole screening process, with reports suggesting that some applicants are refused loans on the basis of where they live or that their choice of profession happens to disqualify them.
Although such discrimination is often hard to prove, the State Bank and the Securities and Exchange Commission should warn lending banks not to discriminate unfairly in sanctioning house loans.
Other than this, what could greatly help is if the government directed the cement companies, several of whom happen to be in the public sector, to pass on the benefit of the reduced excise duty to consumers.
Basant blues
The festival of Basant, which is celebrated every year to mark the onset of spring, will take place this weekend. The principal centre for this festival is Lahore, where the event is celebrated with the flying of kites and other festivities, which attract visitors from all parts of the country as well as abroad.
In the past years, there has been criticism of the festival from different quarters, which claim that the event is contrary to Muslim beliefs and values and as such should be discontinued.
This has not stopped the people of Lahore from continuing with the tradition, with great gusto and fervour. Lately, however, criticism of the festival has been on different grounds.
The Lahore city administration banned kite flying last year following complaints about numerous power trippings caused by copper strings used in flying kites. A few people were seriously injured last year, and one killed by metal strings besides injuries to quite a few kite flyers as well as bystanders.
The ban has now been lifted temporarily but the city nazim has said that a permanent ban on kite flying is under consideration in the interest of the safety of the citizens and to avoid power disruptions.
Kite flying being the life blood of Basant, its prohibition will deprive the festival of its most exciting and participatory aspect and may even put an end to it over time.
The concern over the risk factor of kite flying in its present form is understandable and calls for remedial action short of banning. Indeed, a more practical approach would be to run a campaign in the electronic and print media on the risks associated with the sport to create awareness and also define rules of restraint and discipline to be observed and penalize those who violate these.
Local festivals, being few and far in Pakistan, should be encouraged and new ones promoted wherever possible instead of turning some of the existing ones into mere ritualistic ones - lifeless and colourless, to be observed in a routine manner.