| 11 March 2004 | Thursday | 19 Muharram 1425 |
Shaheen-II test
Prison reforms
It is reassuring to know that China has remained undeterred by the current international media blitz against Pakistan on the nuclear issue and has reaffirmed its commitment to build a second nuclear power plant of 300mw capacity at Chashma.
China has already helped Pakistan set up the 300mw nuclear power plant at Chashma. Last year the two countries signed an MoU for building Chashma-II. Indeed, Sino-Pakistan collaboration in nuclear power production goes back to the early 1980s when, disappointed by the refusal by certain western countries to sell nuclear equipment for power production, Pakistan turned to its all-weather friend. Chashma-I, which was commissioned in 1999, is the result of this cooperation in the nuclear field for peaceful purposes.
As in the early eighties, Pakistan is once again on the nuclear proliferation radar. There is no dearth now of cub reporters in the international media coming up with Pakistan-specific evidence to link Islamabad to underground proliferation networks.
Because of its traditional friendship with Pakistan, China too has been demonized on this score. However, Beijing has done well to make it clear that, like Chashma-I, Chashma-II too, would also be under international safeguards, since this project has nothing to do with nuclear weapons technology.
The spokesman for the Chinese government has advisedly rejected all allegations of any illegal nuclear deal between the two countries. Under the Chashma-II agreement, it has been agreed that the relevant technology for power generation would not be transferred to any third party.
When first proposed in the 1970s, the Chashma nuclear power plant was originally proposed to generate about 900mw of electricity by 1986. However, no progress was made because Pakistan had not signed the NPT, and there was reluctance on the part of international suppliers to provide us with the needed equipment.
For that reason, the Chashma project was shelved, and Pakistan included the Kalabagh Dam project in the seventh five-year plan for meeting the country's power-generation needs. But Kalabagh immediately became politically controversial; it still is.
In fact, given the way the things are and the reservations expressed by the small provinces, there appears no hope that this project will see the light of day. Thus, the country is likely to face, besides an irrigation water crisis in the coming years, power shortages of serious proportions in the next couple of years.
It is, therefore, important that the Chashma-II project adhere to its time-line. Nothing should be allowed to delay the project, because the country's economic development is dependent upon Pakistan meeting its energy needs.
Pakistan is now a nuclear power of sorts. It had to have a nuclear capability because it was left with no choice. It has achieved this capability not by embarrassing our friends with requests for help but by relying on its own resources and on the technical capability of its own scientists and technicians.
Pakistan's nuclear capability is indigenous, and the people of Pakistan justly take pride in it. Pakistan does not have oil, and its hydel power resources - even though considerable - have fallen victim to politics.
Also, the country cannot afford the ever-rising oil bill. The only choice before Pakistan for meeting its expanding energy needs is to focus on nuclear power. Chashma-II is a step in that direction. It has already been delayed considerably. Which is a pity. Let us hope that the go-ahead given by China will lead to a speedy completion of the project.
Shaheen-II test
Pakistan's latest test-firing of a medium-range, nuclear capable ballistic missile has come in the midst of the debate over nuclear non-proliferation. The test is part of a series of missile firings by Pakistan and India over the past several months.
The air recently had been full of innuendoes that, following the A.Q. Khan fiasco, Pakistan might be forced to roll back its nuclear programme. Tuesday's experiment is obviously designed to refute this impression and to reaffirm Pakistan's declared nuclear status.
It also marks a high level of technological expertise, which one hopes will find peaceful applications in non-military fields for the country's advancement.
The hope also will be that the missile test, of which New Delhi was informed in advance, will not spoil the atmosphere of cordiality marking Indo-Pakistan relations. Neither Pakistan nor India can afford the kind of lavish spending that has gone into developing their nuclear programmes.
This has meant having to cut corners on much-needed socio-economic and human development in both countries. While Pakistan's nuclear programme can be described as India-specific, India has global ambitions that stretch far beyond the region, as its Phalcon deal with Israel also shows.
The continued absence of a global nuclear disarmament regime has allowed the big five nuclear powers to add to their stockpiles of WMDs, dealing a major blow to the morality behind nuclear restraint.
Unless such a regime is agreed upon and measures taken towards global nuclear disarmament, poorer countries like Pakistan and India will refuse to be singled out for disarmament, and funds needed for the people's uplift will remain hostage to military one-upmanship.
It is in this context that Pakistan and India should work out a mutually acceptable nuclear restraint policy in South Asia. The danger of nuclear proliferation will continue to haunt the world, particularly as long as the US keeps applying double standards to the issue.
A world where states considered hostile to American hegemony are required to disarm while Israel - a clandestine nuclear power - is allowed to keep its capability, is hardly a place ready for nuclear disarmament.
Prison reforms
Shocking statistics supplied by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan point to the continuing neglect of prisoners forced to live under appalling conditions in jails across the country.
According to the human rights body, the current number of inmates - 80,500 - in Pakistan's 89 jails is more than twice the sanctioned capacity. Moreover, the vast majority of prisoners consists of under-trial detainees, many of whom are still waiting for the legal process to begin; a little over 20 per cent have been convicted and are serving out their sentences.
To make matters worse, most prisons are short of staff and, for most part, jail staff lack the necessary training to deal with those behind bars in accordance with regulations.
Often, they make no distinction between juvenile offenders and hardened criminals, incarcerating both in the same cell. Many are also known to accept bribes from desperate prisoners who otherwise must undergo degrading treatment at the hands of their jailers.
While the recent appointment of a committee to look into the deplorable conditions prevailing in the country's jails is a step in the right direction, prison conditions continue to deteriorate.
The government would do well to study earlier reports and act even before the new committee presents its findings. One of the ways to redress the situation is to reduce overcrowding in jails.
For this, it must be ensured that under-trial prisoners are given a speedy hearing so that they do not have to wait for years before their cases are decided. To free jail space, the recent example of the NWFP could be followed in releasing petty offenders whose time in the lockup before trial often exceeds the sentence on conviction.
A proposal that jail premises could also serve as makeshift courtrooms for an initial sorting out of prisoners ought to be looked into. There must also be some system of ensuring that there is legal aid available for prisoners who cannot afford to engage a lawyer and continue to languish for years in jail.