| 25 May 2004 | Tuesday | 05 Rabi-us-Saani 1425 |
Gas supply disruptions
Tourism in Northern Areas
As was only to be expected, the Arab League summit conference ended at Tunis on Sunday without producing any results. The meeting epitomized Arab disunity. In keeping with his track record, Libyan President Muammar Qadhafi walked out of the conference, while earlier secretary-general Amr Moussa attacked him indirectly for undermining the organization.
All that the conference did was to approve 17 resolutions and adopt four documents promising reforms. These pledged the League members to promote democracy, widen popular participation in governance, strengthen civil society and empower women.
That the leaders do not really believe in such reforms became evident when it was announced that the heads of state would not sign the documents. Instead, it would be left to institutions - cabinets and parliaments - to do so.
Obviously, reforms have been agreed under pressure from Washington, which believes this is the easiest way for it to divert attention from Iraq and Palestine and put the Arab leaders on the defensive.
By responding to American urgings on this issue, do the Arab leaders want to make the world believe that there is nothing in Arab culture itself that could propel them towards liberalizing their societies?
The conference passed a number of resolutions on Palestine and Iraq, and showed solidarity with Syria, which has been under American pressure for what is Washington's bugbear - weapons of mass destruction.
Beyond that, the 22 leaders who gathered in the Tunisian capital did nothing that could give an indication of their resolve to face the challenges in Palestine and Iraq.
There was no hint, for instance, of how the Arab League intended to mobilize the economic and manpower resources of the 280 million Arabs and chalk out a long-term strategy for promoting the Arab cause.
The situation in Palestine has reached a critical stage. What is happening in the Gaza Strip is more than what the word atrocity stands for; it is genocide with the full might of the Israeli state and the tacit support it enjoys form the US and sections of European governments.
An indication of the horror the people of Gaza have been living through comes from what an Israeli leader with some conscience had to say about it. At a cabinet meting he called specially for this purpose, Justice Minister Yosef Lapid said what was going on in Rafah reminded him of the Holocaust.
He called the demolition of houses inhuman and said this exposed Israel to the charge of war crimes. Regrettably, the Arab League did not come up even with a diplomatic plan to mobilize would opinion to put an end to Israeli crimes.
An even greater indication of the Arab leaders' helplessness was the absence of President Yasser Arafat, who remains an Israeli prisoner in Ramallah.
The fact is that the Arab leaders do not have their feet on the ground. Many of them run systems that are not accountable and deny even elementary political freedom to their own people. The media throughout the Arab world is shackled, and dissent is suppressed.
No wonder, lacking popular support, the Arab leaders need western, especially American, support for survival. They cannot be expected to stand up against their foreign benefactors.
Unless the Arabs themselves develop democratic institutions and reorganize their societies, the Arab League will be no better than what it is today - a talk shop.
Gas supply disruptions
An armed clash between local tribesmen and security personnel belonging to the Frontier Constabulary and the Rangers in Sui has resulted yet again in the disruption of gas supply to parts of the country.
The clash came on the heels of a week-long strike by gas field workers in Dera Bugti, who are demanding jobs and related benefits for the children of deceased gas workers.
The latest attack was the third this year; similar attacks carried out last month and earlier in January were attributed to the feuding Bugti and Mazari tribes, both of which lay conflicting claims to royalties and jobs emanating from the gas fields.
It is surprising that the government should have failed to settle such long-standing issues with the local tribesmen who have time and again succeeded in cutting off gas supply for industrial and domestic use.
That the tribesmen used rockets, automatic weapons, hand grenades and mortar in the latest clash with the security personnel should ring alarm bells. According to a briefing given by the petroleum (and gas) ministry last week, Pakistan's oil and gas sector has the potential to attract investment worth $1.5 billion over the next 18 months.
That may well be true, but it is hard to see how new investors can be persuaded to put their money in a project whose security situation remains as volatile as that of the gas fields in Sui.
A letter appearing in this newspaper on Monday spoke of the adverse conditions under which existing private investors were operating in the area. The writer has accused various government agencies, security personnel, local feudal lords and tribesmen of fleecing the investors, sometimes holding their vehicles at gunpoint to extort money.
The government must tackle all these problems on a priority basis if it wishes to attract more local and foreign investment to this otherwise promising sector. While legitimate demands for jobs by the local tribesmen should be met, unscrupulous and criminal elements in their midst should not be allowed to hold the gas sector to ransom.
Tourism in Northern Areas
According to a recent report, one of the country's most scenic places, Kalam in Swat, has suffered a serious drop in tourism because of an extraordinary delay in the construction of an access road connecting it with the rest of the valley.
The delay is said to have prevented tourists from reaching Kalam which lies at the northern tip of the valley. This shows the glaring contradiction between what the government says it will do to promote tourism and what it actually does.
Claims are being made all the time by senior functionaries that much is being done to increase the number of tourists coming to the country. Recently, one western government was even approached to review its practice of issuing travel advisories warning its citizens of the consequences of travelling to Pakistan but Islamabad's request was politely refused.
A reasonably good and safe access road to any tourist spot in Pakistan's Northern Areas is a prerequisite because people normally take a vacation to have peace of mind.
If the road itself and the mode of travel give travellers the jitters then the tourist potential of the site will never be realized. Other than good roads, tourist spots in the Northern Areas need good hotels which provide affordable accommodation, decent food and professional room service.
Take the case of Murree, which is filled chock-a-block in summer and where even third-rate hotels manage to charge exorbitant rents because of the heavy demand. Sound infrastructure and good quality of service are sure to attract domestic tourists, but foreign tourists cannot be expected to come to Pakistan in any significant numbers unless steps are taken to tackle the law and order problem besides ensuring improved facilities and services.