| 23 August 2004 | Monday | 06 Rajab 1425 |
Speeding up denationalization
Case for nationality
The 'regional connectivity' project of the Asian Development Bank for which the bank is prepared to offer two billion dollars to Pakistan and about $800 million to India is by all standards a highly bankable project.
Indeed, the establishment of road and railway links between Central and South Asia has the potential to yield tremendous socio-economic benefits for the people of these two neighbouring regions.
The Central Asian Republics (CARs) are already linked with each other through a railway network, but these links stop at the borders of Afghanistan, denying the land-locked CARs the much needed access to the outside world.
India perhaps has the most developed railway system in the subcontinent, but it tapers off on India's borders with the neighbouring countries denying the South Asian countries access to the rich markets of Central Asia and the Middle East on the one hand and that of the South East Asia on the other.
To a large extent, for this very reason, the economic groupings of South Asia Association for Regional Countries (Saarc), which includes seven South Asian countries, and the Economic Cooperation Organization (Eco), which includes the Cars, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey have remained largely dormant even after a long time since they were set up.
The unending turmoil in Afghanistan and the running feud between India and Pakistan seem to have served as insurmountable hurdles in the way of establishing an all-encompassing and workable system of 'regional connectivity' through railways and roads.
The other hurdle is that of finances. The regional countries are too poor to mobilize the required funds. For the multinational financiers, it is too risky a project for many reasons.
So, it was only in the fitness of things that ADB, an essentially Asia-centric multilateral donor, should take up the issue. Pakistan's own road and railway networks need a lot of expansion, rehabilitation, renovation and modernization for these to serve as an efficient link in the connectivity project.
India too would need to build, improve and modernize its road and railway links with Pakistan and other neighbouring countries to become a part of the overall system.
Besides, the ADB needs to consider a separate connectivity project for Afghanistan where at the moment there is no railway network to link the country with those of the Cars in the north and that of Pakistan in the south.
It is only after the completion of such a project that a viable railway link connecting Cars to South Asia and beyond and South Asia to the Middle East and beyond could be established.
This will bring together at least about a billion and a half people, mostly poor, opening new possibilities of progress and improvement for them by harnessing their collective economic potential.
The land-locked but relatively rich Cars would then find an outlet to the world through the under-construction Gwader port in Pakistan. The South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), which is still two years away from being turned into a reality, and the ECO trade agreements, which have remained paper agreements so far, would be greatly facilitated by this connectivity.
And with the passage of time a linkage between Saarc and the ECO could also materialize for the mutual benefit of both the regional economic groupings.
Speeding up denationalization
The Sindh government's move to denationalize the St Joseph's and the St Patrick's Colleges in Karachi has provoked a strong reaction from the teachers' community in the province.
This is most disturbing. Some of the arguments put forward by those resisting the move may be convincing on paper, but in reality we know from experience that nationalization of educational institutions proved to be a disaster in Pakistan ever since it was done in 1972.
It did not increase the accessibility of the public sector education system as much as had been expected and led to a drastic fall in standards because the government did not have the resources and management expertise to run the nationalized schools and colleges efficiently.
Small wonder the Bhutto government, the author of the nationalization policy, did not go through with the second phase in which more schools were to be nationalized.
Thereafter the opening of private schools and colleges was - followed by the denationalization of many of the nationalized ones. Those opposing the denationalization move fear that it will put these institutions beyond the reach of average families, while the teachers will lose their job security.
It is also argued that when all is fine with the institutions concerned, why upset the apple cart by controversial move? The fact is that all is not fine. The St Joseph's and the St Patrick's which were at one time the cream of the colleges in the city are nowhere near their former selves.
One may even ask what kind of justice is it that the Forman Christian College in Lahore and other denominational institutions could be returned to their former owners but not these two.
As for job security of the teachers and admission of students, the government has laid down specific conditions to safeguard the interests of both. A good percentage of the teachers are to be retained for three years.
As for a rise in fee, a formula can be worked out to do so in phases and a system of scholarships and freeships instituted for the indigent. One hopes that the education department which has still to issue the notification will do so without delay.
Case for nationality
The relief given this week by the Peshawar High Court to Dr Hafsa Aman and Aqila Durrani, two Indian nationals married to Pakistanis so that they can stay in Pakistan while their applications for citizenship are processed is welcome news.
The high court took up the two identical petitions and has asked the government to explain on what ground these women are being denied Pakistani citizenship. Both Dr Aman and Ms Durrani are being pressured by the interior ministry to leave Pakistan as their visas have expired.
But the women argue that being married to Pakistani nationals it is their right to get Pakistani nationality. Under the terms of the Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951, a woman married to a Pakistani should be registered as a citizen of the country.
But in this case, it seems that the previous nationality of both the petitioners has come in the way and makes the government reluctant to grant them nationality.
Such an attitude on the part of the bureaucrats is surprising considering that Dr Aman had given a sworn statement that she was surrendering her Indian nationality and that she wanted to live in this country with her husband for the rest of her life.
The interior ministry should either come up with a good ground why these women cannot be considered for citizenship or, if no such reason exists, ensure that they are given their Pakistani nationality at the earliest.
Such a step will also act as a signal for others living in the country without valid documents or in a state of limbo to come forward and have their status regularized.
There are also a large number of people who come to Pakistan without any valid permission like those who enter from Afghanistan. It is important to set a precedent in the manner in which Pakistan deals with all those who come from other countries to live here.