| 22 October 2004 | Friday | 07 Ramazan 1425 |
At whose behest?
Trade in human organs
The stage is now set for the second round of the India-Pakistan dialogue which began earlier this year. The Foreign Office in Islamabad has announced the schedule for eight meetings, the first of which will be held towards the end of November. The issues to come under discussion cover a wide field - from nuclear confidence-building measures and rail and bus services between the two countries to a memorandum of understanding on narcotics control.
The most crucial issue between the two countries, namely the Kashmir dispute, will be taken up by the foreign secretaries of the two countries in a meeting at the end of December. This will be preceded by talks between experts from both sides. The dialogue appears to be proceeding well, even though no progress has so far been made on any issue of substance. But by keeping their tone subdued and not adopting a confrontationalist stance as they did in the past, the two sides have sent a positive signal to each other and the world at large.
They have also been careful about keeping the dialogue out of the glare of publicity. This discreet approach should help the negotiators discuss matters calmly and objectively with the goal of finding a solution, rather than playing to their domestic galleries.
Some of the issues to be taken up will have a far-reaching impact on peace in South Asia. Kashmir has been central to India-Pakistan relations. But also important in the wider context of normalization in South Asia are the moves to open up communication between the two states to facilitate people-to-people contacts between them. One hopes that the talks about the Munabao-Khokhrapar rail route and the Muzzafarabad-Srinagar bus link will make rapid progress this time and will not be bogged down in procedural wrangles.
Both have their own significance. While the rail link will re-open the shorter route for the people travelling from Sindh to India by train - and they constitute a substantial number - the second will enable Kashmiris to re-establish contacts with their kin on the other side of the Line of Control. These as well as other measures such as talks on trade and confidence building will create a positive atmosphere for the peace dialogue.
Although there are a number of disputes which are under discussion between the two governments at the moment, it is the Kashmir issue which has understandably emerged as the focus of attention. Now that the two countries have stepped back from the precipice of their erstwhile positions and are willing to be more flexible in their approach, it is time that the Kashmiri leaderships from all sides of the spectrum are gradually inducted into a dialogue - amongst themselves and also with India and Pakistan.
New Delhi has done well to open talks with the Hurriyat, although they have still a long way to go before anything comes out of them. The leaders from Azad Kashmir could also play a role in the peace negotiations but the format for that would have to be worked out at an appropriate stage. With both sides now serious in their quest for peace - in their meeting in New York President Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had agreed to explore all options for a settlement and to move away from rigid positions - one hopes that the composite dialogue will produce results this time.
At whose behest?
For the second time in two months the UN Security Council, at the behest of the US and France, has asked Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon. Understandably, the Lebanese government has termed it as setting a "dangerous precedent of interference" in Lebanon's internal affairs. The fact remains that Syria's is not an occupation army in Lebanon. Beirut alone can decide whether Syria has overstayed its welcome there or not. The only occupation force in Palestine is that of Israel, occupying Arab land in Gaza, the West Bank and the Syrian Golan Heights.
The UNSC move is linked to the Bush administration's preoccupation with pleasing Israel and the Jewish lobby in Washington at a time when the presidential election is just round the corner. Where France fits into the Bush re-election strategy may be hard to tell but Paris's own penchant for placating Tel Aviv is no secret. It also partly explains why the Quartet-sponsored roadmap to peace in the Middle East now stands all but scuttled.
Washington has been after Syria for quite some time now. Besides accusing Damascus of human rights abuses and of harbouring terrorists, the US suspects it of trying to develop weapons of mass destruction. All this is ostensibly for Damascus' refusal to strike a bilateral peace deal with Israel - like those by Egypt and Jordan - pending a comprehensive Arab-Israel settlement. With Saddam Hussein's Iraq now reduced to tatters, Lebanon remains Israel's only Arab neighbour besides Syria that has been at war with Tel Aviv and that has refused to recognize Israel following the Oslo peace process.
This both Israel and the West attribute to Beirut taking its cue from Damascus. That the UNSC should now be used to impose Tel Aviv's will on all its Arab neighbours while turning a blind eye to Israel's excesses against the Palestinians, and to the occupation of Iraq, is indeed sad. The need for reform of the world body has never been greater.
Trade in human organs
The absence of a cadaver law - a draft version of which has been gathering dust in the Senate since 1992 - is being keenly felt in the country that is believed to be "one of the top three destinations in Asia" for those in need of kidney transplant. With no legislation to make matters easier for patients requiring transplant, the illegal organ trade has been gathering momentum, and those burdened by financial problems have been selling their kidneys to well-off Pakistanis and foreigners.
There are of course middlemen involved in this heinous trade, and unscrupulous doctors, too, stand to profit from such transactions. The consequences for the largely poverty-stricken donors - many of whom sell one of their kidneys in order to pay the debts incurred by them - can well be imagined. Not only does it leave them physically weak but in many cases, unable to take up employment, thus being left with practically no chance to break out of the web of poverty.
It is about time Pakistan's lawmakers, taking their cue from India where a booming organ trade has led the country to enact comprehensive legislation on the subject, legalized cadaver organ donation, and at the same time, took stringent measures to curb the commercial sale of human organs. As recently pointed out by Dr Adib Rizvi, director of the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, such a law would restrict the organ trade.
On the one hand, demand would go down if cadaver laws are in place, and on the other, doctors and middlemen, facing possible imprisonment or hefty fines, would think twice before indulging in such a nefarious practice. As for the religious aspect of cadaver donations, one can take heart from the fact that there are Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, where this has been legalized. The government should enlist the help of the religious leaders in promoting the idea of cadaver donation.