Iraq: unending violence

The killing of 49 army recruits over the weekend serves only to increase doubts about the Iraqi government's ability to hold elections, due in December-January, in relatively peaceful conditions. The unarmed recruits were not killed in an attack; they were, in the words of an Iraqi National Guard officer, systematically executed. They were made to disembark from their buses and then were shot in the heads.

Those who tried to run away were gunned down. A website claimed on Sunday that the massacre had been carried out by the Zarqawi group, but the group itself has as yet made no such claim. Nevertheless, the murder of the army recruits falls in line with the militants' policy to target the new security apparatus which the government headed by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi is trying to create. So far, hundreds of police recruits have been killed and injured in attacks on police stations and recruitment centres.

More than a year and a half after the fall of the Baathist regime, the non-elected government installed by the US is unable to give even a semblance of peace and normality to the country. With each passing day, the resistance seems to be getting stronger. Disarming the insurgents is beyond the capacity of the Iraqi government. The Americans pacify a given area with their firepower only temporarily, but the insurgency invariably reappears.

The way Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army was made to partially disarm by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani shows it is non-governmental groups which can stop or stir violence. The Allawi government itself is powerless, both because it does not have a security apparatus of its own and because it does not command the people's respect. In fact, most Iraqis consider the Allawi government an American puppet and do not think it can give Iraq peace, much less democracy.

The only way peace can come to Iraq is through a credible election process. A lot has to be done. Iraq must have a constitution, and the transitional assembly due to be elected later this winter is supposed to draft one. However, it appears highly unlikely that the elections will be held. Like Iraqi security personnel, election officials will also become a target of the resistance. It is obvious that elections held under the present American-backed political set-up would not be able to secure the Iraqi people's participation. Nor will the world consider such elections credible.

The Iraqi war was launched by the US without UN authorization. Most surprisingly, even after winning the war, it has failed to involve the world body in a meaningful way with the running of post-Saddam Iraq. This has created doubts as to America's true intentions. Many governments, including some of America's Nato allies, believe that Washington wants to create a vassal state through a manipulated election.

To dispel such impressions, the only choice before the US is to hold elections to the transitional assembly under the auspices of the world body. The UN must run Iraq for an interim period, during which law and order should be the responsibility of a UN peacekeeping force. It is then that a reasonably free and fair election can be held in a peaceful atmosphere. Since there are no signs yet of that happening in Iraq, violence is likely to continue.

Why that many, that often?

Over the past few weeks, both the frequency and duration of power outages in Karachi have grown. While some of these are localized, of late there has been a rise in city-wide power failures as well. Such a power breakdown occurred on Monday morning at Sahari time. It was rectified after a couple of hours for some localities but in other areas power was not resumed till late in the afternoon.

The KESC says that the reason for these outages is a power shortfall of about 500MW at peak periods which is not being met by Wapda. The KESC chief had promised that power disruptions would be minimized during Ramazan but the opposite seems to be the case. This brings into question the role and working of the KESC management, which was inducted in 1999, to improve the working of the utility.

Despite the passage of five years, the KESC continues to suffer from the same problems that have plagued it for long. Line losses stand at about 40 per cent, partly because of an outdated transmission and distribution system and also because of excessive power theft. Outages remain a regular feature and lead to huge losses affecting commercial and industrial consumers besides causing misery to millions of domestic consumers. In spite of massive fund injections by the federal government, the KESC has failed to achieve its performance targets on all major counts.

To add to this is the utility's weak financial position as a result of large-scale defaults in payment of power dues by government and other bodies. Poor management of power supply has led to frequent power riots in the city in the past few months. Against a total demand of 2,000MW, the KESC continues to suffer from a serious shortfall. The haphazard manner in which its management operates leaves a lot to be desired and it is time for it to get its act together.

Cruel sport of camel-racing

The recent death of an eight-year-old camel jockey is yet another grim reminder of the large number of children in the country who are smuggled by unscrupulous agents to the Gulf where they train and take part in the dangerous sport of camel-racing. In this case, young Kaleem Husain, who was fatally injured when he fell from his camel during a race in Dubai, and his brother had been sold by their father to an Arab employer for reasons of poverty.

Unfortunately, this is by no means a rare occurrence, and despite efforts by the government to crack down on this, there has been no decline in the smuggling of camel jockeys to the Gulf. Some are kidnapped while others are sent or taken by their parents in return for monetary recompense. Once in the camel camps, these youngsters, some of whom are as young as four or five, are shabbily treated by their employers, and deliberately underfed so that their weight does not exceed a specified limit. They are made to endure great hardships and are physically punished if they lose a race.

Both the UAE and Pakistan must tighten the noose around those involved in this heinous practice, and there must be greater collaboration between the two to bust criminal gangs who use forged documents and men and women impersonating as parents to smuggle the camel kids to the Gulf. The UAE police must also come down with a heavy hand on those operating the camel camps where these children are kept.

There is legislation in both countries to check the racket, but it seems the will to strictly implement it is lacking. Perhaps we should realize that although child labour is a necessary evil in a poverty-stricken country like ours, there are other, safer occupations for children who have no option but to contribute to the family purse. There is simply no excuse for transporting our little ones to unfamiliar, hostile surroundings where they risk death or permanent injury as they provide entertainment to those who place no premium on human life.