| 13 January 2005 | Thursday | 02 Zilhaj 1425 |
Crossing a milestone
Transport crisis
The situation in the Sui area seems to be worsening. Acts of occasional sabotage have given way to pitched battles between security forces and unknown gunmen. Tuesday saw commando action by guerillas dressed as peasants bringing in a patient.
They killed two security guards, and attacked gas installations and workers' homes. By any standards, the recalcitrant elements seem to be getting bolder, whatever the motives and whoever their patrons.
Tuesday also saw a very strong statement by President Pervez Musharraf when he said this was not the seventies and that those doing this mischief would not even know what hit them.
A day earlier, Mr Akbar Bugti said that a gas pipeline from Iran to India across Pakistan would not be possible without Baloch goodwill. The situation by any standards is tricky and requires restraint and wisdom on both sides.
The government cannot sit back idly while highly-motivated gunmen target pipelines which supply gas to domestic consumers and industrial users virtually throughout the country.
At the same time, the government does not have freedom of action because of the political overtones to what obviously is a crime against the people and the state. Tough measures may yield short-term results, but it is highly unlikely that they will lead to a lasting solution.
A worsening factor in Balochistan is the absence of a middle class because of the province's economic and social backwardness. This has served to concentrate political and social power in the hands of tribal sardars.
The greater tragedy is that these sardars keep their own followers in bondage. In fact, it is seldom that one finds Balochistan's tribal chiefs ever pressing the government for economic development and education, health and better housing for the people.
A middle class, urbanized leadership is conspicuous by its absence, and that explains why Balochistan's politics centres round tribal feuds that often take the form of armed clashes. The ultimate losers are the Baloch people, for whom neither the government nor their sardars care.
Balochistan needs faster economic development, and a special programme focussing on the development of human resources. It needs more educationists, doctors, engineers, technocrats and a large pool of skilled and semi-skilled people who could serve their people and help build Balochistan.
Obviously, decades of neglect cannot be rectified overnight. This government has undertaken some mega projects, which will generate employment and throw open inaccessible areas to the people.
However, the Baloch worry is that it is the people from outside the province who will get jobs. This aspect needs to be tackled by the government and the contractors who work on these projects.
The president's angry and intemperate reaction will lead us nowhere. What is needed is a political approach to the problems. The parliamentary committee does not seem to have made any impact, for nothing positive has come out of the talks it has held with different Baloch leaders.
It is time the ARD and the MMA, which are occupied with the uniform issue, did something positive about the Balochistan situation. Both these groups have their Baloch members in the federal and provincial assemblies.
Perhaps they could make their presence felt and persuade the government and the sardars to understand each other's point of view. There has to be a political solution, but those behind the acts of sabotage should know that they do not advance any worthwhile course by repeatedly disrupting gas supplies.
Crossing a milestone
The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) accomplished a feat on Tuesday when its index, the KSE-100, crossed three consecutive physical barriers in one day. It posted the largest single sessions rise by gaining 226 points, as trading volume rose to 1.029 billion shares and the index closed at 6710.03, a new record.
What makes the boom in the share market particularly significant is that it has been driven almost entirely by local investors. Their confidence in the market was amply demonstrated earlier in the massive over-subscription seen in the Oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDC) and the Sui South Gas Company (SSGC) share offers last year.
Analysts have, however, warned that the market had entered a high-risk area since the week's gains are based largely on speculative activity. In this, it is now up to the government to protect the interests of small savers and investors who would be the major losers if there is a reversal in fortunes in the near future.
One would assume that such an impressive performance of the bourse would attract foreign investors since the government has already relaxed regulations on movement of capital.
But they are conspicuous by their absence. The government needs to do much more to get the foreign capitalists invest their money here. Foreign investors point to the political uncertainty that grips the country, the deteriorating law and order situation with frequent incidents of violence, and the rise in corruption as some of the factors that discourage them.
It is about time the government took these issues seriously, otherwise the economic turnaround we expect on the basis of our fundamentals will pass us by if we are unable to attract foreign investment needed to give the much needed boost to industry and economic activity.
Transport crisis
Controversy surrounding a franchised bus company plying in the twin cities and the provincial government's contract with it allowing it to monopolize certain routes has dogged the transport sector in Islamabad and Rawalpindi for several years now.
The result has been disruption every now and then in the smooth running of the public transport system, causing considerable hardship to commuters. The latest disruption occurred last week when the bus company went on strike for three days over what it claimed was "inadequate security" for its staff and property, leaving commuters stranded at bus stands in cold, wintry weather.
In April last year, commuters in the twin cities faced a similar problem when some wagon routes were suddenly cancelled by the regional transport authority, and wagon and van operators took their vehicles off the streets in response.
The wagon operators in Punjab generally have been opposing the provincial government's franchise deal with ten big transport companies operating in several cities, including the one based in Rawalpindi.
Faced with the possibility of being pushed out of business by the big transport operators, the smaller wagon operators have gone to court to argue that the franchise system is unconstitutional because it is inconsistent with the fundamental rights and freedom of trade and business.
Their efforts culminated in a Supreme Court ruling last October which appeared to have gone in favour of the wagon owners. The ruling had ordered the provincial government to undertake corrective legal and administrative measures, and gave the franchise transport companies four more months to comply.
This period is due to expire by the end of February. If the relevant authorities do not untangle and resolve this long-standing controversy by then, the transport system in major cities of the province, including Rawalpindi and Islamabad, could grind to a halt.
It will be the commuters who will bear the brunt of what appears to be the inability of the relevant authorities to undertake appropriate and timely measures to ensure smooth-running of the public transport system.