| 14 January 2005 | Friday | 03 Zilhaj 1425 |
Curbing heritage theft
Punjab crime surge
The law and order situation throughout the country seems to be worsening. Each day brings bad news, adds to the people's worries and makes them wonder where we are heading.
There may be some respite in the Wana violence, but the happenings in the Sui area have given a new dimension to the national scene. The supply of gas to domestic and industrial consumers has been cut, the worst hit being power and fertilizer industries.
Also, after the interior minister's press conference on Wednesday, the induction of troops into the Sui area to protect the gas installations seems imminent. That may improve the security situation around the gas complex, but that would by no means put an end to the problems of violence and terrorism that the Sui trouble reflects.
In another act of banditry, criminals in the "kuchcha area" kidnapped 12 Wapda officials near Rajanpur on Wednesday. And the three Sindh judges kidnapped in the Shikarpur area on Dec 3 have still not been recovered.
All this in addition to frequent acts of terrorism, the murder of Anwar Bhaijan in Karachi, the attempt on the life of a religious leader in Gilgit and gangland warfare in Lyari. These are all disturbing developments that have contributed to a sense of acute insecurity among the people throughout the country.
Many of these crimes have political overtones and are linked one way or another with the kind of politics we have been practising in this country. The situation demands a national effort in which partisan and short-term interests should have no place.
The government has already tied its hand. By attempting to isolate the PPP and PML-N, it has restricted its own area of political interaction and been confined to dealing only with the religious parties.
Not ignoring the MMA's own part in fostering the kind of military-dominated system we now have, the religious parties too have serious differences with the government on many issues.
They may be focussing on inanities like the religion column in passport and the ever-present bogey of "obscenity" in the electronic media, but they nevertheless represent a sizable political force.
They have differences with the ARD, but of late the religious grouping of six parties seems to have struck some understanding with the ARD on the question of the president's uniform.
Taken together, thus, the ARD and MMA represent people throughout the country and can make a great deal of difference to the situation. What people wonder is whether these two alliances have their priorities right.
In the Wana situation, the MMA initially tried to play a role and had some modest success here and there but nothing that could be called decisive. In Balochistan, the MMA is part of the coalition government, and for that reason it should take a greater interest in whatever is happening in Sui.
The ARD, too, has representatives from Balochistan in the national and provincial assemblies and can join hands with all political forces for defusing the situation.
The crisis is in danger of getting out of hand, unless all parties - the government, the Baloch leaders and the ARD and MMA - sit together to sort the problem out. The issue is delicate; it involves both Baloch sensitivities and the security of the plants and pipelines that supply gas to the nation.
Curbing heritage theft
It is not surprising that despite a formal request by the Pakistan government to the United States for the return of precious Gandhara artefacts impounded by customs officials in New Jersey state, legal complications caused by problems at our end may hamper all efforts at speedy transfer and restoration.
Apparently, the museum authorities had not documented the smuggled items, forcing US customs to try and establish whether they actually belonged to Pakistan. This fact alone speaks volumes for the slipshod manner in which we go about the preservation of our archaeological treasures.
It is bad enough to allow such treasures to elude detection and to turn up in faraway places - owing chiefly to a complacent archaeology department and corrupt customs officials. But to not record their details in the first place is simply preposterous and reflects poorly on the efficiency of the authorities concerned.
Unfortunately, this casual attitude towards the protection of our cultural heritage stems from an overall disinterest in the history of the land. There is simply no importance attached to historical monuments, valuable relics and the like - whether dating to the colonial period, to the advent of the Arabs, or going even beyond recorded history.
There may be laws for their protection against unscrupulous elements seeking to smuggle them abroad where they usually fetch astronomical prices, but these are rarely implemented.
How can they be when there is no public pressure on the authorities to safeguard the cultural heritage and to prevent its smuggling, and its piecemeal destruction by both man and the environment? More than enforcing the law, perhaps the real challenge lies in fostering a positive attitude towards the protection of our heritage.
For only then would it be possible to stop illegal excavations that are sometimes conducted by armed plunderers commissioned by interested parties abroad, and to successfully deter those involved in the theft of precious relics.
Punjab crime surge
Given the last few years' crime statistics for Lahore, the law and order situation in the Punjab capital seems appalling. Last year, a total of 1,478 dacoities and robberies were reported in the city, with a collective toll of 40 lives and Rs1.5 billion in cash and belongings lost.
Vehicle theft and snatching incidents in the city hit a new high of 3,726, while incidents of theft mounted to 4,489, including 164 cases of purse-snatching or 'mugging'. Reports of police highhandedness and of their involvement in various crimes were rampant in the metropolis, with 4,500 policemen actually found guilty and convicted.
While the crime surge in Lahore as compared with the previous year's statistics may not have been phenomenal, there is no denying the fact that the city has seen a steady increase in criminal activities over the past many years.
The rest of the province registered an average increase of 21 per cent in various categories of crime reported over the same period. This reflects very badly on the performance of the Punjab police, and calls for serious stocktaking by the provincial government.
The Punjab police have ostensibly got a number of incentives under the last police reforms, with the Lahore police also acquiring sleek patrol vehicles, but their anti-people attitude has remained unchanged.
Armed with new surveillance gadgets and vehicles, they are either seen providing protection to the VIPs or harassing common citizens, with dacoits and robbers left alone to have a field day.
The separation of the intelligence branch from other branches of the force, as provided for under the Police Order of 2002, has failed to bring about any significant improvement in police working.
It is time intelligence agencies got on the trail of criminals instead of hounding opposition leaders, or themselves abetting in crime - as is largely believed to be the case.
Protecting lives and properties of citizens is the foremost duty of the police force and the responsibility of the provincial government. On both counts, Punjab today has little to be proud of.