| 20 April 2005 | Wednesday | 10 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426 |
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Hope for Baglihar
Banning corporal punishment
THE consistent rise in incoming remittances from Pakistanis living abroad reflects positively on the government’s economic policies. Economists have predicted that in the current fiscal year, remittances will touch four billion dollars, as compared to $3.2 billion last year. The break-up of these remittances indicates that trends are changing. In the 1970s, when foreign remittances first peaked, the major portion came from countries in the Middle East where Pakistanis had gained employment. Most of this money went towards supporting families at home and was also spent in activities like building houses or purchasing property. Over the years, the predominant source of remittances to Pakistan is no longer the Gulf states but developed countries, particularly the United States, where large numbers of Pakistanis have settled over the years. While the major portion of funds being sent are still for supporting families here, there is also a rise in investment being made in business activities in Pakistan. Stories of fantastic returns on investments in real estate as well as opportunities in the services sector have prompted many Pakistanis abroad to try and get a piece of the cake.
A recent survey by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) indicates that Pakistan is one of the largest recipients of remittances by its nationals overseas. Other countries in this league include China and India. Much of the money coming into Pakistan for investment is going into the real estate and services sector. We have seen the real estate market boom as a consequence. There has also been a lot of activity in the private sector with the opening up of a number of new business establishments. Hopefully, such ventures will translate into employment for both skilled and unskilled workers that in turn will help poverty alleviation. These investors have a relatively good idea of the on-ground business environment and bring with them both knowledge and experience from abroad. If they are able to do well, they can create an interest in foreign investors who want to invest but are apprehensive about local business conditions. While such investments made by overseas Pakistanis are welcome, much more needs to be done to tap this potential source of foreign investment further. If India and China are taken as examples, the role played by their nationals living abroad is immense. In comparison, overseas Pakistanis seem to be lagging far behind.
However, a word of caution for the government about the country’s growing trade deficit. For a country like Pakistan, one major worry for foreign investors is the stability of the local currency. In this regard, in the past couple of years the rupee has remained relatively stable. Foreign investors have also been encouraged with facilities of free re-conversion of currency and allowing repatriation of funds without any questions asked. However, as the trade gap widens, there is pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves. This in turn affects the value of the rupee. It is time the government took some corrective action to boost its foreign exchange inflows or, alternatively, reduce outflows. Otherwise we may once again see the slide of the rupee against the dollar in the currency markets. Such a development always acts as a disincentive for genuine investors having a long-term interest in the country.
IT is reassuring to hear from the Indian prime minister that his government will do nothing that goes against the spirit of the Indus Waters Treaty. Talking to Pakistani journalists in New Delhi on Monday, Dr Manmohan Singh said that the design of the Baglihar dam could be changed if it was found to be in violation of the treaty. Being built on the river Chenab, the Baglihar hydro-electricity project is seen by Pakistan as violating the Indus Waters Treaty. The landmark agreement, brokered by the World Bank and signed in 1960, gave Pakistan exclusive use of three western rivers while the three eastern rivers — Beas, Ravi and Sutlej — were given to India. However, India has begun work on the Baglihar dam, which, when completed, will deny Pakistan its share of the water of the Chenab river. Islamabad pleaded with New Delhi to stop building the dam, and then later approached the World Bank for appointing a neutral expert to look into Pakistan’s complaint. The Indian prime minister’s latest statement should serve to defuse the crisis without a possible World Bank adjudication of the matter. More than the Baglihar issue, Mr Singh’s statement is in line with the current mood in South Asia. In fact, he was very categorical when he said that India was “duty bound” to alter the design if “weighty and credible evidence” was given that the dam violated the treaty.
On the day Dr Singh spoke to Pakistani journalists, the joint communique issued at the end of President Pervez Musharraf’s three-day visit described the normalization process as “irreversible”. The confidence-building measures agreed during the president’s visit will only serve to strengthen the peace process that began in earnest with the Saarc summit in Islamabad in 2004. Baglihar, therefore, must not be allowed to stand in the way of the detente. Dr Singh’s statement could also be interpreted as a hint to Pakistan to enter into bilateral talks with India without recourse to the World Bank’s mediation. For that reason, Baglihar should not be allowed to turn into a source of wrangling between the two countries or a needless controversy in the press.
NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani’s statement on Monday in which he agreed in principle to ban corporal punishment in educational institutions should be welcomed. He said this while speaking to representatives of Unicef who have agreed to raise funding for educational reforms in the province — a decision that should also be appreciated for we are all too aware how badly this country needs to put more money into its poorly funded education system. Many studies over the recent years have pointed to corporal punishment being one of the reasons for Pakistan’s high drop-out rate at primary level. So a ban on such a cruel practice will lead to a sigh of relief among both children and their parents whose faith in the education system needs to be restored and increasingly strengthened.
The Sindh government had imposed a similar ban last year but abuse continues and the same is true elsewhere in the country where, despite directives and strict warnings, children are regularly caned. In 2003, there was talk of a federal law to ban corporal punishment but no such thing has happened yet. It is even more disturbing to see press reports about the cruelty students at madressahs are subjected to; the incident of a nine-year-old boy in Balochistan losing one hand as a result of a severe beating by his teacher last month is one example of the kind of brutal treatment meted out to young learners. Before putting the proposed ban into effect, Mr Durrani must recognize that a debate on the issue is necessary and one which must include teachers, students and parents who need to be taught how to recognize forms of abuse in their children. The government should also constitute inspection teams which must regularly visit all educational institutions, particularly madressahs, to ascertain how students are being treated there and take action where called for.