| 22 April 2005 | Friday | 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426 |
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Switching to LPG
A most gruesome act
THE war on terror being waged in the tribal areas on Pakistan’s northwestern borders has not been without its share of controversies, charges and counter-charges. This is inevitable given the difficult nature of the military operation, the enigmatic relationship of the partners involved in fighting terror and the paradoxical stands taken by the political parties in the country. But the angry reaction from the Peshawar corps commander to the statement of the commander of the US forces in Afghanistan could have been avoided if General David Bruno had been more discreet in his public pronouncements. He announced to journalists in Islamabad on Tuesday that Pakistan was planning an operation against the terrorists in North Waziristan as the American forces were preparing their spring offensive in Afghanistan. The indiscretion of it is palpable. First of all, it conveys the impression that it is the US which is calling the shots and Islamabad is only carrying out Washington’s bidding. Given the strong public sentiments against the Bush administration in Pakistan, especially in the areas bordering Afghanistan, a statement of this kind was bound to evoke a strong public reaction and emabarrass the government. Furthermore, if a military action is planned - as it could well be after the pacification of South Waziristan when the theatre of violence has shifted to the north — no military general worth his name would disclose vital strategic plans to the media. In such situations secrecy is of the essence.
Hence one can hardly blame the corps commander for his angry reaction. These are indeed testing times for the government, the army, the security apparatus and the people of Pakistan. Be that as it may, violence and terrorism is something which cannot and should not be tolerated on our soil. It is known that terrorists of all shades — be they affiliated with the Al Qaeda, the Taliban or other jihadi outfits — have been operating from Pakistani territory. Mostly the citizens of countries of the Middle East and Central Asia, they have exploited the weakening grip of the administration in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border areas and beyond to gain a foothold there. Besides, the geographical terrain of this region has allowed them to carry out strikes and go into hiding to escape arrest. The militants have wreaked havoc on the country internally and externally. The violence they have unleashed from our soil has made Pakistan ipso facto the target of the wrath of the governments that have harmed. The militants have not spared the population here. They have been involved in sectarian killings, if not directly then indirectly, and have tried to enforce their own brand of Islamic governance on this country by resorting to violence.
Whatever might have been the government’s approach to the jihadis in the pre-9/11 period, it cannot be denied that in the past three or so years it has been trying hard to root out the extremist elements operating in the border areas. Admittedly, at times its methods have been hamhanded and brutal. But it has succeeded to some extent in lowering the level of violence in these areas. In South Waziristan it enlisted the support of the local tribal leaders to flush out the militants, many of them foreigners. A similar strategy may have to be employed in the north as well. But terrorism must be wiped out at any cost.
THE drop in the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) this week to Rs26 a kilo is welcome news. Earlier this year in January, the price of LPG had touched Rs50 per kilo as demand was high and supply limited. This week’s drop in prices by almost fifty per cent will give much relief to consumers. Usually low demand in the summer months leads to a drop in prices but this year there is also a production surplus as a new LPG plant has started operations and this has also pushed down prices. As a result of the added production, the surplus LPG in the market currently exceeds 600 tons a day. Given that LPG is a fuel that is both cheap and environment friendly, more needs to be done to promote its use in place of other fuels. LPG is used as fuel in public transport, including rickshaws, as well as in households where piped gas is unavailable and other forms of fuel are not feasible. Over 500,000 households depend on LPG for their heating and cooking needs.
While LPG shows a surplus in the summer months, it is expected that there will be a minor shortfall in the winter months. The government needs to work towards further increasing the production of LPG, which stands at 1,500 tons per day at present. At the same time, more has to be done to improve the distribution system as there have been instances in the past where distributors have hoarded LPG cylinders and only sold them when prices rose. This is particularly true of rural areas. A combined effort on the part of the government to ensure proper production, distribution and consumption will help popularize this fuel. Keeping in mind the record rise in international fuel prices, indigenous fuels have to be popularized by the government. One way to attract investment in this sector would be to give an incentive to local producers to invest in LPG production on a priority basis.
ONE can only express horror and revulsion at the murder of a man by a frenzied mob in Nowshera on Wednesday. The gruesome incident was the result of a tiff the man had with his wife during which he is alleged to have desecrated the Holy Quran. The details of the domestic quarrel reached the police as well as a local pesh iman who declared the man an ‘infidel’ liable to be punished with death. The case is chillingly similar to several that have happened in recent years. Without any proof and based on unsubstantiated allegations, local clerics have declared alleged blasphemers “kafirs” and incited people to kill the persons thus condemned. All this has happened with the police watching and doing nothing to stop people from taking the law into their hands or the cleric from spreading bigotry and instigating others to commit murder.
What happened on Wednesday is very disturbing and shows the level of intolerance and bigotry that has seeped into Pakistani society. Responsibility for this lies with obscurantist elements who misuse religion or impose their narrow and prejudiced interpretation of it on the rest of society. The police are partially to blame because before registering a case, they should have investigated the incident and spoken to the husband as well. Also, given past experience where mobs have chased and killed alleged blasphemers, it would have been the duty of the police to take the husband into protective custody pending an inquiry. It seems clear that the alleged blasphemy happened during a heated quarrel when emotions must have been running high. In similar cases, a court judges a person accused of a criminal act keeping in mind whether the act was committed in a normal state of mind and not in a fit of anger. Unfortunately, this never came to be ascertained because people took the law into their own hands at the bidding of the pesh imam. An inquiry must be ordered and the persons behind the man’s death, especially the cleric, should be arrested and tried for murder.