| 28 April 2005 | Thursday | 18 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426 |
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Pains of power failures
Poppy cultivation
VIOLENCE in the Bugti area has no doubt ceased, but a long-term solution to the problems agitating the people of Balochistan seems to evade us. Even the outline of a draft agreement, if it is there, is not available to the public. At present, there are three committees charged with the task of suggesting recommendations that would change things in the troubled province. There are two sub-committees, one headed by Senator Mushahid Hussain and the other by Senator Wasim Sajjad. Both these committees are supposed to come up with specific recommendations and give them to the 38-member parliamentary committee headed by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. However, only the Mushahid committee has finalized its report, while the other has not completed its job yet. Now, in the absence of the recommendations by the two subcommittees, one wonders what the parliamentary body will achieve at its May 2 meeting. The inaction has been worsened by the committees’ boycott by four Baloch parties. There are Baloch on the parliamentary committees, too, but the absence of the nationalists will deprive the two committees of the ‘other’ points of view. A Baloch senator’s assertion that the committee, constituted on Oct 7, has lost its mandate because it could not finish its job in 90 days is technical. The real issue is getting the nationalists to attend the parliamentary bodies’ meetings and moving with speed towards a consensus between the two sides.
Apparently, the government thinks that, by defusing the Bugti crisis, it has achieved a great deal. This is wrong. The violence has ceased and the gas installations are safe. But this is not the end of what is called the Balochistan problem. It has larger ramification and needs remedial actions on many aspects of the province’s political and economic problems. Poverty is pervasive, there is hardly any middle class there, few industries, and in matters of education, health and women’s rights, Balochistan is way behind other provinces. This has helped tribal chieftains maintain their hold on the people, whom they treat as little better than serfs. Baloch leaders blame this state of affairs on what they perceive to be the denial of provincial autonomy as guaranteed by the Constitution. This question needs to be addressed in earnest without recourse to dilly-dallying. There are two points here: one is perceived infringement of provincial rights by the federal government; the other is the need for introducing some new clauses, or amending the existing ones. A consensus is needed on these points. The boycott of the proceedings by the four Baloch parties will serve only to delay a final agreement. The government should, therefore, try to have the boycott ended by assuring the Baloch leaders of its sincerity.
The major development projects launched by the government in Balochistan are reportedly making rapid progress. The Gwadar port, the copper and zinc mines, the Mirani dam and the coastal highway projects are almost under completion. They should help provide employment to the Baloch, open up hitherto inaccessible areas to coastal tourism and help develop fisheries. However, the Baloch need to be reassured that it is the locals who will get priority in matters of employment. Because of the influx of Afghan refugees into Balochistan, the Baloch people’s demographic concerns need to be understood. One hopes that the May 2 meeting will set a deadline for itself for finishing its work. Further delay could give rise to misunderstandings and create new tensions.
WITH the frequency of power breakdowns increasing every day in Karachi it seems that yet another sweltering summer is in store for the city’s hapless residents. On Monday, those living in one part of the city experienced a power outage that lasted, according to reports, 20 hours. A day earlier, on Sunday, irate residents of another locality attacked a KESC complaint centre after suffering an electricity breakdown for several hours. A spokesman for the KESC has explained away Sunday’s incident by saying that the shutdown was part of routine maintenance work and that the residents should have read the notice to the effect in newspapers. Maintenance aside, the fact is that every year, come summer, the KESC’s distribution system is in a tattering state. And this is not something new or unexpected. Each time it happens much public resentment is generated, often in the form of angry protests, but unfortunately it all seems to fall on deaf ears.
Every year, all kinds of excuses are given by the KESC, from lack of funds for overhauling the transmission and distribution networks to the thousands of illegal ‘kunda’ connections or the high rate of line losses. As far as availability of funds is concerned, perhaps the federal government is waiting for the new management to come in and take charge of the KESC and put things right. Since the company is providing an essential service, something for which subscribers are paying high tariffs, it would be good if a plan was formulated to minimize the breakdowns and the accompanying hardships for the people. In the short-term and with the load increasing in summer, efforts should be concentrated on preventing tripping and power failures. Also, since a major reason for prolonged power breakdowns is to be found in the equipment — a pole-mounted transformer breaking down and replacements not being readily available — the utility should have in place adequate back-up stock. Finally, arrangements should be made with Wapda to supply additional power as and when needed, since Karachi experiences an
acute power shortage every summer.
IT is a matter of concern that Pakistan, which was declared poppy-free in 2000, should be witnessing a resurgence in poppy cultivation in the northern areas of the country. While it is true that anti-narcotics agencies have eradicated poppy cultivation in several areas, the acreage under it is still considerable. More worrisome is the thought that even if farmers are persuaded to destroy the crop, the underdeveloped and impoverished social conditions in the areas where it is cultivated will force them to go back to poppy growing before long. This, in their opinion, is a far more lucrative option than any form of employment. It is encouraging that Pakistan is committed to eradicating poppy cultivation at any cost as pointed out by NWFP Governor Khalilur Rahman the other day. Obviously, the government’s efforts on this front would require some long-term planning such as carrying out development works in tribal areas and providing employment opportunities to reduce hardship.
At the same time, there must be consistent pressure on the government in Kabul to take firm action against poppy growing in Afghanistan since the narcotics situation in Pakistan is closely linked to what happens in its western neighbour which produced a bumper crop last year. To be sure, this is not an easy task, given that the Afghan government has failed to extend its writ much beyond Kabul and that most of Afghanistan’s provinces are under the sway of local warlords and drug barons with heavy stakes in poppy cultivation and heroin production. Moreover, the livelihood of at least seven per cent of the Afghan population is linked to poppy cultivation - not surprising considering the extreme conditions of poverty and deprivation prevailing in that country. Only concerted international aid and action (where Pakistan can play a useful role) can help Kabul overcome the scourge that has a direct bearing on the narcotics situation in neighbouring states.