| May 20, 2005 | Friday | Rabi-us-Sani 11, 1426 |
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Pipeline security
Court-martialling civilians
Renaming roads and cities
Police action
‘Wapda’s financial health’
Academic freedom
Clifton Cross
Democracy at work
A cure for all ills?
DAWN of May 13 carried a photograph showing African women lined up outside 10 Downing Street, London, to deliver thousands of letters and postcards to draw attention towards world poverty.
The British prime minister and his wife met the women and invited them inside. This is how democracy is made. The police were not called to disperse the women. What happens in our country is that journalists are baton-charged by the police to disperse them and prevent them from approaching the gates of the palace of our prime minister.
THE purpose of this letter is to revisit the controversy concerning the automobile industry in Pakistan. This industry has been in the limelight almost consistently for some years now because of the long delays in delivery of locally assembled vehicles, their poor quality, high prices compared to other countries and because of premiums which need to be paid for immediate delivery.
When looking at the auto industry we cannot ignore its importance to the economy, the benefits which may flow to the engineering sector of Pakistan, employment generation, impetus to foreign and local investment and transfer of technology. The above arguments at this time of budget-making seem to focus on the question of providing incentives and protection to assemblers/manufacturers weighed against the rights and welfare of Pakistani consumers, i.e., buyers of cars.
Much has been said and will continue to be said for some time as vital economic interests of large multinational companies from important countries are involved. Investment by these companies is eagerly sought by almost every country on the planet. On the other hand the leaders of Pakistan must also realize that the welfare and vital interests and convenience of millions of potential car buyers who are hard working citizens of Pakistan are also involved.
One point which is hard to understand is that each one of these international automobile companies present in Pakistan manufactures millions of vehicles worldwide. In larger countries like Japan, the United States and China these same companies often have several manufacturing plants each with capacities of over 100,000 cars per year. Therefore it is difficult to understand why they cannot increase capacity in Pakistan by 10,000 or 20,000 vehicles in a period of one year.
According to the claim of massive investment by the foreign auto companies in Pakistan, some 130,000 vehicles will be made and sold in the country this year. It is also common knowledge that delays from booking and payment of cars up to delivery can be as long as eight months. Therefore, if we take three months as the average waiting time for delivery of a car in Pakistan, it follows that some 32,500 vehicles are fully paid for and on backorder in Pakistan at any given time.
Now if we take the average price of a car at Rs600,000, since prices range from around Rs300,000 to Rs1,600,000, the amount of money which the auto assemblers have taken as advance from Pakistani car buyers comes to Rs19.5 billion. It is also important to point out that this amount of money remains with the car manufacturers continuously throughout the year on a revolving basis. This means that as the car company gives delivery of a car to one buyer there is another who has paid in advance and is awaiting his delivery after three or six months.
Therefore, any investment that the car makers make in Pakistan up to this amount of Rs19.5 billion is not from their own resources nor is it foreign investment. Rather this investment is from the money the car companies are holding as advance payment from the tens of thousands of desperate car buyers in Pakistan. Hence, all this talk about protection to the domestic auto industry by high tariffs on the import of cars to induce them to invest more in Pakistan is not at all justified.
All ministries, government departments and functionaries concerned should note that Pakistani car buyers are so desperate to buy cars that they are willing to pay in advance and wait as much as eight months for delivery. The reasons which make this possible are the policies of the government which have put the car manufacturers ahead of Pakistani car buyers.
Is it not time for this to change? Should the Pakistani car buyers not get some much deserved relief in the forthcoming budget in the form of lower tariff on the import of new cars? Do they not deserve it?
DR ISMAIL BANA
Karachi
THIS refers to dozens of attacks on gas and oil pipelines in the recent past which have resulted in heavy financial and environmental losses and adversely damaged the country’s economy. To avert a major shortage of gas by 2010, Pakistan has recently signed an accord with Turkmenistan and Afghanistan for the laying of a 1,600-kilometre gas pipeline. The Asian Development Bank has termed the long delayed $3.3 billion TAP (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan) gas pipeline project “viable and feasible”.
Until recently, the pipeline industry has been preoccupied primarily with environmental safety and maintenance issues. Beyond occasional cases of vandalism, the human factor was hardly perceived as a threat. But now the pipelines become the easiest target for miscreants.
Pipelines can be very easily sabotaged. A simple explosive device can put a critical section of a pipeline out of operation for days and in some cases even for weeks. This is why pipeline sabotage has become the easiest way to disrupt supply and thus create an energy impasse and also damage the economy.
The pipeline system is a key component of the many interconnected and interdependent critical infrastructure systems in the country. For example, oil provides power to furnaces to generate electricity; and many power plants have been converted from furnace oil to natural gas. Consequently, a terrorist attack at a key point could have a profound effect on other infrastructures and the economy. Such attacks also have a corrosive influence on the morale of the people and weaken their faith in the authority of the state.
The US currently is facing the same problem of pipeline sabotage. To meet this problem, the US industry is considering making pipelines thicker and stronger. Moreover, work is being done to manufacture explorer robots — robots that explore pipelines. The battery-powered robot, which can make 90-degree turns and travel vertically as well as horizontally, can navigate through pipelines as small as six inches in diameter. Keeping in view the good relationship with the US, Pakistan can seek assistance in acquiring modern technology for pipeline security.
Moreover, restricted access to pipeline facilities, increased surveillance of pipelines, importing state-of-the-art surveillance equipment, deploying aerial and ground patrols, and fortifying pipeline systems against cyber-security breaches are some precautionary steps that have to be taken. Another way to further secure new pipelines is to bury them deeper in the ground.
RASHID ASHRAF
Karachi
A TWO-member bench of the Peshawar High Court ruled that civilian employees on military farms are subject to the Army Act and therefore they could be court-martialled (Dawn, May 13).
The court’s verdict came on a petition moved by a civilian worker of the military farm at Peshawar challenging the proposal to court martial him and others in a case regarding some discrepancies in the supply of milk from farms. The petitioner had challenged the vires of a circular issued by the GHQ some time in 1999 that authorized it to court martial all categories of civilian employees attached with army units.
The PHS verdict has brought to the fore yet another dimension of accountability that needs to be pondered. The instant case arose out of an audit report that found some discrepancies in the supply and receipt of milk at the farm during February 1997 to May 1998. An audit report is thus at the bottom of a case being made out to try some low-paid civilians at a military farm in Peshawar.
This brings to mind the special audit report for (1999-2000) on the military farms in Okara. This report by the auditor-general of Pakistan identified nine cases of mismanagement involving Rs236 million and recommended investigation in each case to fix responsibility for the losses and initiate disciplinary action.
In his preface to the report the then auditor-general of Pakistan, Manzur Hussain, lamented: “The findings and recommendations contained in this special report were communicated to the principal accounting officer in May 2001. Neither any reply has been received nor the DAC meeting could be held by the defence division within the prescribed time schedule.”
It will do the military farmland’s management incalculable damage if a perception is allowed to grow that it is using one audit report to court-martial a few low paid civilians but has shelved another audit report, to the chagrin of the auditor-general.
Critics of our legal system often allege that laws in Pakistan are like a net; the great break through it, the little creep under it and only the middle-sized are entangled in it. It will be a monumental tragedy if this cynicism is allowed to become an accepted norm.
FARHATULLAH BABAR
Islamabad
MR Kunwar Idris deserves compliments for his forthright comments (May 11) regarding the renaming of Jahangir Road. He is quite right when he says “the names of the roads of a city mirrors both its history and myths. They also commemorate its conquerors and benefactors”.
It is relevant to point out that much earlier the name of Jahangir Kothari Park in Karachi too was changed. There has been a mania to change the name of cities and places since the birth of Pakistan. Cities bearing Hindu and Sikh names have been the particular target. Even the benefactors have not been spared.
There is a town in Lahore district (now in Kasur) which was until recently known as Van Radha Ram after the name of the father of Sir Ganga Ram who founded many charitable and welfare institutions in Punjab from which we are now benefiting. Its name was changed some years back to Habib Kot. Most of the people do not know as to who was the person whose name it now carries.
In the early 70s the name of a well-known town in Balochistan was changed from Hindu Bagh to Muslim Bagh. Even a provincial government of a secular political party that was in power in Balochistan at that time could not resist. The name of Lyallpur, founded by a Britisher who made significant contributions to its development, was changed to Faisalabad without any cogent reason.
God knows when this mad race will come to an end. We often hear cries about changing the name of Haripur, Abbottabad and Jacobabad. It is relevant to mention that in India several important cities, including state capitals, continue to bear Muslim names such as Allahabad, Ahmadabad and Hyderabad. There has been no attempt to change them.
Even a well-known road after Emperor Aurangzeb still exists in New Delhi. Near our border there are towns of Ferozepur and Faridkot. We do hope that the Musharraf government, which believes in “enlightened moderation”, will not only curb this practice but also order restoration of the old names.
R. R. ALVI
Lahore
VIOLENCE against human rights activists, journalists and political workers by the Punjab police negates the claim of “enlightened moderation” and damages the country’s image internationally. The latest example is the attack on human rights activists and leaders Asma Jehangir, Iqbal Haider, Hina Jillani and others.
Only a few days ago the Punjab police had manhandled peaceful journalists. Prior to that, cases in anti-terrorism courts were instituted against PPP workers, particularly women, during a peaceful welcome to the PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari.
The chief justice of the Supreme Court and international human rights organizations are requested to take serious notice of such incidents.
HUMERA ALWANI
MPA, Sindh
Thatta
THIS refers to your editorial “Wapda’s financial health” (May 9). It takes Wapda to task for seeking an increased subsidy of Rs26 billion for the current fiscal year from the federal government. Wapda’s fragile financial health has been attributed solely to operational inefficiency and heavy line losses. Surprisingly, neither the ground reality nor the Wapda chairman’s interaction with mediamen, carried by the national press, including Dawn, on May 7 was taken into account.
Although a subsidy has been sought to bridge the shortfall between revenue and costs, the factors responsible for this state of affairs need to be analyzed. The drought-like situation persisting till March resulted in lower hydel generation and forced Wapda to buy power from independent power producers (IPPs). During this period, Wapda had to buy 43 per cent more electricity from IPPs than it did in the corresponding period last year. It paid Rs86.23 billion to the IPPs during the first nine months this year against Rs66.6 billion last year, almost Rs20 billion more. In addition, it paid Rs10 billion extra for generation at Wapda thermal power stations. In all, Wapda bore an additional burden of Rs30 billion during the current fiscal year owing to low hydel generation that went down by 17 per cent because of lower water releases and increase in the price of furnace oil.
Another important element that also needs to be kept in mind is that while the demand for electricity grew at a rate of 7.8 per cent, Wapda’s income increased by only 6.3 per cent as the customers are charged differential rates to accommodate both subsistence and small consumers, resulting in a slide in the total income.
On the other hand, Wapda collected a revenue of Rs176.65 billion, showing an increase of Rs7 billion over the corresponding period last year. If this amount is deducted from the Rs30 billion loss, Wapda still faced a deficit of Rs23 billion during the nine months of the current fiscal year.
As regards system losses, these have been reduced by 0.5 per cent from 24.7 per cent to 24.2 per cent this year despite countrywide village electrification. As regards power interruptions, Wapda had energized four new transmission lines of 220 KV till May this year. Nine more grid stations have already been constructed, 36 grid stations extended and 19 grid stations augmented during this year.
It may be concluded that increased dependence on thermal generation and high furnace oil prices are behind Wapda’s ailing financial health and not just operational problems and heavy line losses.
MUHAMMAD ABID RANA
Deputy Director, Public Relations Division, Wapda
Lahore
PROF (Dr) Nazir Mughal has rightly underlined in his letter (May 15) the need for ensuring an atmosphere of academic freedom in the universities.
The present campus mood is indeed dreary because the university is no more the chief instrument whereby society and individuals acquire the spirit of independent criticism. The university has an obligation to act as critic and conscience-keeper of society. Society has indeed created the university to play this role.
Our society does not patronize scientists because perhaps it does not need to discover or inquire. Our social set-up inhibits judges from being fair and just, as it wants justice which is self-fulfilling. It does not permit religious freedom as it wants a spiritual vacuum. It curtails freedom of the scholars for similar reasons, and as a result any manifestation of academic freedom is looked at with suspicion.
If a scholar says something that does not violate any law but merely outrages people in authority, then it is not the business of the universities to do what even civil authorities are unable to do.
Sindh University had dismissed seven scholars in the 70s on the allegation that they were anti-state. The scholars were later on reinstated. No change in them took place after their reinstatement.
One of them was elevated to the position of vice-chancellor in the same university while the remaining scholars also occupied respectable positions in various government departments.
PROF (DR) K. M. LARIK
Karachi
YOUR esteemed paper is to be thanked for bringing about, hopefully, the commencement of corrective action in the flaws of the Clifton underpass. The secretary, ports and shipping has taken cognizance of the defects and the Karachi Port Trust has written in Dawn (May 2) to say that the clover-leaf design is being incorporated to make right and left turns possible, without undertaking long detours.
It is gratifying that the Sindh governor has also issued instructions to ensure that the project should be one of benefit to the public. The KPT chairman is requested to direct the Frontier Works Organization not to down tools during night hours, nor on holidays, but that they should work 24 hours, seven days a week. While work on the main project proceeds apace, they should simultaneously fill potholes and ditches and eradicate humps and obstructions from the various side lanes and diversions, to enable traffic to move, with the present tumbling and jolting somewhat reduced.
ABDUL KARIM LODHI
Former chief secretary, Sindh
Karachi
Dawn in its editorial of May 5, while commenting upon this sad episode, had to write that this mishandling of the marching journalists would only serve to reinforce the concerns raised in reports on the state of press freedom in Pakistan by media watchdogs as well as by our own newspaper organizations.
Sir, our governments (all past ones and the present one) speak of democracy but deep down they are autocratic and hence intolerant.
GHEEWALA A.G.M
Karachi
AN individual in Lahore has found an innovative method of self-advertisement. He has posted his ads at the back of a majority of rickshaws in which he claims to have a cure for obesity, diabetes and Hepatitis A, B and C.
As if that was not enough, he guarantees a nine-inch increase in height to anyone and a son (so much for gender discrimination) to any couple.
Who says that we have lagged behind in the field of medicine when we have individuals claiming to have a cure for many problems which the West has yet to find.
ANIL KHAN LUNI
Lahore
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