| June 1, 2005 | Wednesday | Rabi-us-Sani 23, 1426 |
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Sheer madness
A titan falls
IT IS indeed regrettable that a consensus on sharing financial resources among the provinces again proved elusive on Monday when the four chief ministers, provincial finance ministers, the prime minister and the president met in Islamabad to discuss the long-standing issue. The sixth National Finance Commission award has been overdue since 2002, and the provinces have had to rely on grants and subventions from Islamabad in the absence of an equitable formula acceptable to all. The latest failure to evolve a consensus at the highest political level, when the bureaucrats were deliberately kept away from the meeting, is a measure of the existing mistrust characterizing inter-provincial relations. That the four chief ministers ‘reposed’ their trust in the president for coming up with a new NFC formula indicates that the political dispensation created by General Musharraf has yet to show signs of maturity. Those manning the current system shy away from decision-making and accepting responsibility on crucial issues. The chief ministers are ostensibly not willing to own up to a new formula, even as it is being talked about, and thus saving themselves from a possible political fallout in their respective provinces. The Sindh finance minister let the cat out of the bag when, soon after the meeting, he declared that an NFC award to be announced by the president in the days ahead would only be an interim one, which need not be in force for more than a year or two. This state of affairs inspires little confidence among the people in whose name all the grandstanding is taking place.
With a growth rate of 8.35 per cent this fiscal year and a positive forecast for the next, the economy is showing signs of recovery. Additional resources are now available with Islamabad to increase the provinces’ share in the federal divisible pool from the existing 32.5 per cent to 50 per cent, as demanded by the provinces. The president had hinted at such an increase a few days ago, but the federal bureaucracy does not wish to concede more than 47.5 per cent to the provinces, at least for now. One hopes that the president will take into account the wishes of all stakeholders when he sets out to formulate the new NFC award on the basis of a multiple-factor formula. The need is to reduce the gap that exists between what the federal government is willing to concede and what is expected by the provinces in terms of assigning weightages to factors such as revenue collection, population and poverty, etc. Sindh’s demand for revenue collection and that of Balochistan and the Frontier for poverty as being the key criterion should be accommodated.
IT’S sheer madness. There is no other word for the suicidal frenzy that has gripped the country. The fires of bigotry and sectarianism stoked by the Zia regime and not only ignored but often fanned by other governments continue to exact a frightening toll, dying out for a while but breaking out again with renewed force. After the Bari Imam carnage that killed and injured scores of people on Friday, an attempt to attack an imambargah in Karachi on Monday was foiled, but six people were killed when one of a group of suicide bombers blew himself up as he was checked. Even more chilling, six bodies were recovered early on Tuesday morning from a nearby restaurant that was set on fire by an enraged crowd reacting to the attack. How many innocent people have been killed in the name of religion, how many sacred places of worship attacked, how many families left without succour? A deep fault-line has been created in society by decades of holy rhetoric and the pampering, as part of state policy and strategy, of holy warriors. The frustration felt by ordinary people at the indifference of state agencies is manifested after each terrorist incident in mindless street assaults when again it is the innocent who suffer. A very determined effort is needed on the part of everyone to confront this monster that we have nurtured in our ranks.
Also on Monday, the bullet-riddled body of a Jamaat-i-Islami leader was found in Karachi. Aslam Mujahid was returning after attending the funeral of a party activist murdered on Sunday night when he was waylaid and then shot in his car. This reflects another dimension of the violence that has hit Karachi. With local elections in the offing, a blame game has started between the Jamaat and the MQM, and citizens fear that the political tussle will slide into internecine warfare. These are all troubling signs of a society in disorder, particularly if one remembers what has been happening in Balochistan and the tribal regions. How can respect for the law be expected in a country where constitution and institutions are repeatedly subverted? This is another aspect of the national crisis that needs to be addressed as we mourn the dead and lament the lack of sane leadership on the part of governments and political parties.
IN Fazal Mahmood, who died in Lahore on Monday, Pakistan has lost one of its most glittering stars on the cricketing firmament. Enough has been said about his feats, which constitute a golden chapter in the country’s cricket history. Fazal was fortunate in that he had a father whose passion for cricket was known to everyone and who put his son through a gruelling regime of physical training. While still a teenager, Fazal played club cricket in the city of his birth. He was quite quick at the beginning of his career but as he matured, he dropped his pace somewhat and concentrated on line and length and developed the art of cutting the ball away and into the batsman. He also learned the virtue of bowling in the corridor of uncertainty on the off stump. That is where his leg cutters became lethal. He could also bowl the break-back which is now known as reverse swing. He was virtually unplayable on matting wickets but he could also command respect if not comparable success on turf.
When Pakistan set sail for England in 1954, they were no more than a bunch of happy-go-lucky amateurs, but as the miserably wet summer in the Mother Country that year continued, they were welded into a keen, competitive outfit and achieved the famous victory in the final Test match at The Oval. Then it was that a cartoonist drew Pakistan as the little David who had killed Goliath. The man who made it all possible was the late Mr Justice A.R. Cornelius, who laid the foundations on which Kardar, Fazal, Hanif Muhammad, Imtiaz Ahmad, Khan Muhammad and Mahmood Hussain were to raise a magnificent edifice. To Fazal, however, goes the credit of being the architect of Pakistan’s early triumphs against all comers. Apart from his undoubted ability, Fazal was endowed with incredible stamina. In the match against the MCC at Lord’s he bowled 42 overs in less than a single day’s play which is considerably more than what even a spinner can do today. He left behind a long line of successors — Sarfaraz Nawaz, Imran Khan, Waseem Akram, Waqar Younis and others who carried the flame that Fazal had lit at The Oval in England 51 years ago. He is assured of pride of place in this country’s Hall of Fame. He became a legend while he lived and he will be a beacon for young cricketers in the years ahead.