| July 25, 2005 | Monday | Jumadi-us-Sani 17, 1426 |
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Violence in Gilgit
Much needed reminder
THE Indo-Pakistan peace process on the whole is proceeding normally and there is no cause for concern. All confidence-building measures are in place, and delegates from the two sides are to meet in New Delhi early next month to continue talks on nuclear CBMs. However, certain observations by Dr Manmohan Singh during his recent visit to the US need to be taken into account. As a guest, the Indian prime minister obviously said things that would appeal to his American hosts. For instance, his remarks about Iran seemed designed to please the American government and appeared to mark a shift in New Delhi’s position on the trilateral pipeline. So far, India has been quite keen on a pipeline that will carry Iranian gas to the country, and its main reservations have been about the pipeline’s safety in Pakistan. However, in remarks in Washington, Dr Singh spoke of “uncertainties” in the Iranian situation and wondered whether any multinationals would be willing to involve themselves with the project. Previously, India had disregarded American objections to the pipeline, even though an economic deal with Tehran would amount to ignoring some American sanctions on that country. His views on Iran thus would appear to take India closer to the American position.
However, what should cause concern are some of Dr Singh’s remarks which cast aspersions on Pakistan. These are contrary to the diplomatic protocol that a visiting government leader should not attack a third country that the host regards as a friend. Without mentioning Pakistan, at a joint session of the US Congress, Dr Singh spoke of “unchecked nuclear proliferation in our neighbourhood”. He repeated this theme in his speech to the National Press Club in Washington and spoke of “reckless proliferation” of weapons of mass destruction in India’s neighbourhood. Most unfortunately, he threatened to suspend the peace process with Pakistan, thus throwing into doubt his government’s commitment to the on-going normalization process. Dr Singh’s comment came in the wake of the car bomb blast in Srinagar that killed four Indian soldiers besides some civilians. The blast was claimed by Hizbul Mujahideen, which stands banned in Pakistan. In any case, the explosion is part of the insurgency that began in the late eighties and has continued in spite of the normalization process. To use the blast as a ground for threatening to suspend the peace process is unfortunate because it violates the joint statement issued in New Delhi after his summit meeting with President Pervez Musharraf in April. That statement declared that the peace process was “irreversible”.
There was another departure from Indian policy when Dr Singh told CNN that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists. The foreign office called the remarks unfortunate, because until recently India’s position was that it was satisfied that Pakistani nukes were in safe hands. As the foreign office pointed out, Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are under a multilayered system of command and control and that the international community has expressed no reservations on this score. Let us hope that the Indian prime minister’s jibes at Pakistan were a one-time aberration and do not indicate any departure from the policy of pressing ahead with the peace process to which both Islamabad and New Delhi stand committed. Extremist elements on both sides would like to miss no opportunity to sabotage the process, and the statements of the kind the Indian prime minister made in the US could only help them.
THINGS seem to have taken an ominous turn in recent days in and around Gilgit. Five passengers on a bus on the Karakoram Highway (KKH), travelling from Gilgit to Islamabad last week, were killed by unidentified assailants. This unprovoked attack ignited a chain of violence among those living in Gilgit and its surrounding areas, a region that has seen much sectarian strife in recent years, leading to the death of five people. Earlier this year a prominent Shia scholar, who was active in his community’s opposition to the introduction of revised textbooks for schools in the Northern Areas, was assassinated in Gilgit. This led to tension and panic in the region in which several lives were lost, including that of a former inspector-general of police who was ambushed and killed. This is not the first time that buses have been attacked on the KKH, especially on a stretch that passes through an area whose inhabitants are known for their hostility to those living further north in Gilgit and its surrounding areas.
The fact of the matter is that much of the violence is related to sectarian animosity and is seen by some as an inevitable fallout of growing intolerance and religious extremism in the country. Quite possibly, it may also have been fuelled by a shift in the government’s policy on Kashmir with many militants — who almost always happen to be from the majority sect — turning their fury and frustration elsewhere. Ironically, the spate of violence in Gilgit coincides with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s call for 2006 to be declared ‘visit Pakistan year’ as part of his government’s move to attract more tourists to the country. Gilgit is normally used as a base by most foreign trekkers and mountaineers who wish to explore the mountain ranges of the Northern Areas. With sporadic incidents of violence going on in Gilgit and its neighbourhood, it is hardly likely that many tourists would risk coming to Pakistan at this stage. The government needs to take strong action against those who take part in such attacks, as well as those who incite the perpetrators, and it should involve the local leadership of the various sects and communities to evolve a code of conduct that promotes peace and harmony in the region.
AT a meeting with the Lahore General Hospital’s board of management on Thursday, Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi said medical superintendents of government hospitals should inspect their institutes on a daily basis. That this obvious fact had to be emphasized is disappointing. By asking medical superintendents to ensure that hospitals are clean, run efficiently and that everything is in order, Mr Elahi probably doesn’t realize that he has underlined just how neglected the public health sector is. This is despite the much touted Punjab health reform programme whose successes are periodically spoken of by various health officials. Granted that some credit can be given for the opening of new institutions in rural areas, or for the provision of missing facilities in some basic health units, but these hardly qualify as major achievements in the health sector. This year saw a 65 per cent increase in the Punjab health budget but its tangible results are not yet visible. The bulk of the population that lives in rural areas is forced to rely on thousands of quacks operating as medical practitioners, simply because the people do not have the money to go to private health clinics which charge exorbitant fees in the absence of basic health units.
Mr Elahi should be well aware of how much more needs to be done if the public health-care system is to be improved — and expanded — to a level where it can at least meet the basic health needs of the people. And if medical superintendents need to be reminded of their daily duties, then something is seriously wrong. Those who are not doing their jobs efficiently — which includes doctors known to play truant at government hospitals — should be taken to task. Those serving in the health profession have a sacred duty to work for the welfare of their patients.