| September 17, 2005 | Saturday | Sha'aban 12, 1426 |
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A five-day week?
Sectarian violence in Quetta
Afghan elections: some unanswered questions
KABUL: As 12.5 million registered Afghan voters go to the first post-Taliban parliamentary polls on Sunday, perturbing questions as to the make-up of a 249-seat lower house and 34 provincial councils, their functions and a possible return of warlords to parliament remain unanswered.
THE Musharraf-Manmohan Singh summit in New York has produced mixed results. Those who were hoping that new confidence-building measures, especially a reduction in the Indian military presence in Kashmir, would be announced have been disappointed. But the positive aspect of the meeting was that the Indian prime minister has agreed to visit Pakistan soon and the joint statement issued on the occasion confirmed the commitment of the two sides to ensure a peaceful settlement of all outstanding issues, including Kashmir, and to pursue all possible options in this regard. The fact is that it is often forgotten that for the first time in decades India and Pakistan are jointly attempting to address and resolve conflicts and differences of long standing. It is unrealistic to expect them to find solutions to complex issues in a short time. Even if they manage to keep the dialogue going — as the summit in New York has clearly shown — it is a mark of success. Hence President Musharraf was right when he said that his talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were not a failure.
What is more disconcerting is the slight tiff the two leaders had in the General Assembly session which they addressed on Wednesday. While the Indian prime minister spoke of “cross-border terrorism” in Kashmir and refused to compromise on it, the president of Pakistan reminded the international community of the importance of refocusing on Kashmir and Palestine. In that context, he also spoke of the UN resolutions on Kashmir which have lately been kept out Pakistan’s official stance on the issue. It goes to the credit of the two sides and the maturity of their leaders that they did not lapse into a war of words, exchanging vitriolic barbs, as was the case in the past. Now whatever progress has to be made should be formalized next month when the foreign secretaries meet in Islamabad. In all probability it would be in areas such as trade, economic cooperation and people-to-people contacts that some movement can be expected. For those harping on the resolution of the “core issue” of Kashmir before anything else, this may not be a practical approach. But the cordiality and goodwill the agreements on economic and humanitarian issues have generated should be welcomed. The change in climate should help the two countries move forward on the Kashmir issue as well.
The to-ing and fro-ing on Kashmir by India and Pakistan is not something surprising and should not be a cause for despondency. The public stance of the two leaders depends on which gallery they are playing to. But beneath the surface a gradual movement can be discerned in how the two governments are handling the issue. Pakistan has made it plain that it will accept any settlement that is acceptable to the Kashmiris without specifying the format of negotiations for it. For the first time, India has met leaders of the APHC who had visited Pakistan in June and will be meeting President Musharraf again in New York. These contacts give the negotiations a triangular format and, given time, should succeed in evolving a mutually acceptable formula. Meanwhile, the two sides should also sort out the cross-border terrorism issue and the reduction of Indian troops in Kashmir. As the officials work on the details, summits such as the one in New York keep the momentum alive and give a positive thrust to the negotiations.
ONCE again, a two-day weekend is being talked about, the aim being to reduce oil consumption. The government, according to a report, has asked the petroleum ministry and the Central Board of Revenue to examine the impact a five-day week will have on oil consumption. Mercifully, other options, too, are being considered. One can understand the government’s keenness on reducing the petroleum import bill at a time when oil prices are sky-rocketing. But a two-day weekend is hardly the best way of doing so. In the first place, it must be proved that lights, ACs and other electric fixtures in government offices and the petrol used by state vehicles constitute a major source of oil consumption, and that a two-day shutoff will mean a significant saving of oil on this score. A two-day holiday will only encourage those owning cars to utilize the extra day to go on picnics and make social calls. The result will be a little saving on petrol but the loss of a working day in a country where productivity in the six-day week is marked by sluggishness because of a poor work ethic. This is not the case with the developed countries, where the five working days is characterized by a higher work ethic and greater productivity. An extended weekend will also mean hardships for citizens, whose access to banks, passport offices, courts and water and power agencies will be restricted.
The other options have a greater chance of success. The rise in oil prices has given the oil companies and the dealers an opportunity to make more money. The tendency to increase profits each time there is a hike in oil prices needs to be discouraged. However, the relationship between profit, consumption and inflation requires a more careful study. This brings us to the need for a greater use of CNG. Petrol and diesel are a major source of pollution, and the switch-over to CNG will save both oil and diesel. There may be resistance from transporters, but the government must put its foot down if it wants to decrease oil consumption.
OVER 20 people have so far been detained in Quetta in raids conducted by the police after a spate of killings brought tension to a city all too familiar with the menace of sectarianism. The latest incidents sparked protests after three members belonging to the Shia community were killed within a span of a few days. Police arrested three men belonging to two banned militant groups and raids are continuing in an effort to nab other suspects. No city is immune today from sectarian violence and Quetta is no exception having witnessed some horrific acts of violence. In July 2003, two suicide bombers blew themselves up in an imambargah, followed the next year by another suicide attack on a procession during Muharram which killed 42 people and injured over 100. This year, two suicide bombers believed to have been planning an attack during an Ashura procession blew themselves up during a police shootout which mercifully foiled their plan. Recently, Gilgit in the Northern Areas has also witnessed a spate of violence which resulted in 10 deaths.
The men behind such heinous crimes are known to belong to some outlawed extremist groups which are reportedly recruiting suicide bombers in an effort to spread terror. The crackdown on militants which began in July resulted in over 300 arrests and closure of offices that were functioning under different names. However, the Quetta example demonstrates how these militants are continuing with their activities. The Balochistan government for its part has said that it will not tolerate such acts of terrorism and has ordered the transfer of senior police officials, ostensibly because of their inability to handle the situation effectively. The immediate concern is to restore calm and a semblance of law and order in Quetta so that people feel safe. In conducting raids, the police must exercise restraint, while ensuring that those detained are swiftly prosecuted.
A thumping majority of candidates, numbering more than 5,750 are still clueless about legislative powers of the Wolesi Jirga (national assembly) or provincial councils — a whole new concept in a country with a complex ethnic composition, hostage to deep-seated tribal prejudices and struggling with a persistent insurgency.
Long lists of contender names on ballot papers are an inordinate demand on the intellect of voters, most of them illiterate and unfamiliar with exercise of universal suffrage in an election contested by thousands. Thus the task of conscious voting will be pretty tough for many of them within the stipulated 10-minute time.
Belated disqualifications have irked powerful candidates, who warn legions of their supporters would leave no stone unturned to derail the elections. They seem to have unwittingly parroted a threat often reiterated by Taliban insurgents in the lead-up to the ballot, which has generated a euphoric mood all around.
Although some “commander candidates” have been barred from contesting the poll under a patently flawed vetting procedure, dozens of criminals — about 16 per cent — have managed to slip through the net. The clearance of people like Abdul Rab Rasool Sayyaf, Haji Musa Hootak, Hazrat Ali, Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil, Abdul Hakim Munif, Mullah Rocketi, Maulvi Khaksar and some communist-era politicians has drawn denunciation from civil society groups and human rights activists.
Immediately after Electoral Complaint Commission (ECC) chairman Grant Kippen’s announcement of a ban on 28 hopefuls, linked to private militias, two affected men from Kabul and Baghlan spurned the decision as “highly unfair and hence unacceptable”. Reaction from the rest including women was no different.
“The charge levelled against me is too groundless to be substantiated,” jihadi commander Bashir Baghlani protested, arguing the ECC announcement came too late to leave him with ample time to clear his name. By the same token, Commander Didar from Kabul too saw no justification for the move. Didar, a militia commander during the civil strife in the early 1990s before the Taliban came to power, vowed he would approach human rights watchdogs against the poll panel’s “arbitrary step”.
Thrown out of the electoral fray this week were five hopefuls from Baghlan, three from Herat, two each from Uruzgan, Ghazni, Faryab, Parwan and Farah provinces. Also axed is a candidate each from Kabul, Kapisa, Paktia, Balkh, Sur Pul, Kandahar, Ghore, Nangarhar, Badakhshan and Bamyan.
But none of them was close to the Afghan president, whose sweeping powers will stay undiluted even after the culmination of the electoral process that favours individuals over political parties — something going against the very grain of democracy.
Human rights activists regret the singular failure of the Afghan government and the US-led international community to seize the opportunity — thrown up by the electoral process — of marginalizing gunmen. Saman Zia Zarifi of the Human Rights Watch laments: “The international community and the Afghan government have wasted a great opportunity for this country to move away from the rule of the gun.”
Now an ally of President Hamid Karzai, former guerilla leader Sayyaf is still in the run despite allegations he was involved in abductions and intentional killing of civilians. In a July report, the New York-based HRW had said: “There is clear and compelling evidence ... his forces specifically engaged in widespread killing.”
Organizers of the parliamentary vote, the first in more than three decades, are satisfied with the pace of delivering ballot boxes and ink bottles to 26,000 polling stations set up across the rugged Central Asian country. There are many polling stations in inhospitable regions of Nuristan, Badakhshan and Bamyan provinces, where transportation of the poll-related material will take quite some doing. Whether the caravans of horses, camels and donkeys will be able to accomplish the task in time is open to debate.
At the disposal of the election organizers is a small fleet of aircraft but they cannot land in far-flung towns tucked away in jagged mountains, where registered Afghans will have to trek for hours to cast their votes in an election that carries a price tag of $149 million. If all goes well, officials say, the final result will be out around October 20.
Hell-bent on disrupting the polls, the Taliban’s threats to kill election workers, candidates and voters have struck fear into people’s hearts. So far, seven candidates have been killed while several have been lucky to escape unhurt in daring militant attacks in a bloody run-up to the twice-delayed September 18 elections.
Paradoxically, the violence escalates as Afghan and coalition forces step up anti-insurgency operations in the restive southern and eastern zones. A number of political activists and policemen have also been wounded in attacks on convoys, processions and public meetings. In separate incidents, two policemen sustained injuries as a roadside bomb hit a motorcade carrying supporters of a candidate in the eastern Nangarhar province on Tuesday.
In northern Takhar, unidentified assailants opened fire at Bashir Chahabi, a former commander of the Jamiat-i-Islami, on his way to Taloqan along with his supporters. Chahabi alleged the attack was the handiwork of his political foes Muhammad Akram, Amanullah and the district’s administrative chief Muhammad Shakir.
In a grim reminder of the growing lawlessness, Taliban shot dead seven civilians with voting cards after intercepting their coach in Ghizab district of the violence-torn Uruzgan province on Wednesday. The same day intelligence operative Hamdullah was killed in Khak-i-Afghan area of the neighbouring Zabul in broad daylight.
The gravity of the security situation can be gauged from the fact that more than 1,100 people have perished in the spiraling violence over the last six months despite the presence of 20,000 US soldiers and more than 10,000 NATO-led ISAF troops.
Despite the worsening law and order, Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) officials — sitting behind fortified walls of their office — are optimistic of peaceful holding of the elections and a high turn-out at that. But ordinary Afghans, fed up with the unending trail of murder and mayhem, are wary of taking security-related assurances at face value.
“The security issue is paramount. We have planned meticulously for every eventuality, with well-thought out rehearsals ... to enable us to take measures which we think are appropriate to ensure the integrity of the vote,” says JEMB’s international media relations officer Aleem Siddique.
But residents of the troubled south, as indeed some candidates, remain sceptical. Khan Muhammad, hailing from Uma area in Zabul, said Taliban had threatened them with death in ‘night letters’ distributed in different parts of the country. “We may end up in trouble if we go to polling stations to cast our votes on Sunday.”
A contestant from the same province, Tahir observed militant warnings and threats had not only harmed his campaign but had also scared away the voters. He complained top provincial security officials, who had promised to protect them, had failed to address their concerns. The situation is particularly bad in parts of Nuristan, Kandahar, Khost, Nangarhar and Zabul.
Meanwhile, filthy rich candidates are generously dishing out to voters and supporters precious gifts including caps, cell-phone sets, bicycles and bikes to coax them into canvassing for them. One witty analyst, intrigued by turbaned men campaigning for bumptious youths, said in a light vein: “Money makes the man (sic) go.”
Having hit fever pitch, the electioneering represents a huge boom for turban-makers, motorbike dealers and mobile-phone companies. Since plain intimidation works wonders in certain Afghan regions, the ‘commanders’ are using their gun-power to seek votes.
Mindful of the chilling ground realities, head of the poll panel Peter Erben views the Afghan election as a starting point for the post-conflict country. He likens the exercise to elections held in countries like East Timor, Kosovo and Cambodia. Other officials also acknowledge that expecting free and perfect elections in Afghanistan will be simply naive.
Reserved for Hindus and Sikhs together is a solitary Wolesi Jirga seat an urbane woman Anarkali is eyeing. “Many of us didn’t file nomination papers, because no one is willing to grant Hindus and Sikhs their due rights. As a result of continued indifference shown to the two minorities, they are disillusioned with Afghanistan’s political and governmental affairs.”
Up for grabs are 249 Wolesi Jirga seats and 420 provincial council berths. One redeeming feature of the polls is that 30 per cent of the seats in the Wolesi Jirga and as many on provincial councils are reserved for women, few of whom dared hit the campaign trail for security reasons. There are also allegations, mostly traded by rival candidates, that millions of dollars have changed hands in recent weeks in an attempt to catapult a handful of ‘liberal women’ to parliament.