SUGARCANE growers have complained that the local sugar mills’ owners are exploiting them by creating artificial crisis. Their suffering during the past many years has increased due to the apathy of government functionaries. The latter instead of solving their problems helped mills’ owners to strengthen their hold over the poor farmers.

Citing the excesses of mills’ managements and owners, the farmers’ representatives said that the most agonizing aspect of the matter was that the sugarcane laden trolleys were kept waiting for two to four days outside the mills and the weightage delayed unnecessarily. During this time, cultivators and their tractor drivers have to stay for the night in nearby hotels or at makeshift places in the winter season.

At the scales, the mills’ employees deprive the cane growers of their commodity by reducing its weight. The expertise of these employees to under-weigh the produce stuns the farmers. They claim that a reduction of 10 to 25 maunds of sugarcane is made in one trolley. This jugglery causes financial loss to them. The employees also misbehave and quarrel with growers, who have to accept their verdict at all costs. The mills’ managements make the payment of the sold sugarcane during a span of two years and that, too, after frequent visits to mills. Besides, the community is demanding subsidy on agricultural inputs here.

The grievances of growers are highlighted from time to time, but to no avail. Landlords and cultivators are protesting over the highhandedness of the mills, but the government circles seem unconcerned with the result that the growers’ exploitation continued unchecked by owners. It is an urgent need that the government, particularly the food and agriculture ministry, take note of cane-growers’ problems and direct its officials here to redress their grievances and also pull up the mills’ owners, who are ignoring the due rights and privileges of farmers, especially the sugarcane growers.

ISLAMABAD: In the final days of the year Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has finally acknowledged, and welcomed, President Pervez Musharraf’s proposals on Kashmir, underscoring that improving relations with Pakistan are his government’s priority too. What concrete action the ruling coalition will take to back the Indian prime minister’s words, the year 2007 will show. For now, however, the fact is that in Pakistan, the president himself led the discussion on the Kashmir issue by introducing ideas and formulas throughout the year.

The current year was marked by much discussion on the Kashmir issue, mostly courtesy the various proposals floated by President Musharraf for resolving the dispute. His proposals -- ranging from demilitarisation, a phased withdrawal of troops, self-governance or autonomy to bringing the state under the joint supervision of both countries and free movement of people within the state without redrawing borders -- have generated an animated debate on the issue.

Every time the president advances these proposals, which hinge on reciprocity, they create ripples with screaming headlines. However, the key questions that arise are: What have these ideas and proposals advocated by the president achieved? Have they done anything for the Kashmir issue and the Kashmiris? While most critics and cynics credit them with nothing, the fact is that President Musharraf’s proposal-churning strategy has had a positive bearing and given Kashmiris the hope that there may be light at the end of the tunnel. One cannot but notice that the sharp reaction to every 'out of the box' idea by the president has been accompanied by a conspiracy theory suggesting that there is a 'deal' behind the proposal. This is evidence in itself that all parties across the LOC are now finally ready for a resolution of the dispute, and also consider it imminent at times.

Granted that nothing has been achieved in tangible terms but President Musharraf' s public pronouncement of what seems to be his thoughts on the issue, have given birth to an informed debate on the subject on both sides of the LOC as well as Pakistan and India. The proposals are essentially seen as vital steps towards the final settlement of the issue that have strained relations between the two nuclear armed neighbours for almost six decades.

For once the Kashmir issue is being considered not just in sentimental rhetoric and slogans but in terms of concrete, pragmatic suggestions regarding decisive moves towards a negotiated final settlement of the issue. While the Indian government has publicly remained mum for the most part over the various proposals mooted by the president, they are being discussed on the quiet within the official and political quarters. These proposals have also triggered a national debate in India.

This is obvious from the discourse in the media and among members of civil society. Even the international community has taken a keen interest in these proposals and has been prodding India to consider them. Hence the pressure on India has been mounting from all ends. Even the pro-India Kashmiri leaders urge New Delhi to see the merit in these proposals.And now there are some encouraging signals from New Delhi on this front. Last week External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee advocated flexibility in border talks with Pakistan and China, saying such disputes could not be resolved without making some adjustments.

The Indian prime minister has also hinted that he is willing to consider President Musharraf’s latest four-point formula of a phased plan to solve the Kashmir dispute. This may be an indication of the much-awaited flexibility from India on the issue and its reckoning that maintaining status quo on the issue will no longer work. It also conveys recognition of Kashmir as a dispute despite New Delhi’s claims that Kashmir is an integral part of India. A clear manifestation of this is the fact that Kashmir is being seriously discussed within the framework of Indo-Pakistan composite dialogue at all forums since 2004. Back-channel diplomacy on the issue is also active on both sides.

OUTRAGE: One was astonished at the fact that Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam’s statement (in response to a question) at last week’s news briefing that Pakistan had never claimed Kashmir as its integral part evoked such a fierce reaction. What Ms Aslam said was no revelation. She had merely dispassionately and ably articulated the country’s position on the Kashmir issue, putting forth the legal, technical, political, and moral aspects of the case.

However, the hysteria and emotional outburst that followed made it seem as if she had committed blasphemy or tampered with history. Even more shocking were the vicious and unwarranted comments in a section of the Urdu press about her person. The remarks cross the basic norms of professionalism and decency. They have no relevance to the subject. The angry critics perhaps lost sight of the fact that Tasnim Aslam was only stating the government’s position, and not her personal views.

An open and enlightened debate on key foreign policy issues is always welcome and must be encouraged. It leads to clarity and a sense of participation. However, it makes no sense to start shooting at the messenger of the policy and digressing from the real issue.

Freedom of expression certainly does not give any of us the licence to indulge in character assassination.