Reeling under a power crisis

ON April 16 Hyderabad suggested what may be in store for Pakistanis in the summer of 2007 and even beyond that. Many areas of the city were without electricity for a good part of the day and, consequently, water supply was suspended, sewerage pumps went silent and there were protests. In this case, the power was switched off to facilitate maintenance work, but experts say the people must prepare themselves for long periods without electricity. There is simply not enough power for all the domestic and commercial needs. A loadshedding regime is already in place and while consumers in big cities like Karachi and Lahore are making noises against these outages, the more easily ignored smaller towns and rural areas have been hit harder. Their share in the national hardship this time round also will be much larger and may pass unacknowledged.

If sharing of responsibilities among various state agencies and between the state and the private sector is the objective, the country’s power sector is definitely not the example to go by. Wires cross and there are plenty of sparks warning us of a fire. Pakistan tries desperately — and so far mainly orally — to overcome the power shortages facing it. A news item on April 16 put the current per day deficit of electricity in the country at 2,000 megawatts, before it went on to reiterate that over the years we have failed to address the problem through expeditious planning and execution, say, of thermal power plants which can be relatively quickly built and made operational. In the end the news item provides a classic solution: produce more or conserve. One only wishes it were as simple as that. Conservation is a good idea, and it may well be the only option right now. But while there is no limit to how much the people can consume and no limit to just how much they willy-nilly pay for it, there is so much one can conserve and no more.

The emphasis right now is on conservation. The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) officials would have us believe that everyone but themselves are guilty: from the Indus River System Authority which is responsible for releasing water primarily for irrigation but which by default does to an extent control the amount of hydroelectricity produced in the country, to the Private Power and Infrastructure Board which is supposed to produce additional electricity. These officials give us a quick run down on how much time the country had wasted on tapping these resources properly for relief to the consumers. And of course the current of the argument takes us to a familiar point where at least the Wapda men are certain that a big dam such as Kalabagh is vital to the country’s future. A full realisation of the potential resources will take time, but it is as much about having a resolve and a vision as it is about time. Most significantly, it is about politics, more so since an election is ‘round the corner’. Arbitrary policies were supposed to rid us of all our problems but that hasn’t been the case. Next we should try the political grid and see if that leads us to the difficult decisions we have been avoiding for long.

Better cooperation with China

THE 27 pacts and memorandums of understanding signed between Pakistan and China during Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s just concluded visit to Beijing aim at widening cooperation between the two countries in various fields. This time round the emphasis has been on strengthening business-to-business relations between the Pakistani private sector and various Chinese development agencies and institutions. The existing cooperation between the two countries involves sectors such as infrastructure, development, defence, space technology, trade and economics. It has been agreed that the volume of trade between the two countries will be expanded from the existing five-billion-dollar per annum mark to $15 billion over the next five years. The most significant development project to have passed through the recent top-level exchange between Islamabad and Beijing is the construction of an international airport at Gwadar. On completion, the $100 million project will not only put the new port city on the international aviation and trade map, it will also create considerable employment opportunities in the economically backward region. China has considerable stakes in the development of transit trade facilities at Gwadar as its growing industrial sector in the western provinces, too, can use these facilities for shipping their exports to the Gulf region and beyond.

These are welcome developments which can help broaden the base of cooperation between the two friendly neighbouring countries. However, the need remains to further translate the existing convergence of views that both sides hold on major, unfolding political developments in the region and the world beyond into greater bilateral cooperation in many more fields. The PM has done well to seek China’s participation in the energy sector, including the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project. Chinese assistance has also been sought in the expansion of Pakistan’s nuclear energy programme and the building of dams and reservoirs to help generate more power and to streamline the use of water resources, both of which constitute Pakistan’s urgent needs. The Thar coal mine development project should also get the priority it deserves by removing the bureaucratic hurdles at our end that have stalled an agreement on tariffs between the two countries. The trust Islamabad and Beijing place in each other should be the guiding spirit.

Tehran’s need for restraint

WHILE a strike by the US or Israel on Iran’s nuclear facilities does not appear as imminent as it did some weeks ago, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad must nevertheless exercise restraint and refrain from issuing provocative statements on a sensitive issue. In a speech the other day, the Iranian leader indicated that Iran would not yield to western pressure to stop uranium enrichment. As a signatory to the NPT, Iran is well within its rights to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. However, it is a pity that Tehran does not seem to realise that regional and international tensions can only be lessened through tactful handling of the situation. Issuing inflammatory statements will be to Iran’s own disadvantage and will isolate the country — already under UN sanctions — further from the international community. The release of the British sailors — and more recently of the two jailed Swede nationals accused of being spies — by Iran shows that its leadership is not lacking in maturity and prudence. Without compromising on its stance, it can still employ these qualities to gain more acceptability in the global community.

However, the West, and more particularly America, must share an equal proportion, if not more, of the blame for exacerbating tensions. Washington’s actions have caused enough bloodshed in the Middle East, and, even though it has apparently shelved plans for attacking Iran, its hotheaded approach is creating concerns. The countries in the region are opposed to a wider conflagration as indicated by the governments of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council which want dialogue to take precedence over hostile exchanges and which have indicated that they are opposed to their territory being used as a launching pad for attacks against Iran. Perhaps greater prodding by the Arabs and the European powers could lead to a more conducive environment for a dialogue involving the US and Iran over the question of the latter’s nuclear activities.

When crimes go unpunished

CRIMES are more common in countries where there are extremes of poverty and affluence. And they are more frequent in places where the rich demonstrate their affluence regardless of how they make their money. The enterprising among the poor want a part of that and take to guns to get that.

Crimes are common where there is excessive unemployment and the young find it hard to find jobs. If employment is available but the wages are too low as it is in many developing countries, the enterprising young prefer to take to crime.

Crimes rise in countries where there is excessive and prolonged inflation which makes wages increasingly meaningless. What matters to a wage-earner is meaningful survival for himself and his family and not be seen as a failed man or a failed husband and father. In such circumstances, corruption thrives and then leads to crimes, the object of which is to make big money quick.

In a civilised society, large scale corruption is exposed, punished and the corrupt dispossessed, but not in countries like Pakistan. Here, the corrupt are respected and shown great regard publicly. Soon they become political leaders, as the history of some of them shows, or grow into big industrialists. Unless the corrupt and the criminal are exposed, dispossessed and punished, instead of being held in high esteem , more and more people will join the ranks of the corrupt and criminal elements.

The rewards for crime and corruption are very large in Pakistan. Look at the vast fortunes made by a gang of counterfeiters of currency including foreign notes with the help of some bank officials. They even printed very high denomination stamps for property transfer and made10 to 20 billion rupees. Will they be dispossessed of their ill-gotten wealth?

Crimes are committed in the West as well, but usually they are not committed by the police. In Pakistan many of the crimes are committed by, or in collaboration with, the police. When the security force was organised to protect the VIPS and their assets, there was demand from many quarters for guards. The government thus permitted private security guards. They were hired in large numbers, also by the banks, but soon the private security guards were seen indulging in robberies. Too often the guards were seen robbing the banks they were hired to guard.

It is now a national problem and not confined to a few people. Finding dependable security guards and trusting them is becoming difficult, so is getting hold of dependable domestic servants. The rulers say that rape takes place in the West as well. They do take place there but is not usually committed by the police and in police stations.

In fact a major problem, when a rape or other major crimes against women are committed, is getting an FIR registered. If the offender is an influential person, which they usually are in the rural areas, an FIR becomes too tough. The old Hudood law which demanded that the rape victim produce four witnesses to uphold her complaint made the task of the offenders very easy. That ordinance however is no more there.

So someone like the Chief Justice of Pakistan has to intervene from time to time in such cases through suo motu proceedings and that cannot be in too many cases. Mukhtar Mai’s case is a striking example. And now the Chief Justice himself is in trouble.

What is so alarming is the high risk one takes when not complying with the demands of the criminals. Resistance to crimes can be fatal as criminals can kill for very small gains.

A little girl was shot in Old Karachi last week for not parting with the gold chain she was wearing around her neck to an armed young thug. She might not have hesitated if her father was not with her. Many women including those who wear Burqa have been fired at for refusing to part with their mobile phones. The phone may fetch 1000-2000 rupees in the second hand market and yet they kill when the victim is reluctant.

When the number of cell phones snatched is around a hundred a day and many of them are not reported, they cannot be described by our rulers as street crimes common in the West. In New York a criminal mugs if he can’t get any money out of his victim, but does not shoot or kill him. So such criminals in Pakistan have to be dealt with seriously. Their ranks will swell and soon they will turn to gold snatching if women continue to come out wearing gold ornaments. It is because of the corruption in the ranks of the police that people fear the police more than the criminals. And unless one is influential, one doesn’t feel like filing a report with the police and becoming a victim of their excesses too. So the number of reported crimes to the police is far less than the actual. In fact when a complainant reaches the police station, the police prefer to record the complaint on a white paper instead of filing an FIR and if the case is successfully tackled then enter it in the official records. That keeps the police records of the crimes committed around the police station far less than the actual.

Worse than the serving cops are some who have retired or who are sacked for corruption. Some of them have joined hands with the criminals and act as a go-between with the police when they commit crimes or after that. Some of them have been exposed. The retired cop can be more deadly than the serving one when he takes to crime or promotes corruption as an intermediary. All the ingredients of an ideal crime culture are present in Pakistan, including plenty of guns of all kinds, thanks to the Afghan war 20 years ago. The automatic weapons are available in large numbers and are used too freely. These weapons are of help to the criminals instead of a small party of policemen.

Added to that is a large-scale trade in narcotics which flows through the country. Violence is part of the deadly trade as very large amounts are involved. Most of the narcotics come from Afghanistan and some from the tribal areas.

The courts are clogged by thousands of cases for long as each case makes very small headway. The courts cannot make rapid progress unless the police file the proper complaints and produce the right witnesses in time and not those who swear falsely. The police’s role in crime cases is very crucial. Finally, there is the execution of the decree of the courts which again needs police support. Foreign investors find enforcing the decrees issued by courts an uphill task and want distinct remedies.

The city government proposes to set up a community police to solve some of the problems. Initially it will enforce municipal laws in the 178 union councils of the city. Later, it can be made to enlist citizens’ support to cooperate in combating crimes.

The community in each union council should now cooperate to check the criminals in the area. So let the community police have a larger function eventually than merely the municipal one which is essential now. What is obvious is instead of leaving it to the government to tackle the criminals, the community should join hands and assert itself to combat the criminals and reform the police, not in theory but in practice. The people must prevail now.

Dominion of death

ON Tuesday a 23-year-old South Korean student was identified as the gunman who slaughtered 32 people at Virginia Tech on Monday, in the worst campus shooting spree among a list of similar horrors that have become one of the defining features of the United States to the outside world. The US is not the only country in which random acts of gun violence have erupted in seemingly everyday circumstances to destroy lives, families and communities. But the US is one of the few countries that seems collectively unwilling and politically incapable of doing anything serious to stop such things happening again.

Whereas other countries – Britain after the 1996 Dunblane school massacre, Australia following the shootings in Tasmania the same year - have responded to such incidents by attempting to restrict access to guns, the US has not. On Tuesday, as too often before, Americans instinctively drew together to mourn the dead and support the living. The president and the state governor both hurried to Blacksburg to lead and share the community's grief. Their expressions of solidarity are the right immediate response. But, if history is any guide, that is as far as it will go. Once again, the rest of the world will look on in amazement as America proves itself unable to defend its ordinary citizens from its armed maniacs.

The first duty of any government is to protect its people. But in this respect the United States government cannot. Opinion polls show that most Americans want the nation's gun laws to be stricter; often such polls reveal majorities of roughly two to one. Yet US leaders are held hostage by the power of the gun lobby and the electoral system. Most Republicans oppose gun controls of any kind anyway. But the formidable National Rifle Association is too potent a foe for any party to take on. Over the years the Democrats have made their choice. They can either campaign for gun control or win power, but not both; they prefer power.

There is a long-standing dispute about whether the bearing of arms was integral to the United States from the start or whether, had it not been for a later-developing gun-owning culture, the US would have the more balanced approach that exists across the border in Canada.

— The Guardian, London