| August 18, 2007 | Saturday | Sha’aban 4, 1428 |
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Politics of deal-making
Ending suicide bombings legally
Non-payment of provident fund
Pakistani bats
Policing with unskilled labour
Dirty tricks
Unfair library timings
Miserable situation
Senior citizens
Time on TV channels
Readers are requested to restrict their comments to a maximum of 400 words. We reserve the right to edit letters for reasons of clarity and space. Letters, including those by e-mail, should carry the complete postal address of the sender. The views expressed in these columns do not necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper.—Editor
THIS has reference to the article, ‘ADB questions SECP regulatory independence’ (Aug 7). While the story highlights some of the challenges the Securities and Exchange Commission faces, it does not reflect the strong confidence the Asian Development Bank has in it or in the government’s efforts to strengthen the entire non-bank financial sector in Pakistan.
The decision on July 31 by the ADB to approve a new $400 million programme to further strengthen Pakistan’s capital markets is a clear endorsement of our confidence. The programme has been developed jointly with the SECP and the government of Pakistan. The programme was designed at the request of the ministry of finance, which is one of the key supporters of the programme. The ministry is also a strong supporter of the SECP.
Pakistan’s capital markets have tremendous potential and the SECP has made great strides in improving the way it operates because of the strong will of the Commission and the government of Pakistan to implement international best practices.
The programme, funded by the ADB, will help remove the constraints that impede capital market and non-bank sector development. The programme will promote a strong institutional investor base. It will increase the frequency, quantity, as well as quality, of securities market issuance, both equity and bonds. And it will strengthen the governance and institutional arrangements of non-bank financial sector regulation.
It is our expectation that the measures in the programme will increase the volume of outstanding corporate bonds, it will increase the number of companies publicly listed, and it will increase the number of equity and bond issues to at least about 50 each by 2009 from 12 and 10, respectively, in 2005.
Regulatory independence is an international best practice. It is highly desirable to boost issuer’s, as well as investor’s, confidence. But, there are several pre-requisites before such independence can be effective. Capacity is perhaps the foremost. In addition, the legal framework should adequately empower the regulator and it should clearly outline the “rules of the game” for market conduct and prudential regulation.
The programme helps amend the securities law as well as draft and adopt a new Financial Services Commission of Pakistan Law, which would give the regulator adequate authority. This, along with other measures, will be taken to strengthen the policy formulation as well as regulatory capacity of the SECP.
Pakistan’s economy has been growing at an impressive rate for several years, raising the living standards of millions of its people. To help sustain that growth, further development of its capital markets are important, and the ADB stands alongside the government of Pakistan as it takes the necessary steps to do this.
Pakistan has made commendable progress in banking sector reforms. It is now moving towards a second generation of reforms in non-bank financial sectors. As Pakistan’s development partner, the ADB is confident that the government will succeed on this front as well.
PETER FEDON
Country Director,
Pakistan Resident Mission, ADB
Islamabad
THIS refers to Kaiser Bengali’s article, ‘Politics of deal-making’ (Aug 3). The writer has tried to make an imaginary heaven out of hell. He prescribes the recipe of sending the army to barracks through collaboration, which has no precedence in the history of army rules throughout the world.
By suggesting such a course, he discredits the recent courageous and unparalleled movement led by the lawyers’ community, which has indeed created a situation where Gen Musharaf is forced to seek cooperation from Benazir Bhutto.
In his zest to credit all the potential success of democracy to the ‘extraordinary brilliance’ of his ‘favourite’ leader, Mr Bengali has mutilated some hard facts (by intention or by default). For example, he writes: “In fact, if reports are correct, it is Gen Musharaf who has had to eat his humble pie and call upon her at her home in exile in the UAE”. The fact is that not a single newspaper or a TV channel had the report that Gen Musharaf went to meet her at her house.
The truth is, which every Pakistani knows, that Pervez Musharaf, while on his way to Saudi Arabia, had a break at Abu Dhabi while Benazir Bhutto, cutting short her party meeting, travelled all along from London to Abu Dhabi for the meeting. And the whole world knows that the meeting took place at the palace of the Shaikh and not at Benazir’s ‘home in exile’.
To justify the compromising and collaborative attitude, Mr Bengali has chosen two examples from Pakistan’s political history: “the uncompromising struggle against Ayub Khan in 1968 and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1977 failed to bring about a democratic change. Ayub Khan was followed by Gen Yahya Khan and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto by Gen Ziaul Haque”.
Here the writer eschews the MRD movement (1983 and 1986). Benazir Bhutto won 1988 elections riding on the crest of this struggle which was more savage and uncompromising than the earlier two quoted by Mr Bengali. After winning, Ms Bhutto adopted the very same compromising path Mr Bengali is now suggesting and went to the extent of giving ‘democracy award’ to the army, the same army which had brutalised Pakistani society for 11 years and made the whole country a living hell for democracy-loving people.
Then also the same reasoning of “giving army safe exit and stopping them from further interventions” was advanced. Where did it lead us? Another military intervention and another dictator in the shape of Gen Musharaf.
Here I put two questions to the advocates of this policy of ‘appeasement’. First, isn’t it the same argument Gen Musharaf has been advancing all these eight years that “to keep the military out, bring them in”? Second, if this is the ‘realpolitik’, then what is political expediency?
If “repeating the failed tactics of 1968 and 1977 would be immature and irresponsible”, as says Mr Bengali, then repeating 1988’s ‘successful’ tactic would be the height of opportunism and a betrayal with the blood that spilled on the streets of Karachi (May 12) and Islamabad (July 17).
The story of Ms Bhutto’s credentials about ‘secularism’ is too long to be explained in a letter.
ABDUL KHALIQUE JUNEJO
Karachi
WE have been subjected to sufficient suicide bombings and had ample time to come up with workable administrative systems to discourage and eliminate it, but it seems we have not found an effective way to deal with it. We seem to be helpless and in a state of shock. This need not be so.
The basic solution is simple: devising the legislation, rules and regulations to implement it should not be difficult.
The proposal is this:
1. An explosion in a crowded public place kills several innocent citizens and the suicide bomber.
2. We skip the subsequent clean-up and restore order operations and move straight to the investigation to determine what lies behind this act.
3. Here is a legal approach:
a) The local executive head files a complaint with the police.
b) The police are asked to determine which institution and which individual teachers trained and groomed the bomber to accept the assignment to give his life and kill others.
c) The institution and the teachers responsible for the killing are dealt with:
i) The head of the institution and all teaching staff are charged, arrested and detained for investigation by the police.
ii) Simultaneously, an administrator appointed by the court is put in place to:
(1) Screen and send students home as quickly as possible — to return when arrangements are finalised to offer an approved syllabus.
(2) To investigate the syllabus and report illegal teaching
(3) To locate and seize materials and media used to train killers
iii) Auditors are appointed to determine the identity of those financing the teaching and training of murderers. As soon as individuals are identified, they too must be charged, arrested and tried.
Even limited success in doing this should discourage and disturb those involved, so far without hindrance. This way applied consistently should eliminate suicide bombings and the teaching of hatred from our society.
PARVEZ AMIN
Lahore
APROPOS of letters in April, May and June 2007, the authorities have not moved. When we contacted the officials in July 2007, we were rather given a different version of the story, instead of the stereotype reply that "funds not received – find out next month".
We were informed that the authorities have decided to make payment through the NBP. That sounds good since we will get rid of the clerical clutches and visiting the fund office every month.
Old and sick payees of my age feel suffocated in the highly corrupt atmosphere of the Civic Centre. But wait. Implementing the new system will take another two to four months because they told us that a team of the Sindh finance department will visit this office to take stock of the present situation. They will then prepare their report which may include monthly payable amount, number of payees, arrears (22 months already), printing of new passbooks (for the NBP), distribution, etc, etc.
We were also told to open an account with the NBP, if don’t have one. That’s another way of deferring the payment (indefinitely perhaps). And in the mean time, if someone dies, the amount of dues will be returned to the treasury. What do we do?
AFFECTED PERSON
Muscat
WE recently hosted an Australian professor who was visiting Karachi for a medical research project. Among other things, we offered to take him shopping for carpets and handicraft, but he said his shopping list was rather different.
His son plays cricket for a district team in the state of Victoria, and the father had been asked to bring back a Pakistani bat. We went to a well-known sports shop in Clifton where we received excellent service.
The professor had been instructed by his son to buy the ‘MB Sher’ bat used by Shahid Afridi, which was duly purchased.
He also examined several other bats and finally selected a CA model called ‘Inzi Gold’. It’s not the bat used by Inzamam, but it carries his name and that was apparently good enough.
"All the kids want to bat like Afridi and Inzi," said our Australian guest, delighted with his purchases. His Pakistani hosts couldn’t help feeling proud.
SAAD SHAFQAT
Karachi
A COMMON feature in several Asian countries is that the police, who are supposed to carry out investigations into crimes and abuses of human rights, do not have the necessary competence. In most Asian countries the main investigation methodology is torture. The use of torture is the result of handing over investigations to persons who do not have adequate competence for the job. Unskilled in their profession, they try to respond to their obligations by the use of force in order to satisfy their superiors as well as the political leaders who want results.
Resorting to such unskilled labour is due mostly to the fact that adequate financial allocations are not made through national budgets for the proper development of the system of policing and for proper education and training of the necessary staff. Perhaps one of the reasons why the higher-ranking police officers do not raise the issue of the incompetence of their subordinates is because this whole issue is linked to the way corruption takes place in most societies. Persons with adequate competence would want to do their jobs without interference and, therefore, would resist attempts to absorb them into the network of corruption. Incompetent staff at lower levels, while taking some advantages for themselves through corruption, will not challenge the compromising position of their seniors.
Political leaders who do not want significant changes within the country in breaking down the patterns of corruption, on which the system is established, will also not appreciate a more competent criminal justice system. Such a system would carry out probes into the corruption of the politicians. As long as this system has its own internal contradictions, it will not be a threat to the inadequacies of the political system. By some irony unskilled police officers protect such political systems.
Thus, the contradiction really is protection of the rights of the people on the one hand and ‘the protection’ of corrupt political systems on the other. If the citizen’s rights are to be protected with competent officers, the political leaders should agree to a reform of the political system. However, what actually takes place is a reversal of this situation. The politicians protect themselves by ensuring that those who deal with public security do not have the competence required to carry out the necessary inquiries, which is the primary requirement of security.
An unskilled police officer, when left to his own devices, naturally tries to solve problems in the way in which he is capable. Unable to rely on his brain, he relies instead on his muscles. The unfortunate victims are the citizens.
The state is often unwilling to probe into allegations of torture and also allegations that there may be many innocent persons in prison. A genuine probe into these matters may expose the whole system and create some unforeseen problems. One such problem is the threat by the police not to work at all if higher standards of accountability are imposed on them.
When the system depends on unskilled labour, it is not possible to expect a high level of discipline. When the states are criticised for violations of rights such as the causing of torture, custodial deaths and even forced disappearances by the police officers and the security apparatus, the political leaders of the country are faced with a dilemma that is quite simple: if they were to improve human rights, then they would face a revolt by the police and, on the other hand, if they do not improve human rights, they will face criticism locally and internationally.
Often the political leaders try to resolve this dilemma by attacking the critics of the country’s human rights record. These political leaders believe that they can better succeed in silencing critics rather than reforming a defective criminal investigations system. It is in this way political leaders become apologists for unskilled labour within the policing system.
The Asian Human Rights Commission thinks that the problem of dysfunctional policing should become one of the central issues relating to the protection and promotion of human rights in the countries of the region.
SPOKEPERSON
Asian Human Rights Commission
Hong Kong
IT was interesting to read Hafizur Rahman’s satirical piece, ‘Dirty tricks’ (Aug 8), wherein he had pointed out that Jan Mohammad Abbasi, the Jamaat-i-Islami candidate, was held incommunicado so that ZAB could be elected unopposed.
I doubt if it happened with ZAB’s consent as Jan Abbasi was no match to ZAB. The fact was amply proved when the same Jan Abbasi contested election against Begum Nusrat Bhutto in 1988. Jan Abbasi bagged 4,000 votes against Nusrat Bhutto who secured 96,000 votes.
But, of course, ZAB’s unopposed election damaged him so much that he went to the gallows. Following the happening in Larkana, the prime minister’s constituency, all the four chief ministers managed their unopposed election, thus challenging the validity of the whole election exercise of 1977. This resulted in 11 years of tyrannical rule.
I hope those in position now will learn a lesson from history and avoid adopting dirty tricks, which may collapse the whole present system.
HAFEEZ AKHTAR
Lahore
SHAH Abdul Latif Library, Ratodero, is the only public library in the city and its neighbouring villages. After the rain in June, which was not so heavy in our city, the periodical section has been closed because of leakage.
Now readers sit in the corridor, which is very narrow. In the reference section, there is also shortage of furniture, and the timing for the section is 9am to 2pm.
This is the time students are at schools or colleges so they cannot benefit from this library.
I request the authorities concerned to please look into the matter, and repair the periodical section and change the timing of the reference section from 9 am to 6 pm at least.
FAHEEM A. ABBASI
Larkana
IT has really been quite a miserable experience when I visited a Nadra Swift Registration Centre for getting my identity card. I have never felt so helpless and hopeless.
I had more than 50 visits to Nadra since April 2006. All the time they said that it was a ‘facial problem’, so we are helpless. I say, be it any sort of problem, there is solution to every problem. I could not get any response, so I have got sick of such a bogus system. As I have to get admission in the university, I badly need the identity card. Now I am compelled to appeal to the authorities to help me out of this miserable situation.
QUDRATULLAH BALOCH
Kashmore
THE other day I had to visit the passport office at Saddar to apply for a new one in lieu of the expired one. The good thing is they have a counter for senior citizens; bad thing the counter is open also for government servants as well as residents of Karachi West.
There was a queue of about 50 applicants on this counter whereas the counter for Karachi South had only two persons in the queue. As I reside in Karachi South, I tried to deposit the fee at this counter but was refused and asked to deposit the fee at the counter earmarked for senior citizens.
What a bureaucracy! If I was not a senior citizen I would have completed all formalities within half an hour but because I was a senior citizen I had to suffer an ordeal of about four hours.
Will someone look into the matter and facilitate senior citizens rather than punish them?
A. G. HABIB
Karachi
IT IS strange that TV channels display time which is not accurate. Some of the channels have their clocks away by more than one minute if compared with the GMT.
I request the TV channels to correct the time as it sometimes become very confusing.
SHABBEER A. SHEIKH
Karachi
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