DAWN - Editorial; October 22, 2007

Published October 22, 2007

Education woes

WHILE calling for a revamping of the public sector school system in the country, the Senate Standing Committee on Education has stressed the need for doing away with the class-based approach to education. Although education in Pakistan does not formally discriminate against anyone, in reality it operates in such a way that the socio-economic status of a child determines the kind of education s/he can aspire for. This is a pity but the fact is that those who are affluent find high quality modern education easily accessible and affordable for their children. Those of modest means have no option but to give their children a shoddy education that does not take them far in life. Not surprisingly, many of these children join the swelling ranks of dropouts as they find little to attract them to stay on in school. The most horrific aspect of this situation is that it perpetuates social and economic inequities from one generation to the next, with only a few brilliant children of the lesser gods managing to break the class barrier.

This phenomenon is to be attributed primarily to two factors. First is the stratification of our education system into high-fee, high-class private schools and the low-/no-fee substandard public sector schools. This neatly divides the student community into the high achievers and the poor performers. Inarguably, the former owe their good education to the expensive private institutions to which their parents can afford to send them. The not so privileged attend the government and low-fee private schools with dismal academic standards. The responsibility for this rests squarely on the government. Were it to have recognised its fundamental duty of imparting good education to every child born in this country and were it to have upgraded every public sector school into a model institution, this cleavage would never have existed. The implications of this social injustice are profound and far-reaching. In a country where the employment ratio is low, and competition for the scarce jobs is tough, it is inevitable that the lucrative jobs go to those who are products of the private school system.

The chances of the Senate standing committee’s words of wisdom being heeded are pretty low. For the last two years, the federal ministry of education has been ostensibly working to reform the curricula and revise the textbooks. This exercise has become an unending one and no tangible changes appear to have been introduced so far. The only measure that has been taken — a step forward — is the enhancement of the education budget. It has gone up from 2.20 per cent of the GDP in 2003-04 to 2.43 per cent in 2006-07. But this alone offers no solution to the problem. By injecting massive amounts into the education system without enhancing its capacity to absorb the funds meaningfully the government has failed to make a visible difference in the education scene. If anything, it has given a boost to corruption in the education sector where there is immense scope for embezzlement given the lax monitoring and inspection mechanism. Moreover, the lack of capacity means that large sums remain unutilised. The need is for some foresight and vision so that the funds that are now available are put to good use in teachers’ training, improving the examination system and upgrading the textbooks as recommended by the Senate standing committee.

Call for an APC

LET us accept it: ministers do not always talk nonsense. For instance, Mr Muhammad Ali Durrani’s suggestion about an all parties’ conference deserves to be studied by the political parties for the reason he gave. The minister for information told a press conference that an APC, if held, should focus on the fight against terrorism which could be destroyed only when the political parties and civil society joined hands. Coming in the wake of Thursday night’s carnage in Karachi, Mr Durrani’s suggestion is not without merit. Terrorism now stalks Pakistan. It strikes wherever and whenever it wishes. It goes into mosques to kill worshippers, and it is bold enough to target high-security zones, such as the attack on an army mess near Tarbela. Where a crowd is milling around, its job is relatively easy, no matter how tight the security arrangements, as the slaughter in the nation’s biggest city made clear.

Unfortunately, APCs held in the past do not have much to show by way of achievement. Often they served as a propaganda platform for the politicians to pour out their rhetoric. Sometimes the APCs served only to divide as the multi-party conference called in July by the PML-N in London. It could do no more than issue a declaration, which accommodated the PPP’s views but the very next day, some parties gathered again to isolate the PPP and form the All Parties’ Democratic Movement. If the proposed APC is to have any meaning, the organiser — in this case the government — should convince the opposition of the sincerity of it motive. The APC will be a non-starter if the opposition suspects that the ruling party is organising it to gain political mileage or to divide the already fragmented opposition. But the APC will be a resounding success if all participants focus on the terrorism issue as suggested by Mr Durrani. Irrespective of their differences, the political parties must develop a consensus on defeating terrorism. Parties which at the moment tend to give the impression that their sympathies lie with the Fata militants should make it absolutely clear they stand with the nation on this question.

Delays in Lyari Expressway

THE inordinate delay in the functioning of the Lyari Expressway in Karachi should serve as a lesson for any future development project. The most important thing to take into account is that all stakeholders’ issues are addressed, which was clearly not the case when the Lyari Expressway was begun. The issue of resettlement of the families who would be affected by the construction of the expressway is still a thorny problem, with the construction of one track being delayed because families refuse to vacate. The expressway is already two years behind schedule, and the more it is delayed, the costs incurred also increase. One report in Saturday’s paper estimates that the project’s cost has gone from Rs5.1bn to over Rs7.5bn. This does not include the resettlement cost of the affected families which is Rs4bn. The south-bound track of the bypass is about 80 per cent complete while the northern track is 60 per cent complete. Authorities hope to complete the south-bound track in the next few months so that it can be made functional. Let us hope that work can be expedited but at the same time, one should ensure that there is no room for errors as far as safety is concerned.

As for the removal of the houses and families which is being cited as the reason for the delay in the construction of the north-bound track, it is important to find ways to resolve this issue. Hopefully lessons have been learnt from the human misery that earlier demolitions and forced evictions created for the sake of this expressway. There is a political aspect to the evictions in that leaders do not want to upset their vote bank, but that cannot be allowed to delay a project, however flawed it was when initially designed. Authorities will have to find ways to address all issues in an amicable manner.

The politicians’ dilemma

By Aqil Shah


THE gruesome terrorist attacks on Benazir Bhutto’s convoy in Karachi is likely to strain the mutual understanding between the PPP and General Musharraf, given the suspected involvement of state officials. The devastating human cost of the atrocity and the security threats it has generated has also raised questions about the viability of holding parliamentary elections.

What is to be done? Democratic transitions are periods of high uncertainty making it extremely difficult to explain or predict their outcomes. Theoretically, the regime and opposition are divided into hard-liners and soft-liners, or lions and foxes as Machiavelli would put it. The foxes in the regime would prefer gradual liberalisation of the system by engaging the soft-liners in the opposition.

The lions in the regime would like to sustain the status quo, or worse, return to military rule. The lions and foxes are harder to distinguish in Pakistan’s case, as the military’s unity of command leaves little room for open dissent. On the surface, however, those opposed to talks with the PPP in the PML-Q government could be classified as the hard-liners. The lions in the opposition would like to terminate authoritarian military rule by forceful opposition and resistance.

The PML-N’s public posture approximates this position. But short of a defeat in war, civil war or organisational revolt, military regimes tend not to wield power to civilians voluntarily. This leaves the soft-liners, the PPP in this case, who see phased opening of the system as the most viable way of restoring representative democracy.

The dilemma of any opposition politician in a transitional context is whether to court or not to court the generals. Negotiating the rules of the ‘post-military’ game with the generals carries the danger of legitimising the illegal usurpation of constitutional authority by the military. The other danger is that civilianisation of government may not necessarily translate into a civilianisation of the structures of state power. Even defeated militaries can extract concessions from civilians in matters of strategic policy and corporate autonomy. And an entrenched praetorian military like Pakistan’s is tempted to retain vast anti-democratic prerogatives to exercise authority without responsibility.

In this ‘ripe fruit’ model, the military usually stages a mock withdrawal to the barracks to conceal their latent structural influence until the time it can retake or reconfigure state power. Yet, there are few feasible non-violent alternatives to the less than perfect negotiated transition.

Comparatively speaking, such transitions are not an unmitigated evil. In Latin America and East Asia, for instance, transitions have survived despite authoritarian prerogatives carried over from the ancien regime. Would Pakistan also follow the same route? There are at least two crucial differences. First, transitions from authoritarianism in other regions coincided with the recession of the threat to the existing socio-economic order from the radical left in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union. As a result, the military could no longer blackmail or displace civilians on the grounds of threats to national security. Over time, politicians were able to erode military autonomy.

Second, US support for authoritarian allies dropped significantly once the Left was neutralised. In comparison, Pakistan’s internal and external situation is radically different. The complex threat of militancy spurred by regional conflicts and domestic politics is likely to benefit the coercive organs of the state. Moreover, the United States still sees Musharraf in the president’s saddle as its best bet against the terrorist threat to its national security. Of course, a civilianised Musharraf plus PPP would be an asset in the eyes of the Bush administration.

On the ground, Musharraf has made it clear that the post-uniform political system would be a throwback to the troika of the 1990s, that is, a civilian president with the powers to sack the prime minister with the army chief as the ‘moderator’. This is dangerous thinking, one that could seriously impair the prospects of redemocratisation in Pakistan. The troika model is not based on a triangular dispersion of power.

In fact, it is a diarchy between the president and the prime minister. But since the president has no independent power base and derives his strength from the support of the military, the tussle is between the military and the elected civilian government. If evidence is needed, consider this: both former presidents Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Farooq Leghari had to exit after the military refused to back them in their power tussle with the prime minister.

The PPP insists that it talks transition with the military for a free and fair election that would benefit all opposition parties. The outcome of the still uncertain pact between the two sides, the party’s not unfounded hope is to use the ballot to undo authoritarian statutes such as Article 58-2(b), and the ban on the election of prime minister for a third time. Not surprisingly, the popular tide appears to be on the PPP’s side despite the Musharraf government’s hope that the ‘deal’ would undermine Ms Bhutto’s credibility and disappoint her supporters. It might have slightly dented her democratic credentials, as she has admitted herself.

But the assassination attempts and her resilience in the face of the clear and present threat to her life is likely to generate a rally around the leader effect with at least two possible consequences. First, it is likely to make the PPP and its support base more determined to cohere and mobilise support despite foreseeable difficulties. Second, it could also potentially turn undecided moderate voters in the party’s favour.

It would not be outlandish to speculate that a credible election is likely to be a contest between the PPP and the PML-N, especially if Nawaz Sharif returns. A credible election will also restore the faith of the people of Pakistan in the democratic process which is likely to be the best medium- to long-term bulwark against extremism. But the signs are not good. Regardless of the motivation behind the suicide attacks, its adverse effects on electoral politics are not hard to discern: an election campaign conducted in an environment of fear and insecurity would harm the two mainstream popular parties and benefit military hard-liners and their civilian proxies.

Who prevails, the authoritarian hard-liners or the democratic soft-liners? That is indeed the question.

Email: aqil_s@hotmail.com

Dangerous time for Benazir

The Hindu

THE massacre of close to 140 people in the terrorist attack on the cavalcade heralding Benazir Bhutto’s triumphal return after eight years in exile is a deadly reminder of the challenges facing democratic forces in Pakistan. Ms Bhutto was spot-on in her assessment that the forces of religious extremism could be defeated only through the mass mobilisation of the moderates who make up the vast majority of her compatriots.

The huge, tumultuous welcome given to the Pakistan People’s Party leader in Karachi hours before the suicide bombings provided ample indication that the moderate masses are ready to face danger while rallying to a cause they believe in.

They will face more dangers in the lead-up to, and well beyond, the general election expected to take place in early 2008. There does not seem to be any reason to question the Musharraf regime’s claim that it provided a technically sophisticated security cover to the PPP leader after she landed in Karachi.

The fact that the world will keep its eyes on political happenings in Pakistan should work in favour of Ms Bhutto’s safety.

Ms Bhutto herself seems to have faced the…attack with the personal courage and fortitude she is reputed for — but she will need to demonstrate steely qualities of leadership over a long period as her supporters push her to fight simultaneously against the two scourges of Islamist terrorism and military rule.

After all, the PPP leader’s return from exile was enabled by the questionable bargain she struck with Pervez Musharraf: her party did not oppose the president’s re-election as the price for an ordinance annulling the corruption cases against her and others. Elated at the mass upsurge triggered by her return, Ms Bhutto’s party base is urging her to repudiate the agreement as the politically embarrassing National Reconciliation Ordinance is no longer relevant.

The argument is that the regime will not dare arrest her. The pressure to back out of the compromise can increase tremendously if the Supreme Court strikes down the president’s re-election. On the other hand, a United States administration that stands firmly behind General Musharraf is likely to press Ms Bhutto to preserve the partnership. The PPP leader, who is well aware of the linkages between the terrorist groups and fundamentalist elements in the military establishment, might soon have to make a major judgment call.

— (Oct 20)

Food security

The Assam Tribune

FOOD, clothing and shelter are the three basic needs of mankind. Among the three, it is food which is the most important need…However, it’s an irony that this basic need…is not easily available…

The incidence of starvation…is rising in several parts of the world. Even in India, starvation deaths have taken place at Kalahandi in Orissa. …During the pre-independence era, the Bengal famine claimed a good number of lives.

While in several countries in the continent of Africa, due to prolonged famine-like conditions, starvation-related deaths often take place. It’s really very sad to think…that around 854 million people go to sleep on an empty stomach, while the total food production on planet earth is more than enough to adequately feed its entire population. Considering the importance of this basic human need, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations celebrates October 16 as World Food Day.

The theme for the 2007 World Food Day was the “Right to Food”. … To ensure food security… steps must be initiated to enhance food production. A proper distribution system should be ensured…

FAO and the developed nations should come forward in a more active way to remove hunger from the face of the earth. Strategies must be formulated and implemented on the ground… — (Oct 19)



© DAWN Group of Newspapers, 2007

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