Upping the ante

INDIA’S intentions are now clear. Our neighbour to the east is interested more in maligning Pakistan internationally than finding a solution to the current stand-off. It could even be argued that bringing to book those who orchestrated the Mumbai assault does not really top New Delhi’s list of priorities, for there are wheels within wheels. India seems to be interested in one thing alone: isolating Pakistan in the global arena. Why would India want to pursue such a course? More than one explanation comes to mind. Not satisfied with the fact that it is already the region’s hegemon, India desires official — read western — endorsement of this reality. The upcoming elections in India must also be taken into account because Pakistan-bashing is the most convenient way for the Congress party to steal the BJP’s thunder and gloss over the Indian state’s massive security lapses in Mumbai. Although Prime Minister Manmohan Singh admitted on Tuesday that there is a problem on the security front, he was quick to divert the blame to regional actors. India may also be drumming up international support to have Pakistan declared a terrorist state. If that were to happen, there would be calls for stripping Pakistan of its nuclear capability, much to India’s satisfaction and to the detriment of the balance of terror.

For a while it seemed that tensions were easing but India has been upping the ante in recent days. Originally it was said that the Mumbai attackers had ‘links’ with Pakistan. Then New Delhi shifted the focus from non-state to state actors, and on Tuesday Manmohan Singh opted for an all-out assault, alleging that Pakistan “uses terrorism as an instrument of state policy.” He further claimed, without putting on the table the evidence India claims to have gathered, that “given the sophistication and military precision of the attack it must have had the support of some official agencies in Pakistan.” This statement has changed the equation completely. Islamabad’s attitude thus far has been conciliatory and this must not change. However, Tuesday’s tirade deserves a measured yet strong riposte.

New Delhi has handed over a dossier of ‘information’ or ‘evidence’ and it is in the fitness of things that Islamabad peruses the same to verify the Indian ‘findings’. If the dossier contains any actionable intelligence, appropriate measures should be taken because that is in our own interest more than anybody else’s. For its part, India must realise the inherent absurdity of its demands. On the one hand it claims that Pakistan “uses terrorism as an instrument of state policy.” At the same time India wants the state of Pakistan to take action against those who masterminded the Mumbai attacks. This makes no sense and cannot serve as the basis for a working relationship.

Education at village level

WE are now told that yet another education policy is on the anvil. The federal minister of state announced the other day that the new policy will, among other things, aim at universal primary education at the village level and at reducing the dropout rate in primary classes. By neglecting these goals for so long, governments of the day have caused a severe setback to education in Pakistan where 65 per cent of the population lives in the rural areas. According to Unesco, only 66 per cent of primary-age children are enrolled in school —girls lag behind with only 53 per cent attending school. Other states in the region have done better with the regional enrolment rate being reported as 108 per cent. If we take into account the dropout rate of 38 per cent, the absolute numbers who actually complete their primary education falls drastically.

Will the government succeed in putting each and every rural child in school as the minister has promised? Not if it refuses to understand why so many children in the countryside are out of school, and does not act according to the needs of the people. The fact that many children in villages fail to attend school is not because their parents are unable to recognise the importance of education as was implied by the federal minister of state. Many rural parents keep their children out of school because a lot of these institutions are inaccessible, insecure and remotely located. Many of them lack basic facilities like toilets and water. The education they provide is of an appalling standard due to absentee teachers or untrained staff. As a result there are no incentives for potential students to enrol there. Worse still is the irrelevance of the education imparted. Education policies have tended to be centralised, too uniform and urban-centred in their approach to curricula planning, academic schedules and pedagogy. The minister’s promise to make the syllabus uniform could spell disaster for education in the rural areas. Leaders of opinion in village communities have always complained that their needs are never taken into account and their children who manage to acquire education tend to become irrelevant to agricultural societies. Rigid school terms that fail to factor in the harvesting and sowing seasons and climate needs also make education inconvenient. NGOs that have opened schools in the rural areas have fared much better because of their flexibility. It is time the government learnt from them.

In violation of the rules

THE blanket exemption given by the Sindh chief secretary to all government buildings, waiving the requirement to get the mandatory approval of the building plan from the Karachi Building Control Authority, defies all logic. This will open the floodgates of corruption: government contractors will henceforth be freer to play games, cutting corners where these should not be cut, compromising public safety in all likelihood and sharing the ‘loot’ with their commissioning benefactors. The directive defies the Supreme Court ruling of January 2006, whereby the apex court had taken suo motu notice of the government buildings’ en masse collapse in Muzaffarabad in the wake of the October 2005 earthquake that caused massive damage in parts of Azad Kashmir and the Frontier. It is mind-boggling how such directions compromising public safety can be issued, especially with memories of the tragedy —whose devastating effects could have been minimised had more scruples and planning gone into the construction of buildings — still fresh in our minds.

It must also be noted that even before the notification was issued, existing government buildings were hardly complying with the bylaws set by the KBCA. But making such anomalies a legal act with a mighty stroke of the pen really takes the cake. What is now to stop builders engaged in private building projects from following suit? The law has to be uniform, as it has been; it should not distinguish between any set of violations being carried out at the behest of the government or a common citizen. The whimsical move must be annulled at once. The Sindh and the Karachi City District Government must realise that setting such an unworthy precedent can open up a Pandora’s box and provide a pretext for similar violations of the law in other areas of civic life. The elected authorities are here to ensure the good of the public and not to sanction moves that often camouflage vested interests and can prove costly. Unless this realisation dawns on the powers that be, it will be difficult to imbue governance with the true essence of democracy.

OTHER VOICES - European Press

A bold promise to savers

The Telegraph

IN the words of David Cameron, the prudent have become the ‘innocent victims’ of the credit crunch. They have seen their thrift punished as returns on savings and investments plunge. Meanwhile, those who helped inflate the credit bubble by taking on crippling levels of personal debt are being encouraged to start borrowing and spending again, even as the government showers billions on repairing the damage caused by excess debt. In this Alice in Wonderland world, it is little wonder that those who save to spend rather than borrow to spend, many of them elderly, many of them our readers, feel so aggrieved. In bringing forward his really quite dramatic tax proposals ... Mr Cameron has addressed that sense of injustice with boldness. He wants to abolish income tax on all savings for those paying basic rate tax while, at the same time, raising the tax allowance for pensioners by £2,000. The move is every bit as significant as the increase of the inheritance tax threshold to £1m announced in September 2007 and which helped scupper Gordon Brown’s early election plans. Its effect is to make every savings account an unlimited ISA for basic rate taxpayers. It has the beauty of simplicity and equity, no bad measure of fiscal policy, and more than meets the demands of our Justice for Pensioners campaign.

But Mr Cameron has done more. He showed ... he has found the right rhetoric to explain how he intends reining back the unsustainable levels of public spending initiated by New Labour. He would fund this £4bn of tax cuts by restricting the growth of spending in most government departments to one per cent a year, while sticking to existing expenditure plans on hospitals, schools, defence and international development — so deflecting Labour’s parrot cry of “Tory cuts”.

The package also means the “do nothing” smear which ministers level at the Tories at every opportunity will ring even more hollow. More important, the Tory leader is tapping into the public mood. There cannot be a family in the land which has not been reassessing its finances. Mr Cameron’s call for a shift “from an economy built on debt to an economy built on savings” will strike a resonant chord.

This is an important step in the right direction which will, we hope, lead to even more radical measures to limit the reach and cost of the state. Clearly, Mr Cameron is in no position to enact these measures — yet. It is not, however, unknown for Labour to steal the Tories’ best policies. Well, there’s a budget in a few months — and these plans are well worth pinching. — (Jan 5)

Militancy: a blow to tourism

ONE of the saddest effects of militancy and conflict is seen in the reluctance of tourists to visit the lush hills and vales of Pakistan’s north. Last year saw militants in the Swat Valley torch the PTDC motel and destroy the country’s only ski resort at Malam Jabba, dealing a big blow to the NWFP’s tourism industry.

The resort had been the province’s main tourist attraction welcoming anywhere between 500 to 2,000 visitors a day in more peaceful times. Malam Jabba’s only full-fledged accommodation facility, a motel run by the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC), was attacked twice. The chairlifts were also damaged.

The ski resort, established with the support of the Austrian government in the 1960s at a cost of Rs120m, is not the only victim of militancy. Privately-run hotels and restaurants have also been closed because of the heavy fighting. The past year saw the PTDC close its motels in Swat’s administrative capital of Saidu Sharif and other scenic spots like Miandam and Kalam. The financial loss is said to be more than Rs160m.

During the ongoing conflict many huge buildings like the Pak-Austrian Institute of Hotel Management that promoted human resource development in tourism were vandalised and occupied by security forces. Once the most sought-after tourist destination despite its battered roads, the Swat Valley is now a battleground for terrorists. The conflict which has escalated this year has caused all businesses related to the tourism sector to be shut down. In fact, owing to the growing militancy including several suicide attacks, the number of foreign tourists coming to the NWFP is now negligible. Many countries have also issued travel advisories against visiting Pakistan. Meanwhile, the surge in hotel rates discouraged many domestic tourists from visiting the green Galiyat and Hazara region.

Given this situation and the fact that some parts of Hazara like Naran, Kaghan and Balakot that were hit hard by the October 2005 quake have yet to be made ready for tourism, there is no surprise that gloom has descended on the tourist industry. The federal tourism ministry witnessed a fall in the number of tourists in 2008 compared to the previous year which, with its theme of Visit Pakistan Year, drew 689,500 tourists. In contrast, 660,993 visited in 2008.

It is difficult to say how many entered the NWFP that with its scenic beauty and archaeological sites dating to the Gandhara era, is undisputedly among the most popular tourist destinations in more peaceful times. Foreign exchange earnings from this industry too fell as a consequence — from approximately $228m in 2007 to $204m in 2008.With militancy bringing the NWFP a bad name internationally and discouraging foreigners from exploring the province’s natural and historical treasures, it is heartening to note that the provincial tourism department and the Sarhad Tourism Corporation (STC) have been trying to hold small events to engage locals in healthy activities like boating and cycling competitions and opening up the historic ‘Sethi Houses’ in Peshawar city, one of the 10 oldest living cities of the world.

Provincial tourism department officials blame the policies of the federal government for the rot in the tourism sector. According to one, the tourism sector was first hit hard by the presence of a large number of Afghan refugees. Then terrorism and militancy emanating from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) in recent years proved to be a huge blow to tourism in the province.

The STC early last year claimed that the damage to the tourism sector should prod the federal government to compensate the NWFP government for the losses, especially with Islamabad receiving huge financial assistance on account of the ‘war on terror’. The NWFP government has claimed $40m ($8m per annum between 2003-2008) as compensation. The amount was calculated on the basis of tourist figures compiled by the federal tourism ministry and pertaining to foreign tourists only. In response, the federal government has asked the provincial government to prepare a comprehensive study on the economic costs incurred since the Afghan crisis began in 1979.

The STC has demanded an amount of $224m for 1979-2008 as compensation for the losses suffered due to the presence of Afghan refugees. If this amount is provided to the terror-hit province it could help regenerate tourism in the province over the next few years, officials hope. If insurgency-hit countries like Sri Lanka and Nepal can evolve strategies to promote tourism, why can’t we polish our tourism skills since we are already blessed with many natural tourist attractions? So far tourism has been a neglected sector but greater efforts to promote it could boost the province’s economy. If the people are economically stable peace will prevail.

While the federal government is required to take concrete steps to curb insurgency and bring peace, the tourism ministry should promote domestic tourism and create more opportunities for recreation to engage people once again in this sector. Surprisingly, despite acts of terrorism and rising militancy in some pockets, peaceful tourist spots, parks and the banks of River Kabul can be seen crowded with visitors. Last year might have been bleak for tourism but all is not lost. The people of this hospitable picturesque province still want tourists to come. They say, “Come to the Frontier, it will be a blast!”

Unbreakable will to be free

FOR 18 months my people in Gaza have been under siege, incarcerated inside the world’s biggest prison, sealed off from land, air and sea, caged and starved, denied even medication for our sick. After the slow death policy came the bombardment.

In this most densely populated of places, nothing has been spared Israel’s warplanes, from government buildings to homes, mosques, hospitals, schools and markets. More than 540 have been killed and thousands permanently maimed. A third are women and children. Whole families have been massacred, some while they slept.

This river of blood is being shed under lies and false pretexts. For six months we in Hamas observed the ceasefire. Israel broke it repeatedly from the start. Israel was required to open crossings to Gaza, and extend the truce to the West Bank. It proceeded to tighten its deadly siege of Gaza, repeatedly cutting electricity and water supplies. The collective punishment did not halt, but accelerated.

When this broken truce neared its end, we expressed our readiness for a new comprehensive truce in return for lifting the blockade and opening all Gaza border crossings, including Rafah. Our calls fell on deaf ears. Yet still we would be willing to begin a new truce on these terms following the complete withdrawal of the invading forces from Gaza.

The logic of those who demand that we stop our resistance is absurd. They absolve the aggressor and occupier, armed with the deadliest weapons of death and destruction, of responsibility, while blaming the victim, prisoner and occupied. Our modest, home-made rockets are our cry of protest to the world. Israel and its American and European sponsors want us to be killed in silence. But die in silence we will not.

What is being visited on Gaza today was visited on Yasser Arafat before. When he refused to bow to Israel’s dictates, he was imprisoned in his Ramallah headquarters, surrounded by tanks for two years. When this failed to break his resolve, he was murdered by poisoning.

Gaza enters 2009 just as it did 2008: under Israeli fire. Between January and February of last year 140 Gazans died in air strikes. And just before it embarked on its failed military assault on Lebanon in July 2006, Israel rained thousands of shells on Gaza, killing 240. From Deir Yassin in 1948 to Gaza today, the list of Israel’s crimes is long. If this is the “free world” whose “values” Israel is defending as Tzipi Livni alleges, then we want nothing to do with it.

Israel’s leaders remain in the grip of confusion, unable to set clear goals for the attacks, from ousting the legitimately elected Hamas government and destroying its infrastructure to stopping the rockets. As they fail to break Gaza’s resistance the benchmark has been lowered. Now they speak of weakening Hamas and limiting the resistance. But they will achieve neither.

Once again, Washington and Europe have opted to aid and abet the jailer, occupier and aggressor, and to condemn its victims. We hoped Barack Obama would break with George Bush’s disastrous legacy but his start is not encouraging. While he swiftly moved to denounce the Mumbai attacks, he remains tongue-tied after 10 days of slaughter in Gaza. But my people are not alone. Millions of freedom-loving men and women stand by its struggle for justice and liberation — witness daily protests against Israeli aggression, not only in the Arab and Islamic region, but worldwide.

Israel will no doubt wreak untold destruction, death and suffering in Gaza. But it will meet the same fate in Gaza as it did in Lebanon. We will not be broken by siege and bombardment, and will never surrender to occupation.

The writer is the head of the Hamas political bureau.

— The Guardian, London