Sikandar govt: all is not well!: DATELINE MUZAFFARABAD

THE four-month-old government of Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan in Azad Kashmir has so far been unable to make its mark with its performance on both domestic and foreign fronts. Ask any person how he views the working of the new set-up and his prompt reply will show the general thinking about the government. The government has failed to prove that it exists on the ground, is the prevailing opinion.

There are a number of factors behind such an assessment, but the dominant one is the alleged lack of team spirit in the ranks of the government. The supporters of Sardar Abdul Qayyum, who is president of the (reunified) Muslim Conference, feel they have been or are being pushed to the wall. Sardar Sikandar could not establish the impression that he was giving equal importance to MC workers, irrespective of their affiliation with any of the party faction during the days of its split.

As regards the performance of the prime minister on the foreign front, a sizable number of people believe that it also needs much more improvement. He could not properly utilize his recent tour of the United States and the United Kingdom spanning over 15 days. He spent maximum time in the UK and that too with the Kashmiri expatriates belonging to his own party. There was no interaction on his part with parliamentarians and media people. If at all it was, no one knows here about that.

On the contrary, one cannot help but say that Barrister Sultan Mahmood, leader of the opposition in the AJK assembly and chief of main opposition People’s Party, made the most of his recent tour to several European countries and the UK regarding projection of the Kashmir issue.

But let us take a look first on what situation is developing within Azad Kashmir. Although the Muslim Conference leaders may find it hard to admit publicly, the fact is that the alleged differences between the supporters of the top leaders, Sardar Qayyum and Sardar Sikandar, are again picking up momentum. These differences did not surface overnight and were brewing insidiously from the very first day of the government. But now these are surfacing with every passing day.

The first public display of these differences was the reshuffle of the portfolios of Shah Ghulam Qadir within three months of the formation of the cabinet. Mr Qadir was the secretary-general of the Muslim Conference (Qayyum) and held the same office for the interim period after the party’s reunification. Word is that Sardar Sikandar did not induct him in the cabinet at his own, but on the strong recommendations of Sardar Qayyum and the quarters that matter the most these days.

Initially, he was allotted the portfolios of finance, food, auqaf, zakat and ushr, but in the last week of October the prime minister replaced food, auqaf, zakat and ushr with revenue and rehabilitation departments. The people close to the prime minister fed reports to a section of the press that these departments were withdrawn because Mr Qadir was favouring “unjustified” payment to a food department contractor. But insiders have a different story to tell.

According to them, the main “discredit” of Mr Qadir, apart from his strong affiliation with Sardar Qayyum, is that the army had proposed his name during the process of the formation of the government in Azad Kashmir for the office of the prime minister. What served as fuel to fire was a proposal put up by Mr Qadir as minister for zakat and ushr whereby a certain amount was also fixed from zakat profit fund for the president and the minister concerned as their discretionary funds.

The issue of the contractor’s payment was merely a pretext, on the basis of which the prime minister wanted to sack Mr Qadir. But, the prudent president disproved the move, following which Mr Qadir’s portfolios were interchanged with another minister. Mr Qadir was about to tender his resignation, but Sardar Qayyum and others advised him to avoid the extreme step, as it would expose the friction in the party.

Mr Qadir is not alone, there are some other ministers as well who complain in private that their hands are tied and they are unable to exercise their authority. They believe that the prime minister has directed the heads of the departments, allotted to them, not to follow their instructions.

Recently, a minister found himself helpless in cancelling some of the transfers of grade-14 employees, which were made by a bureaucrat of his ministry without taking him into confidence. Interestingly, the minister ordered the cancellations after being requested by colleagues in the cabinet and parliamentary party. But the bureaucrat abruptly refused to reverse the transfers. This reflects the state of affairs in the government.

And perhaps it was why the ministers seemed least interested in defending the government at the recent session of the legislative assembly. Lack of coordination in the ruling party was observed by all and sundry on a number of occasions during the longest session in the past several years. The opposition cashed in on the situation. For example, on the issue of the appointment of Mumtaz Gillani, minister for works, as “acting prime minister” without his prior designation as senior minister, the opposition gave tough time to the treasury benches. And when senior opposition leader Sahibzada Ishaq Zafar, during the heated debate on the issue, sarcastically commented that the prime minister Hayat did not trust his ministers, no one stood to contradict his assertion and defend the prime minister.

Barrister Sultan Mahmood, who remained prime minister for the past five years, expresses much optimism about the fall of the Sikandar government, saying that it is a matter of weeks. Notwithstanding his manoeuvres for the change, it goes without saying that the opposition everywhere is in the habit of making such claims to keep the morale of its workers high.

But what takes one by surprise is that many ruling party leaders in Azad Kashmir are also making the same prediction. In the whole situation, Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, the talented leader of the Muslim Conference and heir-apparent of Sardar Qayyum, is holding his tongue. In case a change occurs in Azad Kashmir, whosoever paves the way for it, it is, however, premature to predict that who will reap its benefit — Barrister Sultan Mahmood or Sardar Attique Khan.

Falling standards of driving: SOCIAL THEMES

KARACHI: Three friends in their 20s, Shahid Ali, Mehdi, Salman Gulzar and Shakir Hussain, died in a road accident last week on Superhighway when their Suzuki Khyber reportedly hit a stationary truck at 1.30 am. They could not imagine that a vehicle would be there on the highway, and that they would meet their end like this on an evening they had decided to go out with their families for a meal, (possibly Sehri), said a family member Moiz to me.

Now keep in mind that almost 45 people have died in traffic accidents in Karachi in November. One does not know where the Traffic Engineering Bureau and the Traffic Police would put these figures.

These three friends, one learns, were the principal sources of income for their families, and all the were employed with a foreign bank, and one of them was scheduled to get married after Eid. As I heard these details from a mournful Moiz, thoughts went out to families of all those men, and women, and children who continue to die in these awful accidents. Continue to die? That is what it appears to be unfortunately, and if drastic (cliche one admits) measures are not taken, these figures are going to rise enormously in the days ahead. As Karachi urbanises and road traffic grows, trucks, lorries, tankers and other heavy duty vehicles terrorise other drivers and pedestrians alike. A thought about the Karachi Circular Railway also crosses the mind, dear citizen!

There appears to be a familiar but dreadful pattern in the way people died on the city roads in this month that has just come to an end. They were almost always hit by a heavy vehicle and many times the driver escaped. Not just to escape the wrath of the public who would have assembled and dealt with him but also escape the police for as long as is possible.

The reports that appear about these fatal accidents have not only cold repetitive headlines, but also a sentence that says that the police “claim” that the driver has been arrested or that the vehicle has been “impounded. What does the use of the word “claim” imply? That it is hard to verify what has actually happened, as the subject relates to the police. Does it surprise?

It makes the citizen contemplate about the much discussed police-public relationship and how it simply refuses to improve in reality. This is one area where the police can do so much, but that, sadly, does not appear to be the case. Traffic violations continue, and with Ramazan half way, one gets the impression that the situation is almost as problematic as it was in previous years. Rush hour traffic remains congested, and peak time driving as hazardous as it can be. And the worst seem to be the drivers of these huge heavy vehicles, reflecting on the quality of the driving licences that are issued. What is the quality of the driving that an applicant has to enable him to get the licence. Any checks?

Now the 45 people who died in road accidents in the city. These mishaps took place in all parts of the city. East, West, South, Malir and Central, and there were hit-and-run accidents too. The focus here is on deaths and somehow, it just occurs to me, that those who are injured, and often very seriously with lasting lifelong damage, and high financial cost, by hit-and-run drivers, often never get mentioned in the press. One is reminded of a gentleman in Gulshan-i-Iqbal who was hit by a car some years ago near Urdu College, University Road, and was seriously injured in the leg. That warranted surgery and when possibility was being investigated, he was detected to also have a cardiac problem. So before the leg, the heart was to be fixed, and that meant a terrible drain on the family’s finances. In brief, the family went through a very tough time for years, financially and otherwise. All because of a hit-and-run accident.

The drivers of these heavy duty vehicles, in most cases, appear totally inconsiderate if not altogether ruthless when they are behind the wheels. They intimidate other drivers, and two- wheelers, and private cars are often their victims, as if they have been targeted for some strange perverted reason. A one paragraph story in an Urdu daily this week carried the headline which revealed that an enraged bus driver crushed to death a motorcyclist. This happened in Landhi No. 3 after an argument between the motorcyclist Ateeq, and bus driver, who drove the bus over the two-wheeler parked defiantly in front of his vehicle. The bus driver escaped, and 35-year old Ateeq lost his life. And somewhat disappointingly there were no other details, and, in fact, often one doesn’t know what has happened to the poor families who lose their family member in these road disasters. I have often heard citizens expressing their disappointment at why there are no follow-ups. In fact, one of them said sometimes road accident deaths are reported in the manner of carjacking cases, where only the number is mentioned. “People who die are more than names and numbers... they are families”, stressed one person who adding they are driven in a most frightening manner possible. The little damage they cause to private cars and smaller vehicles is something that only adds to the humiliation and suffocation of the Karachiites.

Let me return to the road accident with which I began here. I was able to see the Suzuki Khyber in that crushed state in the Garage where it was parked. That driver and those who were on duty, patrolling the highway that night, should be made to see the consequences of the absence of appropriate vigilance. This story reminds one of the recurring head-on collisions that take place between big and small vehicles all over the country, betraying poor quality of drivers, and falling standards here too.

The silent majority and the unknown soldier: LAHORE DIARY

PRESIDENT Gen Pervez Musharraf granted an interview last week to the Pakistan Television. Probably the only PTV exclusive since September 11, it was also shown by PTV World. Predictably, there were no pointed questions and the general, relaxed as he appeared, hardly said anything beyond his assertion that his policy had been vindicated. He could not see how anybody could have done better. Nor could he see how anybody could do as well in the future and reiterated, therefore, his decision, announced first in the United States to remain the president even after the three-year term he had sought and was granted by the Supreme Court. And for no personal ambition.

Any surprises there? None indeed. Spare a thought, however, for the ignorant who envy the general his job. Imagine for a moment the anxiety of a superannuated man in charge of 140 million souls who had never wanted the mantle but must carry on since he is convinced there is no adequate replacement available. Talk of loneliness at the top. And the thanks he gets for this?

The so-called religious parties and a former prime minister dispute his claim that the policy has been a success. Occasionally, they are joined in their protests against his allies by a motley crowd of rights advocates and volunteers who seem always to be talking at cross purposes. While recent events in Afghanistan have taken much of the wind from the protesters’ sails, there is a significant amount of residual dissent and the nay-sayers are not exactly thin on the ground. They insist that the policy and conduct of the government have indeed increased the problems and dangers faced by the country.

The regime, they allege, relies on assurances of support from an international coalition seeking to enforce an eccentric world order. The system comprises doctrines like if your are not with me, I have the right to treat you like a criminal; I have the right when I deem fit, to act as both judge and the jury; good wars are better than bad peace and good dictators preferable to useless democrats. A war, according to the whimsical paradigm, is good if only the bad guys and some far off flunkies of the good guys suffer. Peace is bad when it allows redistribution, even net southward diffusion of wealth. Worse if it encourages people to question the judgment of the soul arbiter of uncertainties. Dictators are good as a cost effective tool. Democrats who cannot, or do not, sell the world order to their peoples have little utility as allies.

With the significant exception of the Pakistan People’s Party, public support for the government policy has largely been limited to minor parties vying for political leftovers. The PPP, however, disputes the general’s copyright claim to it. An elected government - led possibly by the party - chairperson Benazir Bhutto says, would have followed and would indeed follow in the future a similar policy, but with greater conviction and credibility.

The support of a silent majority has often been claimed. But, this, to say the least, is a strange claim. Since when has abstention counted for endorsement? There has been a very vocal, if not well-reasoned, opposition to the policy. Or should all non-disruptive disagreement be dismissed? Does t