Ties strengthened

FROM both political and economic points of view, the outcome of Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali’s visit to Iran has been positive. On the economic side, there have been agreements on a number of points, including Iran’s decision to provide gas to Pakistan. This is a welcome development because it is not dependent on India’s consent. For a long time, the proposal for Iranian gas for India through a pipeline across Pakistan has not made progress because of the conditions New Delhi attaches to such an arrangement. India fears that Pakistan could cut off supply to it during a bilateral crisis. The deal would have been lucrative to Pakistan, for it would give it about 500 million dollars a year in transit charges. However, India would agree to such a deal only if Iran gave it a guarantee of compensation. For that reason, the trans-Pakistan pipeline proposal has made no progress. Under the circumstances, Pakistan and Iran have done the obvious — they have come to a bilateral arrangement. Initially, Iranian gas supply would be confined to the border regions, but gradually the pipeline would be extended further inside Pakistan. Iran will also supply electricity to Pakistani villages in Iran’s neighbourhood, and that should take some pressure off Pakistan’s crisis-ridden power grid. Other points of agreement include the decision to sign a preferential trade agreement and to open new border points to facilitate the movement of people and goods.

While these are positive developments in the economic sector, the more important aspect of the visit was political. As the prime minister pointed out, the “chill” in their bilateral relations had disappeared. He did not specify what had caused the “chill.” But there is no doubt that mistakes made by Pakistan in the context of its Afghan involvement had created serious misgivings in Tehran. As Afghanistan’s neighbour, Iran had every right to be consulted about the Afghan situation. However, in the post-Soviet withdrawal, Islamabad’s total support to the Taliban did not go down well with Tehran. Instead, it found itself closer to Moscow and New Delhi than to Islamabad. Also, as a friend of Pakistan, Iran was concerned about the rise of religious extremism and sectarian violence both of which have done enormous harm to this country’s image. Even though Islamabad has vowed to come down hard on sectarianism and has outlawed several extremist militias, the menace is still very much there. One hopes the Jamali government will continue to wage a relentless war on terrorism to rid the people of Pakistan of this scourge.

Friendship with Iran is in Pakistan’s vital interests. Besides being neighbours with a long and porous border, the two share indissoluble ties of faith and culture. Fortunately, on most regional and international issues, Pakistan and Iran have an identity of views. These issues include Iraq, Afghanistan (both support the Karzai government) and Palestine. On Kashmir, the joint communique has upheld Pakistan’s position by calling on Pakistan and India to start a dialogue to solve the issue by peaceful means. The two sides have now agreed to have consultations at a summit level each year. This provides an institutional basis for talks between the two countries on a regular basis.

A sweeping move

THE railway ministry’s decision to dispose of land which is not in its operational use seems a hasty and sweeping move posing many questions that still need to be examined and answered. In most cities, railway land is situated in some of the principal areas. In the case of Karachi and Lahore, the railway ministry owns huge chunks of land in different areas of these cities which are worth billions of rupees. While these have been railway land for several years now, a plan to sell them off without proper planning and consideration may mean a short-term monetary gain for the Pakistan Railways but longer-term problems for the cities where they are located. If land has to be sold, it should be done in a manner that takes into account the development and expansion needs of the particular city. It is also not a good idea to sell land in large chunks without any consideration to long term plans, as much of this land may be needed at a later stage for some circular railway or mass transit projects. Encroachment is another issue to take into account. To lease land to people who have encroached on it gives the wrong signal. Also, the rationale behind removing only those people who encroached on railway land after 1985 needs to be clarified as this too does not seem to make sense. Finally, to sell precious land to improve the financial situation of the PR is not a good strategy to follow.

To raise its revenue earnings, the railway authorities have resorted to novel methods like leasing out a golf course and commercialization of over 50 railway sites in the past year. On the other hand, there has been little progress made in clearing encroachments on railway land and on the laying of double rail tracks on different sections of the network. A more appropriate and durable strategy for the PR would be to improve the quality and efficiency of its passenger and freight services to increase its revenue earnings rather than temporary relief through the sale of land and commercialization of some sites.

State of universities

THE newly established Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology in Islamabad has just been granted Rs35 million for getting the necessary equipment, furniture and books to enable it to start functioning. Any addition to the existing institutions is welcome, given the need for an ever expanding educated workforce to drive the country’s economic and social development. However, a point to note is that in nurturing the growth of new educational institutions, the authorities should ensure that such institutions do not eventually stagnate and deteriorate for lack of public patronage and financial support. This is exactly what has happened to some of the universities whose progress has been stymied by lack of basic facilities, funds and well-qualified faculty members. Irregularities in students’ entry tests as well as in the marking of examination papers by faculty members and plagiarism in students’ theses and dissertations are common practices which have been going on unchecked and which have lowered the academic standards of some of the institutions.

Another serious problem plaguing universities is the intense rivalry between students of different ethnic groups and different political inclinations. Weak administrations unable to check these unhealthy trends have resulted in undue politicization of academic life and violence on many a campus, including the notable Karachi University and the Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad. The relevant educational authorities need to study the multi-faceted problems afflicting many existing public sector universities in order to help prevent new institutions like the Federal Urdu University from falling into the same sorry state.