Progress on gas pipeline

INDIA’S insistence on pursuing the option of importing gas from Iran overland through Pakistan despite American reservations is encouraging. Since the idea of a tripartite project was mooted initially in 1994, the Indian government has warmed up to the proposition in the past couple of months. In March, it accepted Pakistan’s proposal for a gas pipeline from Iran as part of an energy corridor for the region. This month, the Indian government gave its approval to the four-billion-dollar project. When completed, this will be one of the most significant confidence-building measures undertaken by India and Pakistan in the context of the ongoing process to normalize relations. Credit goes to the Indian leadership for the decision to go-ahead despite external pressures and to the Pakistani government for pursuing the project consistently.

One hopes that during the visit of the Indian oil minister to Pakistan later this month, both countries will be able to sort out all outstanding issues relating to the pipeline project. Most of India’s concerns relate to security and the guarantee that gas supply will not be disrupted even if India-Pakistan relations sour in the coming years. Keeping in mind past experience, this is a genuine worry and needs to be addressed in all seriousness. For the project to move forward, one important area that needs to be tackled is the law and order situation in Balochistan. If the problems in Balochistan are not resolved satisfactorily, there is the possibility that the nationalist elements in the province would object to any such venture in which their share is not conceded. Pakistan stands to gain financially through transit fees for gas supplied to India as well as supplies for itself. A share of the royalties can be passed on to the provincial government considering the underdevelopment of Balochistan.

The project promises great potential for all the three countries involved. For Iran, which has been under American economic sanctions in one form or another since 1979, the export of gas would earn the country badly needed foreign exchange. For Pakistan, the transmission of natural gas from Iran will tie in with the gradual decline in domestic gas production. Studies suggest that Pakistan’s gas shortfall will start from 400 million cubic feet per day in 2010 and will increase to four billion cubic feet of gas per day by 2025, as the economy grows at the rate of over seven per cent annually. If Pakistan is unable to obtain gas from outside sources, it must expect the onset of a domestic energy crisis. For India, the pipeline project will mean a cheaper alternative to its expensive fuel imports to run industries in Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat states. While there is agreement on the need for such a transmission pipeline in the region, attention should focus on actually getting the project off the drawing boards as soon as possible. With limitless possibilities, the idea of cooperation on energy resources should be taken up on a priority basis. Such an undertaking will go a long way in cementing the bonds of cooperation between Iran, Pakistan and India.

A shocking incident

IT is difficult to put into words the anger and grief felt by Muslims across the world over the shocking manner in which the Holy Quran was desecrated at America’s infamous prison at Guantanamo Bay. The incident — apparently one among several similar instances — was reported in an issue of Newsweek magazine and appears to be part of the standard religious and cultural abuse perpetrated on the Muslim inmates in order to humiliate them. The tactics employed by the US in its war on terror have been questioned several times, and the American military’s violations of prisoners’ rights, as in the case of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq, have drawn worldwide condemnation. In the case of the Guantanamo prisoners, not only has the US refused to recognize the validity of the Geneva conventions, but has gone on to transgress even the basic norms of human rights, which is contrary to its own civil laws. Indeed, investigative journalists and former inmates have horrific tales to tell of the conditions in which prisoners are kept and the manner in which interrogations are conducted at Guantanamo’s detention centre.

There are positive signs that Washington may be forced to review its treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo. Last year, the US Supreme Court held that the Guantanamo inmates could challenge their imprisonment in American courts. In a more recent ruling, a federal judge held that military tribunals at the prison camp were unlawful. This would mean that legal access for the 500 or so remaining prisoners might be easier. However, with the Bush administration resisting the courts’ decisions, it is not certain for how long the prisoners will have to endure the present conditions without the prospect of a fair trial. This makes it all the more necessary for governments like Pakistan’s which has strongly condemned the latest incident and civil rights organizations to step up pressure on the Bush administration to refrain from maltreating the prisoners and injuring their religious and cultural sensibilities. America is treading on dangerous ground as it continues to provoke anger across the globe. It must be stopped before further damage is done.

Rehabilitating camel kids

ONE welcomes the UAE government’s signing of an agreement with Unicef on Sunday for the rehabilitation of child camel jockeys — a move made one month after the country banned children under the age of 16 from participating in camel racing. Under this new agreement, the UAE will set up a social welfare unit that will provide assistance and protection to children used as camel jockeys until they are returned to their home countries where they will continue to receive aid for up to two years to help them recover. Many of the children rescued with the aid of NGOs were smuggled out of Pakistan, at times kidnapped or even sold by their parents who were unable to make ends meet. On being reunited with their families, these malnourished children spoke of the terrible conditions they were forced to live in. The world’s media played a major role in exposing their plight which perhaps persuaded the UAE government to curb the cruel practice. Apart from banning the use of jockeys under the age of 16, the country hopes to begin using robot jockeys on racing camels later this year, a novel alternative that is said to have been ordered by the president of the emirates.

One hopes that this new ruling is strictly enforced as previously the ban in 1993 of using children under the age of 15 was widely violated. This may be one less evil threatening Pakistani children from poor families. Their torment and exploitation on many other counts are still there to worry about. Children will continue to be trafficked to other destinations and for other purposes — which is why it is imperative that the government should remain vigilant on its borders and continue in its strict pursuit of traffickers. Meanwhile, it should support efforts like the one undertaken last month by the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation, which set up a rehabilitation centre for child camel jockeys in Karachi.