Budget or a wish list?

BUDGET 2008-09 is an ambitious document bordering on the wishful, considering the current chaotic international economic environment and the tight domestic resource situation. One has no dispute with its size or its targets for growth, budgetary and current account deficits, the rate of inflation and so on and so forth. There is so much to be done and so little to go by. Still, the budgetary proposals for the next fiscal year announced by Finance Minister Naveed Qamar appear totally oblivious to the economy’s current resource generating ability. Neither do the authors of the budget seem to have kept in mind the current inflationary fires in the country while estimating expenditure. Never ever in Pakistan’s fiscal history has the country managed to expand its revenue income by 25 per cent in a matter of a year. Drastic reforms are needed to be introduced in the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to build its capacity to estimate and collect revenues more efficiently. Nor has the government ever succeeded in keeping expenditure from going through the ceiling by at least 10 per cent by the end of each fiscal year. In order to be able to keep expenditures within budgetary estimates the government would first need to give up all those activities which overlap those of the provinces. It is, therefore, essential that the concurrent list is removed from the constitution urgently. It has become a tradition with successive finance ministers, whether they have attainted the position through a political process or those selected by military dictators, to overestimate income and underestimate expenditure. They have all been selling dreams through annual budgets to a people undergoing a never ending nightmare.

Indeed, one can hardly find any fault with the priorities of the next year’s budget or its aims. The budget speech contained all the right ideas and the proposals included all the right economic measures needed to be taken at this point in time. But then that has been the case with all the previous budgets and all the mid-term economic plans made in this country over the last 61 years. Our official economic managers have a knack with rhetoric. They have been known to have drafted the most ideal plans and most effective speeches. Remember the story about South Korea adopting one of our five year plans in the early 1960s and becoming a tiger? We as a nation are very good at words but lack pathetically when it comes to action. It is at the delivery stage that we fail, partly because of inefficiency of the implementing personnel and the agencies, partly because of vested interest and partly because Islamabad over the years has ceased being sensitive to the public’s needs.

The finance minister has announced a number of seemingly sound measures to boost growth in the agricultural sector. One can hardly question the logic of any of these. But then as they say, the taste of the pudding is in the eating. Unless these measures are implemented earnestly and according to the plan and on schedule, there cannot be any positive change in this sector by end year. Here it would not be out of place to emphasise that with food prices sky rocketing the world over, we would be in a hotter soup if we failed to implement the proposed plan and; if we did we stand to earn a lot of much needed foreign exchange by exporting surplus food. Similarly, the measures to boost growth in the manufacturing sector also appear, on the face of it, rather sound. One would, however, like to point out that since most of our industry except textile is heavily dependent on imports, especially chemicals, machinery, medicine, two and four wheelers etc. and that too from far away lands it would be in the fitness of things to see if we could import these items from neighbouring India and China because with oil at $138 a barrel and expected to reach $150 soon the shipping freight rates would make these imports from the present sources rather too exorbitant.

The finance minister has pledged to significantly reduce borrowing from the State Bank for budgetary purposes and to mobilise the required resources from non-baking sources. This measure would help curb inflationary trends. Also, one would not take issue with the proposal to slash subsidies. But then care must be taken to see that the indigent do not suffer much from this step. There are a number of measures in the proposals to put some extra spending cash in the hands of the poor, the salaried classes and the pensioners. The Benazir card is a welcome measure but care should be taken that it is not distributed only among the supporters and workers of the ruling coalition parties. Only a feeble attempt has been made to get the real estate sector to contribute its due to tax revenue. To encourage investment and documentation, the rich have been asked to whiten their black money by paying a two per cent tax. And the stock brokers have been allowed exemption from capital gains tax for two more years. These measures would only widen the gap between the rich and the poor and give rise to serious social inequities. The government could still keep these inequities within limits if it adhered strictly to its development projects in education, health and infrastructure. And there was nothing in the budget speech to back the government’s earlier claim that the defence budget would no more be confined to one line.

Unanswered questions

ISLAMABAD has strongly condemned the Mohmand bombings and US authorities, though adamant that Nato forces were “within their rights to take the action they took”, have expressed their regret over the casualties suffered by Pakistani troops. If a terrible mistake has been made, it ought to be clear that communication lines between the two key allies in the war against terrorism are not as static-free as they should be. This apparent communications breakdown and lack of coordination in key military manoeuvres is one of several issues that the Tripartite Commission must address as a matter of priority. Many questions linger and the people of Pakistan expect their government, not the Americans, to provide answers. For one, what precisely are the ‘rules of engagement’ agreed upon by the two sides? Nato forces claim that ‘hot pursuit’ of known militants into Pakistani territory is perfectly legitimate, adding that the Pakistan Army has advance knowledge of intended strikes against Taliban hideouts in the tribal areas.

This does not square with what Rawalpindi and Islamabad have been saying publicly over the years. Every time a Nato missile is fired at a target in Pakistan, the authorities here are quick to condemn the move as an unacceptable violation of national sovereignty. So what precisely is the understanding? Do such attacks have the blessings, or at least the approval, of the Pakistan Army or is Nato acting unilaterally? Given that a recent study funded by the US defence department stated that elements in the Pakistani security apparatus are aiding the Taliban, it can also be asked whether the Americans have enough trust in our military to share vital information. The facts must be placed before the public. A democratic dispensation is now at the helm, not a military ruler who could do as he pleased so long as it was in keeping with US diktat. America must also realise that such ‘mistakes’ will only swell the ranks of its enemies, not win hearts and minds. The US has made a mess of Iraq and is in danger of spreading to Pakistan the chaos it has sired in the Middle East.

Evolution of Islamic legal system

LAW is generally defined as a body of rules, regulations and principles that govern the affairs of a country. It is enforced by a political authority in conformity with an established legal system.

As Islam makes no distinction between religious and social values, its laws cover not only the ritual, but every aspect of life. Four main sources of Islamic law include the Quran, as the supreme source, Sunnah or the life of the Prophet (SAW) as an example, the consensus of the Muslims (Ijma) and reasoning by analogy (Qiyas). Another important source which seems to have been forgotten is 'ljtihad’ or the process of making a legal decision by independent interpretation of the legal sources in the context of prevailing circumstances.

One of the fundamental features of modern resurgence of Islam is the call to restore Sharia or Islamic law. This has generated Islamic movements in many Muslim countries. It is tragic that an independent study of the history of Islamic law remains unexplored in the Muslim as well as nonworld. Most of the Western thinkers like Dawkins, Hitchins, Davies and Pipes have not been able to go beyond Mohammedanism as Islam.

In the olden days, Islam was preceded by the existence of three empires: the Byzantine in the NorthWest, the Sassanid in the North-East and Yemenite in the South (an ally of the Eastern Roman empire). Between the Byzantine and the Sassanid empires, existed a vast area inhabited by the Arab Bedouin, who, according to Wael Hallaq (The origins and evolution of Islamic law) were called ‘camel nomads’. These people had embraced Islam. The Arab society had two sets of laws; those dealing with agricultural and commercial needs and those governing nomadic tribal conditions.

The Yemenite kingdom had a trade code and a set of laws dealing with foreign traders. The early system of appointing Qazis reflects an important step in the Islamic legal system. They were appointed by Muslim rulers and were confined to the garrison towns. They also collected taxes.

The Sunnah of the Prphet is the second most important source of Islamic law. In pre -Islamic Arabia, a person renowned for his ethical and moral behaviour was taken as a role model within his clan and his Sunnah as guide. Caliph Omar declining the invitation of the Patriarch to pray inside the Church in Jerusalem constituted a Sunnah which was later emulated by the Muslims.

It was customary to refer to the Nabi’s life and events as his Sirah’ and constituted a normative exemplary model. The difference between the practice based on Sunnah and Hadith (tradition) is that the majority of the former was prophetic authority mediated by the practices of the companions, whereas the latter conveyed Prophetic authority through the documented chain of transmitters. Later, the status of the two became equal. Different sects of Muslims have their own set of Sunnah and Hadith and is usually a basis of the sect’s alienation from other sects.

The expansion of the Islamic world brought masses into direct contact with the Christians (mostly Arabs) and Jews and led to the developments within the judicial system. Due importance was given to the Law of Evidence and witnesses were appointed by the Qazis and not the litigants. Judicial decisions had to be determined on the basis of Quranic principles.

The genealogy of the Islamic legal system (Usoolgoes back to the conflict between the Rationalists (Ahland the Traditionalists (Ahli-Hadith). By the end of the third century, we see a compromise between these two schools of thought.

Another important source is ‘Istihsaan’ or reasoning that departs from the revealed text but leads to conclusions different from ‘Qiyas’. Blind following has been responsible for retarding the growth of Islam as a dynamic system of life. The system also gave birth to the jurisconsult or Muftis whose legal opinion was always respected, but later this school degenerated due to exploitation, greed and ambition of some people.

It is sad to note that the dynamic Islamic legal system has taken the back seat after restrictions on the contemporary practice of ljtihad were imposed by religious establishments and by repressive governments in Muslim countries. Freedom of inquiry and expression is essential to the practice of ljtihad and to the successful reconciliation of Islam and modernity. Revolutionary reforms in the Muslim educational system are also necessary.

According to Shah Waliullah, the prophetic teachings were meant to train one particular people and to use them as nucleus for building a universal Sharia. Those Sharia values cannot be enforced strictly in the future generations and can only provide the data and background for development of the Islamic legal system in line with the teachings and injunctions of Quran.

It was mainly because of this reason that Imam Abu Hanifa, who had a deep insight into the universal character of Islam, made particularly no use of these traditions. The fact that he introduced the principle of ‘Istihsan’ (juristic preference that necessitates a careful study of actual conditions in legal thinking) throws further light on the motives which determined the attitude towards this source of Islamic law.

In Islam obedience to the Divine Laws has to be disciplined and ordered under an organised system called the state in present day terminology. It is controlled by a central authority. The first central authority being Muhammad (SAW). Obedience to the central authority is obedience to Allah. Quran says, ‘One who obeys the Rasool (messenger) obeys Allah’ (4:80). The Rasool adjudges everything according to Quran (5:48).

Barring a few exceptions, Quran gives fundamental principles without touching subsidiary laws. There is Hadith which says that Allah has placed certain obligations, fulfil them; there are some restrictions, do not violate them, some have been left unspoken of without being overlooked; do not probe them unnecessarily.

Quran calls upon the Muslims to consult among themselves in the affairs of society (3:158). While he lived, Muhammad (SAW) determined subsidiary laws in consultation with his companions. After his death, the process had to go on. Quran says, ‘Muhammad is but a Rasool (messenger) there have been several Rasools before him. Will you turn back on your heels if he dies or is slain’ (3:143).

The enforcement of the basic laws is preceded by the formulation of introductory subsidiary laws bearing directly on the prevailing conditions. These basic laws are unchangeable but introductory laws change with the change in circumstances. New subsidiary laws have to be deduced to satisfy fresh social, political and economic developments.

According to Allama lqbal, ‘the question which confronts the Muslims today and in the near future, is whether the Law of Islam is capable of evolution, a question which will require great intellectual effort and is sure to be answered in the affirmative.

While Islamic laws are meant to ensure the dignity of human being, people are afraid of these laws as they feel that their freedom will be restricted in a theocratic system which is against the basic Islamic legal system. Perhaps that is why we do not see this system in operation in any of the fifty-seven Muslim countries.

Oddie’s art of conflict reconciliation

DAVID Oddie likes to make a drama out of a crisis. The actor-turned-teacher-turned-lecturer spends his university holidays setting up drama workshops for teenagers in some of the world’s regions of conflict. It has taken him to the West Bank, Kosovo, Sierra Leone and South Africa.

Four years ago, one Sunday morning, Oddie, a senior drama lecturer at the University College Plymouth St Mark and St John in Plymouth, south-west England, was thinking about the state of the world. The West was still reeling from the tremors of September 11; racial tensions were higher than they had been for some time; Britain and the US were engaged in war in Iraq; and troops had just launched an attack on Falluja.

“I asked my students, ‘what can I do, what can we do?’,” Oddie, 62, says. “My answer was that I could create an arts project that would lead to a more peaceful world. I would develop a global network of young people, artists and educators who would share stories, build bridges and challenge prejudices,” he says. “And I would concentrate on working with young people in regions of conflict, helping them to reconcile their differences with one another.”

Days later, Oddie came up with what he calls a “naff” name that stuck: Arrow, short for Art: A Resource for Reconciliation Over the World. Today, Arrow’s drama workshops and theatre summer schools give marginalised teenagers in the Middle East, west Africa, South Africa and the Balkans one of the only tools they have: self-expression.

And it’s proving very powerful. In Beit Jala, on the West Bank, teenagers used to “spend all their free time throwing stones in the street”, says Marina Barham, who runs Arrow under the auspices of her Al-Harah theatre. “They were very judgmental of each other. Now they know what they want and theatre is very much a part of that,” she says.

Theatres have long had a magical impact in times of conflict, Oddie says. He cites the Dodona theatre in Kosovo which, at the height of war in 1992, was a hive of cultural activities and of community spirit. The theatre was considered one of the few spaces where people felt free to laugh or cry.

Playwright and director Jeton Neziraj, who runs Arrow in Kosovo, is now accepted by the Albanian Arrow group and the Serbian one. Neziraj, an Albanian, has written a play, The Bridge, which both groups have performed.

But Oddie knows he can only go so far. You might expect that a drama workshop that hopes to reconcile divisions in the Middle East or the Balkans would bring Palestinian and Israeli teenagers, and Serbian and Albanian ones, together. Sadly not yet. “They aren’t ready for that,” Oddie says.

The prospect of reconciliation in Kosovo is not so unthinkable. The Albanian teenagers and their Serbian peers know about each other, but won’t work together yet.

For Oddie, theatre workshops and the arts can do something for reconciliation and peace-building that politicians and policy-makers can’t. “Artists enable people to see their situation in a way they haven’t before,” he says. “Politicians can negotiate a treaty, but that’s useless if it’s not accepted that the treaty is needed.

Oddie will take this message to the House of Commons. Politicians in the UK have been falling over themselves to show support. What’s needed now is cash.

A GBP90,000 grant from the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) has run out and the project is mainly drawing on small grants of between GBP5,000 and GBP15,000 from British unions and charities. Oddie uses a GBP10,000 national teaching award, given to him two years ago, to travel.

“How do we struggle to get a few thousand dollars when billions are spent on the arms trade?” he asks. “We have found it very difficult to break into the commercial area for sponsorship.”

When Oddie gets disheartened, he turns to one of his inspirations.

They include Olaudah Equiano, whose story Oddie has developed and performed as a one-man show. Another inspiration is Desmond Tutu. Tutu chairs the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, which hears the victims and perpetrators of human rights abuses. Tutu has described the committee as “like a stage on which people tell their stories and really listen to each other”. For Oddie, this is exactly what Arrow is all about.

Shortly after Arrow was formed, Oddie wrote to Tutu to ask for his blessing and support. To his surprise, Tutu wrote back that the concept was “exciting, especially as it is so apt for the times”. In November 2006, the Desmond Tutu Centre opened at the college in Plymouth as Arrow’s global centre.

In the past 10 years, Oddie has drawn strength from Buddhism, which he sees as “dealing with the world as it really is” and less dogmatic than Judeo-Christianity. The Buddha seems to say, work with what you have directly experienced and look at how you can work with the core suffering that goes on now.”

This is exactly what Oddie — and Arrow — are striving to do.

—The Guardian, London

OTHER VOICES – Pushto Press

Journalist killed in Helmand

Abdul Samad, a BBC regional correspondent, was kidnapped by unidentified armed men…. He was slaughtered in his home province, Helmand in Afghanistan and his mutilated, bullet-ridden body was then returned to the bereaved family. So far, no group has taken responsibility for this heinous crime and neither has the BBC in Kabul held anyone responsible for the murder.

The freelance journalists of Helmand have condemned the brutal murder of Abdul Samad. In protest, they have decided not to send reports to publications except for those related to the killing of Samad. The journalist fraternity of the province has demanded that all state-owned and private news agencies proclaim the day following his murder as a day of mourning for all journalists of the country. The print media must publish either a black front page or a picture of the deceased.

The irate media personnel and writers pledged that the day of the murder would be marked as a black day every year. The protesting journalists also demanded that the government initiate a thorough investigation into the kidnapping and killing of the young journalist and pledged further action if their demands were not met with immediate effect. — (June 9)
Tolafghan, Kabul

Immediate steps for peace

The intensity of attacks against the Afghan and ISAF forces have increased in Afghanistan in the last couple of months, reportedly killing scores of people. The Afghanistan establishment holds the Pakistan government responsible for the rise in Taliban attacks and in return, Pakistan offers little more than justifications.

It is suggested that those leaders, both political and religio-political, who in the past claimed to have close ties with the Taliban be given the responsibility to form a jirga for a dialogue with the Taliban of Afghanistan as reconciliation can bring about peace in the region. For Afghanistan, it is recommended that it should find ways of sorting out all outstanding issues regarding terrorism and extremism with its neighbour. This way both countries can resolve the dilemma with mutual understanding.

In the same vein, we would like to suggest that the series of jirgas, previously held only in Kabul, must be revived. The jirgas should be held throughout the length and breadth of Afghanistan and affected areas of Pakistan. This seems to be a better way out of the problem. — (June 8)
Wahdat, Peshawar

— Selected and translated by Khadim Hussain