A culture of simple homelessness: SOCIAL THEMES

ON Wednesday night (Oct 3) around 10.30pm on a deserted and dimly-lit street near the Karachi Grammar School in Saddar, a young Afghan was picking litter, in particular discarded paper. A huge cloth-bag contained the day’s garbage, and was thrown over his shoulder. From a distance, he appeared to be a shadow in motion but he was real, and young; poor and happy, it seemed.

I stopped the car and gestured to him to come near. He was surprised, unsure, even apprehensive. What are you doing? (he looked uncomfortable) I asked. Looking for paper, garbage, he said. His Urdu was broken, obviously. For what, I said. For a living, he replied, and explained that he made about Rs 200-Rs 250 daily. I was pleased. Enough to survive in these tough times?

Are you tired? I asked. His smile was generous, and he flashed it to my pleasure. For his teeth were white, almost sparkling, and in good shape. His face appeared unwashed, innocent, and not disinterested. So we chatted. To me he was in a sense, a prototype of so many people who live on our streets, and are not evidently into crime or other forms of illegality.

His name was Khair Mohammad, he was from Mazar-i-Sharif, his “home” was in Sohrab Goth, as his father lived there. He said he was here since the last one month or so, and that one of his brothers was ‘fighting’ in Afghanistan. Why aren’t you fighting there, and not helping your country in this crisis. His answer was simple: somebody had to help the family with a steady though low income, and this he had managed by picking up garbage from the streets of Karachi. And, he said, he liked Karachi. His eyes sparkled when I asked him what he thought of this city.

The conversation with him was generally easy, except that his Urdu was inadequate, and at times he either appeared unsure of who I was, and what I was doing. References to the situation in Afghanistan made him somewhat uneasy, and a trifle evasive. But it was clear that he knew what was happening in the region and that his heart lay in Afghanistan.

I suggested that he and I would have tea in a nearby restaurant or tea-stall. But Karachi in that part of Saddar was all closed for the day. We couldn’t find a place easily, so 20-year-old Khair Mohammad and I reached a restaurant near Lyric cinema. He walked with his heavy bag of garbage and I drove in my car. He was unsure of whether I would stay with him as he walked, and I drove in the car. And when he realized that I didn’t disappear, he was happy. He smiled again, but that didn’t diminish the fact that he appeared exhausted and weary. I had my tea, and he had his “Aloo Palak”, and said that he generally preferred vegetables. I wanted to know where he would sleep that night, and his answer reflected the uncertainty of it all. That night he was going to sleep in the hutments around Student biryani centre for that is where he would sell off his garbage next morning.

Thoughts of Karachi’s homeless, of those who live on the city streets, those who sleep on broken pavements, moved in and out of the mind as I sat with him, while he ate, and I had my tea. I told him that I wanted to leave, and let him eat in peace. Having paid off the waiter, I left, and asked the young man to pray for me. There was gratitude in his sleepy eyes, and a gentleness of demeanour that was so endearing.

It is this affable side of so many of those who inhabit the polluted, and dirty, and congested streets of Karachi that is often striking, and unavoidable. All sorts of poor people form a substantial chunk of the population that one could describe as the street population of Karachi. Of course there are men, and they come from varied ethnic background, but now there are young and old women too. There are those who have come here legally and those who are here illegally. There is an increasing number of innocent children, and sad little girls who work on the city’s ruthless streets, and squat on footpaths. These men, women, and children, work either as beggars or as pedlars of a variety of mundane merchandise, even roses and jasmine. And the authorities argue that in them is also concealed an active world of criminals. They are the ones who make the streets unsafe. They are, like the increasing number of drug addicts, who make the streets and the pavements thoroughly dangerous — day or night.

Of course, there are poor people the world over in large cities who spend their entire lives on streets and pavements - reflecting not just the poverty in those societies, but themes like rising unemployment and growing housing shortage, or simply mismanaged societies. Call them what you will, destitutes, dispossessed, paupers; those who never made it.

One doesn’t know how many sleep free on the city’s pavements throughout the year. (A charpoy near the Railway Station costs Rs 20 per night by the way). But men in tattered apparel, and in summer without their shirts, are found sleeping in numerous places in town: and not all of them are drug addicts, mind you.

What kind of culture do the poor on the city’s streets represent: culture of poverty, or culture of urban deprivation or a culture of simple homelessness. And it appears that the way in which migration to cities is taking place in the country, and regional insecurity being what it is, youth like Khair Mohammad will flock to Karachi. Or sneak into the Sindh capital?

Pitfalls of the Zahir Shah option: NEWS ANALYSIS

IT is neither good, nor bad news: it’s simply bewildering. Contrary to the televised statements of the foreign office spokesman, it is now confirmed that President Musharraf has accepted ex-king Zahir Shah’s role in the post- Taliban order, if and when it materializes.

Strangely enough, the news break came through the visiting Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Madame Margherita Boniver after a meeting with the president. Boniver was quoted as saying: “Musharraf wants an emissary to come to Pakistan to discuss a peace plan for Afghanistan.”

Besides the first-name terms used by the visiting dignitary in addressing a foreign head of the state in his country, her self- assumed role in acting as the official spokesperson is both unusual and contrary to accepted diplomatic norms. It is as hard to believe that she might have been formally authorized by her interlocutor (in this case the president of Pakistan) to break the news as it is difficult to understand that she did it on her own. In either case, it is hardly the done thing for a visiting dignitary not only to have broken the news but also underlined the president’s sense of urgency about having the ex-king’s envoy to visit Islamabad ‘as quickly as possible’.

What’s the big deal? What’s the hurry? What would a long- exiled king on the wrong side of the eighty would be able to accomplish for Pakistan that others failed to do? Which group of party or individual in Afghanistan would still be able to recognize, least of all, accept Zahir Shah as their king after so long an absence?

Furthermore, whether Zahir Shah himself be able to tell today’s war-ravaged and devastated Afghanistan from the one he left in one piece 28 years ago? The ex-king and today’s Afghanistan would be like two perfect strangers failing to recognize one another or as old friends changed beyond recognition over the year. A most painful and agonizing encounter in either case.

The only party or group supposed to be in favour of the ‘restoration’ is the Northern Alliance — practically without a recognized leader or a head. There are confusing reports about Gen Rashid Dostum, once the recognized warlord of northern Afghanistan, whether he might still be alive or dead. Reported to have been assassinated some 10-12 days ago, he came out himself with the denial of his reported death.

A brief interview attributed to him also appeared in a section of the national press to confirm that he was still around. But that was about all. Nothing has since been either heard or known about him. Neither about his successor Gen Fahim.

The only individual seen and heard on the TV screens has been the self-styled foreign minister of the Northern Alliance, Abdullah — Abdullah less supportive of Zahir Shah but invariably and bitterly critical of the Taliban and Pakistan’s continued support of their regime.

Yet another story supportive of the return of Zahir Shah as the future ruler or guide and mentor of Afghanistan is even more mind-boggling. It is about former president Sardar Farooq Khan Leghari acting as a ‘bridge’ between Musharraf and Zahir Shah. Good heavens, what are we really up to? What role Pakistan wishes to assign itself in the post-Taliban set-up?

Even if the ‘days of the Taliban are numbered,’ in the words of the president himself, must we ditch the Taliban so abruptly and unceremoniously as we appear to have been doing. Might it not have been a better idea to have opted for cutting diplomatic ties with them, when the UAE and Saudi Arabia did, instead of switching sides like this and have anything to do with a third party — in this case the exiled king?

Reacting to Pakistan’s reported volte face, Mullah Mohammad Umar, the Amirul Momineen of the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan, told his people ‘to take notice’ of the situation. The US, he said, was ‘plotting to’ wage war against Afghanistan and ‘instal’ the former king as a ‘puppet’ to promote Christianity with the help of the US.

“The Afghan nation should take notice of the situation and listen to our advice,” Omar said. “If people refuse to listen, then we will issue some order which will be very tough.”

The question for Pakistan to consider pertains to the obvious pitfalls of their reported support of the Zahir Shah option.

The hallmark of Pakistan Afghan strategy has been the incremental (and perhaps absolute?) loss of friends in Afghanistan. Isn’t high time for a re-appraisal, no matter how agonizing, and control the damage?

Opening for Pakistan to cater to Gulf markets

RIYADH: Reports of harassment of Arabs in the Western world in the aftermath of the Sept 11 attacks in Washington and New York will have a far-reaching impact on three major sectors of businesses — education, tourism and health. In its wake, it also presents Pakistan with an opportunity to cater to these requirements of the Gulf and Arab markets, specially in these sectors.

Significant revenue can be generated if Pakistan can work out a plan to grab this opportunity.

Many students from the Gulf Arab states have regularly been opting for US and other Western educational institutions, but after the Sept 11 attacks, a number of them — Saudis, Kuwaitis, Emaratis and others — have returned home from the US. Some 4,000 Saudi students are believed to be still there and are reported to be feeling the pinch.

All eyes now seem to be focused on them. Many parents are hesitant now to send their children to the US for higher studies. A large number of students, who were either on vacations or left in the wake of the attacks, have now decided not to return to their US universities, the Saudi daily Arab News has said in one of its London-datelined story with the headline: Saudis ‘now most hated people’ in the US.

Another leading daily, Saudi Gazette, in one of its reports has highlighted the plight of a Saudi postgraduate student in the Birmingham University, the United Kingdom, who was picked up from his home on suspicion of links with the group which carried out the suicidal attacks in the US last month. He was picked up the other day at his home while he and his family were watching a football match on the TV between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. He was released after extensive interrogation by the authorities for three days.

Recent reports of a large number of ‘Middle-eastern’- looking young men being picked up for investigations in the US has also generated a great sense of insecurity among the people planning to travel to the US and other Western destinations soon. The psyche of the region has changed drastically and perhaps irreversibly one has to admit.

But all these students need some good educational institutions to carry on their courses. They are on a lookout for it. Here’s an opportunity for Pakistan to grab a significant chunk of this market.

Until the early eighties, Pakistan was one of the most-sought-after destinations for the students from this part of the world. However, the political instability on the campuses, the overall law and order situation in Pakistan and the declining standards of education swayed the prospective students away from Pakistan. But the private sector can now play its role to win back students from these states.

Tourism is another important sector which, in the coming months, would see a lot of adjustments. The US and Europe have been major attractions for the tourists from this part of the world. Roughly, the travel industry is believed to be $4 billion industry in the region. Every year many Saudis and Gulf citizens pack up during summer and move over to various Western destinations seeking cool climates. Obtaining the US and European visas have also been much easier for the Gulf citizens.

In fact, the British embassy in Riyadh was taking almost 15 days to clear a visa request before the onset of vacations period, late May/early June this year. This was quite unusual as normally it takes only one to two days to get the visa endorsed in your passport. The situation at the US embassy could only have been worst then. Things have reportedly changed now. The press has been reporting much closer examination of the visa papers by the US and other Western embassies before granting visa to anyone here.

Now in the current scenario not many people would be endeavouring to move over to the US and other Western destinations for tourism purpose. Many would be more reluctant to take their families to these destinations unnecessarily. Pakistan with its beautiful and serene north could target a piece of this cake.

In addition, there could always be people in the Gulf Arab states, who would prefer taking their families to a destination in Pakistan rather than anywhere in the West. Added with the current emerging situation, Pakistan can definitely benefit from all the gloom that has overlapped the businesses these days, all over the globe. We need to promote ourselves aggressively to attract tourists from this part of the world. Economy, as compared to other Western destinations, could also provide us with another competitive advantage.

A large number of patients from this part of the world were going out to destinations in Europe and the US, seeking medical advice. Some of the Gulf states have been sending out their nationals to various prestigious and well-equipped medical centres in the West at government expenses.

The cash-starved Pakistan, with its highly skilled cadre of health professionals, can work out a plan to offer medicare facilities to people from Arab and Gulf states. Health facilities in the Northern Areas, as well as in the major urban centres of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, need to be developed and marketed in this part of the world. Such facilities in the Northern Areas, specially during the summer months, could ideally combine health and tourism industry together by providing treatment to the patient and tourism for those accompanying.

In fact, such a facility could also attract many Pakistani health professionals to return home during their summer vacations, with their families, and serve the dual purpose. With innovative thinking, one could transform the current economic gloom into a long-term asset for Pakistan in the years to come.

Will history repeat itself?: SITUATIONER

PESHAWAR: If there is one phrase that can best describe Pakistan’s present predicament vis-a-vis Afghanistan, she undoubtedly is faced with what  they call Hobson’s choice. Once a major player  in Afghanistan, a king-maker or sorts, is now virtually without anyone to back in the present scenario. Over 20 years of investment, energy and resources all appear to be going down the drain.

Relations with the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan have been on the slide for the last one-and-a-half year, ever since they flatly refused to yield to a request by Islamabad to cooperate with the United States on the thorny issue of Osama bin Laden.

Then came the Buddha issue. Much to Pakistan’s frustration, did the Taliban not only refuse to take its advice, but they went ahead and demolished the ancient Buddha statues in Afghanistan’s central Bamiyan province. The Taliban declined to entertain a request when Interior Minister, Moinuddin Haider visited Afghanistan again to impress upon them to hand over Pakistani terrorists wanted in sectarian terrorism.

The Taliban first denied the wanted Pakistanis were in Afghanistan but later turned around and said they were ‘guests’ there.

Then came the arrest of eight foreign staff members of German- based Christian charity organization, Shelter Now International. Pakistani officials say they tried to persuade the Taliban to let the foreigners go. “We begged them but they showed us the Bible and said look they were preaching Christianity,” said one official.

Pakistani officials now privately acknowledge having predicted the fall of Taliban regime much before the events in the United States,  owing largely to public disaffection and  growing corruption.

“We thought it may take about two years,” one official said. “But never had we thought the situation would take such a dramatic turn. We have been caught unawares,” confessed the official.

The Sept 11 terrorist strikes in Washington and New York and the subsequent developments linking the incidents with Osama bin Laden and ultimately the ruling Taliban stunned the Pakistani officials, the United States and the rest of the international community. When President Bush told  his Pakistani counterpart, President Gen Pervez Musharraf to choose which side he would stand, the message was not lost on the Pakistani establishment — the Taliban would have to go.

In fact, only about two months ago, when the Bush administration, new to the office, was reviewing its international policy including South Asia, particularly Afghanistan, he had clearly told Pakistani diplomats that it would not tolerate the Taliban for their support to the Saudi dissident, Osama.

Senior Pakistani diplomats in Washington had admitted to a group of visiting Pakistani journalists that Afghanistan was casting a long shadow over Pakistan.

Pakistan’s theory that there was no alternative to the Taliban under the circumstances, did not break the ice. Islamabad also failed to convince the Americans that there was little they could do to convince the Taliban to surrender Osama.

The Taliban’s continued intransigence to succumb to diplomatic overtures by Pakistan and threats of war by the United States and Pakistan’s helplessness to avert an imminent attack  through negotiations has now proved that Islamabad exercised virtually no influence over the puritanical militia.

Therefore, when the Saudis and the UAE severed their diplomatic ties with the Taliban, it was clear that Pakistan would soon distance itself from what now appears like a pariah regime.

The statement by President Gen Musharraf that the days of the Taliban appear numbered, should had been seen in the same context, though apparently with Washington’s consent, Islamabad continues to maintain diplomatic relations with Kabul, despite having withdrawn its staff from its embassy and consulates in Afghanistan.

It may not be long when this ‘small window’ with the Taliban may also have to be closed down if and when the US do launch an attack on Afghanistan. Islamabad appears to have no choice.

The biggest mind-boggling question before the establishment, which has been exclusively running the Afghan policy is the post- Taliban situation. What next?

With the US backing, the 86-year-old king has finally gathered strength to prepare for a comeback after nearly 29 years of self- exile in Rome.

The Northern Alliance now without its top commander, Ahmad Shah Masood, has thrown its weight behind the octogenarian former monarch. Will this solve the problem?

The Northern Alliance is a conglomeration of various groups representing various ethnic minorities. But more than that perhaps, it is now being led by people who have little or no support among the Afghans at large.

Punjsheris may have had a cause to die for Masood, but who will fight for a bunch of Najib- period former communist generals, Gen Fahim, Gen Baba Jan, Gen Nabi Azimi, Gen Asif Dilawar and so many others.

What about Gen Rashid Dostum, whose notoriety as a warlord is still fresh in the minds of the people.

The Shiites are divided amongst themselves. Prof  Sayyaf is under clouds for having  facilitated  the appointment for the two Arabs suicidal bombers. Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani, who remained the President of Afghanistan and still is by the UN definition, had failed to lead the nation out of the quagmire his country was sinking into.

Pakistan and Northern Alliance have no love lost for each other. The Alliance has been accusing Pakistan of supporting the Taliban. It was not at all surprising therefore, when Pakistan conveyed her reservations to the US over support to the Northern Alliance as an alternative to the Taliban.

Even former Mujahideen commanders, who are now back into the game to dislodge the Taliban, are warning that any attempt to bring in the Northern Alliance would mean another disaster, bloodshed and no end to the internal war in Afghanistan.

Even the former Mujahideen commanders, who once took pride in defeating the Soviets in Afghanistan, stand discredited for what they did to their people upon assuming power in 1992. People have not forgotten the days when extortion, killing and rape was the order of the day in Afghanistan.

Therefore, to think that they would be able to engineer a public uprising against the Taliban would be asking for the moon.

It seems that Pakistan has no other option but to support the former king.  It can not support the former  Mujahideen commanders nor can it support the Northern Alliance.

But more than what Pakistan will or will not do, is the question how the US plays its cards in Afghanistan.

Going for an attack on Afghanistan certainly would make the situation hostile for the former king who draws his strength from the US support and supporting the Northern Alliance or the former  Mujahideen commanders would certainty make things worse.

Royalists in Peshawar say the former king would be making blunder if he comes riding on the shoulder of the Northern Alliance in which case, they warn, he would lose the support of the Pushtoon population that would be so crucial to the longevity of his government.

Pushtoon are the majority people in Afghanistan and nobody could just wish them away and nobody knows this better than Zahir Shah himself, whose father Nadir Khan had come to Peshawar from Paris in late 1929 to shore up support for himself among the Pushtoon tribes in Afghanistan and with their support regained the throne by overthrowing Bacha Saqa, an ethnic Tajik.

It is understood that Pakistan has offered Shah to visit Pakistan and set up his secretariat office in Peshawar to be able to get closer to his home and people. The Shah is believed to be reluctant. But will history repeat itself?