Iraq’s post-war plight

INDEPENDENT reports emanating from Baghdad speak of the utter disarray in which the post-Saddam Iraq has been left to whine and whimper by the occupying coalition forces. The US-led administration of Paul Bremer, while keeping under wraps certain bitter truths regarding its inability so far to unearth Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction, cannot but concede some other truths that define the disturbing ground reality two months after the fall of the Saddam regime. Today, over half the eligible Iraqis are jobless; there is not much of security on the country’s streets, no reliable supplies of water and electricity, and the administration has perforce to print old currency notes bearing the pictures of Saddam Hussein by hundreds of thousands. Iraq’s civic infrastructure has all but collapsed and despite the timely lifting of the UN’s 12-year-long crippling economic sanctions last month, there is nothing to show that a post-war rehabilitation or a socio-economic recovery process is under way.

Iraq today is in turmoil and faces an uncertain future. Strict media censorship imposed by Mr Bremer’s administration may have kept the world in the dark about the tragic plight of the sick and dying Iraqi children for want of food and medicine and the lawlessness prevailing in the country. The occupying powers may strut about claiming to have ‘liberated’ Iraq from the tyranny and oppression of a dreadful, megalomaniac despot. But even a partially informed world knows enough about post-war Iraq not to be impressed. The censorship imposed on media coverage is so strong that one does not get to see or read any human-concern stories of the ravaged Iraqi people because the only reports allowed in the media are focused on the well-being or otherwise of the coalition forces. Some 400,000 Iraqis working in the armed forces and defence and information ministries have been laid off; the country’s production sector lies in a shambles; the UN aid workers have still not moved into the cities to begin any post-war relief or rehabilitation work and no interim political set-up made up of Iraqis is in place. What, one may ask, is going on in Iraq?

The American-led coalition forces have a total of some 160,000 troops deployed in Iraq. They are equipped with the most sophisticated weapons and communication systems, yet they have done little to restore order or bring a semblance of normality to civic life. Looting in the cities has been brought under control to some extent but the heavily armed civilian population has refused to give up weapons because people insist on holding on to these for personal safety in the prevailing environment of chaos and anarchy. Entire neighbourhoods in many of Iraq’s cities have become fortresses where groups of volunteers continue to mind security and manage community affairs, including the provision of health, education, water and other basic amenities of daily life.

This cannot go on for long without a well thought-out programme and efforts aimed at rebuilding civic infrastructure — a task which calls for a credible political authority to take charge and carry forward the process. It is time steps were taken to put together an interim government comprising mainly Iraqis. But if the recent post-Saddam handling of the situation by the Americans is anything to go by, this still seems like a distant prospect. A UN-guided neutral administration supported by a multi-national peace keeping force would have been a far better alternative, considering the multiple problems afflicting Iraq today.

Kohat tunnel

THE formal opening of the Kohat Tunnel to traffic from June 15 should help boost business and facilitate economic development in the NWFP’s more impoverished southern districts. Apart from ensuring speedier travel, the reduced distance between Peshawar and Kohat should provide a stimulus for trade between the relatively prosperous northern districts of the province and the more backward districts of Lakki Marwat, Bannu, Karak, Tank and Dera Ismail Khan. The help of the Japanese government in this vital infrastructure project must also be acknowledged and welcomed. In fact, Japan continues to be Pakistan’s largest donor and has funded many key schemes and programmes necessary for the country’s socio-economic development. The National Highway Authority (NHA), which has taken over the tunnel’s operation, estimates that around Rs 90 million will be generated every year through tolls and that a third of this will be saved and spent on the construction of other road communication projects.

An inside view of the 1.9 kilometre-long tunnel suggests that traffic each way will have to be confined to a single lane. Because of its length there is ample lighting and ventilation inside, plus fire-fighting equipment and stand-by power generators. A maximum speed limit of 40 kilometres per hour inside the tunnel has been fixed. The NWFP police and the Frontier Corps have been placed in charge of its security. Given the disorderly and reckless manner of much of our traffic, especially heavy vehicles, it is imperative that the authorities ensure that vehicles moving through the tunnel do not exceed the speed limit. Proper arrangements must be in place to penalize any driver found violating the speed limit. Since many vehicles that travel on our highways are in a bad state of maintenance, the authorities must have a plan in place — in terms of diverting traffic — to deal with any vehicle breakdowns inside the tunnel. The 200 workers and engineers deployed to operate the tunnel round-the-clock will have to be always alert to ensure smooth and trouble-free movement of traffic.

A measure of progress

THE report that China leads the world in newspaper circulation makes interesting reading. With 82 million copies sold daily, China is followed by Japan (70.8 million), India (57.84 million) and the US (55.18). What is astonishing, however, is that Japan, with a population of 124.8 million (less than Pakistan’s) should be a close second to China, which has a population of over a billion. The reasons for proportionally higher newspaper sales in Japan are obvious: the high level of its literacy and education as well as affluence, which make it possible for people to spend more money and time on books and newspapers than elsewhere. One can imagine what the volume of newspaper sales will be in China and India when these countries catch up with the developed countries in matters of literacy and standards of living.

In Pakistan, the reasons for low newspaper sales are a low literacy rate, high newspaper prices, and a price level and trend that pauperize an average earner after he has paid costly utility bills, met educational expenses and bought food for the family. A lower middle-class family, for instance, can buy more than a month’s stock of wheat flour with the money payable for a month’s supply of a newspaper. The lack of reading habit is also a factor in low newspaper circulations. Many families which have television sets, refrigerators, telephones and electronic gadgets do not buy newspapers. Most government schools do not have proper furniture, much less reading rooms where children could be encouraged to read newspapers. A vibrant press is an essential precondition for a successful democratic system. The absence of a mass media is, thus, a major factor in the continued prevalence of such abhorrent practices as honour killings, karo kari, etc. A higher literacy level, all-round economic progress and a better-off population alone can ensure a substantial newspaper readership in Pakistan.