Violence in Kashmir

In spite of the wind of change that is blowing across the subcontinent, one regrets to note that violence in Indian-held Kashmir continues unabated. On Thursday alone, no less than 23 people, including five Indian security personnel, were killed in several gun battles and mine explosions across the valley.

There was violence even on Eid day. While death and suffering have been the fate of the people of Kashmir since the uprising broke out in 1989, one had expected that the detente between Pakistan and India would have a sobering effect by now on the situation in Kashmir.

So many positive things have happened between Islamabad and New Delhi during the last few months that a change in the environment in Kashmir was expected as a logical corollary. That, alas was not to be. Ignoring other confidence-building measures, the biggest decision was Pakistan's announcement that it would observe a unilateral ceasefire along the Line of Control to coincide with Eidul Fitr.

In accepting it, India also proposed the extension of the ceasefire to the Siachin glacier. Guns have been silent ever since, to the relief of the people of Kashmir living on both sides of the LoC. However, guns have not fallen silent within Kashmir as is evident from the continued casualties of Kashmiris and Indian troops.

Last month, hopes arose for calm in the valley following the talks between India and a faction of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference. The two sides agreed that violence in all forms should come to an end. However, that has not been the case, and shoot-outs between the two sides continue.

One reason for a continuance of violence is New Delhi's failure to initiate any moves that could win the confidence of the militants with regard to India's real intentions. So much bitterness has been generated by all that has happened during the last one and a half decades that one should not expect the Kashmiris to suddenly call off their resistance.

They have made untold sacrifices for their right to live with honour, freedom and peace in their own land. By modest estimates, 70,000 Kashmiris have been killed in the insurgency since it began in the late eighties. Basically, it is through their blood that they have kept the Kashmir issue alive. They would naturally be careful not to throw away any advantages they have gained without a credible quid pro quo from India.

One step India could take would be to lower the level of its military presence in the valley. Leaving aside the question of the strength of the occupation forces - from half a million to 700,000 - the fact remains that the valley tops any other flash point in the world in terms of the ratio between people and security personnel.

Besides addressing this issue, New Delhi should also seek to make the people of the valley experience the atmosphere of peace and goodwill that at present exists in Indo-Pakistan relations.

As the stronger of the two sides, New Delhi should take bolder and more meaningful steps to lower the tension and end the atmosphere of fear that exists in the valley. Such moves will not only evoke a positive response from the Kashmiri side; they will serve to create a congenial atmosphere for the secretary-level talks scheduled to begin between Pakistan and India in the middle of this month.

Water worries

The chief of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) disclosed the other day that around 180 million gallons per day (MGD) of water, which accounts for over 30 per cent of the total water supply to the city, goes waste on account of theft and leakage.

One of the reasons cited for the leakage is that most water pipelines in the city have long outlived their normal life span and need to be replaced. The other problem is water theft, which constitutes a big drain on water supply to bonafide consumers, causing shortages on a perennial basis. Against the present demand for 640 MGD of water, the city gets a supply of 540 mgd.

The shortfall is expected to be met when a new project to bring in an additional 100 mgd would be completed. One major drawback is that because of laxity on the part of the KWSB, a large section of the population does not pay for the water it consumes.

There are over two million houses in the city that have water connections but the KWSB issues 1.2 million water bills. A large percentage of these also remain unpaid. In addition, the KWSB also pumps over seven MGD to different hydrants in the city for which it did not charge any money despite the fact that this water is sold at commercial rates to consumers by the tanker mafia.

As things stand, the KWSB spends most of its money in salaries and in pumping water to the city, with very little left over for maintenance and improvement of the water supply system. It is about time that the KWSB got its act together. For one, it should make an effort to cut down on water losses by investing in rebuilding its water supply network and coming down hard on water theft.

The money for this should come not by hiking existing water rates, as the KWSB has been doing in the past, but expanding the bill paying customer base. Another idea to consider would be installing water meters so that water is charged not according to the size of the plot but on usage. This will help cut down the waste that is so commonly witnessed. Such steps will only help lift the KWSB from the financial crisis it find itself in.

PIA: a new beginning?

One hopes that with the induction of the technologically advanced Boeing 777 aircraft into the Pakistan International Airlines, there will be positive change in the fortunes of the national flag carrier. The first of the eight wide-bodied aircraft joined PIA recently, making its maiden commercial flight into Islamabad from London.

Two more aircraft are set to join the airline in March, another two in 2006 and the last batch of three in 2008. The total purchase deal is worth $1.25 billion payable over a period of 12 years. This is the largest order the national airline has ever placed, and the first major purchase since the Airbus series in the 1980s.

All the three different types of the commissioned Boeing 777 have a varying capacity to carry over 300 passengers and a large volume of cargo, and will gradually replace PIA's aging fleet of wide-bodied airliners.

For much of the decades of the 1960s and 1970s, PIA was ranked among the finest in the world in terms of efficient and courteous service. The national airline bagged many a coveted award in addition to landing lucrative contracts to professionally train personnel of other international airlines, and to even set up new airlines.

And then things began to go awry. The bane of political appointments cast its spell, and the airline began its journey on a downward spiral. Successive governments, continued to pack the airline with political appointees at all levels - until PIA became one of the least efficient and most over-staffed airline.

The result was nothing short of a disaster, as its professional services dwindled and fortunes nose-dived. In recent years, the government has had to inject money into the airline to keep it flying, which has forced it to adopt a policy of right-sizing. In doing so, one hopes a lesson has been learnt from the mistakes made in the past. The induction of new aircraft presents an opportunity for a new chapter in the airline's future.