The new Iraqi crisis

An 'in-house' crisis now seems to be brewing in Iraq, and it concerns the kind of constitution the country is to have. The crisis stems from differences between Paul Bremer, America's proconsul in Iraq, and the Interim Governing Council (IGC), a nominated body consisting of men whose loyalty to Washington cannot be questioned.

The schedule for a transfer of power has been prepared by the IGC with America's approval, and it evades the electoral process till the end of 2005 - which will be more than two and a half years after the fall of the Saddam regime.

In June a government is to be elected by an assembly, which will be selected by caucuses in all of Iraq's 18 provinces. The caucuses themselves will be non-elected bodies. Thus, the entire process consists of selection rather than election.

Toward the end of 2005, an elected council will draft a constitution. It is for this reason that Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the Shia cleric, wants the transfer of power to be an electoral process - and at an early date.

What is surprising is that the crisis should have been sparked by Mr Bremer's opposition to the Islamic clauses in the draft constitution being prepared by the IGC.

Details of the Islamic provisions are not yet available, but as reported by the media they lay down that Islam will be the source of all laws to be made by the Iraqi parliament. Mr Bremer says he will not accept such a provision, and if the IGC insists on its retention in the constitution, he will veto it.

One does not know what is Mr Bremer's knowledge of Islam and Islamic law, though one expects him to know something about it since he is now the supreme lord of the conquered Muslim nation.

News reports quote Mr Bremer as saying he will oppose any constitution that challenges the spirit of western-style democracy. He appears to be using the excuse of Islamic laws to keep the option of shooting down anything that the Americans do not like.

In any case, the constitution will ultimately be put to vote, and it is for the representatives of the Iraqi people to approve the draft of the basic law in toto or modify it. It is not for Mr Bremer to sit in judgment on its clauses.

Like governance, constitution-making, too, is taking place under American tutelage; the UN has been kept out. One wishes the world body had a greater role in Iraqi affairs.

The constitution will and must be made by the Iraqi people, but constitutional experts from outside Iraq can certainly help in its drafting. This help can be in the form of seminars where experts could give ideas about constitution-making and inform the Iraqis about experiences, good and bad, in countries with problems similar to those of Iraq.

While the decision must ultimately rest with the Iraqi people, constitutional experts can help elucidate complex issues and pinpoint the pitfalls to be avoided. The UN must have a role in this as in other issues relating to transition from occupation to freedom, but that is the one thing the US does not seem prepared to countenance.

The world body's involvement is needed for holding elections. An electoral exercise conducted under American bayonets will hardly be considered transparent by the Iraqi people and the world at large.

More polytechnics

The government's plan to set up 105 new mono- and polytechnic institutes in the country is a welcome step. These will be in addition to the existing 78 such institutes, most of which are located in the big cities.

The federal education minister's argument - that every district must have at least one such institute - is refreshingly original for a country where governments have been notoriously mean when it comes to spending on education.

This, unlike the practice in the past, will ensure that vocational training is made available to people living in far-off districts, too, who have had restricted access to such facilities.

The plan also provides for interest-free loans on soft terms to polytechnic diploma holders so as to help them set up their own workshops and businesses after completing their training.

This is something that should have been part of the education ministry's priorities considering the large number of people who qualify from the existing polytechnics every year.

Only a few of them are able to find gainful employment in the organized-sector job market. Loans on easy terms as part of the government's technical education plan should come as a long-awaited relief to those polytechnic students who wish to have small businesses of their own.

For a country like Pakistan, where agriculture remains the mainstay of the economy, the need for technical education as a means leading to gainful employment cannot be overemphasized.

Given a jumpstart in the form of a business loan, immense potential can be created in the job market to absorb the technically trained diploma holders in various fields, including electronics, automobiles and the mechanical and industrial sectors.

The importance of formal university education cannot be understated, but the truth is that in recent years a majority of degree holders, particularly those in the humanities, have found it hard to find jobs matching their qualifications.

An increase in the number of institutes imparting technical education can offer at least high school and intermediate-level students a wider career choice and greater employment opportunities.

A grave mess

A spate of news reports on the sorry state of graveyards across the country should be reason enough for the government to sit up and take notice. Earlier this week, there was a report in which a private graveyard contractor and a town nazim got into a dispute after the contractor was caught providing space in a graveyard that had officially been declared full and closed.

More recently, the Karachi city council approved by-laws for graveyards in its jurisdiction but warned that if the government did not build boundary walls, there were chances that the land earmarked would be encroached upon.

The problem of availability of space at graveyards in cities is not new and this just keeps getting worse. As cities grow, and the demand for land increases, graveyards tempt encroachers.

There are several examples in different cities across Pakistan, especially in Karachi and Lahore, where portions of graveyards have been appropriated for shops and other commercial activity or for residential purposes, with the result that the land available for burying the dead keeps getting more scarce.

Christian graveyards are even worse off as the community has complained to the government several times that most of its graveyards across the country have been encroached upon.

The inability of city governments to earmark and develop new graveyards for cities adds to the problem. As a result, there are cases where existing graves are built upon by caretakers and contractors to meet the demand for space.

The government needs to look at this matter and come up with a solution. New graveyards need to be created and more attention given to their maintenance and development.

The present state of graveyards in most cities leaves a lot to be desired. This should be taken care of in new sites where more effort should be put in to plan and maintain graveyards in an appropriate manner.