Hazards of a closed system

The president's disclosure that some armed forces personnel were involved in attempts on his life has already been commented upon. It has since been asserted by an official spokesman that no officer, senior or junior, was involved; plotters consisted of "a few soldiers and airmen".

That does not alter the fact of the penetration or infiltration of the military by fanatical elements. These are people apparently working directly at the command of extremist organizations like Al Qaeda, but what needs to be seen is how far they have succeeded in influencing minds of gullible personnel and thus creating a pocket of passive dissension that can have longer-term consequences.

The report that a so-called 'mastermind', who was also involved in the Daniel Pearl kidnapping and killing, is still at large only further reinforces the urgency of a vigorous, thorough-going investigation.

Increasingly, even if in bits and pieces, a whole murky world is emerging of a shadowy body of ideologically seized groups within our society and of a continuing and persistent failure of intelligence.

It is also painfully clear that information about what is going on is kept away from the public, and dribbles out only when the authorities want to publicize it or a foreign government or news agency reveals it.

This is reflected in the story of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, described by the US a couple of days ago as one of seven dangerous terrorists and missing for at least a year. Pakistani officials claim she was handed over to the US, which leaves unexplained why she is still wanted in that country.

Contradictions like this are a characteristic of a closed system at a time when the working of intelligence and security services are increasingly being subjected to legislative questioning all over the world.

The way in which we have over the decades allowed our military's view of the country's security and foreign policy to dominate our thinking has dragged us into a situation of almost perpetual conflict and 'jihad' where the intelligence services seem to have acquired a life of their own.

Once (when?) the Afghan and Fata agency areas become a little quiescent, our leadership should seriously consider adopting a lower profile where we do not get inveigled into harbouring extremist elements and movements.

Any investigation into these areas must necessarily also look into the state of preparedness of all organizations entrusted with the duty of protecting the citizens' life, honour and property.

The new administrative set-up should be reviewed to ensure that the confusion now prevailing in the ranks of the police is eliminated. Police officers are torn between obeying the federal, the provincial or the district government.

The Rangers and other para-military organizations are engaged in tasks that have no relevance to law and order, such as running water tankers and now even supervising fishing contract auctions and getting a share of the auction money.

There is a host of other distractions that may impinge on the efficiency of the police and other agencies concerned with law and order. A fullfleged and objective assessment of the working and responsibilities of all such agencies should be urgently undertaken and a far greater element of accountability and openness introduced.

All of us must pause to consider the price the country has paid for not allowing freeplay to a political and representative process.

Headcount of Afghan refugees

Making up for a previously unsuccessful drive, the government once again is preparing to conduct a headcount of the Afghan refugees living in Karachi. The census, scheduled for later this year, is part of a countrywide exercise being undertaken by the Population Census Organization to register Afghan refugees, ascertain their number and gather other relevant data about this poverty-stricken community that continues to live under appalling conditions.

Until now, there was no reliable count of the Afghan refugees who first arrived in droves in Pakistan following the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the late seventies. Even though a significant number of these uprooted people have returned following the ouster of the Taliban regime in 2001, a high birth rate among the refugee population has caused their numbers to swell.

In addition, even after the Soviet withdrawal, Afghans continued to pour into the country to escape hostile political and social conditions at home during long years of civil war there.

This situation has made it difficult to keep track of the refugee population figures, and the vast difference in numbers given by various parties testifies to this. For instance, while the government says the figure is 3.5 million, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees believes it is close to 2.1 million.

Besides recording the number of Afghan refugees in the country, the census will also obtain vital information on the economic and social conditions of the refugees. This will make it easier for the government to gain a better understanding of the situation and accordingly evolve a strategy for the refugees' gradual repatriation and issues of welfare while they live here.

With proper statistics in hand, the government will find itself much better placed to ask for international aid that has dwindled over the years - in order to improve the overall condition of the refugees and to provide those returning home some hope of re-establishing themselves in the country of their origin.

Hospital waste

The call made at a workshop in Lahore the other day that the Hospital Waste Management Rules, 2000, that have been drafted should be notified and implemented is quite relevant.

Without an effective legal framework, a proper disposal of hospital waste remains uncertain. Currently, not all hospitals and clinics have incinerators to burn the clinical waste generated by them.

This is often treated as common trash to be dumped in skips or on roadsides and open spaces. Even the basic precautions against reuse of disposables like syringes and plastic bags, which pose serious health hazards, are not observed in many cases.

Consequently, recycling of hospital waste and the use of discarded needles by addicts are causing various infections and blood-borne diseases like AIDS and hepatitis.

In this context, the notification of enforcement of the draft rules in question can help identify the strong points and weaknesses of the regulatory system, particularly in tackling the unethical practices of recycling and promoting safer methods for disposal of hospital waste.

Incinerators in hospitals close to residential localities can have very harmful effects on the health of the people living in the neighbourhood. Steps have, therefore, to be taken for selection of sites for incineration and disposal of hospital waste at a safe distance from residential localities.

Earlier, callous disregard of public health was indicated by reports from Multan saying that untreated hospital waste with infected blood and even human organs and used syringes were being dumped on the banks of the Chenab River.

This poses the danger of contaminating the river water and spreading infections and diseases among people living in the vicinity. Environment-friendly practices for disposal of clinical waste are essential.

Currently, because of scarce resources, some hospitals share incinerators which at many places are said to be out of order. Not only has the availability of incineration facility to be widened, but alternative cost-effective and simple non-burning technologies, which are being applied in other developing countries, including India, need to be developed here.