‘Pattern of appeasement’

Notwithstanding the clumsy attempt to spin the re-inclusion of the religion column in passports, no one is going to buy the official story. Putting on a brave face over this fresh retreat, the chief spokesman for the government denies that the decision has been taken under pressure from the religious leaders. Instantly after the announcement by the federal minister in this regard, Maulana Fazlul Rahman has triumphantly congratulated the nation over this success. However, he has vowed to continue the struggle until the achievement of “final victory”. Qazi Hussain Ahmed, chief of the MMA, also has pledged to take the anti-Musharraf campaign to its logical end. What does the logical end or the desired objective mean?

The mullahs’ desires cannot be satisfied short of Talibanization of Pakistan. Those who tried the policy of appeasement of mullahs in the past failed badly and further complicated the issues of identity and ideology. Our political history is replete with such examples. Three interrelated processes — using religion for public mobilization, trying appeasement of mullahs, and subsequently conceding more socio-political space to them — describe our slide towards the current situation.

In this regard, the retreat on the religion column is the latest in the series of half-hearted attempts to reform retrogressive laws and subsequent backpedalling. There has been a lot of talk on changing the curriculum and amending unjust laws related to honour killings, hudood, and blasphemy. But on every issue the regime exhibited lack of political will. This has a deep, demoralizing impact on the moderate majority of the country, who have been hostage to an extremist minority. If we look at our political history, we can see the same pattern of appeasement.

Z. A. Bhutto during the PNA-led movement tried appeasement by announcing certain symbolic steps towards Islamization. But he failed to survive and paved the way for Ziaul Haq. No leader after Zia had the courage or vision to dismantle the retrogressive legal, constitutional and academic infrastructure. Benazir lacked enough political strength and probably the moral courage as well to stand by her progressive ideas. Nawaz Sharif, a self-declared heir to the Zia legacy, played the religion card in pursuit of personalized power. The abortive 15th Amendment was a move to grab unlimited power in the name of Islam. Meanwhile the country suffered targeted sectarian killings, bomb blasts in mosques, and multiple kinds of religious violence.

The dramatic events of Oct 12, 1999 brought Gen Musharraf in as chief executive of Pakistan. He promised to clean the mess and announced a comprehensive reform package. The common people generally welcomed the change for a better future. However little could be achieved in concrete terms.

In the post 9/11 scenario, and the border-tensions with India, Pakistan was left with no choice but to go back to Mr Jinnah’s progressive and liberal vision of the state. The general made a ‘direction-giving’ speech on Jan 12, 2001. His words echoed Jinnah when he pledged to establish the writ of the state and make Pakistan a modern democratic state. By this time, it had become already clear that the vital interests of Pakistan and the agenda of the maulvis could not co-exist. This caused alarm among the latter. They started to mislead the people and mobilize their cadres raising the traditional banner of “Islam in danger”. Since then mullahs have been calling upon the people to oppose Gen Musharraf tooth and nail. He is constantly termed a “security risk” .

Paradoxically, the regime made an unnatural alliance with the same people, probably to mollify them. But they proved hard nuts to crack. They effectively blocked every attempt to reshape the state and society and put the government on the defensive. So much so that our moderate Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has been forced to present his Islamic credentials to the conservatives.

The latest surrender of his cabinet over the religion column would certainly encourage them. Does enlightened moderation still stand a chance? When a powerful regime cannot stand by core policy decisions and frequently succumbs to pressure from religious extremists, what kind of help powerless, inarticulate, poor people can offer? Leaders who aspire to change the direction of society cannot afford lack of political will and credibility. Unfortunately the credibility deficit is increasing with every new retreat. The president should be seriously concerned about the fate of his ‘enlightened moderation’.

SHAHID ANWAR
Toba Tek Singh

Carbon trading

This refers to State Minister for Environment Malik Amin Aslam’s interview (March 13). About carbon trading policy, he has supported the strategy and stated that carbon credit is not a complex issue.

Contrary to his opinion, under the Kyoto protocol carbon trading is not proper and amounts to buying rights to pollute the environment. Therefore, carbon trading seems aimed at promoting renewable energies and will become futile if countries started buying the rights to pollute the environment.

The Kyoto agreement contains a system of emission trading. Some countries which signed the agreement were clearly more prepared to make emission reductions than others. In theory, this creates the possibility for countries with painful economic adjustments to take advantage of favourable environmental movements in other parts of the world. One potential disadvantage to emission trading is that it may not solve localized pollution problems.

There are two types of disputes that could emerge under a global emission trading system: verification and compliance.

Verification, considering both the amount of emission credits a country is entitled to and the amount of reduction a nation achieves, is a crucial part of any system. Only if all nations are confident that emissions are fairly and uniformly measured can there be a fair market in which emissions can be traded.

The treaty must also guarantee compliance by all member-nations. There is little reason to have a treaty if nations have no incentive to follow its mandate.

Enforcing Kyoto’s mandates, particularly if there is any level of cheating involved, will probably end up causing international trade disputes at one time or another. Such trade disputes might be within the jurisdiction of the WTO, of which many treaty signatories are members. Country-to-country levels of industrialization will have a dramatic effect on future emission trading. Nations with industrialized (or industrializing) economies will have greater difficulty meeting their emission targets than those without industries that release greenhouse gases.

Many nations have argued that they should be able to earn credits for environment-friendly initiatives. If a country like Pakistan were to take positive steps to manage national forests or by having a broad-based experience in the field of CNG technology provide assistance to other nations to reduce their emissions, it seems logical that such a nation should be rewarded with emission credits it could sell in the international marketplace.

According to a cross-country investigation, the GDP costs of reducing carbon emissions vary significantly across countries and that the cost depends on a number of critical factors, including energy intensity, the rise in emissions in the base case and the amount of coal used, especially in electricity generation. Moreover, it illustrates that a combination of macro-economic rigidities and monetary policy response to higher energy prices mean that the output losses are likely to be substantial in the years immediately following the introduction of a carbon tax or similar emission abatement policy.

A great deal of work is still required to fully work out the procedure of emission trading.

RASHID ASHRAF
Karachi

Strategy to improve varsity education

This is with reference to Dr Attaur Rehman’s interview, “Strategy to improve varsity education” (March 20). I am very disappointed by his answers and his analysis of the situation. I will like to raise the following points:

The comparison with India is not justifiable. India is producing a large number of quality PhDs because they have already invested in primary education and developed an infrastructure for the promotion of education in every part of country. Instead of running a crash programme to produce half-baked PhDs, a man of Dr Attaur Rehman’s stature should have advised the government to create an academic environment and develop an infrastructure of education in our country.

What will we achieve by connecting 59 universities with fibre and radio link and delivering a lecture from LUMS to Jamshoro? A majority of our faculty members in these universities (he himself calls them glorified colleges) are not capable and the students do not have thinking minds. A lecture from LUMS to Jamshoro may make him happy but for students without supervisors and tutors it will be of no use. I will like to inform him that in Sindh we have 222 colleges. In Karachi we have 120 colleges and none of them have enough faculty members and teaching facilities. They all are starving for faculty members. For example the Abdullah College for Women has 5,600 students and 56 faculty members. This kind of student-teacher ratio is rare; in fact a majority of institutes are worse off. Instead of spending money on advanced technology we will be better off by spending money on recruitment of proper faculty and academic development of the existing teaching staff. You just can’t produce PhDs like magicians producing rabbits from hats.

I was shocked to know that HEC has appointed a retired professor of ophthalmology as foreign faculty at the Dow University of Health Sciences to establish a school of nursing. There is something seriously wrong with foreign faculty programme and this one example raises questions regarding the methods of appointment.

Dr Attaur Rehman’s explanation regarding the awarding of a PhD to the vice-chancellor of the Quaid Azam University is beyond my understanding. How was a person registered with an undergraduate institute for a PhD programme unless he knew that after four years the institute will become a university and he will get a PhD?

It is not necessary that a Harvard graduate or a former teacher at Harvard will know everything about our country and our problems. Spending money on Islamization to help a candidate is not acceptable. If it is serious research from which the country will benefit, no sane person will criticize it. It will be nice if the doctor tells us about the topic of this research and the people involved in this task.

Our country need basic education for the masses and a proper infrastructure for the existing academic institutes. We need a task force to address these issues on an urgent basis. An educated nation has a future and nothing will change just by producing hundreds of low quality PhDs.

DR. SHERSHAH SYED
Karachi

Housing loans by banks

I would like to bring it to your readers’ notice that recently banks have started giving housing loans. Finding this attractive, I applied for a loan from a bank. First, they charged a Rs20,000 processing fee — this includes payments to lawyers checking documents on behalf of the bank .

All such fees are unjustified and should be paid by the bank. When apparently all formalities are complete and you think you are about to get loan, they will tell you about a new requirement which you have to fulfil or else you lose your Rs20,000. They even find out faults in your documents after 45 days of verification.

In my case the bank lawyer verified all documents and the bank then gave me a go-ahead to enter into a transaction and when I paid my part of the money to the seller, they came up with a new issue which was basically due to the negligence of their lawyer. But the only person suffering is myself as I have paid my part of property price and had no other option but to comply with their demands or else I would lose the money paid to the property owner.

My advice for those who intend to avail themselves of bank loans is to double-check everything and not to accept anything that is verbal.

AFFECTED LOANEE
Karachi

Learning from history

If we look back at our history of about 58 years, the main impression which emerges is that in some fields we have lost a lot, in others we have made tremendous progress.

As a country, Pakistan has always seemed to promise more than what it is has been actually able to achieve. Blessed with vast natural resources, a unique geo-strategic location, a large and basically talented and skilled population, which is the inheritor of one of the greatest civilizations, Pakistan since its independence has been an active member of the global arena and, after all, the first Muslim and the second nuclear power in the developing world.

For this state of affairs, a lack of balance in determining the country’s national priorities seems to have been the main culprit. It is difficult to escape the conclusion that Pakistan has time and again in its history, suffered much from the advice of its many hardliners — whether in the political arena, the armed forces, in the news media, or elsewhere in society.

In this peculiar frame of mind, patriotism seems to have been equated with loud slogans. Z.A. Bhutto had vowed to fight India for a thousand years and proclaimed that the nation is ready to “eat grass” in order to make a nuclear bomb. However, when the critical movement came, following the nuclear explosions in 1998, there was little evidence of willingness to make any kind of sacrifices. After the test, the imposition of general sales tax and agriculture was vigorously resisted, even though the country was facing dire financial difficulties. There is rampant tax evasion, which has almost become a way of life in Pakistan.

It is time to see matters in the correct perspective. The country faces too many challenges which need to be addressed urgently. There has been a great deal of misrule and mismanagement. Corruption at the highest level has had a multiplier effect along cross sections of society. The time has come for taking practical steps for the eradication of corruption and mismanagement which have created loopholes and caused a haemorrhage in our national institutions. But despite all the mismanagement and misadventures of the past 58 years, our country has many proud achievements to show.

In the field of science and technology, Pakistan has done well. It has acquired nuclear and missile capability. It is not only self-sufficient in defence requirement but also in a position to export equipment. The number of doctors and engineers graduating annually in Pakistan runs into the thousands. The whole nation is proud of its scientists, doctors, technocrats, justices, engineers, social workers, politicians, etc. They have been assets as well as heroes of the nation, wanting to serve it and move the country towards progress and prosperity.

Pakistan should not repeat past mistakes. Realism and cold calculation of national interests should become the hallmarks of the foreign policy. For its very self-preservation, Pakistan should say goodbye to over-ambition and adhocism, which have already done so much harm to the country.

While the preservation of Pakistan’s sovereign independence and territorial integrity should be the overriding objectives, internal consolidation and high economic growth would need to become the main priorities. Peace with honour with India and promotion of regional and international cooperation should be adopted as immediate policy objectives.

MANSOOR ALI SHAHANI
Karachi

Passport renewal ordeal

I needed my passport renewed so I went to the Awami Markaz office in Karachi. As soon as I stepped inside the premises I encountered agents saying that for Rs100 they would get a bank slip made and people would not have to queue at the bank, when in reality there was no queue there.

Then there were those who, for Rs500 or more, were willing to get one a passport token without having to stand in the queue. I had to stand in a queue for six hours just to get inside the office and get a token. It took me another two hours to get the process completed.

There were women with newborns in their laps standing in the queue and it was not any easier for them either. Now that the whole process is computerized it should be faster and easier to get a passport. Instead one has to waste a whole working day to fulfil the formalities. The only good part is — at least I don’t have to get my passport renewed for another five years.

ATIF KHAN
Karachi

London mayor speaks

This refers to the article by Ken Livingstone (March 5), containing his comments regarding the Israeli government and its prime minister.

The comments are very bold, with a courage hitherto seldom shown by a European or American. Without mincing words, the London mayor has spoken the truth, which will triumph. It will triumph sooner or later in respect of the Palestinians. The same scenario is obtaining in occupied Kashmir but we are not as bold as the mayor. His comments should provide food for thought to politicians seized of the Kashmir dispute.

GHEEWALA A.G.M.
Karachi

No poverty in Pakistan?

The official poverty line definition in my dear motherland is “2,350 calories per adult, per day”.

This amount of calories can be obtained by having three eggs and two slices of bread daily, which means approximately Rs20 a day. If we go by this definition, it’s my firm belief we don’t have a single poor person in our country.

AFZAL RAHIM
Islamabad

‘Another kind of influence’

This refers to Dr Shahid Javed Burki’s article “Another kind of influence” (Dawn, March 22). I think Dr Burki is right on the mark as far as the possible contribution of the Pakistani diaspora is concerned. As with India, China, and other East Asian countries, no amount of persuasion and “soft-image” would force western investors to look favourably on Pakistan unless we Pakistani expatriates do so.

However, I would like to highlight a potential error in Dr Burki’s calculations. He guesstimates the average income per head of Pakistani-Americans to be around $50,000 and the population to be around half a million. Extrapolating from these figures, he assesses the net income of Pakistani-American community to be around $25 billion per year, making it “more than a quarter of the revised estimates of Pakistan’s GDP”. These figures, he believes, and if correct, I would agree too, have huge implications for the “investable” income of the Pakistani-American community. However, one would guess that perhaps “$50,000 per family” is a more realistic number and using the average family size of four, we could get a revised estimate of $6.25 billion — one fourth of what Dr Burki estimates. The expected savings (one-quarter of the annual income) would only be of the order of $1.5 billion.

It would be interesting to note how the rest of Dr Burki’s analysis would change after incorporating this seemingly simple and harmless error in calculation.

ATHAR OSAMA
Santa Monica,
USA