Gwadar: a gateway to progress

GOING by the international practice, the Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) has signed an agreement with Singapore Port Authority (SPA) and its subsidiary, Concession Holding Company, for the development and operation of the country’s tax-free port and duty-free trade zone. The 40- year agreement is a milestone in creating an economic hub and an energy corridor located as Gwadar is close to the world’s largest gas and oil reserves and fast growing energy-guzzling Asian economies. The building of a seaport is a major initiative by Pakistan for increasing regional cooperation. The GPA-PSA accord on Tuesday was followed a day later by another agreement by Wapda with an Iranian firm for the supply of 100 mw of electricity to Gwadar. The first vessel to dock at the port will arrive sometime next month. Roads, highways and other lines of communication are being developed to link Gwadar with the rest of the country and Central Asia.

The construction of an international airport is to start soon. Landlocked Central Asia would get speedy access to a modern and efficient feeder port for its transit trade. China can cut much of its freight costs and save time by routing its trade through Gwadar with the Middle East and Africa, particularly for its western region and especially for oil imports. To enable Gwadar to compete with its regional peers, the port fees will be kept low by allowing a wide range of tax concessions to the PSA subsidiaries to cut operational and business costs. These include exemption from corporate tax for 20 years, duty-free imports of materials and equipment for the port and a free zone and zero rate of duty for shipping and bunker oil for forty years. Any change in the port tariff would be subject to approval by a ministerial authority. With a worldwide reputation, the SPA is expected to induct the state of the art technology and provide modern and efficient maritime services. But a major breakthrough in transit and bilateral trade with Pakistan with Central Asia would come when the much awaited peace and security returns to Afghanistan.

A regional seaport and an economic hub in one of the most under-developed but strategically important areas can bring prosperity to the people of Balochistan. Gwadar would be a high-growth point, providing impetus to investment in oil, gas and mineral resources in the province. But an improvement in the lot of the locals depends on an effective policy to provide them jobs and business opportunities. While suffering from huge fiscal deficits with no major resources within its jurisdiction, the province has been made to exempt the CHC from the levy of provincial and district taxes. It has been deprived of funds which could help develop its human resources to enable the locals to actively participate in, and benefit from, economic development in their province. Balochistan needs to be compensated by providing a share in revenues of the Gwadar port. The GPA will get a fixed share of nine per cent of the revenue from cargo and maritime services and 15 per cent of the revenue earned from the free trade zone. It is important that skills development centres are set up to train people in the jobs required for the port and the free zone. The fruits of economic progress need to be widely shared.

A test case for Pakistan

CAN one expect the government to respond positively to the HRCP’s demand that it should sign and ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances? This convention was adopted by the UN Assembly in December 2006 and was opened to signature on Tuesday. Based on the precept that the families of the victims of enforced disappearances have the right to know the truth about the circumstances and fate of their missing members, the convention has many significant provisions. For the first time in history, states are required to amend their domestic laws to recognise enforced disappearances as a punishable crime, allow detainees to communicate with their families, and hold them in officially registered centres which should be accessible to inspection by authorised bodies. The most significant feature of the convention is that it will create an expert committee to monitor implementation and take action in individual cases.

Given the gravity the problem of enforced disappearances has acquired in Pakistan following the war on terror, this convention has a direct relevance for the human rights situation in the country. The government has emerged as a major violator of human liberties as men, women and even children have vanished without a trace after having been abducted by state agencies without recourse to the legal processes. Even the judiciary has not been able to help in most cases for lack of cooperation from the administration. The convention would help by bringing international pressure on the government to observe the universally recognised basic norms observed by all civilised societies. It would force the government to humanise its strategy in the anti-terror war it is fighting. Under no circumstances can it be allowed to brutalise the people on the ground that some of them are suspected of being terrorists. The government’s human rights record is appalling. It has been contemptuous of the UN human rights instruments and has evaded those which would constrain it by making it accountable to international bodies for its human rights record such as the Optional Protocol of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture. It is time the government changed its cavalier-like approach to human rights.

Bird flu strikes again

ALMOST a year after the H5N1 strain of avian flu was first detected in Pakistan, the lethal virus was found to have resurfaced in a flock of domestic poultry in Rawalpindi and in some peacocks in Mansehra district. Although the authorities took immediate action by culling the infected stocks and disinfecting the premises, there are fears that it will be difficult to contain the virus, especially at a time when there is a global resurgence of avian flu. If poultry owners, out of fear of heavy monetary losses, do not cooperate by reporting cases of suspected avian flu and culling infected birds, the highly contagious virus could spread rapidly to bird farms across the country. Such a possibility is frightening, especially because there is a real threat of the virus being transmitted to people in close contact with infected birds.

There is no preventive vaccine or cure for bird flu which has killed almost 200 people since 2003 — all the way from Indonesia to Egypt. The only guard against it is healthy poultry practices, early detection of the virus and immediate culling of infected domestic and wild birds. For this it is necessary to have regular diagnostic testing and surveillance in addition to frequent public campaigns aimed at disseminating information on bird flu. What scientists dread is the mutation of the virus to a degree where human-to-human transmission becomes possible. If that happens, a pandemic reminiscent of the Spanish flu that caused worldwide fatalities in the early part of the 20th century could kill millions of people. While the situation calls for a global collaborative effort to check the virus, including the development of a preventive vaccine, the onus is on those countries where the H5N1 strain has already been detected to step up measures to contain its spread.

Islamic concept of management

MANAGEMENT has now been defined as “getting things done through others.” Following this concept, a manager is understood as one who works through others. And a good manager is considered to be the one who knows not only what is to be done but also how to get it done.

The Quran says: “And we raised some of them over others in ranks so that some of them take work from others” (43:32). The verse explains in a nutshell as to why Allah raised some people over others in rank.

This, according to the verse, has a definite object and that is that those placed in higher ranks are able to take work from those placed in lower ranks under them.

The verse, inter alia, encompasses the whole philosophy of modern management. It emphasises, in essence, the creation of appropriate hierarchies and the division of responsibilities, with those in the higher ranks charged with the responsibility of taking work from those in the lower ranks. This, in other words, implies the creation of organisations with appropriate hierarchies.

Thus what is called the most modern concept of management was, in fact, spelled out by the Quran in clear terms more than fourteen hundred years ago, and also the institutional framework, namely, the organisation with hierarchies, and other elements for putting that concept into practice. Those elements are:

Obedience to and respect for authority: obedience to, and respect for, authority, could be the basic requirement of taking work from others. Those from whom work is taken must obey all lawful and reasonable orders of those who are charged with the responsibility of taking work from them if the work is to be done in a proper way.

Working through people, in fact, presupposes the willingness of people to obey the orders of those who work through them.

The Quran says: “Obey Allah and His Messenger and those in position of authority among you” (4:59). The verse, as may be seen, gives the highest possible priority to obedience to persons in authority.

It, in essence, promotes the spirit of voluntary obedience. By doing so it strengthens the scope of hierarchy as envisaged by the above verse (43:32). Without the spirit of voluntary obedience among those who work, the creation of hierarchy will not serve any purpose.

Joint consultation and team work: the modern world realised the importance of joint consultation and team work when the Japanese management style proved to be one of the most effective in the world. Joint consultation with team work as its hallmark is one of the main features of Japanese management style.

To many in the world it seems to be a new technique. But very few may be aware that the Quran advocated this concept fourteen hundred years ago when, while enumerating some of the attributes of true believers, it said “and those who do their work through mutual consultation” (42:83) and also advised the Prophet to consult his companions in the conduct of affairs (3:159).

Principles of equal opportunities: an important principle on which the success of management process largely depends is the principle of equal opportunities. It postulates that all the members of an organisation shall have the same or similar opportunities to work to get developed, to grow, to contribute and be accordingly rewarded.

The Quran lays due emphasis on the observance of this principle when it says “O people We created you from a single male and female couple and then divided you in nations and tribes so that you may recognise one another.

Verily the most honourable among you in the sight of Allah is he who is most righteous of you” (49:13).Explaining the above verse on the occasion of Hajat-al-Widaa, the Prophet (PBUH) said: “In the light of this Quranic verse no Arab has any superiority over a non-Arab nor any non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab. Neither black is superior to white nor white is superior to black. Of course, if there is any criterion of superiority and respectability in the sight of Allah it is Taqwa (righteousness).”

It means that despite being basically equal, the human beings can yet excel each other in certain aspects of life.

One such aspect as pointed out by the Quran could be honour in the sight of Allah the criteria for which, according to the said verse, could be righteousness, a standard which every one can possibly attain if he so desires.

There can be no better pattern of equal opportunities than the one spelled out by the above Quranic verse. In the realm of management, it would mean that the criteria for entitlement to any benefit, reward, position or status shall be such that any one having the requisite qualifications and experience should have an equal opportunity to get or attain it. This will obviously go a long way towards maintaining the requisite degree of harmony in the work environment conducive to the smooth working of the management process.

Motivation and commitment: making people do what they are supposed to do, inter alia, requires a certain degree of commitment which can be achieved only when they are duly motivated. It is an established fact that the way a manager behaves or deals with the subordinates determines the level and vitality of their motivation and commitment to a great extent.

The Quran says: “(telling the Prophet) If you had been stern and fierce of heart they (the companions and followers) would have disappeared from around you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the conduct of affairs” (3:159). The verse emphasises two things.

One is compassionate and sympathetic behaviour towards the companions and followers and the other is the adoption of participative approach in dealing with them which means consulting them and allowing them to participate in taking certain decisions.

Both of these elements can play vital role in motivating subordinates and inculcating in them the spirit of commitment in the employment and any work situation and can, therefore, be of utmost importance to the success of management process.

Street battles in Gaza

NEVER before has the Palestinian leadership been so divided. Street battles between Fatah and Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank have killed 30 in the past week alone. Not for nothing did the PLO talk, almost obsessively, about being the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and not for nothing was unity Yasser Arafat's historical achievement.

It will take more than the venue of Wednesday's peace talks, the holy city of Makkah, to stitch together a deal that will stand the test of time between Hamas's exiled leader Khaled Meshal and the Fatah-endorsed chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. Hugging and kissing in Makkah is one thing, but it is quite another to reach a deal that platoon and squad commanders will respect.

None of this is a reason for writing off the possibility that Saudi Arabia could emerge as a peace broker. Hamas needs international legitimacy, and funds, to deliver its promises to the Palestinian people. Chaos and Qassam rockets hold no prospect of an end to an occupation that has lasted 40 years. Hamas cannot participate in a national unity government without recognising previous deals between Israel and the PLO, and in so doing, recognising Israel's right to exist.

President Mahmoud Abbas also needs a deal, because civil war is sapping him of the strength to govern. Many in Gaza fear that the factional fighting will erupt with even greater force if no agreement in Makkah is reached. Mr Abbas has other options, such as declaring a state of emergency and ruling with a series of temporary administrations. But whatever he does, he will need peace on the ground, which can only come from a deal with Hamas.

However personally secure Mr Abbas may feel with a freshly rearmed bodyguard, Fatah's troops are outgunned by Hamas. Both Hamas and Fatah know that the longer the crisis lasts, the less pressure there will be on Israel to lift the siege on the Palestinian Authority. Israel, for its part, will return to the logic it used on Arafat, that it has no partner with whom to discuss a two-state solution.

There are wider ramifications from a success at Makkah. In both Palestine and Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Iran have become regional powers competing for influence.

The Saudis supported the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated in a car-bomb attack blamed on the Syrians, as they now do the western-backed government of Fouad Siniora. If, emboldened by a ceasefire, new life were to be breathed into the Saudi peace plan for a pan-Arab peace deal with Israel, within the 1967 borders, Mr Siniora could also feel empowered in his standoff with Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

—The Guardian, London