Fabrication or tell-tale slip-up?

EVEN in officialdom as inestimably ugly as Pakistan’s, the discerning reader would be hard pressed to find a functionary more difficult to hold in esteem than the country’s attorney-general. To be Malik Mohammad Qayyum is to lose the distinction, all too clear to most of us, between right and wrong. Think about it, if you will for the nonce. This is a man who, as a Justice of the Lahore High Court, fabricated his findings in at least one case of law as per the dictates of his political masters, namely, the Sharif brothers. He is on tape — on tape, mind you —making queries about the length of the sentence he should hand down in a corruption trial featuring Benazir Bhutto and Asif Zardari. So damning was the evidence that Mr Qayyum was forced to resign his post, much to the delight of all right-thinking people across the country. Finally, justice appeared to be done.

Once bitten, you would have thought that Mr Qayyum would have developed safer phone etiquette in due course. But no. He, it seems, remains a breed apart. Human Rights Watch (HRW) has now released a taped recording in which Mr Qayyum is heard advising someone, possibly his kin, to accept a PML-Q ticket as

a sure bet of winning because the next elections will be ‘massively rigged’. This is the Attorney-General of Pakistan speaking. Not some opposition leader voicing a fear but the top legal eagle in the country confirming, or so it seems, the worst. Mr Qayyum, for his part, questions the authenticity of the HRW recording, of course, and is threatening to sue the organisation. Any one can hear it online and you don’t need to be a linguist with fancy degrees to know what’s what. You don’t need voice recognition software of the kind CIA used to confirm Pakistan’s finding, based on a recorded phone conversation, that Baitullah Mehsud instigated the murder of Ms Benazir Bhutto.

Mr Qayyum’s appointment as attorney-general affords a peek into the mindset of President Pervez Musharraf. His desperation is now so complete he would rather cock an ear to people of Qayyum’s ilk rather than his true well-wishers. Everything has gone so completely wrong now that there can be no pulling back for those calling the shots and ruling our fates. But the stakes are high. The rigging of elections tomorrow would spell disaster. It must be stopped. One can only hope for good sense and political discretion to take over.

The magical S-word

WHEN Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd offered the much-awaited apology to the community of native Aborigines last week, it marked another leap in humanity’s never-ending journey forward. It also came as another indication that man, after all, has not stopped learning from past mistakes. Though Mr Rudd spoke for half-an-hour in his historic address to parliament, outlining the injustices and indignities heaped on the Aborigines since white settlers first sailed into Sydney Cove 220 years ago, it was, indeed, the word ‘sorry’ that people had gathered to hear him utter. It may not wipe off the sins of the last two centuries, but it has ensured that things will now improve in the days ahead. Even if the Aborigines may not be able to forget the past in a hurry, they will certainly be able to forgive and move on. This is the magic of the word ‘sorry’ — the S-word, if you will. It marks the beginning of a new phase in the life of individuals, communities and nations. The willingness to apologise for past wrongs has always paid off. South Africa’s white racist Prime Minister Frederik W. de Klerk apologised to the millions for the indignities and humiliation of the Apartheid years. The Japanese government also offered ‘sincere apologies’ for coercing the comfort women into the military’s wartime system of sexual slavery. And, more recently, Pope Benedict said he was sorry to the Muslim community after it cried foul over some of the remarks that he had made in a sermon.

On each occasion, the mere utterance of the S-word strengthened the belief that all is not lost.

Against this backdrop, it is a sad commentary on our state of affairs where rulers have had little inclination to apologise for past misdeeds. The closest we came was in 2002 when President Pervez Musharraf expressed ‘regret’ for what he called ‘excesses’ committed during the 1971 crisis. ‘Sorry’ is the most difficult word to utter if one genuinely means it. How difficult it is can be seen by the recent episode involving retired generals, admirals and air marshals who condemned the rule of one dictator, but refused to apologise for their own role in the past in derailing the democratic process on the plea that they were acts of individuals. But didn’t the usurpers represent an institution with whose support they intervened in politics and broke up the country? In many ways, the behaviour of the retired generals was reflective of a national trait, that is our inability to concede our past collective wrongs to move towards reconciliation. After all, when Mr Rudd apologised to the Aborigines he did so not because he was individually responsible for hurting them but on behalf of the white community for its collective action of several centuries.

Transport blues during polls

ONE major consequence of any big political activity in the country is the disappearance of public transport. The government ‘impounds’ buses, vans and mini vans if and when it needs to transfer a large number of people to the sites of public gatherings to be addressed by the high and mighty of the land. Political parties and their candidates hire a large number of private vehicles to transport their supporters from one venue to another to show their strength. Moreover, the government takes over much of the motorised transport in the country to shift election material and staff to various polling centres. This starts a scramble both by the government and the candidates for having as many vehicles as is possible at their disposal, much to the inconvenience and chagrin of the people who have to travel within cities or even outside to other places.

Reports from all the major cities in Punjab suggest the process has already begun and will continue to gather pace till the morning of polling day. In Lahore alone, the authorities have ensured that they have about 33,000 private vehicles for ‘official duty’ on election day. It should surprise no one if next we read that thousands have been stranded at bus stands across Pakistan. Admittedly, the situation does not lend itself to easy answers. The government as well as politicians cannot own all the transport they need only for occasional use. They can at least let people know beforehand about the impending scarcity of transport even if they cannot think of a better way to overcome the problem. Forewarned, people are certainly less likely to hit the road and get stranded as they do in the absence of such information. By alerting people about the impending shortage of transport at times of large-scale political activities, the government and politicians will cause much less public heartburn than by creating sudden and unannounced crises by impounding public transport as and when needed.

Voter types in Lahore

THE time has come, and one will see a fascinating assortment of voters egged on to the polling station by their biradari, their elders, their party and indeed by their conscience. After all the analyses of the last few months, and of years gone by, stereotyping voters is as hazardous as it was when Adam and Eve had the whole world to themselves. Man is prone to give in to the heart’s calling at the last moment.

Minds have been made up, or so we are told, what with all these survey results pouring in from guessers near and far, despite warnings by President Pervez Musharraf who, like a true patriarch, is so very concerned with his subjects getting false ideas in their heads. Just when he was expected to assert his neutrality before a general election, he has come up with a statement on the virtues of 58(2)b and how the notorious law had in the past acted as a shield against the same political parties who are being tipped to come to power as a result of the Feb 18 polls.

Away from the presidential rigmarole in the common man’s Lahore, PML workers are seen prudently dropping the letter Q in favour of N as they strive to stay in the mainstream without jeopardising their right-of-centre ideology. Voting for the Pakistan People’s Party, which may be riding a popular wave in other parts of the country, still sounds preposterous to many among them.

They are the PML-N voters, but who are they? They may be shopkeepers, businessmen, a large number of well-meaning elderly passersby who tell the potentially rebellious youngsters to stick to the middle path, perhaps some who had personally benefited during the Sharif rule. They may also be people who are genuinely upset at the treachery the PML-N’s leaders, Messrs Sharif and Sharif, have suffered at the hands of their old friends who now run a rival PML faction. Not to forget the Lahoris who are still thankful to the Sharifs for a prim and prosperous Lahore that they created during their rule and those who think the Sharifs are the last and the only choice we are left with.

Who else is going to vote for the PML-N? Those who have come to respect Mian Nawaz Sharif for his role after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in December last? There will be very few such people, if any. Kashmiris? Maybe yes, maybe no; it is hard to distinguish them from the crowd that, everyone believes, is going to vote for the party.

Just as difficult to count are the votes the PML-N candidates are supposed to get because of their personal credentials. Not because these votes are numerous: the votes simply don’t exist. It is the Sharif name that matters and its bearers have their task cut out for them, for a sizeable proportion of their voters are going to side with them thinking that they are up against a system striving to thwart them. This is not the usual scenario the Sharifs have been faced with in the past and if they so desire, they would have to be very careful not to lose this newfound credibility with the people.

On this latest count, these PML-N voters are a bit like the PPP voters in Lahore, but they are most certainly not as badly placed as they were in the election of 2002. They then knew for sure that their party had no chance of staking a claim to power in Lahore or in Islamabad in the absence of the Sharifs who were in exile. They still voted for the relatively lesser known faces seeking to retain the city for the Sharifs.

The Sharifs have no magic wand in their hands. They used methods that have been copied by their old friends in the PML-Q. The similarities are going to fuel long debates about how the same tactics can lead to different results for different practitioners. The last time around, the PML-Q won by managing to muster the anti-PPP vote and by relying heavily on the establishment’s help, which is like saying, as was said in the case of the Sharifs for many decades, that the PML-Q had no vote bank of its own.

If they exist, the signs of PML-Q having invented a voter of its own have so far eluded the keen observer. It is hard to tell which type is going to vote for the party. Maybe those who identify with the ideals set by President Pervez Musharraf, those who fear that the country can’t afford to bring in the president’s perceived opponents to power as also those who believe in the president’s and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s allegations that both the PML-N and the PPP had run incompetent and corrupt governments in the past.

The talk that the party’s reliance on an individual’s personal vote bank may earn it some votes, maybe even a few seats, further hampers categorisation, even a loose one, of the PML-Q voter. The party has desperately tried to tap into the anti-PPP pool, drawing voters and then innocently delivering them to the PML-N, a moderate alternative to the dangerous PPP.

It’s obviously expecting its nazims to deliver the numbers to it all over Punjab. In Lahore, in a desperate moment, it may be moved to use the official machinery for some respectability.

The story would, of course, be incomplete without the voter who must and the voter who might vote for the PPP — beginning with the poorest of the poor. He may be the wayward soul, the idealist or the incorrigibly emotional type unperturbed by the tirade he and his party have attracted over the years. He may be the most boisterous of them all or the quietest of the lot, in accordance with the party slogan, avenging the death of Benazir Bhutto in the secrecy of a ballot box.

He may be anti-Musharraf and in favour of a dialogue with the militants — even when party leaders hint that they may decide to work with the president and may be partial to resolving militancy through force. Most likely, he is going to be a Bhutto loyalist.

OTHER VOICES: Indian Press

Exploring Africa: India behind China

The Economic Times

INDIA and China are Africa’s new colonialists according to global financier George Soros. While that may be debatable, India lags behind China in its engagement with Africa. India is a rather timid investor in Africa compared to China in almost all sectors, including petroleum…Indian companies must aggressively step up their engagement with Africa…

After all, Africa is the second fastest growing region after Asia… Africa’s development can and must be accelerated with investments and technology transfer. It has abundant natural resources, including crude oil and minerals.

Deepening engagement with Africa in the years ahead can prove beneficial for both sides. Africa’s demand for manufactured goods and services is bound to expand. The region also has millions of young people who can be employed in the manufacturing and services sector.

While Indian and Chinese companies…have invested in food processing, power plants, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications and transport construction, much more is required. Indian companies would have many learning experiences to share with Africa.

Also, the large Indian diaspora…can help Indian businesses understand the social and cultural ethos of the African people. While direct investments in Africa should be the desirable goal of Indian companies…there is the need to step up and diversify trade with Africa. Only 7.7 per cent of India’s exports were destined for Africa and imports from Africa constituted only 6.7 per cent of the total imports… — (Feb 12)

Sack the chef!

The Statesman

MANY a train passenger would have frequently wished he or she could have done the same when the unappetising stuff the Railways call a meal was served to them…

But then a fare-paying ticket-holder is not in the same league as a minister…and cannot convert the dissatisfaction of taste-bud and belly into the chef’s transfer orders. As Lalu Prasad recently did, when meals on a special train from Tumkur to Bangalore did not meet his gourmet standards.

...Of course, if queried, he would take the line so popular with politicians and MPs: “if this could happen to us what would be the fate of the common man”.

It is another story that few representatives of the people care a hoot for the aam aadmi once the small business of securing his vote is concluded. For years…has food on trains come to be associated with the barely edible.

Increasingly distant and decidedly irrelevant are our grandparents’ accounts of the mouth-watering fare that would be elegantly served by Kellner’s or Spencer’s…

Every now and then announcements are made of culinary experts from hotel chains being drafted to revamp railway catering, experiments at privatisation have been made, but the remedial recipe remains elusive.

Still there must be a little sympathy for the divisional railway manager and divisional commercial manager who got the shunt. Poor fellows probably would find it hard to go beyond brewing a cuppa. Come to think of it, what does Lalu know about cooking? Or has Rabri Devi used her belan effectively? — (Feb 16)

Dilemma of Cricket Australia

CRICKET Australia’s tour of Pakistan next month which has been dithering for some time seems headed for cancellation for reasons of security. Two items in this newspaper on Feb 13 elucidated on the security concerns which Cricket Australia officials may want to consider.

The first item is a letter from a reader saying if the government cannot ensure the safety of the faithful in mosques during Friday prayers how can it offer security guarantees to the Australian team.

There is much to what the reader says. It would be interesting to hear what the voluble caretaker interior minister has to say about all this. Volubility must be a requisite to be made a caretaker minister for most have not stopped chirping after taking oath. The prize for the most piercing chirps, however, has to go to Nisar Memon, the caretaker minister of information, for his threats to stand the media on its head, and so soon too after the president had done just that. The Australians seem to share the letter writer’s view for they have virtually said, ‘Thanks but no thanks,’ to the PCB chairman’s offer of head of state-level security for the team.

The other item is Dawn columnist Hafizur Rahman’s article ‘Armed guards’. His article must have set the Australians thinking. If a federal minister can jog in a public park with his armed guard or gunmen as they are known here, maybe, just maybe, the Australians can take the field with a gunman assigned to each player.

Imagine the two Australian opening batsmen walking to the pitch to open the innings, with a gunman alongside each. When runs are made, the gunmen also run with the batsmen. The umpires will have to be watchful that not only the batsmen but also the gunmen do not run on the centre of the pitch. Run-out decisions would be tricky. The umpires will have to be sure it is the batsman they give out, not the gunman. The batsmen dashing across the pitch to make a run against the throw of a fielder is frenzy enough, with the gunmen also running it would be something more than frenzy.

When the Australian side has to field it will be a crowded affair, what with 11 fielders with a gunman next to each. Brett Lee hurtling in to bowl with the gunman panting and puffing alongside as Lee launches his pacer. Not Lee, but the gunman will have to be changed after every three balls, there are just not any fit enough to keep up with Brett Lee and the other Aussie pacers. Aussie pacers seem to be made of sterner stuff than our Shoaib Akhtars and Mohammad Asifs who need R&R (rest and recreation) after every over and a half.

A straight drive from Misbahul Haq and an Australian fielder takes off after the ball at almost the speed of sound and saves a four, the gunman left far behind. That’s not on. Security demands that the gunman cannot be left behind; the fielder is counselled by the umpire not to outrun the gunman. Next three shots by Misbah are all fours.

No, it does not look like the Aussies would want to go for the former federal minister’s security regimen. The decision to go, or not go, on the Pakistan tour remains on hold.

The writer is a retired corporate executive