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challenge comment Security
challenges issue Tax delinquents and elections Education
for all still a far cry Education
finds a place in the PPP’s slogan “EU observers to
monitor 2013 elections”
Different strands of violence Holding a peaceful election in 2013 would, perhaps, be one of the important milestones in countering the power and influence of the extremists By Raza Rumi Within two
months, nearly 90 million Pakistanis will vote to elect new federal and
provincial governments. This democratic transition has been hailed as a
major victory of Pakistan’s fledgling democracy beset by regional
instability and a worsening domestic security climate. During the first quarter
of 2013, 35 of sectarian attacks have taken place in Karachi and Quetta.
In the same period, at least 144 suicide bombings and attacks on state
installations have taken place in various parts of the country. Given this
unfortunate situation, there is a widespread fear that the forthcoming
elections may entail unprecedented violence and god forbid high profile
assassinations. However, “violence”
needs to be unpacked and examined in the context of Pakistani politics.
There are three strands of violence which are independently and sometimes
jointly working to create a semi-anarchic situation where citizens and
political parties are insecure, the state seems to be on the retreat and
the militant groups appear to be in the ascendant. First, we are gripped by
the larger, unholy alliance between al-Qaeda, the Taliban, especially the
Pakistani factions, and the sectarian outfits such as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ),
bolstered by other banned terrorist groups such as Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT)
etc. Details of these groups and the specific nature of their activities
are all too well known and recorded by both Pakistani and foreign
analysts. There is a strange paradox at work here. The state is under
attack by these groups and at the same time, it is trying to explore the
options of negotiating with these groups for some kind of a truce. The
backdrop, of course, is the post-Nato situation in Afghanistan where
Pakistan is keen to book a seat on the Afghan power table. This strand of violence
is affecting much of Fata (at least four agencies are battlegrounds
between the Pakistan army and the militants), and Khyber Paktunkhawa
province. The TTP has issued most brazen statements such as the one which
urges people to stay away from the public rallies of the Pakistan
People’s Party (PPP) and the Awami National Party (ANP). The space for
these relatively progressive and moderate parties is, therefore, shrinking
with each passing day. For instance, the ANP is
likely to hold no rallies and only go for door-to-door campaigning. Its
leadership has been advised by the party not to be physically present
during the electoral campaign. The PPP chairperson, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari,
is not in the country, and while speculation on his departure has been
reported in the press, however, the actual situation is not being
deliberated which relates to the simple fact that Bilawal Bhutto is not
secure in Pakistan given the fact that his mother Benazir Bhutto was
killed five years ago after an election rally in Rawalpindi. The other dimension of
this battle is how the terror network has extended beyond Fata and has
turned Karachi into its new conflict zone. Ironically, Karachi, not unlike
Fata, suffers from an underdeveloped state syndrome where state building,
for a host of complex political and historical reasons, could not take
place since the 1950s. Declan Walsh and
Zia-ur-Rehman, in their recent report for the New York Times (March 28,
2013), state: “The grab for influence and power in Karachi show that the
Taliban have been able to extend their reach across Pakistan, even here in
the country’s most populous city…no longer can they be written off as
endemic to the country’s frontier regions.” Multiple reasons have
been cited to explain this phenomenon. It is commonly understood that many
militants are fleeing from the north west of the country and finding
refuge in the burgeoning Pakhtun enclaves in the metropolis. However, the
strategic location of Karachi as Pakistan’s largest port, and the venue
for Nato supplies and exit next year, could be another reason for the al-Qaeda
led network to gain more control. This alarming
development has also led to an unspoken truce between the Muttahida Qaumi
Movement (MQM) and the ANP in the city, with the latter shutting down
dozens of its offices across the city. The more worrying signs are how the
thin police force has been put on a defensive, the social development
campaigns (such as polio vaccinations) are endangered and more
significantly, parallel judicial systems are emerging in the metropolis
where the Taliban demonstrate their proclivity for quick dispute
resolution termed as “justice”. Unfortunately, the
political parties through their short sighted policy of patronizing
criminal gangs have created an arena where the Taliban are finding it
quite convenient to make alliances with the well-established gangs and
both groups are resorting to extortion, reflecting perhaps the desperate
attempt to make up for reduced funds inflow from the middle east. The third major
challenge in terms of security relate to Balochistan where the Baloch
separatist movement continues. The state, particularly the security
establishment, is not keen to change its policy, and scores of missing
Baloch activists dogs the chances of any meaningful dialogue between the
state and the separatists. The return of Akhtar Mengal, head of Baloch
National Party, is a positive sign but he is also facing many threats and
in the insurgency hit districts, especially in the south of Balochistan,
elections are likely to be violent. Media reports have
already suggested that the intelligence agencies are warning the executive
about the warring security scenarios. The Interior Ministry, in its
assessment, has warned of a massive terrorist threat in the coming
elections (Dawn, March 28, 2013). Among other news, the
Interior Ministry has noted that the TTP is likely to carry out attacks in
south Punjab, particularly Khanewal and Multan. It would be pertinent to
note that South Punjab has been the breeding ground for terrorist networks
and also a recruitment ground for the TTP warriors across the country.
Sadly, the outgoing government of the PML-N, due to its expedient policy,
turned a blind eye to this threat. While the caretaker
prime minister and the chief ministers have been appointed, their cabinets
are still to be announced. At the time of writing these lines, there is no
Federal Interior Minister, and even if we have all the ministers and
bureaucrats in place, without the active participation of the military
establishment, especially the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and the
military intelligence, countering this threat may not be that easy. It would be unrealistic
and unlawful to expect a short term caretaker administration to either
reset national security or counter terror policies. However, given that a
caretaker administration is free of the day-to-day political compulsions
of keeping coalitions intact, it is expected that they would keep the law
and order as topmost priority. The recent statements of
the Punjab caretaker Chief Minister Najam Sethi are encouraging. But
statements alone will not solve the situation. A concentrated, joint
intelligence operation needs to take place and the flashpoints in the
country require extraordinary vigilance and swift action. Holding a
peaceful election in 2013 would perhaps be one of the important milestones
in countering the power and influence of the extremists who in the first
place do not believe in constitutional democracy. The Election Commission
is chairing the electoral process, but it cannot achieve the objectives of
holding a free and fair election on its own. The political parties have to
display greater responsibility and ownership of this agenda, and they also
need to adhere to the code of conduct which has the potential to minimize
political violence before and during the polls. Most importantly, the
parties need to beef up their internal security protocols at corner
meetings, rallies and other campaign related activities. After all, they
are the key stakeholders in the democratic process. The writer is a writer
and policy analyst based in Islamabad. His writings are archived at
www.razarumi.com
comment During general
elections in Pakistan, every major political party advocates popular
policies and catchy slogans like roti, kapra aur makan (bread, clothing
and shelter) in order to win public support during voting. In other words,
they try to win elections to implement their preferred policies. In both
cases, the aim is to govern. Religious parties are no different. They are
also obsessed with gaining power. In Pakistan, secular
parties are capable of winning general elections. Religious parties always
form either a coalition government as a junior partner or a minor
supporter of a majority party in the parliament. During different
elections in the past, they are either weak or nonexistent across much of
Pakistan. However, their full inclusion into democratic process is
critical to any meaningful process of democratisation in the country.
Their normal electoral slogans are: Islamic system, Islamic revolution,
and Shariah etc. Islamist parties rarely
contest the total number of available parliamentary seats. Instead, they
usually contest for less than 50 per cent of all available seats. This
trend shows that they always want to establish a pressure group for the
ruling majority party in the Parliament. When they raise the slogan of
shariah or Islamic revolution, one fails to understand how a religious
revolution can be heralded with less than 50 per cent participation. Of
course, the end winning product is further less than 50 per cent. This
would mean the religious parties are looking for an Islamic revolution
with minority? This in itself is a negation of majority rule —
Democracy. Islamist parties are
good at winning when they want to. However, their ideology is a stumbling
block in their way to victory. Winning is not what they want. They want a
victory of majority with their sole dependency on their minority support
which is a dichotomy. The Jamat-e-Islami (JI) is a party which does not
have its roots in common men. It’s a closed-disciplined party with every
member as a staunch member of the party. They believe in Islamic Shariah
in the country. It’s stated that in every constituency in Pakistan’s
parliamentary elections, the JI has a vote bank of 8000-10000. If it’s
so, how come it will win elections with ‘full majority’? How will a JI-sponsored
Shariah will come in Pakistan? How come the JI will form the government
based on Quran and Sunnah? Few other religious
parties are willing to win elections by any means necessary. Most make
temporary tactical compromises in order to better their chances for future
victory. The Jamiat-e-Ulma-e-Islam (JUI) is one of such cases. The JUI is
ready to have an electoral alliance with any liberal or secular party for
its own gains. They are more interested in being part of a government —
as a junior partner. It has been in the history that they always tried to
remain with the ruling party. However, at the end of the elected term,
they opt for opposition benches to go back to the electorate for seeking a
fresh favourable mandate. The JUI always raised
slogan of Islamic system in Pakistan. However, this slogan was restricted
to the electioneering only. No effort was made to take up the issue of
Shariah in Pakistan in the Parliament. During the MMA government of
2002-08 in the KP, the JUI government completely failed to bring a
friction of Shariah or Islamic System in the province. One can understand
the fact that the MMA was elected during 2002 not for the Islamic System
but for showing solidarity with the religious parties who openly opposed
the US moves of invading Afghanistan just after 9/11 events. However,
their modus operandi of governance was just as liberal as any other
non-religious party’s government. Islamist Parties exhibit
several features that set them apart. To begin with, they do not
necessarily need to rule to fulfill their slogan — Islamisation of
society. Contrary to the experience of Western Europe’s socialist
parties, which could make society “socialist” only if they held power
and perhaps not even then, really, society in Pakistan can be made
“Islamic” even if Islamists consistently lose elections. This has
arguably already happened in Pakistan where voters may be even more
conservative than Islamic parties themselves. The Tableeghi Jama’at (TJ)
can be cited as an example. They are more orthodox and conservative than
religious political parties. That is one of the big reasons that till
to-date, the religious political parties have failed to attract votes of
the TJ for themselves. However, followers of the TJ cast their votes
randomly. Few other religious
political parties like Jama’at-tud-Dawa, and parties based on sectarian
divide also favour their own factions or make an alliance with other major
parties for raising their voice independently. However, in most cases,
they keep themselves away from the mainstream religious political parties.
In Pakistan, there has
been another very interesting fact to political wings of religious
movements. Mainstream Islamist parties act politically with a mind to
nonpolitical considerations. Most religious parties remain tied to
religious movements through informal links and overlapping memberships.
The madrassas and mosques are nonpolitical movements. There are numerous
nonpolitical students’ wings of the political movements. Islami
Jamiat-e-Tulaba, Anjuman-e-Tahreek-e-Islami and Jamiat-e-Tulba-Islam,
Imamia Students organisation are a few students’ wings of the Islamist
parties in Pakistan. They are linked with the politics of main religious
political parties. Similarly, numerous madrassas and mosques based on
sectarianism are compartmentalised along with their affiliation with
different sectarian political parties. They cannot use a strict electoral
calculus when adopting public positions. They always take into account the
interests of the parent organisation like the JUI, the JI, the Sunni
Tahreek (ST) or the Tahreek-e-Fiqqa-e-Jafria (TFJ). In return, these
political parties derive much of their legitimacy, grassroots support, and
to some extent financial backing too. Moreover, they do not always have a
choice. The Islamist parties
have at times had their plans overruled by their student wings, which
maintain a strong influence over the main hierarchy of the party despite
technically being administratively and financially separate. There are only two cases
different than rest of all Islamist parties in Pakistan — the Tableeghi
Jama’at (TJ) and the Jam’at-e-Islami (JI). Both illustrate the
party-versus-movement very clearly. The TJ and JI, while sometimes acting
like a party, may or may not be a party. They are more of religious
movements. It participates in elections without any political affiliation.
Both are concerned with strengthening the religious and moral character of
its members through an extensive training process. The TJ calls it Tarteeb
(system); while the JI calls it Tarbi’at (training). Unlike in most
traditional parties, becoming a member is a choice that brings with it a
set of obligations, expectations and strict standards of moral conduct. For the JI and the TJ,
each member is part of a local council that meets on a weekly basis (Dars-e-Quran
and Gasht) respectively to discuss religious topics and other matters
relevant to the organisation. The difference between the two parties is
that the JI is a full-time political party and does discuss electoral
alliances and elections process in its meetings. But the TJ is a pure
religious movement without any political considerations. Furthermore, the JI’s
legitimacy and grassroots support comes primarily from its social (Al-Khidmat
Foundation) and educational activities (Baithak Schools, Hira Schools,
Dare-e-Arqam etc) and not from parliamentary representation. That’s the
reason that it still showed its muscles in the last five years despite the
fact that it remained out of the parliament due to its decision to boycott
the 2008 elections. Hence it privileges self-preservation over political
contestation. In most cases, their electoral success is dependent on the
success of their charity and social service activities and not the other
way round. But the JUI works the other way round. For strengthening
democracy and parliamentary form of government, it’s the need of the
time that the religious parties may be given due share in the system.
However, it’s also a fact that the slogans of Islamic revolution and
Shariah have lost their credibility especially during the religious
parties’ government under the banner of MMA rule during 2002-2008.
Islamic revolution is a mere slogan left to cash more votes by the
religious parties during the forthcoming general elections in May this
year. This time a slogan of revolution based on social justice and purity
of system would muster more votes than religious rhetoric. The author teaches at
the Department of International Relations, University of Peshawar.
syedshaheed@hotmail.co.ukcaption Seeking power through
religion.
The South Asian
region has a population of 1.5 billion out of the total world population
of approximately 7 billion. The region has the highest incidence of
poverty not only in terms of absolute numbers but also as a percentage of
the population, compared to any other regional group of countries in the
world. Thus, in South Asia, as
much as 43 per cent of the population lives in absolute poverty, compared
to 14 per cent in East Asia (excluding China), 24 per cent in Latin
America and 39 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa. That places the number of
poor, according to these estimates, between 480 million to 645 million,
more likely on the higher side. If it is taken at the 40 per cent, then
nearly 525 million poor would have been living in the rural areas and 120
million in the urban areas. Urban poverty, to a considerable extent, is a
spillover of the rural poverty. Simultaneously
establishing lasting peace, a conducive security environment and imparting
permanence to political stability in this rapidly democratising region has
proven to be a serious challenge. The task has got compounded with the
processes of modernisation which is inextricably linked with
democratisation. This has been an apparent phenomenon in South Asia as the
post-colonial history of the region has been heavily loaded with an
immensely combustive scenario of conflicts. The countries of South
Asia are undergoing the process of democratisation and to a considerable
extent; democratisation and peace are inversely related to each other.
Democratising societies tend to be fiercely unstable places because
numerous groups are entangled in mutual contestations, largely in
pursuance of acquiring greater spaces for exerting their influence upon
the society. Hence, violence in their region of location becomes a
quotidian phenomenon. The devious impact of
the process of democratisation on peace does not get limited to internal
space of polities; rather it permeates into the external space,
destabilising the regional security architecture. Thus, democratisation
involves the complex relation between internal peace and external peace
with both feeding upon each other in a vicious cycle. In South Asia, the
manifestations of this phenomenon are diverse and are expressed in the
ethno-political conflicts, communal tensions, terrorism, regional and
linguistic chauvinism, that persist despite the polities of the region
being engaged in processes of modernisation and democratisation. Although due to some
liberal fiscal and social policies there has been gains achieved in the
region, especially during the last two decades, mortality rates — infant
mortality, under-5 mortality and maternal mortality — remain
unacceptably high. A large number continues to suffer from malnutrition.
About 125 million children of school age are not in primary or secondary
schools. Of the adults, 485 million are illiterate. The average mean years
of schooling of people over 25 years is estimated to be only 3.5 years
which indicates that the large majority have had only a few years of
elementary education. About 435 million people do not have access to safe
drinking water. Of the 1500 million people in South Asia, only 150 million
(10%) have access to sanitation. The lack of access to basic needs is
because rural areas have lagged far behind in the provision of necessary
social and physical infrastructure. Nevertheless the problem
of poverty has further aggravated by various other social deprivations and
discriminations from which the poor suffer as well as by the spatial
inaccessibility of outlaying, remote and distant terrains which prevent
the delivery of free social services. The structural adjustment policies,
which currently accompany the open economy, are likely to put further
strains on the poor unless a concerted strategy for poverty alleviation is
put into immediate action. Governments in South
Asia have primarily pursued national security through increasingly
destructive military apparatuses, rather than seeking citizen’s security
through actualizing their creative potential. For example South Asia
currently spends US$22.5 billion annually on the military. The human opportunity
cost of this expenditure can be judged by the fact that half the military
expenditure of South Asia for one year could have provided primary school
education to 210 million children for one year, provided safe drinking
water for two years to about 280 million people currently denied this
facility, and provided essential medicines to 145 million people for two
years who have currently no access to any health facility at present.
Behind the claims of shining economies and society, we still find
increasing numbers of people suffering from hunger, illiteracy and
preventable diseases. Children who embody future are in a far worse
condition. Providing security to
citizens is one of the primary duties of a state. Recently, there is a
paradigm shift in understanding of security — traditional meaning of
security identified with strategic affairs has undergone a change, and
replaced by wider concept of human security. In contemporary world
politics, state’s security will not be regarded as complete without
incorporating concerns of individuals, which make them insecure in daily
life. According to the United
Nations Development Report of 1994, seven components are basic to human
security. These are economic security, food security, health security,
environment security, personal security, community security, and political
security. Chronic poverty coupled
with unemployment leads to complete contradiction with economic security.
Unemployment in the region has grown by 3 to 4 per cent in last one decade
and in some countries by the rate of 7 to 8 per cent. Education, a measure of
human capital and critical determinant of economic progress, has not
crossed the figure of 50 per cent of the population in many South Asian
countries. According to World Bank between ‘2002 to 2005’, the number
of out-of-school children of primary school age in South Asia is 26
million. The pace of spreading education in South Asia is far from optimum
requirements of globalisation where skilled labour force has its own
advantages. Health security in South
Asia has dismal record and many lives are lost due to inaccessibility to
health centres. According to WHO, 25 per cent of people in Madhya Pradesh
and Orissa could not access health care because of locational problems. Similarly, in Nepal 15
per cent of life’s equivalent healthy years are lost in diseases, many
citizens could not get treatment, again due to lack of access to health
center, as 85 per cent of Nepali population lives in villages and in
difficult terrains. In Pakistan, the problem of inadequate fund along with
poverty in provinces like Khyber Pakhtukhwa and Balochistan are major
worry. Taking Afghanistan, a very appalling picture emerges. In war-ragged
Afghanistan, 70 per cent of population is living in health vulnerability
and a woman dies every 27 minutes due to pregnancy related complications. On the front of
environment security, the picture is unsatisfactory. South Asia has 15 per
cent of known biological wealth of the world, but no country has stringent
regulations to preserve it. Climate change is a
disturbing phenomenon but most of South Asian governments are insensitive
towards it. Community and personal security in the region is also under
scanner. The growth of fundamentalist forces and terrorist organisations
in the region has jeopardised personal and community security. This also
includes ethnic conflicts, which crippled almost all major countries of
South Asia, making life defenceless. Coming to political
security, South Asia has little to its credit. Democracy index of Economy
Intelligence Unit of The Economist considers no country in South Asia as
complete democracy. It is flawed or authoritarian, which comprise
worlds’ largest democracy India. Problem rests with the attitude of
governments who are not discarding traditional idea of security, which
consists of securing national boundary and amassing military power. Sooner the governments
realise the worth of human security the better for everyone. The ranking
in development index is a lesson for all governments of the region. Still
there is time for a new beginning or else we will plunge in problems with
few achievements here and there to count. The writer is Deputy
Chief of South Asia Partnership Pakistan and Global Campaigner. irfanmufti@gmail.com caption Security to citizens is
one of the primary duties of a state.
Damming conflicts With prices of land rising up in South Waziristan Agency after Gomal Zam Dam’s construction, new tensions among tribesmen are flaring up By Tahir Ali As Gomal Zam Dam
being built in South Waziristan Agency nears completion and is expected to
get operational by the end of the year, new opportunities and challenges
have emerged that necessitate a comprehensive governance and execution
model for conflict resolution, optimum utilisation of resources and smooth
implementation of the project. The GZD is a
multi-purpose project consisting of three components — dam and spillway,
power house and irrigation system. It is being completed by Wapda and
Frontier Works Organisation with financial assistance from the USAID which
had provided $80 million to help complete the work which was expected to
hit snags for shortage of funds. Secretary Planning and
Development Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Dr Asad Ali Khan, said that as per the
contractors’ report, the dam component is 90 per cent complete. Main
canal has been completed while tributaries and irrigation channels are
being constructed. The hydro power component is almost complete and will
shortly start electricity generation. He said all stakeholders
— the concerned government departments, community representatives and
donors — should join hands to make it a success. “The P&D
department KP has formed a review committee to supervise and support the
advocacy project and to ensure transparency in the project,” he added. The project has huge
financial impacts. Vast tracts of land in the fertile command area in the
South Waziristan agency and the districts of Tank and Dera Ismael Khan (DIK)
in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, mostly rain-fed or irrigated by the traditional Rod
Kohi system, would benefit from the scheme. “It will benefit over
0.3mn farmers in 81 villages in Tank and DIK and would provide irrigation
water for 191000 acres of land. It will help reduce flood damage of around
$2.6mn and will also generate electricity. It would store 1.14 million
acre feet of water for irrigation and drinking purposes, generate around
20 megawatts, sufficient for 25,000 households in the command area,”
according to an official. Earlier land prices were
low and agriculture fetched little. Hence many lands had been abandoned by
the absentee landlords. Life standard was low in the project area. The
areas either witnessed severe drought or floods that inundated vast areas
and flattened crops. But now with prices of land rising up after dam’s
construction, new tensions are flaring up. “As land prices and
potential for agriculture incomes have increased, there is discomfort in
the command area. Conflict of interest is expected to get deeper. Though I
can’t say whether there would be tenants-owners wars that happened in
the country in 1970s, as reported tenants-owner tensions are likely to
rise in number and depth. This could be a potential threat to the area
peace. The government should nip the evil in the bud,” said Ahmad Zeb, a
community representative from DIK. Zeb said the problems of collective
land ownership and absentee landlordism could be pestering problems in
future if not checked. “The absentee
landlords, who had left their lands unattended or to tenants for decades,
are returning to take possession of their lands, a move being resisted by
the tenants. Resultantly, tenants-landowners tensions are on the rise.
Before this becomes a menace for this volatile region bordering the
militancy-hit tribal belt, the government needs to proactively check this
menace. There is a need for new land resettlement and subsequent
distribution amongst their virtual owners,” Zeb said. As the work on the
project began in 2001, the trend of buying or snatching lands from the
ignorant farmers started. However, in October 2001, the provincial
government banned the sale, purchase, registry, Hiba, settlement of
property and transfers of land under the Gomal Zam Dam Speculation
Ordinance, in the project area till completion of the dam. Humyun Khan, a Tank
community representative, also seconded Zeb’s thoughts and urged
involvement of the administration to overcome this menace. According to another
farmer from the area, main canal has been established and irrigation
channels are now being prepared but farmers are reluctant to allow
irrigation channels on the paltry amount being offered. Worse, payment is
being delayed under one pretext or another. Again, farmers are
unhappy over the division of irrigation water in the 393 morgahs on the
basis of different cropping intensities in the command area. A farmer said
that some areas have been allotted less water on the basis of low cropping
intensity. Coupled with this is the expected huge gap between the water
availability at the head and tail-end with the result that the farmers in
the tail-end will suffer. This discrepancy needs to be removed. Considering this, the
Gomal Zam Command Area Advocacy Project (GZAP), launched recently, is of
vital importance as it plans to ensure a hassle-free execution of the
project to make it advantageous for the impoverished farming community in
the command area of the Gomal Zam. The Small Grants
Ambassadors’ Funds Programme of the USAID has provided Rs20mn for the
advocacy project. It is being implemented by the Regional Institute of
Policy Research and Training (RIPORT), a local think tank. “With civil work
almost complete in most components of the GZ project, there is a need to
build an institutional mechanism to ensure hassle-free execution of the
project. We intend to set up a consultative institutional mechanism based
on community and government stakeholders’ interaction for addressing
agriculture/irrigation related challenges including conflict mitigation.
It will also undertake research for identifying the agriculture/irrigation
threats and opportunities in the project area. A project review committee
composed of representatives of P&D, agriculture, irrigation, Wapda,
SWD and the donors needs to be formed,” said Khalid Aziz, the chairman
of RIPORT. “All these steps would help develop a governance model for
smooth implementation of the irrigated agriculture in GZ command area.” “Community awareness
and participation is to be ensured. They need to be informed of the
challenges and opportunities of shifting from Rod Kohi to canal irrigation
system. Awareness sessions in 131 villages regarding canal distribution
system and its challenges would be arranged. Village committees would be
formed and training for each village committee on on-farm water
management, sustainable cropping patterns etc would be provided. Learning
visits will be arranged for farmers to the Chashma right bank canal,” he
explained. Aziz said, “The
project activities include optimisation of agriculture incomes, land
levelling, soil conservation, reclamation of lands, on-farm water
management, utilisation of canal water for drinking purposes, awareness
about water and land rights, optimisation of cropping patterns,
preparation of manual of best agriculture and irrigation practices and
identification of reforms and legislation.” Officials from
agriculture and livestock departments also want a role for the departments
and warned against duplication of farmers’ organisations to be formed in
the project areas. They advocated close coordination between the concerned
departments. Plantation of locally
sustainable plants on the canal side and orchards and rangeland
development should also be considered.
Tax delinquents and elections According to
reports, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is coming out with an illegal,
rather obnoxious interpretation, that if tax has been deducted from salary
of a parliamentarian then he/she will not be considered as a tax defaulter
for the forthcoming elections notwithstanding the fact that a willful
default was committed by not filing income tax return and wealth statement
required under the law — the purpose is to safeguard the overwhelming
majority of candidates from disqualification. People want to know how our
innocent members of parliament can claim that salary is their only source
of income vis-à-vis their style of living — sprawling bungalows, luxury
cars; army of guards and foreign travels etc. The study (Taxation
without Representation) released by the Center for Investigative Reporting
in Pakistan (CIRP) on December 12, 2012 revealed that nearly 70 per cent
of members of Senate and National Assembly having taxable income of
Rs500,000 in tax year 2011 failed to comply with section 116(2) of the
Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 by not filing tax returns, wealth statements
and personal expenses. Instead of admitting their default and making it
good, they accused the FBR of “illegally” (sic) disclosing data. The
FBR also obliged them by not taking action under the law, rather assured
them of “full cooperation in identifying the persons who leaked data”.
On discovering lapse on
the part of legislators, it was the duty of the FBR to promptly issue
notices under the law to all those who failed to file their tax returns
with wealth statements. If 70 per cent of Pakistani legislators violated
section 114 and 116 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 then the FBR was
equally guilty of failing to issue notices under section 114(3) and 116(1)
of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 to these defaulters. The act of
non-filing of return and wealth statement attracts prosecution proceedings
as well which are contained in section 191(1)(a) of the Income Tax
Ordinance, 2001. It reads as under: 191. Prosecution for
non-compliance with certain statutory obligations. Any person who, without
reasonable excuse, fails to comply with a notice under sub-section (3) of
section 114 or sub-section (1) of section 116; shall commit an offence
punishable on conviction with a fine or imprisonment for a term not
exceeding one year, or both. In case the default of
non-filing of return and wealth statement continues even after punishment
under section 191(1)(a), sub-section (2) of section 191 provides further
action as under: (2) If a person
convicted of an offence under clause (a) of sub-section (1) fails, without
reasonable excuse, to furnish the return of income or wealth statement to
which the offence relates within the period specified by the Court, the
person shall commit a further offence punishable on conviction with a fine
not exceeding fifty thousand rupees or imprisonment for a term not
exceeding two years, or both”. The above provisions of
the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 are unambiguous and more than adequate to
deal with tax delinquents. These have, unfortunately, not been invoked in
the case of holders of public office as they represented the mighty
section of society who made things worse by calling leakage of information
as “breach of privilege”. In all the leading
democracies of the world, laws exist which ensure that people seeking
votes to become their representatives should have integrity and character.
Discharging of tax obligations is a requirement of law of the land
(reproduced above) and its violation by any individual attracts provisions
of Article 62(f) of the Constitution of Pakistan which says: “A person
shall not be qualified to be elected or chosen as a member of
Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) unless he is sagacious, righteous and
non-profligate, honest and ameen, there being no declaration to the
contrary by a court of law”. Can a violator of income tax law escape the
operation of this provision of supreme law of the land even when no action
is taken by the FBR against him and it is incontrovertible that he did not
file income tax return and wealth statement required under the law? It is not out of place
to mention that two important nominees of Barack Obama in his first term
— Tom Daschle and Nancy Killefer — withdrew their names after it
emerged that they failed to keep their taxes in proper order. Let the
political parties tell us if they know how many of their leaders have no
problems with taxes. We, being practicing tax lawyers and having long
experience as tax administrators, can say without any fear of
contradiction that majority of them will be disqualified if we implement
the democratic tradition followed by Barack Obama after landslide and
historic victory in 2008 by admitting that he “screwed up” by
nominating tax delinquents. Our rulers, on the
contrary, take pride in rewarding known corrupt and offenders by giving
them important public offices. This is why our history is that of
‘Barren Years’ — phrase aptly adopted as title of book containing
editorials and columns by late Mazhar Ali Khan, veteran Pakistani
journalist, written as editor of Viewpoint. The agenda of change,
even from a pure moralistic point of view, must start from one’s self
and own house. Those who are accusing others of tax avoidance are required
to first prove that they have discharged their own liabilities diligently.
There cannot be selective accountability and escape from law by using the
attractive slogan of “change” or “reform” nor in their garb can
anyone be allowed to rise above law by claiming himself to be a custodian
(self-acclaimed) of morality. It is a matter of record
that political parties in Pakistan do not file tax returns and the FBR has
never bothered to issue them notices. In India, there is a mandatory
provision of law [section 13A of Income Tax Act, 1961] requiring political
parties to file returns. Frequently, Chief Election Commissioner of India
asks the Indian Central Board of Direct Taxes to scrutinise accounts
submitted by political parties. Central Information Commission of India
also directs Income Tax Department to disclose in public interest, details
of donors given by political parties in their tax returns. In Pakistan, neither
Election Commission nor the FBR has bothered to consider this vital matter
till today. Even the Supreme Court has not taken cognizance of this issue
while passing many orders for conducting fair and free elections. A meaningful change in
electioneering requires that political parties should not only keep proper
accounts and get them audited by reputed firms, but also file income tax
returns, which should be made public. It would force them to take into
their folds only those people who honestly discharge their tax
obligations. The process of filtration within the parties is a necessary
step towards a transparent and democratic setup and Election Commission of
Pakistan should ensure its implementation. The writers, tax
lawyers, are adjunct faculty at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).
Despite the passage of 65 years, education sector in Pakistan is still in a shambles due to lack of vision and political will By Rasheed Ali Sabeen Akhtar,
14, left school after passing her eighth grade examination in 2010 as her
father Ghulam Rasool, a small farmer in Chak No 338/HR of Tehsil Fort
Abbas (Punjab), does not allow her to go to another village, 11 kilometres
away, to continue her education where the girls high school is situated.
Ghulam Rasool says he is single bread-earner of his family and he cannot
afford providing his daughter with a pick-and-drop facility. There are hundreds of
thousands of Sabeens in the country who have to abandon their education
for non-availability of schools in their villages and towns. Therefore,
the country will have to set up a lot more educational institutions if it
wants to achieve the promised 100% literacy rate. However, till date, the
situation is quite alarming. The Education for All Global Monitoring
Report 2012 says the government in Pakistan spends seven times more on its
military than on primary education and has the second highest number of
out-of-school children (5.1 million) in the world. In the 2011-12 budget,
Pakistan earmarked only 2.3 per cent of the budget for education, which is
0.3 per cent less than in 1999. There is no need to comment on it that
with such a low allocation, how many new schools can be opened. Over 65 years, the time
period: eight national education policies, eight five-year plans, one
Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act, half a dozen other schemes and
over hundreds of conferences, seminars and workshops, but education in the
country is still in a shambles. Why? The answer is very
simple: no individual at the helm of affairs, no government, and no
authority ever pondered what should be the philosophy of education of this
nation, what are its needs, what should be the medium of education and
what curricula would best suit this country in the years and decades to
come. According to
researchers, education during the last six and a half decades has remained
“an arena of experimentation, and implementation of divergent, often
contradictory, policies”. Human Development in South Asia 1998 report
had said that “while South Asia is the most illiterate region in the
world, Pakistan is the most illiterate country within South Asia”. And
15 more years have passed with no major change taking place. Returning to our basic
premise, the functional form of the philosophy of education was spelled
out by the Founding Father of Pakistan. In his message to the All Pakistan
Educational Conference at Karachi on 27th November 1947, Mohammad Ali
Jinnah said: “… if we are to make any real, speedy and substantial
progress, we must earnestly bring our educational policy and programme on
the lines suited to the genius of our people and vast developments that
have taken place all over the world. Sincerity, vision and
political will: The late Qudrat Ullah
Shahab, a civil servant and an eminent Urdu author, writes in his
autobiography, Shahab Nama, that Malik Amir Mohammad Khan, commonly known
as Nawab of Kalabagh, the Governor of West Pakistan from 1960 to 1966,
once got angry at the students over some issue. He closed down all
colleges of Lahore for an indefinite period of time. When many days passed
and the colleges were not reopened, Field Marshal President Ayub Khan sent
him (Shahab) to Lahore to request the Governor to reopen the colleges.
Here’s the dialogue that took place between the two. Shahab: Nawab Sahib, the
President is worried as many days have passed since colleges were closed. Nawab: I wonder why the
President is worried about the closing of colleges in Lahore. Shahab: I think he’s
worried as it is resulting in the loss of studies. Nawab: What will happen
if there is a loss of studies? Shahab: It may result in
the loss of students’ one year. Nawab: What will happen
if students’ one year is lost? Shahab writes that he
had no answer to such a silly question, so he kept quite. The Nawab, twirling his
handlebar moustaches in his fists, said: “I say it makes no difference
at all even if a whole generation remains illiterate. “By the way, my
forefathers, or your forefathers, or for that matter the forefathers of
the respected President were not BA, MA degree-holders. Their illiteracy
could not create any hurdle in our reaching these big posts… “Tell the President,
he should not be worried about the students, I will reopen colleges
whenever I’ll deem it necessary.” Such was the importance
of education in the eyes of the rulers and such was their vision about 50
years ago. But it is a pity that
situation has not changed much even today. Last year, on July 16, the
Punjab Assembly was informed by the Opposition leader Raja Riaz that an
under-matriculate had been appointed as special assistant on education to
the Punjab chief minister. The only ‘qualification’ of Khizer Hyat
Hiraj from Khanewal was that he was the father-in-law of an ex-PML-Q MPA,
who had joined the ‘turncoat group’ when Shahbaz Sharif wanted him to. One of the ruling party
PML-N MPA, ‘Dr.’ Ghazala Rana objected to the objection of Raja Riaz
saying that the opposition leader was “insulting the vast majority of
illiterates in the Punjab”. The ‘Dr.’ perhaps wanted to tell the
House that appointing an under-matriculate was essential to educate 74.93%
illiterates of the Punjab. [According to official data, only 25.07%
complete 10 years of education in Punjab] Medium of education,
syllabi: One of the biggest
problems of the education sector in Pakistan is lack of a uniform
education system and syllabus. On the one hand, there are educational
institutions modelled after Western educational system; their medium of
instructions is English, which is believed to be the language of the
ruling class, and the courses/syllabuses taught there are also set and
overseen by the Western educational systems. These institutions, run in
the private sector mostly, charge fees the people from middle, lower
middle and poor classes cannot afford. Only the elite class children
benefit from these institutions, and grow up to become members of the
ruling class. On the other hand, the
children coming from modest background are provided education in the
public sector education institutions. These institutions lack
infrastructure, even buildings and basic facilities, trained and committed
teaching staff and the equipment, needed to impart science and technology
education to the students. Thus, from the beginning, these children are
put on a path leading only to lower-level and clerical jobs. What the state needs the
most in the field of education is to provide an equal opportunity and an
enabling environment to each and every son and daughter of the nation.
Education
finds a place in the PPP’s slogan The Pakistan
People’s Party (PPP) has extended its traditional slogan of ‘Roti,
Kapra aur Makan’ to ‘Ilm, Sehat aur Sub Ko Kam (Education, Health and
Employment for All)’ through its manifesto for the upcoming elections.
“The party has always identified access to shelter, food security,
healthcare, education and equal opportunities as fundamental rights for
all,” reads the party’s 2013 manifesto. The education sector,
which got only one page in the PPP’s 2008 election manifesto, has been
extended to several pages and several sections in the 2013 manifesto. The
word education mentioned only 28 times in the 2008 manifesto got 101
entries now. The PPP claimed in the 2008 manifesto that it had built
48,000 schools in its two tenures from 1988 to 1996, recruited and trained
100,000 teachers in three years alone, thereby doubling the literacy rate.
It also claimed that
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was the first leader to make education compulsory for
children, and build schools, colleges and universities. “He took the
literacy rate up to 26 per cent where it stagnated for a decade. Then
Benazir Bhutto was elected and the literacy rate doubled to over 50 per
cent,” it reads. Taj Haider, general
secretary of the PPP’s Sindh chapter and member of the committee that
prepared the 2013 manifesto, says that education has become a central
pillar of the party’s policy to take Pakistan into the future.
“Education has become one of the most important areas for the party. We
are committed to this sector since 1970, but in the last couple of years
our emphasis on education has increased significantly,” he says. The PPP takes credit for
introducing the 18th Amendment in the Constitution which devolved
education sector to provinces. “Under our party’s leadership, the
Parliament approved a long-standing demand of the provinces to
decentralise education sector. Human rights issues were included in the
curricula of all the provinces except Punjab,” reads the PPP manifesto. The party also got
Article 25-A (the Right to Education) inserted in the constitution in the
chapter of the fundamental rights of the Constitution as part of the 18th
Constitutional Amendment under which “The state shall provide free and
compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years
in such manner as may be determined by law.” It also got passed the
Right to Free and Compulsory Education Bill 2012 from National Assembly in
November 2012. The bill ensured free education for all children of the age
5-16 in schools established by the federal government and local government
in Islamabad Capital Territory. In February 2013, a
similar kind of bill was passed unanimously by Sindh Assembly as well. The PPP, which remained
in power for the last five years and could not spend more than 1.8 per
cent of GDP on education sector, has pledged to spend more than 4.5 per
cent of GDP on education by the end of its next term. “The party will ensure
education is treated as a national emergency. This requires effective
planning and budgeting as well as a holistic approach to bring about a
change in the entire system of education. It requires the development of
mechanisms for the exchange of information between different levels of
education, and measures to ensure access to schooling for all children,”
it reads. According to the
manifesto, the PPP increased the education budget to 7.845 billion rupees,
up by 196 per cent from 2011-12. It has also promised in the manifesto to
pursue curriculum reform in order to purge textbooks of hate speech. The
manifesto also promises to bridge the gap between private and public
schooling by building a National Education Standards Council for all
provinces to coordinate efforts, and looks to target universal primary
enrolment by 2018 as guaranteed in the Constitution, along with a pool of
10,000 higher education and technical vocation scholarships every year.
Interestingly, in the 2008 manifesto it promised to achieve the universal
primary enrolment by 2015. There is a separate
section in manifesto on ‘reforming medical education’ which promises
to undertake a strategic review and reform of medical education, with
interventions aimed at health professionals including doctors,
pharmacists, paramedical staff, technicians and nurses. The manifesto
promises special attention to girls and poorest of the poor. The manifesto
also promises to initiate madrassa reforms with the help of madrassa
councils to modernise their education system. Taj Haider says that the
PPP set up 10 public universities during its tenure in Sindh instead of
increasing the number of campuses of universities throughout the
provinces. “In Sindh, we have approved Rs122 billion for education while
Rs32 billion for special projects in the education sector which makes 28
per cent of total provincial budget. KPK has been spending 48 per cent of
its budget on the education sector,” he says. “Infrastructure and
budget is not the real issue in education sector.” “Training and
commitment of the teachers are among the main issues. We have increased
salaries of teachers in provinces by 150 per cent along with hiring 30,000
more teachers. A headmaster of school in Sindh is getting more than
Rs85,000 salary now. The salary of a minister on the other hand is
Rs82,000. We have placed special emphasis on teachers’ training as well
and set up 8 training centres, but only two of them are operational,”
Haider says. “I am not in favour of building more schools, instead we
would establish a bigger school in five kilometre radius and provide
transportation facility. Small schools in small villages are wastage of
resources as it becomes tough to monitor them, while on the other hand
students also do not get opportunity to communicate with students from
other areas.” Haider says, “We have
integrated health, family planning and education.” The change came after
collecting the data of BISP which showed that over 71 per cent of its
beneficiaries, aged 5-12, have never attended a school. “The PPP is
committed to the poorest of the poor and we have decided to bring these
people to the mainstream. Under the new strategy, a child from this class
would be responsibility of the government till the age of five. It would
include immunisation and early childhood education while on reaching the
age of 5, he would automatically be eligible to get free education under
Article 25A,” he says. “Special attention would be given to vocational
education.” Zehra Arshad, national
coordinator Pakistan Coalition for Education — an alliance of around 200
NGOs, individuals and other stakeholders working on education — says the
PPP has done some commendable things for education sector during its
five-year tenure. “Devolution of education to provinces and inclusion of
education as fundamental right and increasing salaries of teachers are
some of the good initiatives of the PPP.” “But how will they
raise spending to 4.5 per cent of GDP. Why were they unable to do so in
their five-year tenure,” she questions, saying that 100 per cent
enrolment even by 2018 would be a big deal. “One needs proper planning
to do so while the PPP’s manifesto is silent on a line of action to
achieve all these targets.” “EU observers to
monitor 2013 elections” Ambassador Lars-Gunnar
Wigemark is the Head of the European Union Delegation to Pakistan. He
graduated from Harvard University in 1984 with an A.B. Magna Cum Laude in
Social Science and holds a Master’s degree from the Fletcher School of
Law and Diplomacy in International Law and Economics. In 1988, he joined
the Swedish Foreign Service in Stockholm and has been posted to Belgrade,
Washington, Brussels, Kabul and Moscow, where he served as Deputy Head and
Minister at the Swedish Embassy 2003-2007. In September 2010, the
European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton appointed Wigemark as
one of the first EU Ambassadors under the Lisbon Treaty. He took up his
new duties in Pakistan in early February 2011. TNS interviewed him on
various issues mostly pertaining to EU-Pakistan relations during his
recent visit to Lahore. Excerpts follow: The News on Sunday: What
is the exact mandate of an EU delegation to a country and why is it needed
in the presence of diplomatic missions of member countries? Lars-Gunnar Wigemark:
The EU delegations work under the European External Action Service (EEAS)
— one of the most significant changes introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon
— which entered into force on Dec 1, 2009. It aims at making the EU’s
external action more coherent and efficient, thereby increasing the
European Union’s influence in the world. The EU has 27 members, of which
16 have presence in Pakistan. These diplomatic missions do perform various
functions including issuance of visas and promotion of their countries’
relations with Pakistan. But it is the EU delegation which represents the
EU in the country where it is placed in matters related to dialogue and
cooperation with sates and other stakeholders with a view to contributing
to the country’s economic, political and social development etc. In short, it has the
mandate to negotiate with countries on policy matters on behalf of all
members of the EU. At the same time, it stays at a distance in matters of
bilateral trade between an EU member and a country because there is
competition within EU as well. TNS: The EU has offered
to send teams to observe elections in Pakistan. What purpose do they
serve? LGW: The EU election
observers were in Pakistan in 2002 and then again in 2008. They are
carefully selected professionals from different fields and are sent for a
period of around six to eight weeks. During their stay they observe how
parties are acting, is the election code being enforced, is the media
impartial or taking sides, is the tabulation process foolproof or not, how
independent the Election Commission is and so on. The observers compiled a
report after the 2008 elections and submitted 83 recommendations to make
elections more transparent and fair in future. This time they will perform
the same functions. All the political parties have shown their interest in
having EU observers in the country as they find them impartial. TNS: What are your
concerns about the security situation in the country and how do you think
the EU can contribute to improve the situation? LGW: The European
community is deeply concerned about the incidents of violence and
terrorism in Pakistan, sectarian killings, excesses against minorities and
loss of innocent lives in acts of sabotage. The EU has always condemned
these evils and launched programmes to increase the skills and capability
of those fighting these menaces. To name a few, there have been training
programmes for police, forensic experts, prosecution wings etc. Besides, the EU has been
working with National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) and has also
pledged financial support for counter terrorism measures. It has handed
over eight bomb disposal vehicles — four each to KPK and Punjab —
which use robotic arms to pick and diffuse bombs. Had they been in use in
the past, the loss of precious lives of two bomb squad officials could
have been avoided. TNS: The EU is working
on a proposal to grant Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Plus status
to Pakistan. However, there’s a perception here that the conditions
attached to it are too tough to fulfill. What is your opinion? LGW: No doubt, there are
certain conditions which Pakistan has to fulfill to avail this offer. But
once Pakistan is granted GSP Plus status it will have duty-free access to
the EU markets. Pakistan has submitted a formal application in this regard
to European Commission (EC) which will technically be examined. The
Commission will decide on the application within six months. Yes, there
are certain conditions, one of which is the implementation of 27
international conventions pertaining to human rights, labour rights,
environment, good governance and so on. Here I would say the EU
delegation cannot help much as the monitoring mechanisms are global, but
it can definitely help raise awareness among the stakeholders. As part of
the same exercise, I have come to Lahore and visited Lahore Stock Exchange
(LSE), Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), All Pakistan
Textiles Manufacturers Association (APTMA) and held sessions with
businessmen on encouraging them to pay more attention to the Human Rights
aspects of the GSP+. The business community
can play an important role. Pakistan has signed and ratified all these
treaties but at the same time submitted several reservations on some
clauses. As a case in point, the country observes it is impossible for it
to remove the condition of the President of Pakistan being a Muslim, which
is mentioned clearly in the Constitution of Pakistan. Similarly, the
UN’s Universal Periodic Review of the human rights situation in the
country is important. The country may have to face questions on rights of
minorities, status of women, missing persons etc. TNS: You mentioned
cooperation in social development of country as a priority area under EU
foreign policy guidelines. What interventions the EU has made in Pakistan
or plans to make in future? LGW: The EU has invested
a lot in the social sector in Pakistan. For example, it has given priority
to education sector. Right now, there are 11 donors and therefore there
are issues like duplication of efforts, overlapping and lack of
coordination. In the post-18th Amendment scenario, there are issues of
implementation and lack of coordination between provinces and Centre or
donors etc. What we do is that we
give budgetary support to governments for education and then discuss
targets. We are satisfied if the targets are achieved. Technical and
vocational education is another focus of our interventions and we aim to
increase the employability of those enrolled in these programmes. Besides,
the EU has launched programmes and projects according to the very needs of
specific communities all over the country. To name a few there are
microhydel plants, clinics, schools, wells for drinking water etc.
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