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history uplift Tax
reform agenda issue Changing
realities My
right to know debate Assault
on rationalism
Historical myths and realities Contrary to the official history, the Ghazanvid and Ghorid eras were perhaps the darkest periods of Muslim rule in India with instability, warfare, economic collapse etc, as hallmarks By Yaqoob Khan Bangash In Pakistan, we
often idolise people without knowing much about them; though perhaps that
is the reason we idolise them. In The dynasty which Mahmud
replaced in most of what is now Pakistan is seldom remarked upon in our
textbooks. All we learn is that it was the ‘Hindu Shahi’ dynasty, and
that is usually about it. We never read how prosperous, developed and
peaceful this region was before Mahmud and how it was then transformed
into a region of continual warfare and misery. The Muslim traveller and
chronicler, Al-Biruni commented on the Hindu Shahis: ‘We must say that,
in all their grandeur, they never slackened in the ardent desire of doing
that which is good and right, that they were men of noble sentiment and
noble bearing.’ With this background we must judge the entry of Mahmud
into South Asia. Mahmud of Ghazna was
nothing more than a looter and his main interest in India was plunder.
That is why when he dislodged the Hindu Shahis he did not appoint a
‘governor’ or ‘viceroy’ but left the conquered areas usually in
the hands of sipahsalars — Generals — who were only interested in
collecting revenue and defence and had scant interest in governance and
justice. Thus during Mahmud’s ‘rule’ if one might call that, India
suffered economic plunder, political instability and a distinct lack of
justice. Pakistani texts also
boldly claim that Mahmud and his successors fought for Islam against
non-Muslims — nothing co Pakistani writers also
give the impression that Mahmud and his successors were zealot Muslims who
only fought for the cause of Islam. This would obviously rule out any
cooperation, let alone incorporation, of non-Muslim elements in these
seemingly ‘Jihadist’ forces. However, there is ample historical
evidence that not only were Hindus employed in the Ghaznavid armies, they
also held important positions. For example during the reign of Nasiruddin
Masud, Mahmud’s son, several Hindus were generals in the Ghaznavid
armies and fought for the Sultan against rebellious Muslim nobles. Professor Baqir notes in
his history of Lahore that when conflict broke out between the
Sultan-appointed salar of India, Ahmad Nialtagin, and the Qazi at Lahore,
‘Sultan Masud dispatched Banah, a Hindu general, at the head of a large
army to the rescue of the Qazi. But Banah was defeated and got killed.
Another Hindu general Tilak then offered his services to Sultan Masud for
this purpose. This offer was accepted and Tilak reaching Mandhakur gave a
battle to Ahmad Nialtagin. Nialtagin this time did not take a firm stand
and after fighting for a short time escaped towards Multan. His defeated
army was routed by Tilak, who also placed a price at the head of Nialtagin.’
This incident where a
Hindu general, fighting for a Muslim ruler, defeated a Muslim noble, must
rattle the brains of those who give a very clear cut — Hindu vs. Muslim
— colour and interpretation to this period of history. This incident,
and several others like this, should certainly make us wonder about the
real power dynamics of the time. I am no expert on Indian medieval
history, but even a cursory look at the available sources makes a strong
argument that it was more about conquest, loot and power politics than
religion which marked this era. Mahmud and his
successors were Muslims, surely, but they were not so concerned about the
spread of Islam than they were about the regular flow of revenue (read
harshly extracted revenue) from India. As a matter of fact, there are
several occasions during this period where the Ghazna-based Sultan marched
into India because the revenue flow had been stemmed, but hardly any
incident where the Sultan attacked the country for the spread of Islam. As it is with official
Pakistani history writing, it is also conveniently forgotten that the
empire created by the Ghoris dislodged that of the Ghaznavids. After all,
both empires covered almost the same area, so one must have defeated the
other — a Muslim defeated a Muslim. Of course the seamless jump from
Mahmud to Muhammad Ghori in our texts prevents people from questioning the
great Islamic credentials we like to ascribe them. Professor Baqir notes
the surrender of Lahore by the Ghaznavid Khusru Malik to Muhammad Ghori in
the following manner: ‘...Muhammad Ghuri, collecting his forces,
attempted a third time to reduce the city of Lahore, which he effected by
treachery in the following manner. While he was preparing for his
expedition, he wrote to Khusru Malik that he was desirous of accommodating
their differences by a treaty of peace. To convince him of the sincerity
of his intention, he released his son Malik Shah, and sent him back to
Lahore with a splendid retinue....In the meantime Muhammad Ghuri with a
large army, marching with incredible expedition, came to Lahore and
surrounded the camp of Khusru Malik at night. The emperor awoke in the
morning, and seeing no means of escape, threw himself at the mercy of his
enemy. The gates of the city were accordingly thrown open to receive him,
and the empire passed from the house of Ghazna to that of Ghur.’ Therefore, not only did
Muhammad Ghori displace a Muslim ruler, he achieved it by deception,
something again not in keeping with our idealistic view of him. I wonder
what this means for the impression we want to create with our Ghori
missiles? In reading the early
medieval period we must also be very careful about the terms in which
conquests are justified. Almost always religion is evoked as a cause, but
almost always religion is only a secondary interest. The Ghorids too used
religion to expand their empire: after all there was no better morale
booster and a battle cry than the spread of Islam in those days. But the
mere invocation of religion did not mean that the conquerors were either
pious Muslims working for a selfless mission. Even Firishta, the sixteenth
century Persian Muslim historian, noted the often dual nature of
conquests. Commenting on Muhammad
Ghori’s conquest of Benaras, Firishta noted that ‘...he broke the
idols in above one thousand temples, which he purified and consecrated to
the true God. Here he also found immense plunder.’ One must wonder,
therefore, if Ghori’s main intention in attacking Benaras was to loot
its famously rich temples or to destroy un-Islamic ‘idols’? The
concentration of wealth in temples in India might have given the prime
pretext for such looters to combine their raiding expeditions with giving
some service to the cause of Islam as a by product. History writing in every
age is a biased operation. This is because no historian, no matter how
much they try, can be free of all bias. Therefore, there are different
versions and books on history, since if one could write an ‘unbiased’
and ‘objective’ version of history, all the other historians would be
out of business. However, a historian must try not to hide facts and only
use verifiable facts and evidence to create an argument. It is in the
interpretation of the facts and evidence that historians differ, not in
their existence. Unfortunately, the trend in Pakistan has been to simply
fabricate facts and lie. A large section of official history writing in
the country does not even go to the trouble of offering a different
perspective or argument — they simply make things up or hide things. In the case of the
Ghaznavid and Ghorid eras, we have been so obsessed with making them into
‘Islamic heroes’ that we have simply not told people what actually
happened in those eras. Few people in Pakistan study medieval history, and
students in school get a neat and clean version of these eras as a
glorious epoch in Indian Muslim history, where these eras were perhaps the
darkest periods of Muslim rule in India with instability, warfare,
economic collapse etc, as hallmarks. The lack of information, discussion
and understanding of this era has meant that even historical faux pas have
been made, as with the recent ‘restoration’ of Muhammad Ghori’s
‘tomb’ near Jhelum in the Punjab by the infamous Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan,
when almost all historical accounts agree that while Ghori was
assassinated near Jhelum, his body was taken to Ghazna and buried there.
Only if people had read history! The writer is the
Chairperson of the Department of History, Forman Christian College, and
tweets at @BangashYK. He can be contacted at: yaqoob.bangash@gmail.com
uplift It’s time for
roll call. The young energetic boys, clad in their yellowish orange
uniform, raise their hands one by one and speak out their names loudly.
Every student is supposed to speak out his address as well, so that the
teacher can work out the attendance rates of children coming from
different areas. The exercise does not
take long as the teacher has to simply write down a digit or digits in the
address column. The c Students of a government
elementary school in Daharki, Sindh, these boys have grown up seeing
personnel of oil and gas exploration companies all around. Despite
inhabiting land rich in natural resources and home to more than a dozen of
country’s biggest industrial units, these people have had little contact
with the representatives of the state. It is estimated that the
government revenue generated from this city is next only in volume to that
generated from Karachi but unfortunately the state expenditure on
development here is one of the lowest. In Daharaki, there are
no functional Basic Health Units (BHUs), government dispensaries,
government schools with proper buildings and furniture or safe drinking
water provided by the civic authorities. All the major development one can
see is mainly due to the initiatives of oil and gas companies and other
corporates under their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) obligations. No doubt, it is binding
on big companies to spend their funds on development projects in the areas
of their operation. But the question here is that does this obligation on
companies exonerate the state of all its responsibilities with respect to
meeting the basic needs of its citizens? The answer simply is that the CSR
funds are meant to supplement the efforts of the state in such areas and
can no way be an alternative to government resources meant for this
purpose. The investments they
have made in Daharki are much more than mere fulfillment of a contractual
obligation, states Col (retd) Dr Sanaullah, Deputy Manager Medical at Mari
Petroleum Company Limited — a public listed company doing exploration
work here since 1957. He tells TNS the oil and
exploration companies are required by law to invest in the social sector
development but their investments are manifold of what would have been
enough to fulfill this requirement. “Here the company itself identifies
public’s needs and executes projects which suit them the most.” Mari Field areas lie
within the vicinity of a desert. Initially there were no roads and the
local communities could not access public transportation facilities and
commute easily with other areas nearby. Over the decades, the company has
laid up infrastructure in the area which includes 57 kilometers of
metalled road, 308 kilometers of dirt (kacha) road, 13 bridges over canals
etc and is spending around Rs 14 million on its maintenance and operation
every year. In fact, Sana says,
there is a typical model of development in Daharaki. It starts with
discovery of a gas well. The area of the well belongs to private parties
but soon after the discovery, it is bought over by the company at a good
price. Instead of outsourcing the security to some company, the owner of
the land is offered the job of chowkidaar at Rs 20,000 a month for an
eight-hour shift. As there are three shifts, and a backup is required on
an off-day, the owner gets around Rs 80,000 a month which is quite a
handsome amount. Most owners open shops at the sites of the wells. The discovery is
followed by laying of road network, shifting of communities to the site
due to development, opening up of shops and markets etc, dispensaries and
so on. So far, 113 gas wells have been discovered in Mari Fields and
almost all of them have communities centered around them. The members of
these communities identify themselves with the numbers of these wells. The
company manages mobile dispensaries to provide treatment to over 100,000
patients annually in remote areas including those close to Indo-Pak
border. Unfortunately, these areas do not have functional government
dispensaries. No doubt one-time
investments are also a big deal, but the real issue is how to sustain
these initiatives. This is really a big concern for them, says Sana while
referring to the Mari Maternity Home constructed by the company back in
1990. This maternity home is
located in the central location of Mari field in union council Dad Leghari,
the oldest village there, even before partition of Pakistan. This
maternity home was handed over to Sindh Health Department but it could not
make it functional for many years. On the request of local
notables, MPCL had to take over its operations in May, 2003. This
maternity home treats over 15,000 patients annually and offers services of
normal deliveries, DNCs, ultrasounds and other gynecological procedures.
“We have generators here as there is hardly any electricity throughout
the day. Even if it is there, the voltage is too low for even the
ultrasound machine to operate,” says Dr Shahida Faiz, gynecologist at
the facility. The expectations of
local communities in oil or gas rich territories are also high.
Discouraged by lack of response from state, they look to corporates for
relief. Probably, this was the reason why locals from Sanghar district
approached Supreme Court last week and complained about disregard of
contractual obligations and neglect of social sector development by oil
and gas exploration companies in the district. The apex court has sought
details of different Exploration and Production (E&P) companies’
spending under CSR in their jurisdictions. However, there is an
explanation on why it is sometimes difficult to fulfill certain
obligations. For example, it is impossible to give maximum jobs to locals
in the absence of technically trained manpower. For this very reason,
major industrial units in Daharaki could give low-paying and non-technical
jobs to locals and managerial and technical posts would go to outsiders. But today, the Technical
Training Center (TTC), Daharaki trains needy local youth in the fields of
mechanical engineering and chemical engineering. Set up by The Pakistan
Chemical & Energy Sector Skills Development Company (PCESSDC) with
financial support from Engro Foundation, MPCL and others, the center
offers a three-year diploma in these subjects. This qualification
increases employability of students — a proof of which is that the Engro
Group has offered to hire the complete batch of 80 students as soon as it
passes out, says Brig (retd) Raja Muhammad Ali, CEO, PCESSDC. An interesting fact is
that though mega companies may compete with each other in business arena,
they have to work in tandem with each other to avoid duplication when it
comes to execution of development work. For example, MPCL does
not need to worry about incidents of snake bites in Daharki as Engro Group
is running a huge facility to cure these. On the other hand, the MPCL
manages a TB Clinic at its lease area where all the tests required for the
diagnosis of the disease and X-rays are available free of costs. The
patients come from Mari lease area, other areas of Ghotki, Rahimyar Khan,
Jacobabad and District Sukkur, says Dr Tajammul Baig Mughal, Senior
Medical Officer at the facility. The facility works in
collaboration with WHO, and tracks new and old patients from over a huge
catchment area. “We cannot afford to miss them as every single patient
has the potential of infecting 15 more people if not treated in time,”
he adds.
Tax reform
agenda The dire need in
today’s Pakistan is to tap the real tax potential and make the country a
self-reliant economy, stop wasteful, unproductive expenses, cut the size
of the cabinet and government machinery, make government-owned
corporations profitable or restructure them, accelerate industrialisation
and increase productivity, improve agricultural sector, bring inflation to
single digit and reduce inequalities through a policy of redistribution of
income and wealth. Higher rates of income
taxes, capital transfer taxes and wealth taxes are some means adopted for
achieving these ends in all democratic countries. In Pakistan, there has
been a gradual shift from equitable taxes to highly inequitable taxes. The
shift from removing inequalities through taxes to presumptive and easily
collectable taxes has destroyed the fundamental principle of horizontal
and vertical equity. In Pakistan, the poor
are subjected to heavy and cruel taxation to finance the luxuries of
Riasti Ashrafiya — militro-judicial-civil complex and public
office-holders who enjoy free perquisites, benefits, including expensive
plots at throw-away prices at prime locations that belong to the state.
The way they waste and plunder the taxpayers’ money is no secret. The
country is surviving on bailouts from the IMF due to perpetual failure of
the ruling elite to tax the rich and mighty that matter in the Land of
Pure. Revenues worth trillions of rupees have been sacrificed by
governments — civil and military alike — since 1977 extending
unprecedented exemptions and concessions to the privileged classes.
Gradually, the governments abolished all progressive taxes e.g. Estate
Duty, Gift Tax, Capital Gain Tax etc. The historic decision of
taxing “agricultural income”, passed by the Parliament in the shape of
Finance Act, 1977, was thwarted by the military regime of Ziaul Haq.
Through this law, the Parliament amended the definition of
“agricultural income” as obtaining in section 2(1) of then Income Tax
Act, 1922 to tax big absentee landlords. This was a revolutionary step to
impose tax on agricultural income at federal level for the first time in
the history of Pakistan, but ruthlessly foiled by a military dictator.
During Zia’s rule of 11 years and that of General Musharraf for nearly 9
years, absentee land owners (including mighty generals who received state
lands as gallantry awards or otherwise!) did not pay a single penny as
agricultural income tax or wealth tax. Taxation of “agricultural
income”, at present, is the sole prerogative of provincial governments
under the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan. All the four provinces have
enacted laws to this effect, but total collection in 2012-2013 was less
than Rs2 billion against actual potential of Rs200 billion (share of
agriculture in GDP was about 22 per cent). No one has calculated
how much tax loss Pakistan suffered perpetually since 1977 on account of
non-taxation of agricultural income alone as suggested under Finance Act,
1977. If we add total loss of revenue through various exemptions,
non-taxation of benefits given to state oligarchy (Riasti Ashrafiya) and
through Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs) issued during the last four
decades, the number comes to over Rs100 trillion — this explains how
unprecedented concessions to the rich has made the state poorer rendering
every citizen of this country to an enormous indebtedness. We would not
have required any borrowing at all, if tax losses were not incurred. How the governments were
abusing taxpayers’ money can be judged from the decision of Supreme
Court on April 17, 2013 suspending the March 14, 2013 notification issued
by Interior Ministry granting former interior minister Rehman Malik and
his predecessors lifetime perks and privileges. Hearing the suo moto
notice case regarding unlimited perks and privileges granted to two former
prime ministers, all former interior ministers, Sindh chief minister and
other senior officials by the outgoing government, the five-judge bench of
apex court sought a response from relevant authorities in this regard. It is thus no wonder
that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) posted shortfall of over Rs450
billion for fiscal year 2012-13. Very few people know that in the face of
such shortfall, the FBR withdrew the biggest revenue spinner — 1 per
cent withholding tax on manufacturing — resulting in a revenue loss of
Rs18 billion. Drastic cut of federal excise duty on sugar to 0.5 per cent
aimed at benefiting the influential sugar industry owners, causing a loss
of Rs8 billion to the national exchequer. 50 per cent cut on sales tax for
steel melters caused revenue loss of nearly Rs4 billion. In the budget for fiscal
year 2013-14, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is assigned a target of
Rs2475 billion — nearly 25 per cent increase over the collection made
for 2012-13. All experts are of the view that it is irrational and
ambitious in view of expected growth rate and enforcement capabilities of
the FBR. Adding insult to injury,
despite the dismal performance, the FBR gave bonuses to its staff and
officers ranging from one salary to three salaries. This was shocking to
say the least, especially as the country had been going through the worst
economic crisis. It is not understandable why the FBR even gives double
basic salary to its staff in addition to annual bonuses — they are
government employees and should be entitled to normal emoluments like all
other public servants. Finance Minister Ishaq
Dar and the National Assembly should look into the affairs of the FBR
asking them to justify double basic salary and undue “bonuses” —
especially when 90 per cent tax collection comes through withholding or
voluntary payments with returns, and revenue targets are missed every
year. At operational level,
the challenge is creating a corruption-free, efficient and result-oriented
tax apparatus. Though the World Bank and other donors gave a lot of money
and consultancy to Pakistan, things have changed only for the worse. If
the FBR wants to improve its efficiency, administrative pragmatic reforms
are the immediate need of the day — a successful model of Mauritius
Revenue Authority (www.mru.gov.mu) can be studied, debated and adapted
after making necessary changes to suit our peculiar conditions. At enforcement level,
the biggest challenge is how to bridge the tax gap — collection by the
FBR is one fourth of actual tax potential [Fiscal fiasco, The News, 12 May
2013]. Issues of documentation and tax compliance are lingering on for
years even after completion of a costly $100 million World Bank funded Tax
Reforms Administration Programme (TARP). The only way to check
massive evasion in customs, income tax and sales tax is implementing an
integrated Tax Intelligence System, which is capable of recording, storing
and cross-matching all inflows and outflows. All in-bound and out-bound
containers should be scanned/x-rayed to check evasion of customs duties
and taxes payable at source. However, no reform agenda can succeed unless
FBR is insulated from outside political pressures. It should be made
National Tax Collection Agency, responsible for collecting all federal and
provincial taxes and should be run by an independent Board of Directors
selected by National Finance Commission and/or Council of Common
Interests. It would facilitate
taxpayers to approach one agency only and data sharing for all taxes would
help in increasing revenues for the federation as well as the federating
units. The writers, tax
lawyers, are Adjunct Faculty at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
Pakistan is
ranked the second worst country of the world boasting the dubious
distinction of having the most school-going age children out of schools
— the staggeringly high number of 25 million. Only Nigeria has worse
figures. More than 6 million
Pakistani out-of-school children are of primary school age. This is the
highest ranking in the wo Whose responsibility is
it to ensure children go to schools? What does the state feel about this?
Article 25A as part of the 18th Amendment of the Pakistani Constitution
enacted in 2010 promises free and compulsory education for children
between 6 and 16 years. Says Article 25A, rather succinctly, “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.” But the devil, as they
say, is in the details — in the absence of definitions of ‘free’
education and ‘compulsory’ education or elaboration for the age
bracket of ‘6 to 16 years’, there cannot be accurate estimations of
the resources necessary to enforce Article 25A. The key implication for
the federal state and provinces, then, is that they are in serious danger
of rigging themselves up for failure in regards to enforcing Article 25A. Reading 25A right: What does ‘free’
education mean? Does it mean just free tuition, or also free books and
free transport? Education being a provincial subject, the budget for free
text books and free transport would be different from the budget for free
tuition. Then there’s ‘compulsory’ education. Does this mean parents
will be forced to send children to school and if not forced will they be
punished? If so, legislative requirements will be needed for this, as well
as enforcement mechanisms — and allied budgets. Are provinces ready for
this? And what about the bit
of Article 25A that promises taking care of the educational needs of
children between the ages of ‘6 and 16.’ Does this mean 10 years of
education or educating children of this age group up to matriculation?
What if a student fails and cannot complete matriculation by age 16? In
such a case, will s/he not be subsidized for full matriculation? Lack of clarity on
interpretation on scale, scope and mechanisms means the provinces may not
be able to work out the budgets to implement Article 25A. If this isn’t
bad enough, the last National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, which
allocates the share of national revenue for the provinces, came before the
18thAmendment (and the attendant Article 25A). This means that the
provinces’ allocations for education budgets are devoid of the accuracy
in estimation of resources required to enforce Article 25A. This has a
real potential for Article 25A to be doomed for failure with the dire
implication that even more children will be added to the tally of 25
million children already out of schools. 25 million voters for The latest general
election was held in May 2013 and education was one of the key themes of
focus of manifestos on which promises of political parties were made. This
means the demand side of education was outlined — both through political
consensus on 18th Amendment (inclusive of Article 25A) and through the
election pledges of parties. Elections have happened and different parties
have come into power in the provinces. Over 25 million votes
have been secured based on promises and now it’s time to fulfill them,
i.e., it is now time to investigate and attend to the supply side of
education. There is a need to create a lobby to demand enactment and to
help bring the focus on drafting mechanisms, not just compliance. Bringing
together relevant stakeholders to create such mechanisms and lobby to
serve as a watchdog on the commitments made by political parties is
important. The practicality of
implementing Article 25A needs to be understood by political parties,
provincial governments, policymakers and stakeholders through
investigation and advocacy about the essential links between promises by
political parties, resource allocations and governance mechanisms on
education policies for them to succeed. This investigation is missing and
needs to be conducted. The fact that the NFC
Award, which divides national revenue among the provinces, came before the
18th Amendment means that the massive funds required for effective and
successful implementation of Article 25A are not available. The
appropriate allocations were, therefore, not made by any province in the
budget for the new fiscal year after the May 2013 elections. This also
means the provinces and the new parties that have come to power there are
not really equipped to meet this obligation. Subordinate legislation: For all the above,
subordinate legislation is necessary. Do the parties/provinces know about
this, are they doing something about this, and have they the resources to
do it, or have the priority and commitment to do this, or have made
pronouncements and facilitative policies to make it happen so that
allocations can be secured? So what about mechanisms for implementation,
enforcement and facilitation and the resources necessary for these
mechanisms? The NFC Award doesn’t factor these and recommend/allocate
resources. So does this mean a new NFC is needed? Or a new amended Article
25A is needed? Then there is Article
140A of the Constitution dealing with devolution – asserting that
ultimately subjects including education are to devolve from provinces to
districts. So how prepared the provinces are for this in terms of policies
and resources required to fulfill the obligations of Article 140A? Don’t
hold your breath on this one. Putting another 25
million in classrooms: The following roadmap is
recommended to build a consensus in each of the four provinces to generate
the urgency of effort and detail required to promote prioritised
enforcement of Article 25A: 1. Identify the resource
allocation and budgetary gaps between implied costs of implementation of
Article 25A and the last NFC Award allocations relating to education. 2. Quantify the costs of
pledges made on education in manifestos of political parties heading
provincial governments now and their actual allocations to education in
the latest provincial budgets with specific focus on implementation of
Article 25A. 3. Promote awareness and
dialogue among key stakeholders, including parties, governments, CSOs
working on educational issues and educationists, on the gaps between
promises and actual budgets and actual resources and mechanisms needed for
implementing Article 25A. 4. Empower key
supply-side actors such as teachers and their unions to move beyond
demands for higher salaries to articulate demand for realistic resource
allocations from policymakers for implementation of Article 25A. Efforts are needed to
assist and inform the debate on implementation of Article 25A at the
federal and provincial levels by generating accurate, specific and
relevant information, research, analysis and context required to generate
support for the cause to promote better understanding among the key
stakeholders for the kind of planning required to implement Article 25A. By generating relevant
and currently unavailable data and analysis on the links between promises
of political parties, allocations of resources and proper interpretation
of the implications of Article 25A, particularly in relevance to the NFC
Award, the provinces can better plan implementation of this constitutional
guarantee. There is a dire need to nudge the debate from generalities to
specificities and practicalities to improve the chances of the success of
implementation of Article 25A and generate the right resources that
currently don’t exist to make this happen. Time is running out. We
need to send our 25 million children to schools who haven’t seen the
inside of one. How can this possibly not be the top national priority?
Pakistan’s foreign policy needs to see beyond Afghanistan as cooperation with Central Asian Republics will have long term benefits By Dr Syed Hussain Shaheed Soherwordi The foreign
policy of Pakistan has been passing through a transitional-shift stage.
The US drawdown of its forces from Afghanistan, revival of its relations
with India and China as economic and strategic partners in regional
affairs, and negotiations with Taliban have direct impact on Pakistan’s
foreign relations. Pakistan has shifted
from singular dependence on the US to more of a multipolar foreign policy.
Pakistan’s active an The US is a nation which
flirts with Pakistan and vice versa. Pakistan considers India as a major
threat for its political and economic reasons. To counter any Indian
adventurism, a strong military is a prerequisite. Many in Pakistan believe
that by trimming the Pakistan army’s wings by reducing its number and
its budget, the chances of military takeover would be diminished. However,
the Indian threat is so immense, immediate and strong to Pakistan’s
survival that curtailing Pakistan army would mean a defenseless Pakistan.
Therefore, the anti-military establishment finds itself between the devil
and deep sea. It’s like a catch-22 situation for them. There is another
extremist view which is followed by a section of Pakistani society that
India wants to conquer Pakistan for its ultimate objective: the Maha
Bharta. I do have concerns at India’s goals vis-à-vis Pakistan.
However, I do not go to such an apocalyptic level. I don’t see benign
scenario with India. The question is how actively malignant it is. Hence,
we need to keep an eye on the growing Indian role in our backyard —
Afghanistan — as well as its growing influence in other smaller five
south Asian sister countries. In a way, Pakistan has every reason to be
concerned about India. Indo-US nuclear deal for
civilian purposes has completely altered the South Asian strategic
balance. She has now a dominant influence in Afghanistan. Its security
agencies are actively playing their role in Balochistan insurgency via
Afghanistan. Indians are supporting terrorist groups targeting the
unionists in Balochistan. The Pakistanis periodically pay courtesy calls
on Indian foreign ministry officials and the Pakistani prime minister and
president often invites the Indian prime minister. Usually they pose
smiling and show off warm handshakes. But both understand that the smiles
are of crocodiles and elephants. Somehow, it’s not understandable why
Pakistani political establishment is begging for the Indian PM’s visit
to Pakistan? Every nation wants détente
with its adversaries. However, no one is compromising on its national
respect and honour. The day Indian political establishment realises they
need to normalise relations with Pakistan, they will move ahead and will
come up with good intentions. However, Pakistan’s keenness for
relaxation of the tension and India’s consistent response for curbing
terrorism and then normalising relations between the two countries have
become a joke now. In worst case scenario,
for the national security against any Indian attack, the Pakistanis are
looking up to China. But this reliance is problematic given that China is
on a path to normalization of relations with its neighbours, especially
India, in the post-9/11 era. While the Indians focus
their hostile rhetoric almost entirely on China and Pakistan, the truth is
there is not much reason for China than Pakistan to be fearful of India.
As the world’s one of the leading military and economic power, China is
unlikely to be attacked militarily by India. Or it will surely respond in
full force to any Indian attack. Pakistan, however, is much softer, weaker
and tempting target due to its deeper involvement in the war on terror,
its military deployment in different terrorist-hit areas like Waziristan
and Swat and its more focus to counter insurgent tendencies in Balochistan.
Though Pakistan army is
equipped with the US weapons and every year shopping list of weapon
purchase is allocated in the country’s federal budget, Pakistan cannot
defend itself without the US diplomatic support or Chinese active military
intervention or involvement. However, keeping the
religious orthodoxy in view, being too friendly to America is also a
problem for Pakistan. Thus, reluctance of cooperation between the two
nations is too visible. This has further been confirmed by the recently
held All Parties Conference (APC) in which the case of US/Nato drone
attacks on Pakistan’s border areas was pledged to be taken at the UN.
Notwithstanding the tension and apparent detachment, the Pakistani role in
the war on terror is unquestionably a high national security interest of
the US. This is more important than Pakistan’s role during the Cold War
against Soviet Union. After all, during the Cold War, at least twin towers
were not erased and that the Soviet Union had never hurt the US inside the
US territory. Need of the time is a
review and structural overhauling of Pakistan’s foreign policy. India is
a part of Pakistan’s foreign policy. We need to develop and revive our
relations with other South Asian countries which are equally important
from strategic and economic perspective. Similarly, Afghanistan
has been very important to the Foreign Office. However, we need to see
beyond Afghanistan. Central Asian Republics (CARs) have been ignored
completely in the shadow of war on terror. Revival of economic ties with
the CARs will have long term benefits. The war on terror is coming to a
formal end in 2014. With the end of the game, money will also be over. The author teaches
International Relations, at the University of Peshawar. syedshaheed@hotmail.co.uk
My right to know It is the right of the
general public to seek information. But it is really a challenging task
when a government department is not willing to share. As we know, easy access
to information is not only helpful in empowering the poor and the
vulnerable groups in society but also reduces incidence of corruption and
injustice. It is time that all democratic governments take a step towards
openness and transparency. The elections in 2013
have brought four major parties in power in four provinces of Pakistan. It
has started healthy competition among all the ruling parties to take lead
in showing performance, especially in governance and local service
delivery. In this regard, legislations on the Right to Information (RTI)
and local governments are underway. In few provinces, it has
been presented and passed by the provincial assemblies. KP has taken lead
in developing a comprehensive RTI law ahead of all provinces. Through broad-based
consultations and deliberations by the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a
law was enacted on August 13, 2013 in this regard. The leadership of PTI-led
coalition in the province has initiated steps in promoting transparency
and accountability and is in the process of developing citizen-friendly
good governance laws and RTI is one of them. On August 15, 2013, PTI
Chairman Imran Khan announced the law in a packed seminar in Peshawar and
gave a briefing on the salient features of the law and its relevance to
promoting good governance in KP. The ceremony was
attended by a large number of government officials, common citizens,
activists, media and civil society organisations. A majority of the
stakeholders applauded the efforts of the provincial government for a
broad-based consultation for development of RTI law in province. What makes this law
different from the earlier toothless versions is its easy citizen-friendly
process of getting access to a wide range of pro-active and on-demand
information in the public interest. It encourages a
pro-active disclosure of information, which must be placed in a printable
format in the public domain for wider use. The procedure would be
something like this. An information request, subject to payment of
reasonable fee, will be dealt by the Information Officer. A receipt will
also be issued to the requester upon submission of a request. Under the law, the
relevant department is bound to provide information within 10 days,
extendable to another 10 days in case information is not properly stacked
and requires search. It ensures quick provision of information in only two
days in case it is deemed necessary to save human life. It is argued that the
literacy level in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa differs in different areas and the
gender divide is clear, restricting a majority of the population to make
use of this law. But, this binds an information officer to provide
assistance to the requester in submitting the request and also elaborating
the required information. Any delay or holding of
information request can be challenged. A requester has the right to lodge
a complaint with the information commission. It will be binding on the
public body to prove its position. The information commission will decide
about the compliant within 60 days. If the concerned officer is found
guilty of denying information to the requester and destroying/mutilating
the public records, he/she can be awarded punishment of a maximum of
2-years imprisonment and or fine of Rs250 per delayed day to the maximum
of Rs25,000. Unlike an Ombudsman as
an appellant body, the Information Commission will be established within
120 days, headed by Chief Information Commissioner and supported by three
Commissioners from retired government officers and members from the
judiciary, bar council and civil society. This commission’s prime
responsibility is to dispose off the requester complaints, however, it
will also develop rules and standards, publicise RTI, conduct awareness
and training activities, etc. The law also provides
protection to whistleblowers who bring wrongdoings in limelight in the
larger public interest. Though the government
has shown its commitment of promoting good governance and transparency
through inclusion of citizens into government functions, it seems a
gigantic task to fully implement the law in such a debilitating
socio-economic and fragile security conditions. While speaking during a
seminar on RTI, Secretary Information asked the civil society and media to
give support in ensuring proper use of this law by the common citizen. This is something
already being practised in India where a peanut vender in a small town can
hold an Assistant Commissioner accountable for misuse of government
vehicles by having access to information through RTI. Citizens in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa can also avail the offer only if they know about the law. KP is lucky as it houses
institutions where common citizens are engaged in management and
oversight. Parent Teachers Councils (PTCs) in the education sector,
Primary Care Management Committees (PCMC) in the health sector and Water
User Committees (WUC) in the water sector have been instrumental in
transforming decision-making into a more inclusive and participatory
exercise, resulting in improved service delivery. The social service
committees have their workforce engaged constructively both with the
community and administration to provide an opportunity to the government
for wider RTI promotion and awareness. Once this huge social
workforce knows about the RTI, its use and effectiveness in holding local
administration accountable, it will add to a faster social change at the
grassroot level. An effective strategy, engaging these committees, will
transform their members into local RTI activists. The writer is a social
accountability expert based at CESSD, Peshawar and can be reached at
gulbazali@gmail.com
Religion vs nation-state Either religion has to submit to the exigencies of the nation-state, or else the nation-state, by acquiescing to the ‘universal’ call of the religion, will sacrifice its very existence By Tahir Kamran One of the
criteria to ascertain the level of socio-cultural maturity among any group
of people is to assess its demeanour towards those adhering to a different
belief system. Co-existence, if not camaraderie, among the followers of
different faiths or sects is absolutely vital for the sustenance of the
multi-cultural, multi-ethnic society of Pakistan, which is also
conspicuously punctuated by wide variety of sectarian denominations. The rapidly diminishing
proportion of religious minorities in Pakistan provides a stark testament
to our collective attitude towards divergence of any sort, and especially
of religious difference. Exclusion in the name of religion has become an
institutionalised practice which clerics practice with impunity, and the
inability of the state to successfully counter such a social malaise has
debilitated not only the state itself, but society too. On September 7, 2013,
the 39th anniversary of the passage of the Second Amendment was marked by
the holding of the Markazi Khatm-i-Nubuwat Conference in Johar Town,
Lahore. The conference was reportedly riddled with diatribe against
Ahmadis. Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rehman, Chairman of the Ruet-i-Hilal Committee
was among the principal speakers at the conference. The virulence that his
speech contained epitomises yet again the changed character of Barelvi
Ulema, particularly in post-independence days, but also it reflected the
prevalence of exclusionary rhetoric in a sect known historically for its
relative docility. Other speakers including Dr Amir Liaqat Hussain, Pir
Muhibbullah Noori, caretaker of Baseerpur and Justice (retired) Mian Nazir
Akhtar were equally relentless against this minority group. Majlis-i-Tahaffuz-i-Khatam-i-Nubuwat,
under whose auspice the conference was held, has a history of posing
challenges to the state. It almost rocked the foundations of the state
apparatus in 1953, until the Army was called in and a tight rein was put
on its leaders. History repeated itself in 1974, when they declared
Ahmadis to be non-Muslims. Z.A Bhutto acquiesced because he was threatened
with yet another challenge to the state. MTKN then perpetuated this
challenge (if not direct threat) to the state through Sipah-i-Sahab and
the much-feared Lashkar-i-Jhangvi. This latest conference
is yet another repetition of a call to revisit the horrific episodes of
religious fanaticism and bigotry that no civilized nation can afford. The tone, tenor and
language employed by these fire-brand guardians of Islam points to their
intolerance of those who practice different faiths. This also begs the
question as to how a ‘citizen’ is to be defined given the de facto
situation obtaining in Pakistan. Practically, the beleaguered minorities
of Christians and Ahmadis are denied the right to be citizens of Pakistan.
The two categories of ‘Muslim’ and ‘Pakistani citizen’ have become
conflated and therefore ceased to be independent of each other. So,
whether citizenship should be conferred only on Muslims, or on anybody
possessing a Pakistani passport or national identity card irrespective of
his/her religion or creed, becomes an open-ended question. Another point here
concerns the obligation of a state to protect its citizens, a duty which
it is constantly shirking. The Pakistan Penal Code succinctly pronounces
(in section 153-A) a punishment of up to five years of imprisonment and a
fine for inciting disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will
between different religious groups. The invocation of such punishment
becomes mandatory in such circumstance in order to rein in anybody
flouting the law, even if it is in the name of religion. Unless this is
done, the menace of religious extremism, which inexorably leads to
sectarian militancy, will not be contained. That people who, at one
point or the other, have represented the state of Pakistan, such as
Muneeb-ur-Rehman and Justice (retired) Nazir Akhtar, are now employing
religion to incite violence, which is lamentable, to say the least. The
neutrality which used to be a sine qua non for any one holding official
position is starkly compromised. Unfortunately, in Pakistan this has
become the norm. The government officials make appearances on TV channels
and write regular columns expressing views antithetical to stated
government policy. Reverting to the point
of the relationship of the religion and the nation-state, which, at best,
is erratic primarily because of their inability to co-exist on an even
keel. Either, religion has to submit to the exigencies of the nation-state
and compromise on its transnational agenda and appeal, or else the
nation-state, by acquiescing to the ‘universal’ call of the religion,
will sacrifice its very existence. Any religion claiming to have a
‘universal’ agenda will be at the cross purposes with the
nation-state, which is run by a constitution and is contained within
properly demarcated and internationally accepted frontiers. Even the
Muslim states with firmly established theocratic systems of governance,
like Saudi Arabia and Iran, keep religion under check. Religion in the
particular case of Pakistan tends to disregard such a thing as ‘national
frontiers’. Similarly, religion
accords rights and privileges to the believer in its fundamentals, whereas
a nation-state is obliged to protect the rights of those living within its
frontiers irrespective of their belief system. It is, therefore, essential
that, in the peculiar case of Pakistan, the state must assert its position
vis a vis the individuals and agencies representing religion. The
solidarity and strength of Pakistan is what seems to be in jeopardy here. Ironically, the surest
way to discredit anyone is to call him/her an Ahmadi, in the way that the
JUI-F has orchestrated a campaign against Abdul Lateef Yousafzai in spite
of the fact that he has denied being an Ahmadi. It is indeed frustrating
to know that such people will be sharing the responsibility of governing
this hapless country with the PML-N. One can only hope, against hope, that
the current government will pay heed to such a situation.
Assault on
rationalism What Dr Narendra
Dabholkar could not accomplish after years of campaigning, his body did
even before its cremation. State Cabinet of Maharashtra approved the law
to proscribe superstition and black magic on the next day of his grisly
murder. The la Dr Dabholkar, a
septuagenarian crusader for rationality, was silenced by a sanctimonious
brigade during his morning stroll on August 20, 2013. It was not an
ordinary murder. The assassinated rationalist was an extraordinary soul
who relentlessly campaigned for a law against superstition and black magic
in India for years. His campaign riled extremist Hindu groups who charged
him with apostasy and termed him “anti-Hindu”. His murder sent a
shockwave among peace lovers and people who promote rationality in
society. The grisly incident reminded such people of their vulnerability
across the globe. Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, who
attended Dr Dabholkar’s funeral in his native place in Satara, likened
him with Mahatma Gandhi and compared the murder to the assassination of
Gandhi. A man of virtues,
charged with apostasy; breathed and died for a cause to liberate human
minds from the shackles of blind faith. His family presented the most
befitting posthumous accolade by upholding his mission and decided not to
scatter his ashes into water as the apostle of rationality believed that
immersing ashes of the dead pollutes water bodies. His soul must have
found eternal ecstasy that his family decided to scatter his ashes on his
farm where his wife Shaila practices organic horticulture. Human history is full of
evidences that blind faith never tolerates logic and rationale. Dogmatism
has an innate propensity to subjugate pragmatism. Orthodoxy in every
religion adopted such a course. Muslim clergy of Spain did not spare 12th
century Muslim scholar Ibn-e-Rushd. He was a polymath, possessing mastery
on Aristotelian philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, Maliki
law and jurisprudence, logic, psychology, politics, Arabic music theory,
and the sciences of medicine, astronomy, geography, mathematics, physics
and celestial mechanics. He challenged clerics for their literal practice
by claiming that philosophers had better sense to understand Quranic
allegory through lenses of logic. Not just Islamic clergy but Catholic
Church was equally snarled by his writings on rationalism that sneaked
into European borders from Spain. He was reviled as a heathen. Similarly, Jewish
proselytizers loathed Moses Maimonides (M?s? ibn Maym?n in Arabic). Moses,
a great Jewish philosopher and a friend of Ibn-e-Rushd, joined the ranks
striving to reconcile religions with reason. He defied Jewish orthodoxy by
writing that “If one has the means to provide either the lamp for
one’s household or the Chanukah (a Jewish festival) lamp, the household
lamp takes precedence”. Orthodoxy barreled its ire towards him and his
books were burned publicly. Europe liberated itself
from clutches of blind faith some eight centuries ago. Dabholkars of
Europe paid no lesser price either. When Copernicus challenged the
geo-centrism of Ptolemy with his heliocentric interpretation of universe,
he actually challenged the self-proclaimed divine wisdom of Church.
Nicolaus Copernicus was a mathematician and astronomer who placed the Sun,
rather than the Earth, at the centre. Likewise Italian
philosopher Giordano Bruno went beyond the Copernican model: he proposed
the Sun was essentially a star, and that the universe contained an
infinite number of inhabited worlds populated by other intelligent beings.
Bruno actually revealed the continuum of universe, which provoked ire of
the clergy. Roman Inquisition charged him with blasphemy and he was burnt
at stake. Much adored heroine of
France Joan of Arc who led the French army to several important victories
during the Hundred Years, War, was put on trial for charges of
“insubordination and heterodoxy” and was burned at the stake for
heresy when she was only 19 years old. Twenty-five years after her
execution, an inquisitorial court revisited the trial and pronounced her
innocent. The court declared her a martyr. Later, she was beatified in
1909 and even canonized in 1920. Countless courageous
Dabholkars have been protecting the liberty of human minds through their
audacious struggle and heroic battles. Spiraling extremism is an
accelerating challenge for rationality in every domain of life.
Obscurantist elements are bent upon enslaving human minds and seeking to
shape a world where rationale should be subservient to faith. Rationalists
like Dabholkar are considered more dangerous than guns and arsenal and
therefore eliminated brutally. Whereas the war between
rationale and faith is as old as human society is, its recent
manifestations are more complex. Political economy of faith has added new
dimensions to human society. It has transformed from a banal matter of
individual worship to a complex web of militarised political and economic
interests. Millions of simpletons are made fodder of this endless insane
war. Both faith and counter-faith have been used as a fig-leaf to conceal
nefarious motives such as controlling natural resources and dominating
regional and global power structures. Forces fighting wars in
the name of faith and protection of peace often pursue their ulterior
motives. Warriors, most of them in their innocence, are hoodwinked and
become fuel for the fire. Since dogma dominates their minds and does not
allow altruism to nest in their cerebrum, they turn malevolent. Extremism either in the
name of faith or peace has emerged as a serious peril for human society.
Societal needs of billions of people are being heavily compromised due to
resource drain on wars and illusive security. Conventional security
demands are becoming predator for real human security agenda. Millions
languishing in hunger, illiteracy, morbidity and unemployment are left
with crumbs to crawl with. Human development agenda has been eclipsed by
security priorities, which will logically perpetuate extremism and
violence. National budgets are heavily skewed in favour of security
demands and vital areas of health, drinking water and education are left
starving. From foreign policy to
trade and investment, every policy domain revolves around security mania.
Regional alliances have also veered their focus towards cooperation for
security and not for human development in the member countries. Faith and
fear have emerged as defining factors and rationale no more guides the
decision making process. The real crisis in
today’s world is not security but the dominance of faith and the ensuing
fear. When decision-making process becomes a function of fear and faith
rather than rationale, it will only multiply the prevalent crisis. In this context,
Dabholkar’s murder is not just a crime but actually an assault on
rationalism. What should prevail; logic or faith is the ultimate battle of
human societies. It will not be unfounded to insinuate that the Homo
sapiens will relegate to Chimpanzees if rationale is trounced. The writer is Chief
Executive of Strengthening Participatory Organization-SPO; nmemon@spopk.org)
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government
published history textbooks, and in the dreaded Pakistan Studies
curriculum, two people and periods have often been lionised — the time
of Mahmud of Ghazna and his empire, and the period of Shahabuddin Muhammad
Ghori and his empire. We revere these two personalities so much that even
the military has named its cruise and ballistic missiles after these two
men. The main argument in their favour is usually that these two men and
their rule were beneficial for ‘Islam’ and ‘Muslim’ rule in India.
The reality, as often found, is nearly the opposite of what we are
officially told in Pakistan. 
uld
be further from the truth. Not only did they not do anything for the
spread of Islam, they even attacked Muslim principalities. For example, in
1006 AD (396 AH), when Mahmud wanted to march to Multan, a Muslim
principality, he wanted Ananadpal, the Hindu ruler of Lahore, to allow his
safe passage. However, Anandpal made common cause with Daud, the ruler of
Multan, and marched up to Peshawar to oppose Mahmud’s advance. This was
perhaps the first example of a common Hindu-Muslim front in opposition to
an invading Muslim army, which both the Hindu and Muslim rulers in India
knew brought only death and misery. So much for Mahmud’s Muslim friendly
credentials!
.jpg)
hildren
simply yell out the number of the gas well they live close to and do not
have to mention anything else. The message gets across..jpg)
rld.
Sudan is the second highest at 3 million. Pakistani girls enrolled in
primary schools expressed as a percentage of total number of pupils in
primary schools stands at about 40 per cent. This is the second worst
ranking in the world, after Afghanistan. Close to 4 million girls of
school-going age in Pakistan are out of schools — this is the worst
ranking in the world. How can we possibly sleep at night?
d
growing relations with China, the UK, Iran and other smaller nations of
South Asia makes a security umbrella against India. For all the outreach
and obfuscation, only two countries are central to Pakistan’s security:
India and China. 
w
remained in cold storage for more than eight years after it was approved
by the cabinet but could not see the light of day and lapsed. The law
seeks to make it punishable for self-styled godmen to prey on people by
offering rituals, charms, magical cures and propagating black magic.
Dabholkar laid down his life for this landmark legislation, not too
exorbitant a deal for a person whose glow would eclipse moons in the skies
of human history. 
