|
|
|
|
 |
 |
   |
archives Lessons not
learnt summit Opposition
within A
bird's-eye view
A documentary film needs footage. But the departments that are supposed to keep the records either do not have it, or are not willing to part with it, or worse still, are not ready to preserve it for future By Nadeem Iqbal Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation and Pakistan Television Corporation -- both state-controlled entities -- have no audio and visual record of the news bulletins of the last 59 and 42 years respectively. Both the organisations do keep a record of the script of the news bulletins that is then sent to National Archives. "PTV does not even keep the record of the controversial daily Khabarnama (news bulletin). It is destroyed after every three months. What is preserved is the footage of the heads of the state and the government barring the ministers and the proceedings of the assemblies. And that too is kept in a bad shape. The archival material is rapidly losing its quality," an official of PTV told TNS. "On the other hand, fictional works like drama do get preserved." The irony is that PTV sells the archival video footage only to foreign film/video makers. It charges $ 50 for a minimum of two minutes of footage. However a local documentary-maker could also buy it if he is ready to pay an amount equivalent to the one charged to foreigners. This sale too is subject to discretion of a PTV official who can deny access to a footage that has even been telecast already. Thus a local filmmaker making a documentary on a historic event and wanting to buy a footage of one hour may end up paying a whopping $ 900 (Rs 54,000). That's indeed a high cost. And that is perhaps why one doesn't come cross many documentaries on history in this country. Most of the documentaries are either made for different government departments or NGOs. These are promotional documentaries based generally on boring talking heads (interviews). Likewise, what is being produced and shown on different channels under the name of documentary films can hardly be labelled as documentaries -- they are at best news packages. In filmmaking the term 'documentary' is understood as any non-fiction film medium. It has a newsreel tradition in which events are also sometimes staged. Usually it includes the re-enactment of events that have already happened. At least this is the tradition that is followed internationally. While in Pakistan the two traditions mostly used are: propaganda films made with the explicit purpose of persuading the audience of a point of view; and compilation films made entirely out of found footage. Internationally, the recent success of low-budgeted non-fiction genre in documentaries such as 'Super Size Me' and 'Fahrenheit 9/11', made possible with the readily available DVDs of course, has made documentaries a financially viable option that does not need a cinema release. In Pakistan, with the proliferation of the video technology, documentary making is picking up but it's not yet a financially rewarding activity. PTV has some responsibility to facilitate the development of film art and screen literacy in society, even though it's a private limited company whose shares are owned by some government entities (it is earning a major chunk of its revenues from electricity bill). But it seems it is not ready to take this responsibility. To begin with it denies public access to its resources like footage. What is worse, the Managing Director of PTV has the discretionary powers to give footage to selected few for free. The system has a loophole since PTV officials they can sell footage for Rs 500 per hour on VHS if the applicant says that the footage is for home use only. Whereas the cost for two minutes footage of drama is $ 6. The usual process of buying a footage is rather tedious and is spread over two weeks, coordinated through PTV's international relations department (not the local public relations department). The international relations department at the PTV headquarters itself contacts the reference section in PTV Centre. There is a possibility that the officials inform you they did not find the footage. The officials keep that privilege to themselves because of a non-existent online catalogue of the record. According to one official at PTV's reference section, the whole sections is in shambles with no computerised record of the footage that is mainly saved on Umatic tapes. Actually PTV could generate a lot of revenue by doing so as is being done by British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that has a separate website for selling the footages online. Another place which could be of some help to a film-maker is the Film and Publication Department of the federal Information Ministry that has been producing 35mm films -- meant for screening in cinema -- on different historic events including wars. Some of the propaganda films it made could be of immense value. One such film was 'Nai Kiran' (New Ray of Hope) -- a documentary on Ayub Khan's period. However, this film is still in 35 mm format and is not converted into video format. No wonder it's beyond public access and is dumped somewhere. Other war documentaries are not available for public either. National Archives of Pakistan (NAP) under cabinet division is another government department operating to preserve both official and private archival material. It is functional under National Archives Act of 1993 that stipulates that the government departments should transfer all their records, permanent or destroyable, to NAP after five years of their becoming non-current. The Ministries/Divisions shall indicate the above values of records on the occasion of their becoming non-current. The record is supposed to be sent to NAP in March every year. It is also categorised into (A) of permanent value; (B) of not important value and should be retained for 10 years; (C) of limited value for preservation between 3 to 9 years and; (D) the record that should be retained for less than 3 years. Like many others, this law too is not being strictly applied. The audio and video record from the relevant departments is not being secured for electronic preservation. NAP claims that it has preserved documentaries on Quaid-i-Azam, Pakistan Movement, interviews of prominent Muslim League leaders and that it possesses 300 audio and 100 video cassettes, but they are either not properly catalogued or of not much screen/oral value. A year after the earthquake,
the pace of reconstruction work in Rawlakot is too slow. By Shahzada Irfan Ahmed It has been almost a year since the devastating earthquake hit the northern parts of the country. Soon after the tragedy, the government of Pakistan came forward and promised that it will leave no stone unturned to rehabilitate the people affected by the earthquake as early as possible. The government also hosted an international donors' conference in which the rich countries of the world, donor bodies and international financial institutions pledged funds to finance these rehabilitation plans. An executing body with the name of Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (ERRA) was also put in place to expedite the whole process. However, even a first time visitor to the affected areas cannot fail to notice that the pace of work there is too slow to be termed satisfactory. With different areas having unique sets of problems caused by the earthquake, the remedies should have been devised for all of them accordingly. This is something that the monitoring bodies seem to have missed. The situation prevailing in Rawlakot in Azad Kashmir is just a case in point. It is one of the three tehsils of Poonch district spread over an area of 855 square kilometres. The other two tehsils are Abbaspur and Hajira. The total population of the district is around 500,000 and the number of households is close to 54,000. The district has 179 villages and 25 union councils. About 1,078 deaths occurred in the area due to the earthquake while 2,200 were injured and 150 people became disabled. In a recent visit to Rawlakot, it was observed that thousands of houses and most of government-owned building structures collapsed in the earthquake. This showed that the building material used was substandard and the structures not quake resistant. In all, about 42,000 houses, 56 shops, a university campus, two postgraduate colleges, three higher secondary schools, 16 high schools, and 100 middle and primary schools, 78 district and tehsil administration buildings and residential colonies, courts, bars, jails, government departments, 16 hospitals including Combined Military Hospital (CMH) and basic health units were completely destroyed in Poonch district. These figures should have been enough to warn the policymakers to enforce building codes in the area. But the fact is that helpless people in these areas are building houses on their own. Due to the non-availability of experienced labour, they are reconstructing their houses in ways not much different from what existed before the earthquake. As Rawlakot tehsil is between 5,500 and 7,500 feet above sea level, freezing cold winters approach quite early. Once this happens, the locals will have no option but to abandon the unfinished structures and shift to winter shelter houses set up in the valley. Brig (retd) Tariq Mahmood who runs Kashmir Education Trust, a charitable trust funded by local philanthropists, says that the winterised shelters set up by the trust are still inhabited by many families. He tells The News on Sunday that snowfall started soon after the earthquake in Rawlakot last year. At that time the foremost concern of the relief agencies was to provide shelter to displaced families from biting cold. This was done by setting up not less than 2,500 winter shelters by the trust with the help of donations coming from philanthropists, UNDP and other donors, he says. As the month of October is approaching again and most of the under-construction buildings are incomplete, it is quite probable that people will again look out for winter shelters. This calls for more winterised shelters that in turn demands more donor money and volunteer effort, he adds. Tariq cites non-availability of labour in the area as one of the reasons cited for slow construction of houses in the area. This handicap was very much in the knowledge of the government authorities taking up the task of reconstruction and rehabilitation. To overcome this deficiency, a National Volunteers Movement was launched by the government and assigned the task of building up a force of volunteers. But the desired results could not be achieved as it was difficult to convince technical hands to work in the earthquake area without remuneration. Another problem that persists here is that of frequent landslides. Conservationists say that the soil has been shaken by the earthquake and loosened due to the absence of sufficient vegetation, making it prone to landslides/mudslides. The displaced people in the area are also suffering from diseases like malaria and dry scabies. Sakina is one such girl who has contracted scabies. This has added to her miseries as she is already suffering from goitre -- a deficiency quite rampant among citizens of Azad Kashmir for ages. But both malaria and dry scabies arrived here after the earthquake. Doctors say these diseases are spread in an area where the living conditions are highly unhygienic. Dr Shehenshah, in charge of the health unit run by National Commission for Human Development in Rawlakot, says these diseases are spreading as more and more people are living in smaller spaces. "This increases the chances of spread of these diseases which are airborne and also spread by physical contact of any type. The instance of these diseases will remain high till the time these people start living normal lives in their houses as was the situation in the past," he adds. Waqas Hanif, officer-in-charge of the Housing Cash Disbursement Cell at ERRA, tells TNS that the authority is not responsible for building houses in Rawlakot or anywhere else in the earthquake-hit region. "However, we have given a tranche of Rs 75,000 to 90 per cent of the owners of the destroyed houses in Rawlakot. By October 5, 2006, we plan to give the remaining tranche as well. These people are supposed to construct their houses on self-help basis." When asked about the quality of construction, Waqas says ERRA has trained 80,000 people at union council level on how to construct earthquake resistant houses. "They have been directed to strictly follow a ten-point plan while constructing their houses. In the light of these guidelines they can themselves build their houses or employ labour coming from NWFP for this purpose."
The Havana meeting is least
likely to produce results unless the two sides stop interpreting the joint
statement selectively. By Muhammad Badar Alam That Pakistan-India relations always work in fits and starts is endorsed once again by how the two countries have behaved towards each other during the last three months or so. Immediately after July 11, 2006 bombings of commuter trains in Mumbai, New Delhi accused Islamabad of sponsoring and supporting cross-border terrorism in India and suspended the Composite Dialogue between the two countries. Islamabad responded by pointing out why India suffered terrorism was because of its failure to address festering problems like Kashmir. Though under pressure from India, Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri later said Pakistan's condemnation of the Mumbai blasts was unequivocal, Islamabad's stance on the origin of terrorism in India being linked to New Delhi's inability to come clean on Kashmir is all too well known to go away. But on September 16, 2006, after a meeting between President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, they have agreed to work together on terrorism (India's concern) and to find a mutually acceptable solution to all outstanding issues between them, including Kashmir (Pakistan's insistence). Some inside accounts reveal that this turnabout is not all that sudden. There have been a number of goings-on -- some official and public, others non-official and secret -- in the run-up to the two leaders' meeting in Havana on the sidelines of Non-Aligned Movement's summit meeting. One of these meetings took place between Pervez Musharraf and India's high commissioner in Pakistan, Shiv Shankar Menon, who is now his country's foreign secretary-designate, only weeks after the Mumbai blasts. The other one involved Pakistan's high commissioner to India, Aziz Ahmed Khan, and Manmohan Singh. Immediately after this meeting, Aziz flew back home to brief Musharraf about its contents. With the benefit of hindsight, it should not be a problem to point out that the most important item on the agenda of all these meetings was the possibility of a Musharraf-Manmohan encounter as well as all possible ways to make it successful. The joint anti-terrorism mechanism that Pakistan and India have come up with after the Havana meeting is what everybody had already agreed on -- even before Musharraf and Manmohan sat down to talk. Even the wording of the joint statement was not impromptu. It was carefully prepared in a couple of meetings before the summit -- one between two security advisors, Tariq Aziz and M K Narayanan, and the other between two foreign secretaries, Riaz Ahmed Khan and Shiv Shankar Menon. But since the Havana summit, the two sides have chosen to interpret the joint statement selectively, as they always do. India emphasises that the joint anti-terrorism mechanism is a major step forward from the current arrangement which more often than not creates acrimonious allegations and counter-allegations on terrorism. Though it's not clear what the mechanism will look like at the end of the day, it is very likely to include senior intelligence officials from both sides. How will this be an improvement on the current system of dialogue on terrorism led by the interior secretaries is difficult to tell but the inclusion of secret agencies will vitiate the atmosphere more, not less. Every time, the interior secretaries share a negotiation table they come up with nothing but mutually denied lists of terrorists and terrorist activities. How will the people from intelligence agencies be able to move forward from merely levelling charges against each other should not be a matter of mere guessing because, without exception, it's they who are being blamed. Pakistan, in the meanwhile, has used every single forum since Musharraf-Manmohan meeting to emphasize the centrality of Kashmir issue in not just creating Pakistan-India peace but also in checking the menace of terrorism. This was the single-most important message to have come out of President Pervez Musharraf's address to the United Nations General Assembly annual meeting in New York earlier this week. He said terrorism could not end unless illegal occupation of the Muslim lands came to an end. Even before we start counting these places, Kashmir is sure to figure. On other occasions, he is quoted as saying that Pakistan would not change its stance on Kashmir unless India did. This may be a defence mechanism to counter domestic criticism that the joint statement may generate but at the same time it underscores that Pakistan is seeing the issue of terrorism differently from India. It's through this difference that India is painting the joint statement as its success. Some media reports suggest that the anti-terrorism mechanism is an Indian initiative and, therefore, its inclusion in the joint statement is a major Indian victory. But this brings the question: Why should Pakistan agree to something that so clearly shows India as victorious? Two things that could have made Pakistan concede defeat on this count are: An admission of India's military, strategic, economic and diplomatic supremacy; and pressure from outside. While the former is a tall order for Islamabad to give way to, there are no clear signs confirming the latter. Have things on the ground changed so much that Islamabad is feeling cornered to let New Delhi have its way? Apparently, no. Pakistan still is the United States' non-Nato ally in George W Bush's war on terrorism and, India's economic rise notwithstanding, the US government can twist Musharraf's arms in New Delhi's favour only by jeopardising major American interests in South Asia. So, if Pakistan was not negotiating from a position of weakness, why should it end up accepting an unequal bargain unless New Delhi had undeniable proofs of Islamabad's involvement in various acts of terrorism on Indian soil. The way things go, it seems New Delhi does not have them. One factor that makes it unlikely that Pakistan accepted the joint statement under some kind of duress is the admission by Indian officials including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that Pakistan is also a victim of terrorism and that its leaders are also attacked by terrorists. An additional conclusion that this admission may allow to be drawn from the joint statement is that Pakistan will also be able to take up India's involvement in Balochistan at the joint anti-terrorism mechanism. If that will be the case, there should be no illusions about the impact and the utility of the forum. Already, in India some important players are making a lot of noise about the joint statement being a giveaway by India. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and former intelligence officials have wasted no time in condemning and castigating the Manmohan government for letting Pakistan enjoy a status equal to India as a victim of terrorism. Some of these critics go even beyond that: They challenge the rationale for a summit meeting with a country India was not allowing its foreign secretary to talk with only months ago. According to them, India has discarded its demand that Pakistan should first eliminate terrorism infrastructure in order to be able to ask for the resumption of Composite Dialogue. Now Pakistan has not done anything demanded by India and yet it has been rewarded with a joint statement that dilutes Indian concerns. Also, the fact that the two sides have agreed to move forward, this time through concrete steps, towards the resolution of Siachen and Sir Creek issues further weakens the contention that the joint statement exclusively focused on anti-terrorism mechanism. But in international diplomacy agreements happen only when there is a win-win situation for the contending sides. Seen in this light, Pakistan-India joint statement issued in Havana guarantees that none of the two sides feels let down. While India gets an institutional mechanism to take up cross-border terrorism on a case to case basis -- as opposed to the current practice of debating the issue in general terms -- Pakistan has been able to make its case as a victim, rather than only a perpetrator, of terrorism. But will it lead to concrete progress measured not just in terms of resumption of secretary-level talks and confirmation by Manmohan Singh that he will visit Pakistan on a future date? The answer is: No. Though the joint anti-terrorism mechanism is being touted as an institutional arrangement, it will be another bureaucratic body with no political authority to take any decision. Also, because its existence will not be written in stone, it may quite easily go the way the Pakistan-India joint commission went before it was rescued last year from a dormancy that lasted many years. Only a politically powerful institution that comprises of people from the cross section of the two societies, including politicians, academics, civil society activists and civil and military bureaucrats, can survive the roller coaster ride that Pakistan-India relations are. And only such an inclusive institution as this can guarantee that the two sides don't harp on mutually exclusive themes and stop moving in circles when it comes to creating bilateral peace. In order to help build a
consensus for joint resignations of opposition, PML-N provincial legislators
from Punjab have handed over their resignations. Will the trend catch on? By Aoun Sahi Since the killing of Akbar Bugti on August 26, opposition parties including Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) and Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) have been threatening the government of their resignation from assemblies. It was on this very issue that a meeting of all opposition parties was held at the house of MNA Chaudhry Nisar Ali of PML-N in Rawalpindi on August 30. The meeting that failed to create a consensus on a timeframe for tendering resignations came out clear on one thing -- that the only opposition party serious about the issue of resignations was PML-N. "We may go alone on the issue of quitting assemblies if no other opposition party joins in our drive against General Pervez Musharraf's autocratic act of killing of Akbar Bugti," says a provincial leader of PML-N who does not want to be named. On September 14, 28 PML-N members of Punjab Assembly lodged their resignations with Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khosa, PML-N Punjab President addressed to speaker Punjab Assembly. Khosa will forward the resignations to PML-N Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq, who will dispatch them to the exiled party leadership in London for taking a final decision on the subject, the party sources say. "Earlier, the resignations of PML-N legislators were addressed to the party high command while the legal authority who accepts them is the speaker," says Rana Sanaullah, PML-N parliamentary leader in Punjab assembly. According to Sanaullah the decision to quit was taken in a high level meeting of party. "Now the ball is in opposition's court," he says. In his view the best time to tender resignations was before Musharraf's trip to the US as it would have created 'maximum pressure'. According to a source in PML-N, except Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, no other party has showed willingness to resign. "Reports of fresh contacts between Benazir Bhutto and the government have disappointed PML-N and this was the agenda of the latest meeting between Mian Nawaz Sharif and Makhdoom Amin Fahim in London," the source says. "Qazi Hussain Ahmad, president MMA assured Mian Nawaz Sharif that their alliance would stand with PML-N on this issue. But when a final decision was taken, the MMA leader responded negatively, saying that a major component of MMA, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), opposed such a move," says Sanaullah, adding that all the political activity around women protection bill is pre-planned and both PPPP and MMA are following the line of General Musharraf. MMA leadership is of the view that ARD should first put its own house in order. "We have offered to make a grand alliance of opposition on all issues including resignations from assemblies but PPPP, the major component of ARD, is not serious," says MNA Liaquat Baloch, leader of MMA and Ameer JI Punjab, adding that they too have tendered their resignations to Qazi Sahib to use when necessary. PPPP blames it all on MMA. "It was decided that as a first step MMA would resign from the governments of Balochistan and NWFP," says Syed Naveed Qamar, a senior PPPP leader from Sindh. He says there is no truth in reports of a deal with government. "If the PPPP is taking part in the assembly proceedings and attending the select committee meetings on Hudood Ordinance, that doesn't mean it's having an underhand deal with the government." Qamar says that the joint opposition will resign from the assemblies simultaneously. "PPPP parliamentarians had already handed over their resignations to the party chairperson Benazir Bhutto so she could use them at an opportune time. The leadership of both parties -- PPPP and PML-N -- is agreed on the best time to send these resignations to the speakers of the concerned assemblies." When asked about the party strategy in case PML-N lodged its resignations to the speakers, Qamar replies: "Both parties will have a decision after consultation since it has already been discussed that no party will take a unilateral decision on the issue." Although PML-N thinks it is the best time to resign, PPPP thinks otherwise. Any such decision taken in haste could go wrong as it could benefit the government which may fill the vacant seats through by-elections, it argues. Raja Zafarul Haq, Chairman PML-N, admits that PML-N resignations would create no problem for Pervez Musharraf government. "We are trying our best to convince PPPP and MMA to join our hands on the issue," says Haq. Apart from PPPP, JUI-F is also being blamed for cutting a deal with the government, thus creating hurdles in joint resignations. Predictably, JUI-F denies the allegations. Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidery, MNA and central general secretary JUI-F says if all opposition parties are agreed, JUI-F will have no reason not to join them. "But we are part of MMA, an alliance of six parties and every decision is taken after complete consultation. Besides resignations will deprive opposition of the platform where it could raise voice against the tyrannies of government." Abdul Rauf Mengal, Member Balochistan National Party Mengal (BNP-M), the only party so far that has tendered resignations on the issue of Akbar Bugti's killing, says that opposition has failed to play the role it should have. "I don't understand what 'right time' are they talking about, when Musharraf will kick them out of parliament? MMA and ARD do not believe in the power of people. They may talk of common people during the daylight while at night most of them are present in GHQ. There's a military operation in Wana and Balochistan, 4000 political workers are in jails in Balochistan, political leaders are being assassinated in military operations and they are still looking for a suitable time," he says. On opposition's argument of losing a platform in case of resignations, Mengal says: "What platform? On August 28 we filed a motion in the National Assembly to debate on the cruel act of Bugti's killing, but we were not allowed to talk on the floor. Rather the speaker adjourned the proceedings of the assembly soon after recitation of Holy Quran."
A
bird's-eye view By N.A.Bhatti "Good night, good night, parting is such sweet sorrow That I shall say goodnight till it be tomorrow." (Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet) My old naval colleague, Qazi Sahib, and I were having a chat in his house. I wondered how Shakespeare's Romeo could muster enough stamina to hang around all night saying good night to Juliet until the time came when he had to say good morning. "Everything is possible when it comes to a question of the heart," said Qazi Sahib. "Not otherwise." "Can you elaborate?" Qazi Sahib's story begins. "I was with our friend Malik Sahib the other day. We had a chat over tea and discussed politics. In three quarters of an hour, I rose to leave. It took me about forty-five seconds to leave. "A few days later my wife and I visited the Maliks. We had tea and snacks followed by an hour of the miscellaneous chatter. "Then I caught my wife's eye, glanced at my wrist-watch to indicate that the countdown had started and the take-off would be one minute later. "'But what's the hurry?' demanded the hawk-eyed Begum Malik, correctly interpreting the body language. "Courtesy demanded that the departure be delayed by a few more minutes. In the meanwhile Malik Sahib and I exchanged some small talk for quarter of an hour or so before I made a bolder effort. "I think it's time we..." "'Just a second. There's something I forgot to show her,' Begum Malik flitted out of the room. A second in such cases may mean anything between a minute and ten minutes. She returned in five minutes with some bric-a-brac she had picked up from the super market. "'Oh my God, how pretty! Where did you get it from?' "Frankly I hadn't a clue what the 'it' was except that it triggered more chirping among them for the following quarter of an hour. "I then rose from the sofa to demonstrate my determination. Malik rose too and we headed for the porch. "Just then I heard my better half saying: 'You said you'd let me have the recipe for the souffle you jotted down from tv.' "Begum Malik did the vanishing trick again, shattering my hopes for a rapid parting. The ten minutes she took to exhume a slip of paper seemed like a decade. "As I heard the two women chattering, I couldn't make out what exactly they were saying. But a close guess put it as: 'When Guddoo's Daddy went to London...yes, to that store just off Oxford Street... have tried several brands but they're not a patch on what New York's Macy's has to offer... Oh, those Saddar fellows... You must try fry the onions a little longer... She? I know their romance would end up on the rocks..." "When I saw them returning to the drawing-room and sinking into the sofa again, my patience ran out totally and I honked like hell. "My Begum dropped the trinket she was examining and jumped out of the sofa. They embraced and smooched hurriedly before she sprinted towards the car and dived into the front seat."
|
|
