- Restructuring the power sector By Shahid Kardar
- Who’s corrupt? By Nadeem Ul Haque
- In defense of KLB By Dr. Khalil Ahmad
- Letters to FreePakistan
- HumorWise
- Issue of the Month: NRO-ing Pakistan
- CSR Views & News
- Vested Interests
Quotes of the Month:
A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep.
[Saul Bellow]
Distrust of authority should be the first civic duty.
[Norman Douglas, An Almanac (October 1941)]
Free Pakistan, a monthly newsletter, exists for the promotion of limited government, rule of law, protection of property rights, market economy, individual freedom, and private initiative. Its vision is a free and prosperous Pakistan; for only such a Pakistan can contribute positively to the creation of a free and prosperous world.
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RESTRUCTURING THE POWER SECTOR
By Shahid Kardar
[The writer is a former finance minister of Punjab. This article first appeared in The News International on October 6 & 7, 2009, in two parts.]
A common refrain in Pakistan today is that the role of the middle class and industry has been reduced to earning enough to pay WAPDA bills regularly so that it can stay afloat. The cost of doing business in Pakistan has been rising, affecting the competitiveness of the much-maligned domestic industry. In a highly liberalised import tariff regime industry continues to be under stress simply because of the high cost of energy provided by publicly controlled corporations.
Without trying to defend inefficient manufacturers one must ask that if prices of all major inputs of the manufacturing sector are administered by government-managed enterprises, how can private industry be expected to neutralise, entirely through its own efforts, the higher cost burden of the operational inefficiencies of these corporations? In this article I propose to take up the issue of the cost of one such input, electricity, the unit price of which for industry is one of the highest in the world. That it is the government's skewed resource mobilisation policy that further loads the electricity tariff structure with surcharges and withholding taxes and the distorted tariff structure whereby the bulk consumer, industry, pays a much higher tariff than domestic consumers (whereas it should be the other way around) are other matters that should be the subject of another discussion.
In Pakistan electricity is presently being priced well below the cost of service to less affluent domestic consumers (those consuming up to 300kwh) and farmers – at two-thirds of the average cost per unit (and whose consumption through tube-wells can also be overstated because of lack of metering). The other, more perennial issue is the increase in WAPDA's woes on not being able to pass on the rapidly rising international price of oil and our collective failure to exploit lower- cost alternatives like hydel and coal. With 60 to 65 per cent of the generation being oil-based, the cost of electricity in our homes works out to almost Rs16 per unit, the price of oil alone being Rs8 per unit today!
These factors, combined with overstaffing in WAPDA and the distribution companies which are unable to hold their staff accountable for electricity theft, the failure to get FATA and thousands of electricity consumers in Karachi to pay their dues, its misuse by the subsidised consumers (for example, farmers have changed cropping patterns and started cultivating water-intensive crops) and poor collections have resulted in commercial consumers, industry and domestic consumers in other parts of the country paying higher tariffs--to make up for the losses on these accounts.
The transmission and distribution losses on account of outdated equipment, technological backwardness, poor maintenance, theft and weak collection effort are being classified as "technical losses"; which, at more than 18 per cent for the Multan area, 21 per cent for Quetta, Peshawar 33 per cent and 35 per cent in case of KESC and Hyderabad, are among the highest in the world. This much publicised theft of electricity is, of course, carried out in collusion with staff of the distribution companies (DISCOs), especially in urban areas, by both the well-off and inhabitants of low income settlements and katchi abadis and by both large and small industrial units. All these issues are well known. But no one has the courage to tackle them, except to look towards the honest prosperous consumers to help these utilities cross-subsidise inefficiencies, theft and politicised populist tariffs chargeable to farmers and low-consumption households. The theft simply gets underwritten by a tariff increase: i.e., there is the privatisation of public theft! This is why WAPDA and KESC oppose consumers buying from others or from establishing facilities to meet their own electricity consumption requirements. To prevent this from happening these agencies either charge penal tariffs for using their transmission lines or levy a charge even when their transmission lines are not used.
Power-sector reforms involving foreign investors in power generation have been a costly outcome, largely because of the poor country image and a flawed policy framework. Not only has it been characterised by rent-seeking behaviour, investments have a huge debt component. The lenders want to reduce their risk and require assurance that the money being lent will be fully serviced and on a timely basis. For that they have sought the structuring of the power purchase agreements to guarantee a minimum level of sale of power units and payments of fixed charges (called capacity charge), even if the guaranteed quantities are not purchased, resulting in the transfer of both financial and market risks to the government. Seventy per cent of the tariff is a capacity payment (to be made whether WAPDA buys the power produced or not). This is presently being made to at least two companies which were, in one of the most stupid decisions ever made, committed provision of gas when there is little or no surplus of such a resource available, and which are literally lying idle and getting paid for not supplying any electricity, raising all kinds of doubts about the underlying motives for committing gas to them!
Even a cursory examination shows that, based on the guarantees announced by the government, investors will earn rates of return much higher than those being earned in other sectors, without them having to bear any risk. The returns built into the tariff structure have been truly excessive, especially in the case of the rental power projects--without, for the moment, entering into a discussion on the government's failure to manage and utilise existing capacities better by tackling the issues of the circular debt and the regular maintenance and upgrading of WAPDA's generation capacity prior to exercising the option for rental power.
The government has committed the tariff in dollar terms (although the billing will be in local currency). It has also guaranteed the power producers against upward revisions in the price of fuel and any additional costs that may have to be borne by them as a result of changes in any laws--almost akin to a constitutional amendment in their favour! In other words, all financial and attendant risks, including those pertaining to market demand, are being underwritten by the government. If producers are to be compensated for all changes in input costs, then where is the legendary efficiency of the private sector? This is in sharp contrast to the market conditions faced by other private investments. For example, there are no guaranteed off-takes in the case of consumer goods or durables.
Isn't it unnatural that while the rest of the economy is barely afloat--with a growth rate just ahead of population growth, foreign investment, which is generally shy of investing in other sectors, is relatively keen to sign up IPPs or rental-power agreements, concerns about the government's ability to make timely payments (the experience of the circular debt) notwithstanding. Could it be that the incentive/reward structure is far too attractive and unrelated to market principles?
In this writer's opinion the incentives are distorting market signals, inducing a switching of investments from other sectors into the power sector, especially with the commitment that the IPPs can borrow at KIBOR plus 3 per cent, almost creating a floor for the price of long-term private-sector credit!
It has also been a mistake to invite foreign investment in generation, when the problem lies with the distribution side of things (the bad experience with the KESC privatisation notwithstanding). In the opinion of this writer, the efficiency of the DISCOs with their massive theft simply cannot be improved: you cannot change a mule into a zebra by painting stripes on it. The only solution is the introduction of the private sector in the distribution system by inviting competitive bids on tariff ceilings, efficiency improvements and reduction in distribution losses. It should also be obvious that as long as distribution systems are rickety and not financially viable, foreign investors will demand a variety of measures to mitigate their risks, which automatically gives primacy to their looking at generation rather than distribution.
The government's defends its decision to invite RPPs based on shortfalls in supply and projections of demand for electricity. This writer, for one, would argue that the growth rate in demand for electricity is likely to be lower than envisaged by the government following the phased 31 per cent revision in its price over the next six months or so. The capability of the end-consumer and the slowly growing economy to absorb such costs remain to be seen. And if exports are not robust, will we be able to earn the foreign exchange required by WAPDA to meet its foreign-currency obligations? One of the key imponderables of the energy policy concerns the materialisation of such hopes.
However, the most disturbing feature of the power-purchase agreements signed between the government and the private power producers is the secrecy in which they are shrouded. That the terms of the agreements were revised from those set out in the tender documents is being hidden, unnecessarily raising questions about the potentially "sinister nature" of the underlying motive and doubts about the transparency of the process of the award of contracts. We therefore demand that all such agreements should be open to public scrutiny. To illustrate this point take the case of the tariff ranging from 2.5 cents to 3.6 cents negotiated for rental power plants a handful of weeks before the installation into office of this government, compared with the tariff ranging from 4.18 cents to 5.98 cents agreed in recent days for 1,500 MWs, which for the supply of roughly 10 billion units a year translates to an additional payment of at least $200 million a year--to say nothing of the grant of a 14 per cent mobilisation advance that was not mentioned in the bidding documents. Information on the "real sponsors" of the RPPs with which agreements have been signed will go a long way in explaining these revisions, especially in the tariff structure, and the commitments made to supply a scarce resource, such as gas!
Therefore, in the short term, the government should a) eliminate the circular debt immediately, even if it means cutting down the development programme drastically; b) revise the electricity tariff structure so that the issue of circular debt does not re-emerge; and c) help WAPDA collect its dues from government departments and agencies so that it can carry out urgent repairs of its plants and machinery and upgrade the generation capacities of some of its stations as a much cheaper option.
In the medium to long term, we should exploit our resources of coal and water. The latter through small hydel projects, by putting Kashmir on the backburner and initiating discussions with the Indians on a joint strategy for the efficient utilisation of this scarce resource: water. Next, we should privatise the DISCOs and stop cross-subsidising the more inefficiently organised distribution companies, a policy that unnecessarily penalises consumers meeting their obligations regularly.
Finally, the best way to help poor households using up to, say, 100-150 units would be to install solar panels for katchi abadis. The initial capital cost could be high, but the running cost of such an arrangement would be nominal, the tariff structure would not have to be distorted to cross-subsidise these lifeline consumers and WAPDA would be spared the agony of installing meters, hiring meter-readers and printing bills, thereby substantially reducing its transaction and operational costs. [Courtesy The News International]
By Nadeem Ul Haque
[Nadeem Ul Haque is former Vice Chancellor of Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE). This article first appeared in Daily Times on October 01, 2009.]
I am from a corrupt country. On the Transparency International (TI) index, Pakistan ranks 134 out of 180. Indeed, stories of our leaders’ corruption are rife and we are continually looked upon with suspicion. We also believe that we are bad, very bad!
We are called corrupt because of perception surveys. Question include “do you expect to pay a bribe when you get a certain public service.” So if a minor underpaid functionary in tattered clothes collects a small tip of a few dollars, of course that is bribery. And then dark, poor countries are considered corrupt!
But recently, this has become laughable. The pure countries at the top of the TI scale — the white countries — do not seem so lily white. Of course there is no little guy collecting small bribes and there are no meaningful bribes collected for providing public services.
But then as we have seen in the last two decades, corporate balance sheets have been doctored, shareholders ripped off by venal corporate bosses while boards gleefully looked on, collecting hefty commissions. Executives that ran their companies into the ground walked away rich! No law chased them! No board member took a fall.
But of course this was not corruption. Bonuses, retention fees and golden parachutes are not corruption. The retirement plans and nest eggs of poor people went up in smoke, but that is not corruption according to TI. Only petty bribes are!
Do watchdogs like TI notice what Enron, Tyco, Oxford Health, Citibank, Bernie Madoff, AIG, Merrill Lynch and so many others were doing? Do they see how lobbyists managed to sneak into a law a clause to protect outrageous bonuses? Did that change the rating of the United States?
I searched the TI ratings for some impact of these developments. There was none. Alas, no perception survey captures that!
We have seen lobbyists influencing policy again and again to the detriment of the little person. And the line between lobbyists and policymakers has been quite unclear given the convenient revolving door between the offices of the two groups. But lobbyists are performing a useful function making sure that the public keeps paying for bad food, unnecessary expensive healthcare, gas guzzlers, and guns. I guess this is not harmful. Only petty bribes are.
We are told again and again that the dark, poor countries need to set up a state of the art procurement process. The kind where friends of the powerful get ‘no-bid’ contracts; the kind where the government gives out single sourced contracts to friendly firms; where non-competitive awards are quietly made in the dark to firms; where project overruns are large and legion.
“Consultants” can be paid handsomely for stating the obvious. Who are these consultants? Most of them come out of the Rolodex of some enterprising fellow who is linked well with an aid establishment or a procurement officer. Many of them are just retired minor officials in some white bureaucracy. Of course, poor dark people are too corrupt to be hired to these jobs, except at the very lowest rung of the totem pole.
Rich countries are so generous they give poor countries aid to help them out of poverty. Of course, only pure white people are to get these funds. TI and others are funded in the name of the poor by such aid. No one asks the poor, who are the intended recipients, whether this money should be doled out in their name to agencies like TI. Much of the aid that is intended for slumdogs is spent by consultants, lobbyists, international agencies and international NGOs. The poor see little of it.
If it gets to a poor area or a school, it is after the lion’s share has been absorbed by consultants, lobbyists and INGOs like TI. These incestuous relationships between donors and their friends to produce reports, perception indices, technical assistance and trainings in exotic capitals of the world must be for the benefit of the slumdogs.
Aid donors also hire consultants to run many poor dark governments with abandon. They make policy, they run departments. No one holds them accountable to any results. Their money cannot be withheld. Thousands of dollars later, we remember that there might have been some friendly connection somewhere and we rush to hush it up. Project after project leaves the poor world poorer.
But then the consultants and donors tried, and of course no one dares accuse them of any wrongdoing. But then in the clean white world, consulting, lobbying, non-competitive contracting and procurement are all nice words — not like bribery in the poor dark world.
Many denizens of the poor, dark, corrupt world acquire quality human capital and even perform well in the superior clean white world. But they are not to be trusted with aid projects or anything to do with serious economic development in their countries. Of course, high-priced consultants from a Rolodex are better since TI says they come from clean countries.
When payoffs have fancy names like ‘bonuses’, ‘incentive fees’, ‘no-bid contracts’, or ‘single sourced’, they are respectable. Slumdogs are penalised because they are not capable of these fancy titles. That makes sense: please give more money intended for the poor to TI to tell the poor how slumdogs taking petty bribes are bad, very bad. But truly their crime is lack of nomenclature, corporate governance and bureaucracy that makes even makes trillion-dollar malfeasance respectable! [Courtesy Daily Times]
PointWise
IN DEFENSE OF KERRY-LUGAR BILL
By Dr. Khalil Ahmad
1. The furore against the Kerry-Lugar Bill in Pakistan is politically-motivated. Among other things which include opposition to the US government and to the Pakistan Peoples Party especially its present leadership, it has its roots in the mindset that has been nurtured through the last six decades by the Pakistani establishment. One of the most important characteristics of this mindset is its concept of charismatic sovereignty of Pakistan which gets hurt just by any hint of ‘bilateral relations’ of any type with any country. It may be termed as upholding an isolated sovereignty or an all-dominant sovereignty in a world populated with a large number of sovereign countries.
2. That we are unable to see the merits of the KLB in its proper context is both cause and effect of this fuss persisting from the highest military ranks to the lower intellectual strata of our society.
3. A number of things are conspicuous by their glaring contrast: first, how cliché-ridden talk against the KLB has blinded us from noting the momentous change in the US policy towards Pakistan; and second, how we have once again transformed ourselves into the eternal advocates of the Pakistani establishment which we were opposing tooth and nail a while ago during the rule of law movement.
4. It is surprising that in its first days the KLB had not that sort of ill repute in Pakistan which it has now got associated with. So, it is worth-researching how it got a bad name and on whose instance. Apart from that, it’s a fact that most of us have been relentless critics of US governments’ policy towards Pakistan especially because of and because it had a long history of supporting military coups, military dictatorships, military’s interference in civil and political affairs, and anti-constitutional, anti-fundamental rights, and anti-people policies of both civilian rulers and military dictators in Pakistan. Now that the KLB has made $ 1.5 billion annual economic and development assistance conditional to the certification that “the security forces of Pakistan are not materially and substantially subverting the political or judicial processes of Pakistan,” it is just unintelligible why we can’t feel happy.
5. Aren’t we playing the game of the Pakistani establishment, then? Do we want this or other future US governments continue supporting the subversion of political or judicial processes whether materially or substantially? Isn’t if fortunate that finally we have a new US policy which considers us to be ruled by our constitution and the people of Pakistan its rightful owners? Do we again want a US always siding with the anti-constitutional forces in Pakistan? We ought to stop and give a thought to it.
6. Another significant change in the US policy towards Pakistan makes the people of Pakistan to be the beneficiaries of this five year package. It may have been so in the past that such packages would be carrying a tag of this rhetoric, but this time it is overseeing, monitoring and certification by the US officials that makes it mean what it says. It may not be unjust a conjecture if we see it as excluding the elites of Pakistan from this aid’s benefits. Who would deny the fact that how in the past US aid was misused, expropriated, and pilfered by all the elites of Pakistan! They must oppose it now when this anti-elite KLB means no crumb for them!
7. Also, if this package helps Pakistan get rid of the inhuman terrorism of the hard-core Taliban as it aims at, what else the ordinary people of Pakistan would need to live in peace in their own country! Isn’t it reason enough for the soft-core Taliban to reject the KLB with their full force? Thus, the KLB opposition is disguising itself in ever newer garbs to mislead us. We ought to be beware of it!
8. Thanks to the KLB, a recent myth broke itself to pieces pre-maturely. It was believed that the present COAS had brought the Pakistan Army back to the barracks; that now on its part there was no interference in the civil and political affairs, etc. Then, how come the corps commanders meeting express their ‘serious concern’ on the KLB! Does it come under their purview to show their pleasure or displeasure what the civil government aims at doing? Only individuals spoke against that; no political party is up to that.
9. What on earth Pakistan Muslim League (N) is doing when it doesn’t take note of this unconstitutional ‘serious concern!’ But again it is a self-contradiction that Mr. Nawaz Sharif speaks against the KLB and at the same time he wants Charter of Democracy to act as the light-house for the future political course, and he puts the demand for General Musharraf’s trial on the back burner, and still he wants Pakistan back to constitutional rule. Actually, at this time PML (N) rhetoric is hiding its true motives (!) behind a meaningless chatter. Its anti-establishment posturing is fast disappearing!
10. It needs to be mentioned here that denouncing the KLB should not be taken as denouncing the
11. Lastly, it’s never a matter of begging or related themes like ‘’Beggars can’t be choosers,’ when we have mutual relations based on give-and-take, and till we mutually satisfy each others’ interests. The begging cliché is actually a derivative of the same mindset that believes in complete isolation or in absolute domination of the world. That is simply psychotic!
12. The KLB is part of a new political paradigm and it needs a new pro-active and positive approach to be understood properly. It is people-oriented, and anti-elite. It is anti-Taliban who are intent upon rewinding the whole world back to a past of their own liking. Also, it is imperative that we give due weight to the new realities of the world which provide us with opportunities to change ourselves to co-exist peacefully and live a better life in harmony with other nations, peoples and countries. The KLB may help us take the next step in that direction!
[The writer is founder/head of the Alternate Solutions Institute, Pakistan’s first free market think tank http://asinstitute.org.]
RE: STAGNATING THE
[Ali Nazim Jafri, Proud Indian Citizen of the Sub-Continent]
Shame on a nation and its citizens who have inherited this parcel of land from its former glory after losing millions of lives in the transfer of power to a partitioned land that none can govern. Half the abled and monied population manages to get out and live a separate life, be another citizen of another state. What was the purpose of poor Jinnah to have excercised some right created in the heated argument with Vallabh bhai. That gentleman of The Bombay Presidency possessing immense wealth and prime land and bunglow in the posh Malabar Hill had to go through the agony of partition and see its citizens run away from that partitioned state. Shame! Shame! Shame!
And all you guys think of is to acquire another princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Ha! High Hopes!
Suggestion is to get wealth from all the former citizens who ran away to some glorified luxurious life and pass a motion to annexe the neighbouring Afganistan and get rid of all the Talibans. Clean shave them and bald them and make them serve the joint nations of Afganistan and Pakistan in social and community kitchens. Appoint India as observer status to supervise the work.
RE: STAGNATING THE
[Akhtar Ali Khan]
With due respect, every one knows why one gets elected to the Pakistani or Pakistani provincial parliaments:
(i) To have all the privilege of being the member (free housing and meals included, with the right to import tax free car and build a big house both in Islamabad and back home;
(ii) To have the law on their side, for land occupation, raping women, killing anyone, etc --- actually, it is being above the law;
(iii) To have foreign trips including pilgrimage at the expanse of the exchequer --- above all travel in first class and having a whole suite in a top-class hotel;
(iv) being awed by constituents but doing nothing for them.
In addition, there are many other benefits (but decency requires that I don't mention them). However, attending to the business of the state, and welfare of the citizens are not their duty (in reality, they don't even know what their duty is). Welcome to the "la-la land of Pakistan."
RE: STAGNATING THE
[Zafar Iqbal]
Allah Hafiz or Allah hi Hafiz for Pakistan.
KERRY LUGAR
[Shaista Kazmi, Vision 21]
Kerry Luger Bill has created a lot of furore in Pakistan. While government is portraying it as an achievement it has many detractors who say we are selling the nation…At awaam we have decided that you can read the bill for yourself and decide… http://awaam.wordpress.com/2009/10/04/kerry-luger-bill/
RE: CONTROLLING PRICES BE BETTER LEFT TO MARKET FORCES (FREEPAKISTAN NEWSLETTER # 106)
[Kadar Khan]
Good effort!
WILL PAKISTAN ARMY WAKE UP NOW?
[Shaista Kazmi, Vision 21]
Would it be too rude to say that Pakistan Army had it coming? No, I mean, literally. As reported in the media, there were intelligence reports that the attack on GHQ was imminent and had been well planned. Two facts stand out about the armed terrorists who attacked.
a. They knew they will not be able to come out alive from the heavily guarded military headquarters. These were highly trained and motivated terrorists who wanted to make a big impact by attacking the nerve centre of Pakistan Army.
b. The terrorist must have known that the attack was going to have more of a symbolic value than anything else. In fact this is akin to attack on Pentagon and World Trade Centre. In an irony some may say that GHQ can be seen as representing both the corporate and military interests in Pakistan.
This was an audacious attack, whose consequences and implications had been undoubtedly, thought through. However, most probably, where terrorists failed is that they may have hoped to prolong their action and inflict more damage and destruction then actually occurred...READ MORE
NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY
[Kadar Khan]
Is the crisis at its highest where leaders of ruling party and arm forces have different view of national sovereignty? “The Presidency has apparently dismissed the serious concerns of the Pakistan Army Corps Commanders over the Kerry-Lugar Bill as President Asif Ali Zardari forges ahead with his unwavering support for the bill”. (Ansar Abbasi,The News International Oct 9)
RE: PAKNATIONALISTS - IS DR. LODHI'S TAKEOVER IN WASHINGTON IMMINENT?
[Kadar Khan]
Imminent or not Dr. Maleeha Lodhi should takeover! As a matter of fact should be foreign minister in-charge of putting Foreign Office in order first by getting rid off all desk jockeys in-house and posted elsewhere on shopping spree!
Clocking years shouldn’t be the hallmark of their performance but the ability to prepare nation ahead of time from the events even unseen to seasoned politicians.
Nevertheless, no option left! People at the helm must be highly skilled and perceptive otherwise, disintegration is already picking up the final pace eventually leaving space and time all together.
JINNAH [INDIA – PARTITION – INDEPENDENCE] BY JASWANT SINGH
[Hem Raj Jain, India]
The pain of India’s partition felt by Jaswant is genuine and can be appreciated but his analysis of partition fails on five counts:-
[1]- Jaswant gives more than due importance to the role of Jinnah or Indian Muslim League or for that matter to any other political organization of Muslims at that time in bringing about the partition, for the simple reason that being only one fourth of the population without such ‘INTENTIONS’ on the part of Hindus [read Gandhi] the partition simply could not have been possible. Hence the effect of communal riots, in the wake of ‘Direct Action Day’ call of Aug 16, 1946 given by Jinnah, on the urgency of partition is over stated.
Because as Jaswant writes Patel rightly wrote to Cripps on December15, 1946 that mild Hindus also, when driven to desperation can retaliate as brutally as a fanatic Muslim.
[2]- Jaswant is unfairly harsh on Nehru - Patel duo and lenient towards Gandhi in apportioning blame for partition. During 14, 15 June 1947 AICC meeting Nehru’s assertion regarding keeping Gandhi informed about partition can not be doubted by an objective enquiry. Nehru’s statement about agreement for partition that “But if Gandhi had told us not to, we would have gone on fighting” is also quite revealing because here was the main problem. Gandhi knew no other method than non violent political resistance and as per Gandhi himself he had failed in satisfying the Muslims. Moreover no other leader in Congress was coming forward to launch another agitation against Britishers at all India level. This was the main reason for the ‘INTENTIONS’ of
Gandhi when he thought in favor of partition because only in divided Hindu India Gandhi could practice his political techniques of non violence. Hence as Jaswant writes that after March 23, 1940 Pakistan resolution at Lahore, Gandhi wrote in Harijan in 1942 that if the vast majority of Muslims wants to partition India they must have the partition. Therefore [in 1944 on the basis of Rajagopalachari Plan] Gandhi actually carried on negotiation for over a fortnight with Jinnah on the very basis of partition. Further Jaswant fails to appreciate the position of Nehru - Patel duo who had the responsibility of running the government unlike Gandhi [not even a member of Congress party] who did not have any responsibility of any office, whatsoever.
[3]- The mischievous elements from both the religion could have been suppressed had Hindus and Muslims raised the guns against the Britishers demanding independence [as they did in 1857]. Because in such case the blood of martial element of both Hindus and Muslims flown together on the soil of India would have ensured a secular and not a communal based fight for independence. But in contrast to 1857 this time the Kings and Nawabs of India were not the aggrieved party against the Britishers. Hence majority Hindu community had to take the initiative for mobilizing the martial element of India. But Hindus in armed forces were happily drawing salaries from their British masters which rendered this so called independence struggle to a level of merely a civilian political uprising. This non martial civilian nature of so called independence struggle lead to Himalayan blunder of Gandhi when in the midst of world war in 1942 Gandhi gave a call for “Quit
India” which was as Jaswant writes rightly perceived by even America as “deliberate interference in the war efforts” of allied forces and which lead to the consolidation of Muslim League during detention of Congress leaders in jail and also to loss of goodwill amongst Britishers towards Hindu India and which ultimately paved the way for partition.
[4] Jaswant’s questioning of Jinnah’s claim of Muslims being another nation is also not fair [Hindus do not have a monopoly on nationhood in India in view of controversies about so called Aryan invasion]. Even though only one fourth of the population but Muslims were hundred million strong in population and had been living in India for more than thousand years. Jaswant gives materialistic and undue over importance to exclusive territory for any nation [one nation one territory] and discards the idealistic part of religion etc in forming a nation. Jaswant fails to enlighten us that why two nations can not live in one territory. Not withstanding the dwindling hold of Muslim rulers in India [which saw even 27 years of war by Aurangzeb from 1680 to 1707 in south India and which never allowed Aurangzeb to be back in Delhi] the Muslims were neither comprehensively uprooted from India nor largely converted back to Hinduism and with the intervention of Britishers this issue of ‘Muslim Nation in India’ remained unsettled.
Hence Muslims had every right to demand parity [may not be on the basis of numbers but certainly on political basis] between both the Muslim Nation and the Hindu Nation. Moreover Congress which allowed Gandhi to chant Hindu religious songs like “raghupati raghav raja Ram and vaishnav janto” and to practice other techniques of Hindureligion like Prathana Sabha from its political platform, rightly attracted charge from Jinnah that “Congress is essentially a Hindu party.”
[5]- But these failings of Jaswant are minor when compared to his failing regarding not analyzing the role of princely states in precipitating the partition. Jaswant’s this failing becomes all the more glaring especially given the fact that Jaswant comes from Rajasthan [area wise largest state of India] which was entirely under princely states. It does not require a genius of political science to understand that if about 600 princely states having both Hindus and Muslims as their rulers [having thirty to forty percent of India’s population and territory] had tried sincerely to keep India united then hundreds of Jinnahas, Gandhis, Nehrus, Patels etc. simply could not have succeeded in partitioning India.
But having said this, Jaswant must be having an agenda to see India united because any practitioner of policy worth the name can analyze any tragedy [especially which effects him also] in an objective manner only if he has a will to correct the aberration creatively.
Fortunately for Jaswant, the history has given him an opportunity by way of his expulsion from BJP on account of his writing this political biography of Jinnah. Hence in order to reverse the tragedy of partition, Jaswant can try for “Federation of Secular Democratic SAARC Countries.” But before this Jaswant will have to launch an all India level political party which should be the political front of trade union of workers in employment guarantee program of the governments which is going to sustain half of India’s [Hindu and Muslim] population economically within a very short time.
Because unless there is some secular dispensation on humanitarian ground of considerable number of citizens for which a political party mainly works, it is impossible to keep the communal forces under effective check and control in any part of South Asia.
DESPERATION OR CHALLENGE- PAKISTAN MUST ACT
[Shaista Kazmi, Vision 21]
When someone declares an open war, how must a nation react? How should they defend desperation or challenge. themselves? Have we forgotten the lessons from war with India? Why should we feel different now when we are being attacked from inside rather than from outside.
By attacking various institutions of Pakistani state (in attacks of more symbolic value than otherwise), Taliban has thrown an open challenge to our nation. But is it really so? Don’t mistake it because it seems more a sign of desperation on their behalf because they clearly are surrounded and trapped.
The recent attacks are more like a reaction of an animal that has been trapped and feels encaged and knows its time has come. These attacks are designed to create more psychological trauma and undermine the resolve of the people and state of Pakistan, than actually inflict any real measurable material damage. We cannot and must not let that happen...READ MORE
http://awaam.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/desperation-or-challenge-pakistan-must-act/
RE: PAKNATIONALISTS - OBAMA SIGNS 'KILL
[Kadar Khan]
The question is? If this bill is really a true “Reflection of American Friendship” with the people of Pakistan! Why should there be any question when the bill is formulated by the insight of Pakistani leadership?
This ought to go into the history books where country-A formed a bill for country-B delegating ownership by inclusion to the leaders of country-B. Not surprisingly, rest is done both selling and buying by the leaders of country-B. Do we still think this is really a true reflection of American friendship?
As for Pakistani parliament! Do most of them really know why they are there?
HAKIMULLAH MEHSUD'S HANDWRITTEN AUTOBIOGRAPHY
[Shaista Kazmi, Vision 21]
Following a meeting of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Hakimullah Mehsud’s meeting with tribal reporters last week, the NEFA Foundation has released a brief autobiographical sketch handwritten by Hakimullah Mehsud to provide a reliable account of his life and origins to the media. At Awaam we have posted A Translation of Hakimullah Mehsud’s Autobiographical Handwritten Notes and an Analysis of Hakimullah Mehsud’s Autobiographical Handwritten Notes by NEFA Senior Investigator Claudio with Reporting by Javed Afridi...Read More
UNCHALLENGED MILITARY – POLICE, AN ABSURDITY
[Hem Raj Jain, India]
In the backdrop of recent Naxalist / Maoist accelerated attacks, any number of commentators are appearing in Indian media [both print and electronic] who are saying that there can not be a parallel State and what ever may be the provocation but no Indian citizen or group should resort to arms. This is such an absurd take that it needs to be corrected in view of the given below:
[1]- Unlike militants in Kashmir or in North East or in Punjab [in eighties] these Naxalist / Maoist are not secessionists.
[2]- The coercive apparatus, the military and police, of any State has a tendency to protect the entrenched interest of the [generally smart and aggressive] citizens of any country and which may leave the legitimate interest of some of the other citizens unprotected by the State, despite repeated complaints about genuine grievances to the constitutional and other authorities of the State.
[3]- Even criminal law does not say that a citizen can not commit a crime. It only says that if some body commits a crime then he will be punished so and so. Hence any citizen, who is prepared to face that punishment through due process of law, can always commit that crime [especially when he believes that he can not obtain justice otherwise]
[4]- Therefore, Naxalist / Maoist, who are taking the risk of laying down their lives or of going to jail by taking up the arms against the armed forces of Indian State, have every moral right to do so for the redress of their legitimate grievances by the method of overthrowing the present regime and installing a new regime which they believe will serve their interests too.
[5]- Without such risk of being displaced by another revolutionary regime an incumbent regime including its coercive apparatus, the military and police, are bound to become high handed, unjust, complacent, and insensitive.
[6]- Of course an incumbent regime faces the danger of being displaced by uprising militant movement only when justice and mass support is on revolutionary side.
[7]- There is at least one saving grace in this armed hostility between Naxalist / Maoist and the armed forces of Indian State that Naxalist / Maoist want to convey a message that they are also not a brutal force, notwithstanding some stray instances of brutality by some of the undisciplined elements of these militants.
[8]- It is impractical for any one to expect that in this age of democracy people will confer same divinity on the State or its organs or functionaries, despite glaring injustices to them by State, as was the case during Rajtantra [monarchies].
But having said so, Indian State, in the interest of avoiding unnecessary bloodshed between its own citizens and its armed forces, should shed its authoritarian attitude and do the following:
[i]- As promised in 2005, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Program [NREGP] for all the job-seeking working age citizens for 300 working days should be implemented immediately. Also in order to make NREGP worth its objectives, the NREGP should be implemented departmentally and not through Panchayats [village local bodies]
[ii]- The extra constitutional force like salva – jadum should be dismantled and discontinued immediately [as it tantamount to waging a war on – State [which is law]. Also illegal arms especially to the cadre / members of ruling parties should be eliminated immediately.
[iii]- Political parties should revive the practice of opening their offices in areas where any citizen can go to seek help in case state functionaries harass and deny justice to them [after all any political party is an organization, whether in power or not, which helps government function as per the diktates of law].
IDEAS CAN WIN THE WAR
[Shaista Kazmi, Vision 21]
Now that the military has begun its Rah-i-Nijat operation in South Waziristan, the question has begun to be asked whether it will succeed. We will not know the answer for several weeks, perhaps not even then.
The real victory will come only when the people not just in the tribal areas but in all parts of the country decide that they have been misled by a small of group of extremists.
The people must make clear that they don’t see their country and religion being under assault by the West, in particular the United States, and that it is their own people who are attacking them. In addition to the use of military power, what is required is the use of people’s power. The war being fought in the hills of South Waziristan is not simply a military war; it is more a war of ideas...READ MORE
WAZIRISTAN STRATEGY OR PAKISTAN STRATEGY?
[Shaista Kazmi, Vision 21]
Waziristan today has come to symbolize the paradigm in which Pakistan finds itself. An epicentre of ‘terrorism’, a symbol of ‘Talibanization’ and now a field for what has been euphemistically called ‘mother of all battles.’ Pakistan and Waziristan were not always like this. How we have come to this pass is crucial to analyse, but even more urgent is to assess that are we prepared enough to win this battle?
Is this just a battle or a war? Is the battle confined to South Waziristan? What are the implications beyond Waziristan? What lies beyond the battle? What will happen after South Waziristan has been secured? What are our plans after the area has been secured and captured? How are we going to treat captured combatants? What will be things be like in two, five, ten and twenty years from now? ...READ MORE
STRANGE AILMENTS
[Dr Irfan Zafar, Islamabad]
The western world seems to be wasting all its energies and resources to find cure for so many diseases without realizing that there is an easy way to cure these ailments in a very short period of time. Our leaders are a living proof of this miracle whereas when under detention, a long list of ailments surface which enable them to spend their days in captivity in the comfortable VVIP wards of the Hospitals. However, the moment they come in power, all these ailments simply vanish as if they never existed. When will the western world learn from us to save millions of dollars spent on medical research. [Pakistan Observer]
ADVANCING CLOCKS
[Dr Irfan Zafar, Islamabad]
The government has announced that clocks will be set back by one hour on Nov 1. I request the government to advance clocks to the date when the present assemblies are expected to complete their five-year tenure. For a change let's do something productive for the suffering masses. [The News]
A TALE OF TWO WOMEN
[Dr Irfan Zafar, Islamabad]
There is a talk of obnoxious behavior and exchange of filthy language by
BULGING TUMMIES
[Dr Irfan Zafar, Islamabad]
Will someone in the government kindly tell me who paid for the buffet dinner hosted at the presidency after the meeting between the president and the leader of the opposition? For the last 62 years our successive rulers are using taxpayers' money to fill their bulging tummies while delivering nothing in return. [The News]
DEMENTIA
[Dr Irfan Zafar, Islamabad]
I am suffering from Dementia, a disease causing decline in the thought process that is caused by damage in the brain. Its symptoms include declines in Decision-making ability, Judgment, Orientation in time and space, Problem solving, Verbal communication and above all the inability to remember things. Behavioral changes include eating, dressing (may need assistance) and Personality disorder (inappropriate responses, lack of emotional control). Through the columns of this newspaper I would like to clarify from the Election Commission of of Pakistan if I am eligible to contest elections for being the member of the Parliament? [Pakistan Observer]
Issue of the Month: NRO-ing Pakistan
FUTILITY OF DEBATING KLB AND NRO
[B.A. Malik, Islamabad]
The divisive debate in the print and electronic media on the Kerry-Lugar Bill and National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) is unnecessary as well as counter-productive. Pakistan and the US need each other’s strategic cooperation in the war against terror. Both nations are committed to defeat the curse of extremism from this region and the world. The opposition from certain quarters to the Kerry-Lugar Bill defies our national interest. The canard of sovereignty raised by so-called patriots is outdated. National sovereignty is gradually giving way to international interdependence in the global village. Pakistan is no exception to the inexorable growth of new realities in the thorny realm of modern international relations. Sovereignty without economic independence is a misnomer, anyway.
The NRO is in parliament, as well as in the Supreme Court, which will take care of its political and legal validity, respectively. Hence, the current public discourse on this ordinance is misleading. What makes the Kerry-Lugar Bill and the NRO so contentious is intriguing. The apparent reason behind this passionate controversy is character assassination of the political leadership of the country and an effort to malign the government with a view to derail the nascent democratic process. The designs of the anti-Kerry-Lugar Bill and anti-NRO writers and commentators will come to naught because the Army is no longer interested in invoking the law of necessity. I would, therefore, urge various TV talk show anchors and creators of electronic comedies to balance press freedom with some measure of responsibility while educating and entertaining their viewers respectively. The government is not going to fall as early as they want us to believe.
I shall, however, urge the parliament as well to restore the Constitution of 1973 because further delay in this area is not acceptable even to people like me who support the present political dispensation. Our national focus must concentrate on the war against terror. We cannot win this war without the weapons of unity, faith and discipline. [Dawn]
MANY A HYPOCRITE
[Rashid Maqsood, Lahore]
One thing is for sure -- now that the NRO has been tabled in parliament it will expose many a hypocrite, especially those who have been railing against it for the past many months. The people should know these people and should not vote for them in the next election. [The News]
DOUBLE SHAH (SHAHEED)
[Rafi Nasim, Lahore]
The most controversial ordinance of all times, NRO, is under hot discussion in the National Assembly. Despite stiff opposition from Mian Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N, there is little chance of its rejection. It is likely to have a clean passage because all those who have had their crimes pardoned through its provisions are life members of the ruling clique. As far as the PPP is concerned, all the criminal cases against Mr. Zardari were fake and have always been politically motivated. That is essentially what PPP stalwart Nabeel Gabol had to say on the subject when he recently commented on the NRO. Being in power, the PPP can also claim that the Surrey Palace and other such properties owned by the BB Shaheed and Mr. Zardari in England, USA, Switzerland and Dubai were not purchased by them but actually ‘gifted’ to them by their well-wishers.
It might seem a plausible plea to the
KERRY-LUGAR
[M S Hasan, Karachi]
The ruling party has tabled the infamous National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) for passage or otherwise in the National Assembly. Simultaneously, the Kerry-Lugar bill (KLB) is also being debated in the house. While the passage and consensus over the KLB is likely to encounter relatively stiff opposition, there is no doubt that the NRO will be approved by the house as the legislators, the beneficiaries of the NRO, including the PPP, the MQM and the PPP (Sherpao), outnumber the members of the opposition to this ordinance, that is, the PML-Q and the covert ally, the PML-N. The Sharifs are the collateral beneficiaries of the NRO. Had there been no NRO, the Sharifs would still be in exile, enjoying sun and sand of Saudi Arabia.
The ANP, on the other hand, will be persuaded to join the supporters of the NRO, and as far as Maulana Fazalur Rahman, the JUI-F chief, is concerned, he is not a problem as he will most definitely join the government and extend support. If proved wrong, I will be happy to eat my words. [The News]
NRO AND
[Aslam Minhas, Karachi]
The much maligned NRO bill is to be presented in the National Assembly. The parliamentary standing committee on law and order formed to discuss it has 17 members, out of which nine are from the PPP (they should be six as per rules) and eight from the opposition. The government in utter confusion is changing the members every day. The
I at 67 working part-time pay more taxes than Asif Zardari, Nawaz Sharif and the last ‘super-patriot commando’ combined. Should I pitch a tent before the income tax office, the President House, GHQ or go to Raiwind? In another twist, the over-televised information minister was challenged on the NRO on a private TV channel where a guest termed the impending passage of the NRO as ‘a shameful act.’ That really got the minister going. The guest’s next poser: If the NRO washed away all the venality of the MNAs, the prisoners charged with such petty crimes as thefts, robberies and (yes) murders should also benefit from it. Surely, courts have started receiving pleas from prisoners on death row to be given relief under the NRO. By the looks of things, the judiciary may yet have the last word on the NRO to rid us of the rotten lot and pave the way for the new!
The government’s first priority should have been availability of utilities and commodities in the market at reasonable prices. It not only failed on a grand scale but became a party in profiteering on the sugar issue. The shortage of power is dragging the economy down. The law and order is worsening by the day. This is a night-bit morn of democracy! While we can chew the NRO cud much to the discomfiture of the treasury benches and its biggest beneficiary, an across - the - border act of terrorism was committed in Iran. The Iranian general has sought the permission to take out the terrorists from Pakistan’s territory. A panorama view is more worrisome in this episode. We are being targeted from all sides. The suicide bombings is not entirely an indigenous affair. If blind obedience remains the official policy, we may by design of other powers trigger something on the lines of that eight - year-long mindless bloodbath between Iran and Iraq.
Zia was promised the overlordship of Afghanistan and he envisioned for himself a continuous terrain right through the Central Asia. Zia was used and then taken out. The tragedy is that the current cooped up leadership is open to suggestions with a closed mind. Once a conflagration is there, the big arm dealers will encourage and even underwrite it on both sides to keep it going. Wars are too much of a profitable venture for the super and regional powers to let go of it. A hint: it took World War II to get US out of depression. We have to avoid reaching the precipice! But with the one-man non-show it is not possible. [Dawn]
[Z I Rahimullah, Hyderabad]
NRO brought
I may say that the KLB cannot save her twin sister NROed coalition-cartel of present junta. They have failed nation and well understand the motives behind
ADDENDUM FOR DEMOCRAZIES
[Colonel (Rtd) Riaz Jafri, Rawalpindi]
The former ambassador B. A. Malik, while holding forth on serious issues, often conveniently overlooks certain obvious questions. As the ex-ambassador is a great advocate of democracy and the rule of law, may I ask him to add the following also to his list; (a) Should the politicians be allowed to keep plundering the national wealth making them billionaires overnight (b) Should the parliament give Carte Blanche to such politicians through NROs? (c) Should the democratic rulers be only from the hereditary party leadership? (d) Should merit be trampled for considerations of party affiliations? The list can be long but for the time being the above could suffice. [The Nation]
SEMINAR STRESSES CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Speakers at a seminar on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) asked the corporate sector to realise its social responsibility and play a role in the development of society to ensure a balanced economic revival and wellbeing of both the employers and employees. The seminar was organised by the Employers Federation of Pakistan (EFP) in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) at the Governor’s House on October 2. Speaking at the seminar, EFP President Haji Muhammad Javed said the CSR is a voluntary initiative of the business community. He said the CSR required positive action by the employers to contribute to three important areas, economic, social and environment so that they may perform better. He said the main objective of the EFP was to form a confederation of Pakistani industry to broaden the industrial base of the country.
He also took exception to imports of substandard goods and said the EFP was not against imports, but wanted import of only those items which were not manufactured locally. He said there must be quality control and quality check on such imports. Javed also highlighted the role and services of the EFP and said it was making efforts for the capacity building and improving life standards of workers. The EFP, he added, has already succeeded in launching a workers welfare programme in collaboration with the ILO in Haripur and Sukkur districts. Gul Rahman, co-chairperson of Workers Employers Bilateral Council of Pakistan (WFBCOP) said there was no law in the country to protect the rights of the workers and the workers were not being provided facilities and rights envisaged in the conventions of the ILO to which the country is also a signatory.
NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani, welcomed decision of the EFP to elect Haji Muhammad Javed as its president unanimously. He lauded the initiatives taken by EFP to promote corporate social responsibility and encouraged the corporate sector to invest in the social uplift of the poor and in the education and health facilities. The participants who spoke in the seminar were ILO representative, Saifullah Chaudhry, General Secretary Pakistan Workers Federation Khurshid Ahmed and others. A working session was also held with three groups to promote CSR in Pakistan. [The News]
POWERFUL SEGMENTS LOBBYING TO MAKE CCP TOOTHLESS
Competition Ordinance 2007 may be diluted to take out the sting that has annoyed the powerful segments of society, when it is presented in parliament by the deadline of November 27 set by the Supreme Court, relevant circles express fear. The federal government is bound to get 37 ordinances, promulgated by former president Pervez Musharraf, ratified by parliament before November. Competition Ordinance 2007, under which the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) is operating, is one of those ordinances. The CCP has played a vital role in curbing anti-competitive practices and use of dominant position by a company or a cartel. The News has learnt that those affected by CCP actions are making all-out efforts to convince the government either to let the Competition Ordinance lapse or make amendments in the original ordinance to make the CCP toothless like its predecessor — Monopoly Control Authority.
The parties affected by CCP actions include several banks, cement companies, the largest refinery, stock exchanges, cellular companies, a leading business school, a government-sponsored trust, several newspapers, a professional association and two fertiliser companies. An interesting point to note is that only the newspapers accepted the CCP verdict with an open heart while most of the others appealed against its decisions in the Supreme Court. Now it is up to the apex court to decide these cases speedily. The CCP imposed the highest penalty on cement units. On August 27, 2009, it slapped a cumulative fine of over Rs6 billon on different cement manufacturers who were found involved in cartel-like behaviour. However, the cement firms can appeal against the decision in the Supreme Court within 60 days, ie by October 27. The CCP has also seized data of various sugar mills and the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association to investigate allegations of cartel-like behaviour.
The Supreme Court has asked the Commission to evaluate the cost of sugar and submit its findings after examining the record of sugar mills and their association. The sugar lobby is the strongest in the corporate class. Many political families owning sugar mills and having representation in parliament will exert pressure if the Competition Ordinance is placed for approval in the Senate and the National Assembly. So far the Commission has issued six policy advisory notes to the government and government agencies on various aspects of public policy and regulation which were patently adverse to accepted competition norms. The Commission has moved decisively against cartelisation in various sectors, collusive tendering and abuse of dominance, unacceptable concentration and deceptive marketing practices. Pakistan’s new competition law puts the country squarely in line with international best practices due to adoption of a system which prohibits anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominant position while requiring compulsory pre-clearance of mergers and acquisitions; and establishment of the Competition Commission as an administrative enforcement body, operationally independent of the government, with quasi-judicial functions and subject to appeal to courts. [The News]
Edited and prepared by
Khalil Ahmad
Email: khalilkf@yahoo.comkhalil@asinstitute.org
[FreePakistan Newsletter, among other things, is a compilation of views and news taken from the national newspapers’ print and online editions. It is not possible to mention the source of every piece of news or view made use of herein; but as a matter of policy, where possible the source is mentioned with due thanks. However, no opinion expressed here should necessarily be taken as reflecting the view of Free Pakistan Newsletter.]
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