CONTENTS:
0 Announcements
0 Decimation of Constitutionalism
By Javid Husain
0 ‘Development’ Since 1999
By Miguel Loureiro
0 Speak Up
Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim
0 Issues of the Month: Civil Society vs. the State; The
Aftermath; and, Where has all the wheat gone?
0 From the National Press
0 CSR Views & News
0 HumorWise
0 Letters to FreePakistan
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Quotes of the Month:
Subject opinion to coercion: whom will you make your inquisitors? Fallible men; men governed by bad passions, by private as well as public reasons.
[Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia (1781-1785)]
It is pretended we are in hazard of being invaded by a powerful enemy; shall we therefore destroy our government? What is it then that we would defend? Is it our persons, by the ruin of our government? in what then shall we be gainers? In saving our lives by the loss of our liberties?...I would fain know, if there be any other way of making a prince absolute, than by allowing him a standing army: if by it all princes have not been made absolute; if without it, any. Whether our enemies shall conquer us is uncertain; but whether standing armies will enslave us, neither reason nor experience will suffer us to doubt. It is therefore evident that no pretence of danger from abroad can be an argument to keep up standing armies or any mercenary forces.
[Andrew Fletcher, A Discourse of Government With Relation to Militias (1698)]
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DISCOVER YOUR POLITICAL LEANINGS! World's Smallest Political Quiz
Take the Quiz now and find out where you fit on the political map!
http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html
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PHILOSOPHY OF LIBERTY
What is Philosophy of Liberty? A screensaver by Lux Lucre and Ken Schoolland explains it.
Download and install it. http://www.free-market.net/rd/321907219.html ; http://www.jonathangullible.com
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Announcements
Article: HOW MANY MEHRABPURS?
Mehrabpur is the town nearby which on the night of December 19, the tragic train accident took lives of about a hundred people and hundreds sustained injuries. It was just on the eve of Eid-ul-Azha (which fell on December 21, two days after the accident), the second greatest festive occasion for the Muslims. This article highlights the plight of the victims of the Mehrabpur accident and castigates the deplorable state of governance, from top to bottom, in Pakistan. What makes this accident more tragic is that in this case also, like so many others, the inquiry report will never see any one responsible for the loss of lives. Because had there been a constitution reigning supreme, laws ruling people and institutions, an independent judiciary working in Pakistan, the Mehrabpur accident would never go unnoticed and the culprits unpunished.
The article was published in The Post of December 26, 2007.
Here is the link to the original article:
http://asinstitute.org/page.php?instructions=page&page_id=727&nav_id=93
Here is the link to the published article: http://thepost.com.pk/Arc_OpinionNews.aspx?dtlid=135595&catid=11&date=12...
On December 28, 2007, the same article was carried by Business Recorder also. Here is the link:
http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=669470&currPageNo=1&query=&search=...
Article: ENEMIES OF THE RULE OF LAW
The News International on Friday December 21, 2007, published the following article in its Political Economy section. The article argues that political parties are one of the greatest enemies of the rule of law in Pakistan. If they do not reinstate the pre-November 03, 2007, judiciary even when in the parliament, they will act against the interest of the people of Pakistan.
Here is the original article:
http://asinstitute.org/page.php?instructions=page&page_id=726&nav_id=
Here is the published version:
http://jang.com.pk/thenews/dec2007-weekly/nos-23-12-2007/pol1.htm#2
Article: HOT AIR AND HUMAN HEALTH
The article, Hot Air and Human Health, by Philip Stevens syndicated in Pakistan by the Alternate Solutions Institute was published in The Frontier Post on December 17, 2007.
Here is the link to the article:
http://www.thefrontierpost.com/News.aspx?ncat=ar&nid=102
Article: LIBERALISM AS THE BASIS OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIGNITY
The article, Liberalism as the Basis of Human Rights and Dignity, by Christopher Lingle syndicated in Pakistan by the Alternate Solutions Institute was published in The Frontier Post on December 10, 2007.
Here is the link to the article:
http://www.thefrontierpost.com/News.aspx?ncat=ar&nid=99
On December 11, 2007, it was carried by The Post also. Here is the link:
http://thepost.com.pk/Arc_OpinionNews.aspx?dtlid=133439&catid=11&date=12...
Media Release: CIVIL SOCIETY REPORT SAYS CLIMATE POLICY SHOULD FOCUS ON REMOVING BARRIERS TO ADAPTATION
Civil Society Report says climate policy should focus on removing barriers to adaptation
Regulation and Aid are no Solution to Climate Change – Report
Lahore December 07, 20007: A new Report produced by a coalition of 41 institutes from around the world and released in Pakistan by Alternate Solutions Institute concludes:
• Cutting greenhouse gas emissions in the coming two decades is not a cost-effective way to address climate change.
• Deaths from climate related natural disasters have fallen dramatically since the 1920s, as a result of economic growth and technological development. With continued economic growth, the death rate is likely to continue to fall regardless of climate change. (The number of reported natural disasters has increased continuously since 1900 for various reasons, including population growth and improvements in communication; climate change is most likely not one of them.)
• There is no evidence that climate change has caused an increase in disease. If the main causes of diseases such as diarrhoea and malaria are properly addressed, climate change will not increase their incidence.
• Agricultural production has outpaced population growth in the past 50 years. With continued technological improvements, this trend will continue to 2100, even if the global mean temperature rises by 3°C.
• Water scarcity is a problem in many countries, but with better management and modern technologies, more water can made be available to all.
• Millions of people in poor countries currently die unnecessarily due to a lack of wealth and technology. These problems have generally been exacerbated – not alleviated – by foreign aid, which has supported unaccountable governments that have oppressed their citizens, denying them the ability to improve their lot.
• Global restrictions on greenhouse gases would undermine the capacity of people in poor countries to address the problems they face today as well as in the future by retarding economic growth and general economic development.
• Instead of pushing emissions restrictions and failed ‘aid’ policies, governments should focus on reducing barriers to economic growth and adaptation – e.g. removing trade barriers and decentralising management of water and land.
The Civil Society Report on Climate Change comprises:
1. Summary and Policy Recommendations
By the Civil Society Coalition on Climate Change
2. "Human Ecology and Human Behavior: Climate change and health in perspective"
By Paul Reiter
3. "Death and Death Rates due to Extreme Weather Events: Global & U.S. Trends, 1900-2006"
By Indur M. Goklany
4. "Weathering Global Warming in Agriculture and Forestry: It can be done with free markets"
By Douglas Southgate and Brent Sohngen
5. "The Political Economy of Global Warming, Rent Seeking and Freedom"
By Wolfgang Kasper
Download the Report (PDF):
http://ipn.lexi.net/images/uploaded/7-474b35c3caa26--csccc-report-web.pdf
The Civil Society Report on Climate Change has been published by the Civil Society Coalition on Climate Change http://www.csccc.info
About the Civil Society Coalition on Climate Change
The Civil Society Coalition on Climate Change seeks to educate the public about the science and economics of climate change in an impartial manner. It was established as a response to the many biased and alarmist claims about human-induced climate change, which are being used to justify calls for intervention and regulation. The Coalition comprises over forty independent civil society organisations who share a commitment to improving public understanding about a range of public policy issues. All are non-profit organizations that are independent of political parties and government. A list of members is available at http://www.csccc.info/members.php
Article: ADAPTATION NOT EMISSIONS CUTS
The article, Adaptation not emissions cuts, by Kendra Okonski syndicated in Pakistan by the Alternate Solutions Institute was published in The Frontier Post on December 04, 2007.
Here is the link to the article:
http://www.thefrontierpost.com/News.aspx?ncat=ar&nid=99
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DECIMATION OF CONSTITUTIONALISM
By Javid Husain
[The writer is a former ambassador. This article first appeared in The Nation of December 25, 2007.]
It has been a tragedy of historic proportions for Pakistan that a country which was created under the leadership of an outstanding constitutionalist soon fell prey to the shenanigans of military adventurers who have wrecked the rule of law and the constitution in their quest for absolute power to rule the country.
The process of the erosion of constitutionalism, which started with Ayub Khan, was continued by other ambitious generals like Yahya Khan and Ziaul Haq. This process has been taken to new heights by Pervez Musharraf who has violated his oath and the constitution twice - once on October 12, 1999 when he had been dismissed by the prime minister and the second time on November 3, 2007 when he felt that the supreme court might declare him ineligible for contesting the presidential election.
In his latest statement on the issue, Musharraf has charged that besides the deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, Justice Khalilur Rahman Ramday, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan and Nawaz Sharif were involved in the conspiracy to block his way to become a constitutionally elected president. Musharraf has failed to present any evidence in support of his charge. On the other hand, his latest accusation has confirmed once again that he was motivated by the desire to remain in power when he suspended the constitution and imposed the PCO.
While lifting the emergency and restoring a mutilated constitution on December 15, the president also claimed that now the executive and the judiciary were working in harmony with each other. This remark reflects Musharraf’s undemocratic tendencies which he used to camouflage in the past by underlining the need for unity of command in running the affairs of the government. Now he insists that the legislature, the executive and the judiciary should function in a harmonised manner. The purpose of these remarks is the same: Musharraf must have absolute power to rule the country unchecked by any constraints of law or even the constitution which embodies a scheme of checks and balances among various organs of the state.
The principle of unity of command is eminently suited for military operations in which the force at the disposal of the commander must be applied against the target in a well-focused manner. But in a democratic set-up, every organ of the state has to function within the limits prescribed by law. The leadership in a democracy must provide a sense of direction to the country but this should be done by building up political consensus in its favour and no by violating the law and the constitution.
One of the main functions of the judiciary in a democratic system is to check the transgressions of the executive beyond the limits set by law and the constitution. It appears from the president’s statements on the harmonisation of the functioning of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary that he expects the judiciary to fall in line with the policies of the executive irrespective of their illegality. That is the reason why he could not countenance the steps taken by the supreme court under Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry to take the government agencies to task for illegally detaining Pakistani citizens or for committing irregularities in the privatisation of the Pakistan Steel Mills.
It is again because of this line of reasoning that having sacked about 60 independent-minded judges of the superior judiciary who refused to take oath under the PCO, the establishment has now declared that the three pillars of the state are working in perfect harmony, that is to say, there is no danger now of the judiciary questioning the violations of the law and the constitution by the executive in respect of the issues close to Musharraf’s heart.
Little wonder that the members of the civil society in Pakistan, especially the legal community, and the rest of the world see in all this the retired general’s penchant for absolutism rather than constitutionalism that the country needs.
The president has repeatedly demonstrated through his violations of the constitution, which he was duty-bound to preserve, protect and defend, that like Ziaul Haq he does not consider it more than a piece of paper that can be held in abeyance and restored after having disfigured it with amendments at will. The recent reference to a troika of power consisting of the president, the prime minister and the COAS is not only at variance with democratic traditions but also against the constitution which requires the armed forces to refrain from involvement in political activities.
The repeated military interventions by ambitious generals have decimated the sanctity of the constitution in Pakistan. It is a pity that the president and his supporters seem to be oblivious of the damage that his misguided actions have inflicted on the rule of law in this country. In the process, the country has been dangerously destabilised, the institutions of the state have been weakened, sycophancy and cronyism instead of meritocracy have become the order of the day, the law and order situation has deteriorated and ad hocism rather than long term thinking prevails as evidenced by the energy crisis gripping the nation.
The return to constitutionalism and the rule of law is the need of the hour. The various political, economic and social problems besieging the country can be solved only within the framework of a constitution based on national consensus and through a democratic government reflecting the wishes of the people.
The restoration of the 1973 constitution with those amendments on which there is a national consensus, the reinstatement of the judges of the supreme court and the high courts as on November 2, 2007 and the holding of free, fair and transparent elections are indispensable conditions for the establishment of a genuine democratic order in the country. The armed forces must refrain from any involvement in the political activities in the country in accordance with their oath.
It is regrettable that some of our political parties are prevaricating on the issue of the restoration of the pre-November 3 superior judiciary on the facile argument that they want the independence of the judiciary and that the individuals can come and go.
It is true that institutions are more important than the individuals. However, in this particular case where a military ruler has committed a massacre of the superior judiciary just to perpetuate himself in power, the destiny of the deposed judges is inextricably linked with the issue of the independence of the judiciary.
After all what kind of independence of the judiciary are we talking about where the head of the state wearing the hat of the chief of the army staff can sack the chief justice of Pakistan together with about 60 other judges of the supreme court and the high courts? To allow Musharraf to get away with this violation of the constitution would bury the hopes of the rule of law and a constitutional government for a long time to come and usher in a long night of dictatorial rule in the country.
All the democratic forces in the country must, therefore, unite on the agenda of the restoration of a genuine democratic order in the country and the reinstatement of the deposed judges of the superior judiciary. Musharraf must get the message loud and clear that people will not tolerate his rule any longer. [Courtesy: The Nation]
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‘DEVELOPMENT’ SINCE 1999
By Miguel Loureiro
[The writer is a researcher currently pursuing doctoral studies in the UK. This article first appeared in Dawn on December 17, 2007.]
“THE basic purpose of development is to enlarge people’s choices. In principle, these choices can be infinite and can change over time.
People often value achievements that do not show up at all, or not immediately, in income or growth figures: greater access to knowledge, better nutrition and health services, more secure livelihoods, security against crime and physical violence, satisfying leisure hours, political and cultural freedoms and sense of participation in community activities.
The objective of development is to create an enabling environment for people to enjoy long, healthy and creative lives.”
These are the words of Mahbubul Haq, Pakistan’s most famous economist and one of the brains behind the creation of the Human Development Index. Together with Amartya Sen and a few others, he came up with a series of formulas to calculate how developed countries (or regions) are, by looking at how long people live, how much they know and how much money they can spend. In other words, health, education and consumption.
The latest Human Development Report was published last month. Shall we look at how they have graded Pakistan’s performance? In fact, let’s look at the previous reports to compare the country’s performance over the past eight years.
Starting with health, we notice from the latest Human Development Report that only 31 per cent of births in Pakistan are attended by skilled health personnel. Compared with the remaining 177 countries for which the report has data, this indicates that Pakistan is the twelfth country with the lowest percentage.
Nearly 24 per cent of Pakistan’s population is undernourished. This means that it is the 35th country in terms of the most number of undernourished people, percentage wise. If we remove the African countries from this list, Pakistan takes tenth place percentage wise. But there’s another interesting, and sad, fact: this figure (24 per cent) was exactly the same in the 90s. Then Pakistan was 47th in the list, meaning that while most countries have improved their figures of malnutrition, Pakistan has done nothing.
Why these pathetic results on health? Let me give you a hint. Pakistan in the past few years has been spending, on average, 0.4 per cent of its GDP on public health. The result: Pakistan’s expenditure on public health, as a percentage of GDP, is the lowest among 177 countries. Another sad fact: this is a downward trend, as public health expenditure in the ’90s was 0.7 per cent of GDP.
Now let’s look at education. Pakistan’s combined gross enrolment ratio for primary, secondary and tertiary education is 40 per cent. In other words, 60 per cent of the population that should be in school isn’t. This ratio is so low that it places Pakistan 15th from the bottom in terms of combined gross school enrolment ratio. By the way, the 14 countries worse than Pakistan are all African.
Public expenditure on education over the last few years has been, on average, 2.3 per cent of GDP. This is the 17th lowest public expenditure on education out of 177 countries. Sadly, just like health expenditure, public expenditure on education also shows a downward trend, since it was 2.6 per cent of GDP in the ’90s.
Finally, let’s look at consumption. The easiest, but very crude, way to look at how much people consume is to link GDP growth to inflation. Here, we notice that despite GDP growth being above six per cent (especially since 2003), except in 2002 and 2003 inflation has always been higher than GDP growth. And even worse, food inflation has always been higher than GDP growth. The result is that the majority of people have been consuming less, while paying more for what they consume.
Summing up, Pakistan today has the 39th lowest human development rating, sixth if we remove the African countries. Interestingly and sadly, Pakistan’s rank for the past three years has been 135, 134 and 136 — just like in the late ’90s. This means that since 1999 there has been very, very little human development in Pakistan.
So what has changed in the last eight years? Let’s look again at Mahbubul Haq’s words.
Do all Pakistanis have greater access to knowledge? Despite a slight improvement in primary education enrolment and increased funding for higher education, Pakistan’s education figures are (still) amongst the worst in the world.
Do all Pakistanis enjoy better nutrition and health services? Apart from hiring a few thousand Lady Care Workers, and infant mortality decreasing slightly, health figures are (still) amongst the worst in the world. And an added fact: Pakistan is one of the few countries in the world where HIV/AIDS is on the rise.
Do all Pakistanis have more secure livelihoods? The famous “more than six per cent GDP growth” has benefited only a couple of million Pakistanis (do remember that there are more than 160 million in the country), with the obvious result that inequality has been on the rise. Plus, we have been faced with the worst wheat and sugar shortages in history.
Do all Pakistanis feel safer vis-à-vis crime and physical violence? Crime rates are up, there are still quite a few feudals with private jails, we still have bonded labour, domestic violence figures are high, reports of sectarianism and terrorism have increased, and these days if you demand democracy you get beaten up by the police.
Do all Pakistanis enjoy satisfying leisure hours? With little or no money in their pockets and with mouths to feed, for about 80 per of Pakistanis (the not ‘non-poor’ according to the government’s official poverty line) the last thing in their minds is fursat or leisure.
Do all Pakistanis enjoy political and cultural freedoms? Attacks on civil rights have increased (especially since Nov 3), as well as attacks on the independence of the judiciary, opposition parties, journalists, human rights activists, academics and students.
Do all Pakistanis have a sense of participation in community activities? Since 2001 Pakistan has implemented a plan to devolve power to the local level; the so-called Devolution Plan. But this plan has largely been a failure due to Pakistan’s systemic, endemic and syndicated corruption of democracy. Systemic because it affects most of the local leaders, government officials, politicians and donors; endemic because it is limited to the corridors of power; and syndicated because it is a group of people who have always held power and won’t let go.
What has, indeed, changed in the past eight years. [Courtesy: Dawn]
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SPEAK UP
[Speech delivered by Justice (retd.) Fakhruddin G Ebrahim at the Employer’s National Convention on December 11, 2007.]
I’m grateful to the Employers Federation of Pakistan for inviting me to this morning (Monday) at this employers’ national convention. I belong to a business community. Most of my clients belong to the corporate sector. In some measure, I owe my success to the industrial community.
In the initial years of my practice I was associated with the labour movement. At one time I was president of the Pakistan Bank Employees Federation. My varied experience led me to one conclusion:†that the correct approach in relation to employer-employee relationship was not capital versus labour but capital nurses labour.
This relationship will result in meaningful progress only if we start believing that though life is give and take, it is always better to be at the giving end of life, to give is to gain is what I’ve always believed in.
In my humble view, if the employers think more in terms of giving rather than taking, there will be no room for industrial disputes. But today, I’ve come here to take and not give, take not in terms of material gain, but to take from you a commitment, if not commitment, at least a beginning of an understanding of a commitment that I want from the business community.
Please bear with me for what Iíve to say may not find your approval. But I consider it my duty to say what I’ve to say lest there is no time to speak at all.
I invite your attention to Article 5 of the Constitution which obliges every citizen living in Pakistan or outside Pakistan to uphold and protect the Constitution of Pakistan. In fact, it states that it is an inviolable duty of every citizen wherever he may be, to protect and uphold the Constitution.
Why this obligation?
Even in relation to ordinary law, we say we want to be governed by laws and not men, and that where law ends and anarchy begins. I’m not talking about ordinary law. But what we call basic law, fundamental law, paramount law, the Constitution of Pakistan.
The Constitution of a country is its soul and an independent judiciary is its heart. It is the Constitution which cements the unity of a country and ensures its meaningful existence. In a federal state Constitution is all the more a vital document for it represents an agreement between federating units to live together in partnership.
This is of particular importance to Pakistan for we have a unique a federation in which one unit is larger than the three other units combined.
We can live in partnership enshrined in the Constitution. If the Constitution goes the first casualty is the federation. And, therefore, the country.
Where do you get your rights from? Again, from the Constitution.
What are the objectives of the country? Again, through the Constitution.
How is the Constitution to be enforced? Again, the answer lies within the Constitution.
Our Supreme Court has held that there are three basic features in the 1973 Constitution and these basic features cannot be undone even by a parliament with 2/3rds majority.
These basic features are: Federalism, parliamentary democracy and independent judiciary.
To my mind, the most important is an independent judiciary, for it is a judiciary that enforces the Constitution, including the relationship between provinces and disputes if any between the federation and a federating unit.
Without an independent judiciary there will be no occasion to protect and uphold the two other basic features, namely federalism and parliamentary democracy.
Unfortunately, our history of Constitution has been constitution unmaking in Pakistan. It took us quarter of a century to enact the first consensus Constitution, the 1973 Constitution. We permitted individuals to assume power in violation of the Constitution and this individual went on to distort and disfigure the consensus 1973 Constitution.
(Our past experiences with unconstitutional military rulers have been unfortunate. We lost the Kashmir war when the first military ruler came to power; we lost half the country with the second.
The third military ruler gave us a religious extremism, religious intolerance and Kalashnikov culture. And we all agreed that this was the worst period in Pakistan’s history.
In relation to Gen Musharraf, the business community thinks that he has been good for them. That may or may not be so, but what is important is if we are going to be ruled by military dictators, maybe in the course of time, there will be one who will say abolish private property, private properties are evil, will you then tabla bajao?
Please, we want a system of governance not individual rules for otherwise we will continue to face a question mark, both as to our present and our future).
As if violation of the Constitution were of no consequence, we largely remained indifferent. Unfortunately, the business community was quite content in making money, oblivious to their obligation under Article 5 to uphold and protect the Constitution of Pakistan.
I know, my friends tell me, “but what can we do in the face of an increasingly shrinking judiciary and politics of dissension and divergence?”
May I ask how this has happened?
Because we remained indifferent and unconcerned. We thought that the answer to this insecurity arising from these conditions was acquisition of wealth.
Money will buy security. Let me tell you if things fall apart there will be nothing left to secure.
I’ve earlier mentioned the vital importance of the independence of judiciary. In recent months we have witnessed, and to use the expression of Khalid Jamil Khan in an article in an English daily “absolute annihilation of the judiciary.”
Judges were given marching orders and they are now devoid of 60 per cent senior judges who were not given oath of office by a single individual who has himself acknowledged that this exercise of power was illegal and unconstitutional.
The members of the legal fraternity, the civil society and the media are struggling for an independent judiciary.
The advocates are declining to appear before the judges who have taken oath under the PCO. Remember, for advocates their livelihood comes from court appearances. Not only that, but they have suffered physical violence from the state.
In all this, I regret to say, the business community has remained placidly silent as if all this is of no concern to them.
Where sir, will you go for justice, if the judges are removed in this fashion? How will you have your rights protected?
What has happened must concern every citizen and more so those who have prospered because of Pakistan.
I beseech you, please do not remain silent. This is your struggle also, in fact, as I said earlier, it is your constitutional obligation, to uphold and protect the constitution, of which independent judiciary is a basic feature.
Remember, the rule of law will cease to exist if the judiciary is not independent. What we will be faced is total anarchy, not knowing where we are and where we are going.
What will your children say? That you remained silent when it was your duty to speak up? May I therefore, in all humility, make an appeal to you, to stand up and speak up for an independent judiciary. In the ultimate analysis, there will remain nothing to stand up for in its absence. As I said in the beginning, Constitution is the soul of a republic and an independent judiciary its heart, please do not silence both your soul and your heart. [Courtesy: The News]
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Issue of the Month: Civil Society vs. the State
[Aitzaz Ahsan wrote an open letter spelling out a strategy to follow IF and ONLY IF ALL MAJOR PARTIES do not boycott the elections. The letter was also released to the media. It is reproduced below.]
AITZAZ & ASSOCIATES
Advocates and Attorneys
5 Canal Bank, Zaman Park, Lahore
Phones (92-42) 6362690-6369725
FAX (92-42) 6362545
House No. 10, Street 16, F-6/3, Islamabad
Phones (92-51) 2206545-2206546
Aitzaz Ahsan
M.A. Cantab
Barrister-at-Law
Senior Advocate Supreme Court
President Supreme Court Bar Association.
December 05, 2007
My dear colleagues, Asalam o alaikum!
As I write this from a sub-Jail, let me tell you how proud I am of each one of you and of myself to be part of the community that is writing the present chapter in the history of our unfortunate country. As you are all aware we the lawyers are the vanguard in this long over due mammoth battle for civil rights and democracy in our country.
As for myself, jail is not new to me. I was first arrested as a one-year old in the arms of my mother when she courted arrest in 1946 after my father and grandfather had already done so in the Pakistan movement. During the Martial Law imposed by General Zia-ul-Haq I was arrested and detained without trial several times for long terms only because I pursued, even then, the ideals of democracy and an independent judiciary.
Let me assure you that the sacrifices that you have given and the selfless courage that you have shown for a completely selfless cause of an independent judiciary and civilian rule have no parallel anywhere in the world, even in countries from which we have borrowed the concepts of the rule of law and judicial independence. By seeking the restoration of the Chief Justices and Judges of all provinces we are in fact seeking to the save and strengthen the Federation. Ours is a noble cause.
You know that Muneer Malik, Tariq Mahmmod, Ali Ahmed Kurd and I have never wielded any weapons. We have never broken any law. We are no terrorists. We are men of peace. Yet we have treated worst than terrorists while were in jails.
In fact, when arrested, I was only seeking to persuade, through cogent and respectful arguments, 11 senior most judges of the country that an Army General's attempt to contest elections for the office of President was completely in breach of his own oath under the Constitution. And then what happened? Just because that Bench seemed likely to give a verdict according to the express language of the Constitution, he sacked the Chief Justice of Pakistan and other judges of Supreme Court and of the four High Courts. Only the judges who were willing to legitimize him were retained.
What happened thus was unthinkable in today's world. It brought disgrace to the country. No such step was ever taken even in any "banana republic". Yet because of us lawyers and the support we are getting from our kindred in the media, the general public and the students, no one can write off this country as a failed nation. However, for the first time since 1947 we are in the middle of a fresh struggle for independence: independence of civil society and civilian institutions.
It is in the context of ultimately achieving our one point goal of restoring the pre-November 3 status quo and the fact of a form of elections being upon us, that I propose the following:
ONE, Our stand for boycott would be vindicated if ALL major parties also boycott.
TWO, Our stand would also be vindicated if even one of the two major political alliances (ARD or APDM), decides to boycott.
THREE, IF however ALL major parties decide TO CONTEST elections, we must devise a strategy to use the momentum to our own advantage. How? My proposal is that:
In situation THREE the hustle and bustle of the nation-wide election campaign may suck in all politically active persons within a few days. Local issues, of roads, water, sewage, schools and other services, may begin to engage people seeking promises of redress of their immediate miseries. Our one demand may go onto the back-burner of the public mind. People will become pre-occupied with other issues. That is what the regime is counting upon.
What then must be done in situation THREE (and ONLY in situation THREE)?
We have to keep the issue of the "deposed" judges alive. We have to keep the spotlight on our demand. To that purpose I propose the following:
The Supreme Court Bar Association, while continuing to deny validity to this election prescribes its own OATH to be taken and signed by all CANDIDATES. The oath will require each deponent to swear that, if elected, he/she will move the necessary motion/resolution/law/amendment required to ensure the restoration of the "ousted" judges, to pursue such motion etc, to speak in its favour, and finally to vote for it. (I suggest below the contents of THE OATH).
The contents of the oath will be widely publicized by representatives of the Bar at all levels through press-conferences and media reports.
It will be made clear that no candidate who does not take this oath is approved by the Bar as deserving the vote of the people irrespective of the Party he belongs to. If more than one candidate in any one constituency takes the oath, then these alone will be declared as the "pre-qualified" candidates disqualifying others from the support and vote of the people.
The oath alone is not enough. It is the MANNER IT IS TAKEN that is also vital. To involve the people and the Bar Associations nation-wide, the SCBA and the PBC must give a call that all OATH-TAKING CEREMONIES:
i. will be held in District Bar Association premises before the General House;
ii. the oath will be taken by a senior Office-bearer of the DBA and recorded by the electronic media and the press.
iii. Records will be maintained at the District, Provincial and Central level by the Bar Associations of the oaths.
iv. Daily press conferences and press-releases at the respective District and Central levels will announce the names of pre-qualified candidates issuing the names to the press.
Keeping members involved in this most engaging activity will also make the boycott of the courts (wherever prescribed) more viable and effective for a longer period.
Since all this activity will be WITHIN THE PREMISES of the Bars there will be no premature confrontation and this activity will be entirely lawful and sustainable. Yet it will become the most prominent activity in public eye, nationally and internationally. In fact I expect the electronic media to run strips of the names of candidates who have or have not taken oath.
Each ceremony will involve a maximum number of lawyers and political workers across the country. We will also thus cause a synchonised nation-wide activity with the Bars themselves playing the lead role while highlighting our own primary demand. At the end of the day we may have create a large lobby (perhaps even a majority) committed to our demand as we begin to ride the "judicial bus" that may yet be necessary by late January, 2008. You may even today propose a tentative date for that event.
The proposal above is in respect ONLY of situation THREE. In that event, where ALL major political parties are participating in the elections, a mere placid boycott called by lawyers may not work. We have to be realistic. The electorate in that situation will get involved, distracted, indeed consumed by electoral activity. We, and our one demand may be sidelined. And if it is sidestepped during the elections it is unlikely to be of very high priority after the elections. We have to make it the PRIMARY ISSUE IN THE ELECTIONS.
We have a nation-wide network of District Bars. We can make it worth their while for candidates to adhere to our aspiration of restoration of judges. In the process we can, across the country, create a significant and vibrant political activity. And we will also keep the initiative with us. I am sure that within days candidates of parties already committed to the restoration of judges and independent candidates will be jostling for time to take the oath before the full blaze of the media. I can see them printing photos of the oath-taking ceremony on their posters and publicity material to assure the voters that they are committed to us. It will keep the issue of the "deposed" judges right up-front, and may be make it the most inescapable electoral issue.
We are today contesting the most unique case in the history of the world. In this case, our professional fee as lawyers is whatever this country has given each of us to date and our client are 160 million people. But our clients' interest, our nation's interest, we must, safeguard at all costs. If one unarmed lawyer could win the independence of this country, I do not see any reason why we, thousands of lawyers, should not be able to achieve victory.
If we put out hearts and souls into this perfectly legitimate and peaceful enterprise we will prevail. We shall overcome.
Yours truly,
AITZAZ AHSAN.
OATH FOR CANDIDATES
I, ___________________ s/o ____________________ candidate in Constituency No. ______ to the ________________________ Assembly do hereby solemnly take oath and swear in this ______ day of __________, 2007(8) that in case I am elected in the forthcoming elections I will devote all my energies, powers privileges, rights and authority, (including the privilege to move and initiate legislation/amendments/motions/resolutions and the right to vote and/or to speak) and exercise them at once from the first available opportunity after taking oath so as to ensure that the Supreme Court and the High Courts revert completely to their status as on November 2, 2007 and that none of the Judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the High Courts of the provinces are in any way impeded from performing the functions of their respective offices by any person, authority or any purported law in the shape of any PCO or any other Proclamation by whatever name called and for that purpose to do all in my power and authority till such time as I am member of the Assembly.
DEPONENT.
VERIFIED:
Office-bearer DBA
SAVE PAKISTAN
[Concerned Citizens of Pakistan]
Following the murder of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, we have been plunged into a crisis that is difficult to exaggerate. Thanks to the refusal of a dictator to back down, the country is on the verge of descending into complete chaos. Given below is a proposal formulated by Justice (Retd) Nasira Iqbal to help us find a way out:
1. Musharraf should step down immediately and hand over power to a national government formed by consensus of all major political parties and headed by a neutral icon such as Justice (Retd) Wajihuddin as Acting President.
2. The interim government should put in place a new Election Commission.
3. Free and fair elections, with international observers and exit polls be conducted after 90 days. Lets be in complete unity in our darkest hour. [The Nation]
THE WAY OUT OF THE CRISIS
By Justice (retd.) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim
Dec 1: The legal community in the country and a large number of former judges of repute, including several Chief Justices, are of the view that it is imperative that judges who ceased to be so under the PCO of 2007 should be reinstated, for their removal was both unconstitutional and mala fide.
Civil society is of the same view and in so far as politicians in the opposition are concerned, the view expressed is that the absence of these judges will negate the independence of the judiciary, which is a basic feature of the 1973 Constitution and cannot be undone even by an elected parliament. Further, in the absence of an independent judiciary, free and fair elections will not be possible.
The demand is fully justified but the president appears to be unflinching on this issue and is not prepared to entertain the request. The politicians are threatening to boycott the elections if these judges are not reinstated.
What then is the solution? For it is of utmost importance that the scheduled elections should be free and fair and must also appear to be so.
Now, it is obvious that Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf is a partisan president having brought into existence the Q league and by publicly becoming its patron-in-chief. So also are the governors of the provinces, for they have been appointed by the president in his absolute discretion and being his nominees cannot possibly assume an independent role.
The suggestion therefore is that the president and the governors must go on leave for three months with immediate effect and in their place, the chairman of the Senate and the speakers of the provincial assemblies, if they are not candidates in the forthcoming elections, should assume the office of president and provincial Governors respectively.
Thereafter, the caretaker cabinet should be formed by the acting president and acting governors in consultation with the political parties and such cabinet should consist of retired bureaucrats of repute. These cabinets should be small, for their assignment will be limited to routine day-to-day work.
The Chief Election Commissioner unfortunately has given evidence of being partial and it is therefore necessary that he should be replaced by a bi-partisan commissioner after consultation with all the political parties. If this process requires additional time, the election may be postponed for a week or a fortnight at most.
What then remains is the controversial issue of reinstatement of the judges who have been forcibly removed from office under the PCO. Let this issue be resolved by the newly-elected parliament by a simple majority. In this event, it will be the decision of the duly elected representatives of the people of Pakistan.
All must rest content with this solution of a problem which is of utmost importance to the people of Pakistan. [Courtesy: Dawn]
MS BHUTTO, A FREE JUDICIARY BUT DETAINED JUDGES?
[Ghazala Minallah D/O Late Justice Safdar Shah]
Dear Mohtarma, I was absolutely shocked and amazed at your latest statement regarding the judiciary. How could you, of all people, say that you believed in an independent judiciary BUT that personalities did not matter? If personalities did not matter then why was Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry removed? Why were some judges locked up whereas others were not? If personalities did not matter then why is Musharraf waging a personal war against the CJ?
You do not have to be a genius to figure out the reason. How can you separate the personalities from the institution? What you have on Constitution Avenue right now is a besieged and helpless building. The unfortunate but harsh truth is that right now we are a besieged nation as well. Ms. Bhutto, I am writing to you because your statement has shocked and disturbed me to the extent that I feel I have no option but to reach out to you in this manner. I would like to remind you, since you seem to have forgotten, that you too were the victim of a corrupt judiciary. If Justice Iftikhar had been the CJ of the Supreme Court at that time then perhaps your father would never have been hanged. Had the entire bench been like the present one then there would have been a unanimous judgment.
But the judgment was not unanimous - it was a 4 to 3 split - just one judge too many on the wrong side. One more upright personality on the right side and our history would have been different. So yes, personalities certainly do matter. Ms Bhutto, I am writing to you in desperation because I am the daughter of Late Justice Safdar Shah, who was one of the three dissenting judges. When Mr., Bhutto was the Prime Minister my father was CJ of the Peshawar High Court. Both these headstrong personalities did not get on with each other, and because of Safdar Shah's constant criticism and disagreement regarding the reforms and policies being introduced by the PM, the latter had him prematurely retired by introducing the 5th Amendment. After the coup, when Gen. Zia took over, and Mr. Bhutto was charged and convicted of Conspiracy to murder by the Lahore High Court, he appealed to the Supreme Court. Gen Zia wanted Mr Bhutto dead and he did his best to manipulate the bench. It soon became obvious as to WHY Safdar Shah had recently been appointed as judge of the Supreme Court.
Having the typical mind-set of a dictator, Zia was sure that he would be vindictive and take revenge. But, he was wrong and the rest is history. WHY? Because three of the judges had the courage to say NO, and did not give in to the threats and pressure exerted on them. So yes Ms Bhutto, personalities do matter. Had Justice (retd) Wajiuddin's father , the late Hon.Waheeduddin not been prematurely retired on extremely dubious medical grounds , history could have been different, No one can dispute the fact that the judgment was wrong since Justice (retd) Nasim Hassan Shah confessed on a talk show on TV a few years ago that the judges were threatened and pressurized into giving that judgment. Yes Ms. Bhutto, they were, and I am a witness to that fact.
Ms Bhutto, our paths crossed briefly and both of us were victims of a corrupt judiciary which colluded with a Military Dictator. But I am not writing this letter to lament about our plight, since nothing we went through can possibly compare to the torture and torment you and your family went through. Have you forgotten the times when you visited your father in prison? Have you forgotten the humiliating tactics those heartless tyrants subjected you and your family to? Have you forgotten the last time you went to visit him in prison and were not able to hug him? Whenever I think about that grave injustice, which was nothing but a judicial murder, my heart goes out to you and what you suffered then and have suffered since.
That is precisely why I am at my wits end and cannot understand WHY you cannot value the importance of independent judges. Ms Bhutto, do you think you are invincible? Are you so blinded that you cannot or will not acknowledge the truth? Does it never occur to you that some day you might have to face those judges in the present Supreme Court.? Well let me please spell it out. With independent judges you get a verdict you deserve, whereas with the present kind of farce you get a judgment dictated by the intelligence agencies or the dictator himself. Do you honestly not know or are you honestly not aware of the grave injustice going on? Does it not send a chill up your spine that if the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court can be tossed around by Musharraf it could very well be you as well?
For God's sake Ms Bhutto, WAKE UP. You owe it to your father as well as to the nation to defend the judiciary and fight for its independence. My father continued to be persecuted even after the judgment and we were forced to leave the country. But I will never forgive or forget those responsible for the torment my father went through during his last years. He died an unhappy man and was never able to get over the fact that he was not able to prevent the cold-blooded murder of an innocent man. And that innocent person was your father for God's sake! I have vowed that I will continue to fight for the independence of the judiciary come what may! I was confident and certain that once you were back you would definitely take up this battle and lead the nation towards sanity.
Ms Bhutto, is it not obvious to you WHY Musharraf wants Justice Iftikhar out of the way? Ask the families of the 'missing persons', who for the first time were being heard and for the first time they could see a light at the end of the tunnel. Everyone knows who is responsible but no one before this CJ had the courage to take up the matter. Ask the countless downtrodden people who had discovered that they could have direct access to the CJ through Suo Moto notices. Ask 2 and 3 yr old Aneela and Tasleem from Naudero Feroze in Sindh , ask 4 yr old Shaneela or 6yr old Munni or 8 yr old Marina from Mardan what this Chief Justice has done for them. These innocent little girls were the victims of jirga decisions according to which they were to be handed over to the enemy as a symbol of truce.
It was Justice Iftikhar who took serious notice of this barbaric custom and passed strict orders to the local authorities to prevent this atrocity from carrying on. It was during the tenure of this CJ that serious environmental disasters were averted .Who took notice of the New Muree Project? Who took action in the Dungi ground case? Who prevented Shah Shrabeel from converting a public park in sector F-7 Islamabad into a multi-million commercial project? Ask the poor people living in the adjacent Christian colony what that decision meant to them. Sharabeel has taken up arms against the CJ since this decision because for that class of people the slum dwellers are a low life who do not deserve any special attention.
I can go on and on about the cases in which the SILENT CRIES OF THE DOWNTRODDEN of our society were being heard by a sympathetic judge for the first time. Ms. Bhutto, these are the Suo Moto notices which Musharraf said were a waste of time in his speech justifying the emergency. If personalities did not matter then why is Musharraf so threatened by this man? On any and every occasion he gets he attacks and tries to malign the CJ with a vengeance. His abnormal hatred for the man has exposed the truth. He knows very well that this man was the biggest hurdle in his plans to destroy what is left of our country. The coup was against the judiciary, the 'emergency' was created to sack the CJ and the other conscientious judges. Musharraf needs to be told that we are not a nation of imbeciles and that everyone is aware of the truth and the depth of the situation.
We all know that the 'crisis ' in Swat or the threat of terrorism had NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with the sacking of the CJ and the locking up of him and the other judges. Once again Ms Bhutto, I beg you to think very carefully about where you are heading. I beg you not to betray your father or the nation. I beg you not to fall into Musharraf's trap and to boycott the elections. The rigging has already taken place, so why are you allowing yourself to become a party to this farce? I beg you to realize that you are the one holding the trump card right now. If you boycott the election, They lose face. But if YOU participate, you not only lose face, you lose the confidence and the faith the people of Pakistan have in you. Last but not least, you owe it to Bilawal, Bakhtawar, Aseefa and all future generations of our beloved country. [Courtesy: The Frontier Post]
DECLARATION BY PAKISTAN'S FORMER AMBASSADORS
[Islamabad, 13 December 2007]
We, as former ambassadors of Pakistan, deplore the imposition of the state of emergency and suspension of the Constitution by General (R) Pervez Musharraf. As the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared on 3 November, 2007, these steps, which amount to the imposition of martial law, are unconstitutional and illegal. Besides undermining the rule of law and delivering a severe blow to the independence of judiciary, they have dangerously destabilised the country. They also have incurred international opprobrium and badly tarnished Pakistan's image.
We, therefore, demand:
* Immediate restoration of the Constitution and the judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts as constituted before the declaration of emergency on 3 November 2007.
* Formation of neutral caretaker Cabinets at the Federal and Provincial levels and reconstitution of the Election Commission to ensure the holding of free, fair and transparent elections to the National and Provincial Assemblies.
* Immediate release of all persons imprisoned or detained under the emergency, including judges, lawyers, journalists, students and others.
* Full restoration of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the lifting of all restrictions imposed on the media.
* Strict adherence by the armed forces to their oath and constitutional role, in accordance with the directives given by the Quaid-e-Azam.
* Strict application of the principle of accountability of holders of public office.
We call upon the parties and the candidates participating in the elections to make a solemn commitment to treat the reinstatement of the judges of the superior judiciary as the top priority issue after the elections.
The nation also expects that political parties and members of future national and provincial legislatures would adhere to recognized democratic norms in their future conduct and pay serious attention to the overcoming of the daunting challenges facing the nation.
We express our deep appreciation to the judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts who refused to take oath under the PCO, the lawyers for leading the movement for the restoration of the rule of law, the journalists for resisting the regime's efforts to gag the media and the human rights activists, students and other members of civil society for lending their full support to the democratic movement.
We express our solidarity with the nation in its demand for the full restoration of democratic and constitutional rule in the country.
[1. Mr. Riaz Piracha, former Foreign Secretary
2. Dr. Humayun Khan, former Foreign Secretary
3. Tanvir A. Khan, former Foreign Secretary
4. Shamshad Ahmad, former Foreign Secretary
5. Riaz H. Khokhar, former Foreign Secretary
6. Dr. S M Koreshi
7. Gul Haneef
8. Amin Jan Naim
9. Touqir Hussain
10. Karamatullah Khan Ghori
11. Amir Usman
12. Javid Hussain
13. S. Azmat Hassan
14. Naeem U. Hassan
15. Shafqat Ali Shaikh
16. Karam Elahi
17. Afzal Akbar Khan
18. Mazhar Qayyum
19. Asif Ezdi
20. S. Iftikhar Murshed
21. Iqbal A. Khan
22. Shirin Safdar
23. B.A. Malik]
APPEAL FOR RESTORATION OF RULE OF LAW IN PAKISTAN
[Pritam K. Rohila, Ph. D., For Directors and Members of, Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA)]
Since March this year, the current administration of Pakistan has made several brazen attempts to thwart the rule of law in the country and crush the will of its people.
On November 3, the Constitution was suspended and replaced with the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO). Since then honorable judges who refused to take the oath under the new dispensation were arbitrarily dismissed, denied their civil rights and retirement benefits. They are now being evicted from their residences. Many other “uncooperative” officials were suspended or arrested. The judges and other officials have been replaced with government puppets. Protestors and opponents have been arrested, baton charged, or otherwise treated cruelly. The Election Commission has made whimsical decisions. Unprecedented curbs have been put on the media.
These illegal and dictatorial actions of the current regime have sabotaged the progress made in recent years by civil society in Pakistan. Also they have set the stage for unbridled abuse of authority. If these measures are not challenged, they will make it impossible for the nation’s legitimate guardians of law and order and its civil society to play their role in ensuring proper governance and welfare of the people.
We, therefore, appeal to the government to immediately restore the constitution, reinstate all judges and the officials, remove all restrictions on the media, ensure fair and free elections, and release from jails all those who were recently arrested for their non-cooperation and protests.
CRACKDOWN ON PEACEFUL DISSENT
[The People’s Resistance, Karachi]
We, the members of the People’s Resistance, a coalition of civil society organisation and individuals, condemn the government’s hardline and brutal actions against peaceful dissent. These recent actions only betray the government’s own weakness:
1. The law ministry’s notification about the retirement of the judges who did not take the oath under the PCO, and the attempted eviction of such judges from their official residences, in particular Justice M.A. Shahid Siddiqui in Lahore.
2. The arrest of lawyers and students holding vigil outside Justice M.A. Shahid Siddiqui’s house in Lahore.
3. The FIRs registered against LUMS faculty members for wall-chalking — Rasul Bakhsh Rais, Aasim S. Akhtar (who is not even in Lahore), Osama Siddique and Farhat Haq (who has not been at the university for the last two years) and a student.
4. The brutal lathi-charge on the huge student-led demonstration in Islamabad on Dec 5
5. The arrest and deportation of two American peace activists who were in Pakistan to express their solidarity with the people. This action and the way it was carried out by armed plainclothesmen further tarnished the image of Pakistan.
We demand:
• The law ministry should immediately withdraw its notification about the judges’ retirement. Caretaker Law Minister Afzal Haider needs to stand up for constitutionality and legality as he is duty-bound to do.
• The immediate release of the lawyers and students arrested outside Justice Siddiqui’s house.
• The immediate withdrawal of the FIRs against the LUMS faculty and student.
We call on the democracy-loving people of Pakistan to join in the struggle for justice. We applaud our friends, the courageous activists of Lahore, who have been forming a physical barrier at the homes of the judge who was being evicted, when they were arrested. We reiterate our refusal to accept the current dispensation with its curbs on the media and the judiciary. [Dawn]
I AM A PROUD CHILD!
The following is the full text of a letter written by the daughter of Pakistan's deposed chief justice, obtained by the Guardian after it was smuggled out of his home where he and his family are currently detained under house arrest. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,,2219270,00.html]
Thursday November 29, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
This letter is for all the Judges who refused to take oath under PCO and who happen to be my uncles as well. I had never thought that one day I will have to convey my message to you people like this, through this mode but we know things are not smooth as they had been and it is one of our testing times.
This might be one of the crucial times we are facing but we should be proud that Allah chose us to sacrifice for this country. Yes it is indeed a sacrifice which we have to bequeath, not for ourselves but for this country. Ever since I opened my eyes I have seen my father affiliated with judiciary and now it is like a part of our lives. Our life is like a tree and judiciary is one of its branch. We have grown up with this branch and we cannot let anybody slice it. If we will not protect it then who else?
We may not be allowed to attend our schools or universities, we may have got our mobile phones blocked, we may not be allowed to meet anyone or go out, we may be kept in our homes like prisoners, we might be treated like militants or terrorists but WE DO NOT CARE, because it's a time of sacrifice and we have to do it.
We are proud to have elders like you who have made us proud. You people have made our lives, not only for us but for our next generations as well. We will feel proud to tell our youngsters that our elders did not succumb to any kind of pressure no matter how hard things were around them. We will always walk with our heads high and our hearts filled with pride. Thank you so much for giving this immortal gift to us.
I hope all of you are in best of your health and would read this letter. Love you all.
Yours Pinky
(Palwasha Iftikhar Chaudhry)
SUPREME SACRIFICES
[Azhar Ziaur Rehman, Abu Dhabi]
The public does not realise the magnanimity of the sacrifice that some of the judges have made in refusing to take the oath under the PCO. I can tell about one of these judges.
Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman took the oath just four days before he refused to take another one under the PCO. He has 11 years to retire. This is just one more sacrifice that he has made for Pakistan.
He comes from a leading family of Bengal. His maternal grandfather was the deputy speaker of the Bengal assembly and a big landlord in East Pakistan. His mother lost her inheritance when the family decided to remain loyal to Pakistan instead of shifting to Bangladesh.
His father, Justice Hamoodur Rehman, was one of the most honest judges we ever had. He first lost property in Calcutta when he opted for Pakistan. Then he lost property in Dhaka upon opting for Pakistan again. When he retired, he had to work to make his ends meet. This family has sacrificed for Pakistan so many times only because they believe in its ideology.
Can the so-called civil society reward such men? [Dawn]
AITZAZ’S SON CLARIFIES FATHER’S STATEMENT
[Ali Ahsan, Lahore]
This is apropos the editorial “Wrong message for army chief” (Daily Times, December 24, 2007). A clarification is in order; press reports have wrongly attributed to my father, Mr Aitzaz Ahsan, a message to the army chief. In response to what the Attorney General has been asserting, Mr Ahsan had said that when an executive order is passed or promulgated by any executive authority, it can be rescinded or recalled by the same executive authority or its superior without the need for Parliament to intervene with a simple or two-thirds majority.
The issue is simple. The purported amendments in the Constitution have been factored in by a President exercising authority delegated by the COAS. (What an unprecedented anomaly: a subordinate delegating powers to his superior!). Even if these amendments are considered lawful (which they are not), they can be withdrawn by the executive order of the COAS himself, the Defence Secretary or the Defence Minister (any authority constitutionally superior to the COAS). Parliamentary intervention is not required. That is the point.
[Daily Times]
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
[Mohammad Imran Khan, Baltimore, MD]
It took Pakistan 26 years to have a constitution of its own. But soon after it was amended, which led to a series of amendments. The latest being on Dec 14. An analysis of the need for these amendments is required to educate Pakistan’s public who are its ultimate owners.
To a common man’s understanding, this is to protect the rights of people living in Pakistan irrespective of religion, caste and colour. But apparently all these amendments seem to protect rulers rather than the rule of law in the country. One wonders why the rulers need constitutional amendments to validate their unconstitutional steps whereas they violate the basic principles in broad daylight and get away with it. [Dawn]
SACKED JUDGES
[Prof Dr Anwarul Haque, Islamabad]
Judges are government employees and there are certain laws which have to be followed before sacking them. It is not possible to fire a government servant without a proper inquiry. In addition, he or she has the right to challenge the decision in a court of law. The deposed judges must be given their due right to appeal against their removal as per the law. The firing of a judicial officer without due process also constitutes open violation of the fundamental rights of a human being which cannot be suspended even during a state of emergency.
I request the entire civil society to extend support to the honest judges who did not take oath under the PCO and call for their immediate restoration with full honour and dignity.
[The News]
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
[Liaquat H. Merchant, Karachi]
If there was any single individual who could have made a constitution for Pakistan or moulded it to his liking or exercised influence in its making, it was Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah but even the great Quaid, the founder of this nation-state, refrained from doing what Generals Ayub, Zia and Musharff did.
When asked what the future constitution would be, Mr Jinnah replied that it would be what the people wanted it to be, but he expressed confidence that it would be democratic in nature and embody the essential principles of Islam which had taught us equality, tolerance, justice, fair play, protection of minorities, rights of citizens and the rule of law.
Mr Jinnah said the Constituent Assembly had been entrusted with this task and they would frame the future constitution of Pakistan. Sadly, after Sept 11, 1948 we have not seen leadership of this nature in Pakistan.
A democratic constitution and dispensation has as its prerequisite an independent judiciary whose function is to preserve and protect the constitution,, safeguard fundamental rights guaranteed to citizens under the constitution, act as a watchdog over executive actions, decide cases filed by citizens challenging executive actions, test legislative actions if challenged as being in violation of the constitution and exercise the inherent right of judicial review, including suo motu exercise of jurisdiction.
It has been reported in the press that the president reluctantly took the action of imposing an emergency and issuing the PCO because “there was a political conspiracy to obstruct a smooth transition to democracy and some members of our superior judiciary were a part of it”.
The people must be taken into confidence about the political conspiracy in which some members of our superior judiciary were allegedly a part and who were the other conspirators who wanted to destabilise Pakistan?
As far as this nation is aware, the superior judiciary was hearing petitions which challenged the election of President Gen Musharaff notwithstanding the right, protection and immunity given to him under the 17th Amendment.
On the other hand, renowned presidential lawyer S. Sharifuddin Pirzada is reported to have said in an interview with New York Times that he was asked by the president for help when he decided he would get rid of a Supreme Court which was threatening to derail his re-election for a second term.
The net result of all this is that Pakistan’s image has suffered, its democratic credentials have suffered and the nation has suffered in so many ways that it will take a very long time to come out of this situation but the scars like before will always remain.
As for validation of all these actions by the next parliament, the possibility of following past practice cannot be ruled out but the new parliament may not surrender and tow the line in the interest of a transition to democracy and parliamentary rule because these validation bills have been passed once too often.
How the political parties fare in the elections, what sort of a parliament will emerge and whether it will pass a validation bill of some sort or refuse to do so, only time will tell but the protection and validation of all actions taken during the emergency and PCO have been sought to be saved by the President himself with a view to presenting a fait accompli to the new parliament.
Notwithstanding the effort to give validation to the extra-constitutional measures by pesidential ordinances and orders, the fact remains that only the parliament can amend the Constitution in a permanent manner. What a sovereign parliament will do when this stage arises will be of utmost significance. So much for democracy, parliamentary sovereignty, independence of the judiciary, rule of law and representative government. All this has happened in Jinnah’s Pakistan. [Dawn]
IN POOR TASTE
[Sheeba Ajmal, Peshawar]
I fail to understand why the president is repetitively issuing humiliating statements against the deposed chief justice of Pakistan, Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. A man who has been honoured not only by his own countrymen, but also by the international legal fraternity – including Harvard University’s law school which has conferred on him its highest honour – is insulted by the president in every speech he makes. No matter what the president says, the deposed chief justice will remain the hero of the entire nation. These attacks against him are in poor taste. [The News]
RESPECT FOR JUSTICE SAFDAR SHAH
[Tariq Shakoor]
As someone who has a lot of respect for Justice Safdar Shah, I was delighted to read Ghazala Minalla's letter to Benazir Bhutto. I doubt very much if BB will take note of this if she should know anybody, She should know Justice Safdar Shah and know how much of a debt the nation owes for being one of the few people who did not sell himself when an important juncture came. [The Frontier Post]
LAYING RESPONSIBILITY
[Khalil Ahmad, Lahore]
This refers to Justice (Retd.) K.M.A. Samdani's article, 'Blame game and responsibility,' in The Nation of December 13.
With due respect, I want to submit that this article is but an addition to the prevalent view that justifies everything by laying responsibility on everybody. (Justice) Samdani writes "For every fault in our national life we identify a particular group of our society, blame it on it, and feel absolved of the responsibility. Therefore, for example, we either blame the politicians, the bureaucrats, the military or the judiciary, etc but never hold ourselves responsible for any thing that has gone amiss in our national life."
This instead of making things clear confounds the confusion which is already misleading many. When we say everyone is responsible, it means no one is responsible. Indeed, not every citizen is responsible for everything bad happening in the society, only those who hold public offices. This is how responsibility can be fixed. Those who hold public office are invested with powers and responsibilities. They are accountable both legally and constitutionally.
That's the only way to fix the responsibility. For instance, it is the constitutional responsibility of the judges of the higher courts to protect the constitution, if they do not do so, they are responsible for letting the constitution disfigured and amended unconstitutionally. [The Nation]
LAW VIOLATION
[Imran Shah, Lahore]
I cannot believe my eyes and ears for what is happening in Pakistan. Never in the history of Pakistan was our Constitution and law so vehemently violated, just for the sake of one person. I salute the owners and journalists of channels that are fighting for the rights of our nation.
Moreover, I would also like to pay my gratitude to the lawyers and judges who did not bow under brute force, which is being exercised with impunity by the government upon its own people. Furthermore, I have never liked politicians but over the years, I have developed a great deal of respect for Mr Imran Khan. [Dawn]
RESTORATION OF JUDICIARY
[Gulsher Panhwer, Dadu]
With the return of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, the demand for a level playing field for the two leaders has been met. But restoration of democracy can have no credibility in the absence of an independent judiciary. It is imperative to restore the sacked judges if that independence is to be restored. However, this prospect is getting dimmer by the day.
Excluding Imran Khan, who is vocal in this demand, the other parties are only paying lip service to the restoration of the judges. This is because the major political parities fear the constraints they are going to encounter in governing the country in the presence of honest judges who are now out of office. Where are the politicians who previously encouraged confrontation with the executive? Where are those who paraded the coffin of the doctrine of the necessity? [The News]
MUNIR MALIK AND OTHERS
[Ahsanullah, Karachi]
Javaid Khan has expressed his shock about the illness of Munir Malik as a result of his imprisonment. The correspondent has wondered what kind of treatment facility existed in the jail and demanded that those responsible for his maltreatment be punished in an exemplary way (Dec 1).
While I fully share his sorrow, but would like to point out that those responsible for manhandling Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry have not been punished either, whereas the sentence given by the bench headed by Justice Bhagwandas has been disabled. The ‘facilities’ available to the inmates of jails notably include mental and physical torture and denial of timely or appropriate medical help, while the question of punishing the LEA members does not arise because they are only acting under orders from those who could punish them.
One would also take this opportunity to sympathies with the senior judges who are under house arrest, as also their families. The letter written by Palwasha Iftikhar Chaudhry, the ousted CJP’s youngest daughter, to the ‘Uncle judges’ (Nov 30) should make our rulers think of the suffering they are causing to the innocent children of these conscientious judges.
One must also make a special mention of the suffering of Aitzaz Ahsan as well as Justice (r) Tariq Mahmood – the latter had to be hospitalised. [Dawn]
LAWYERS' MOVEMENT
[Nadeem Hasan, Islamabad]
The lawyers' movement has woken up Pakistani society from its blissful slumber. Students, ex–servicemen, journalists, the common man in the street -- all are now fully aware that their rights must no longer be usurped in the name of national security by any self-appointed "saviour of the nation". People are beginning to realise that the present leaders are basically pygmies who are in fact hostages to an overlord. [The News]
EX-JUDGES’ PROTEST
[Saifuddin E. Contractor, Karachi]
As reported in your paper (Nov 28), several former superior court judges have signed a declaration (the first time in the country’s history) demanding reconstitution of a new interim caretaker government with consensus of all political parties that matter.
Some prominent judges among them were former chief justice of Pakistan Sajjad Ali Shah, former judges Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim, Wajihuddin Ahmad and Rasheed A. Razvi. The declaration was read out by Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim at a press conference. It was demanded that the Constitution be revived, proclamation of emergency be revoked and all judges be reinstated as of Nov 2.
The declaration also demanded removal of all restrictions on the print and electronic media. It was further held that the proclamation of emergency by the Chief of Army Staff is illegal. It was emphasised that judges who took the oath under the PCO have no constitutional validity.
As to the reinstatement of judges who declined to take the oath under the PCO, I would further accentuate that those judges at the outset who declined to take the oath under the PCO of Genl Ziaul Haq and have not reached the age of superannuation should be seriously considered for reinstatement on the bench. Such persons are praiseworthy as have exhibited impeccable integrity and are expected to dispense justice without fear or favour.
Further, I may say that such protests and exposition will serve its purpose if only the political parties join the lawyers’ struggle, leaving aside their hunger for power and pelf. On the other hand, some common people are insistent that President Musharraf should continue to complete his next term as president on condition that he relinquishes his unilateral powers of imposing emergency. And also to annul the recent promulgated amendment to the Army Act empowering it to court-martial a civilian.
If the pre-Nov 3 judiciary, lawyers and political parties concur on it, it is felt that this would avoid any pre-emptive extra constitutional steps by President Musharraf if he is cornered from all sides. It’s a matter for deliberation. [Dawn]
PUNISHED FOR WHAT?
[Akbar Khan, Islamabad]
After seeing the treatment meted out to Imran Khan, Aitzaz Ahsan, Munir A Malik, Ali Ahmed Kurd and Justice (r) Tariq Mehmood, one realizes what becomes of people who dare to speak up against the state oppression. It's time people come out in support of these courageous Pakistanis to save the country from complete ruination. [The News]
A LESSON FOR THE JUDICIARY
[Amber Darr, Islamabad]
I am writing with reference to the news that the Constitution is to be restored on the Dec 15. This is a positive development. While people had recognised that emergency had been imposed to target judges of the Supreme and High Courts who had dared to be independent, President Musharraf and his self-designated spokespersons had defended it as a necessity in the ‘war against terror’.
The judges of our ‘reformed’ courts have also chosen to pretend that the emergency had nothing to do with the independence of the judiciary and have either ratified the actions of the government or turned a blind eye to it. The present situation is reminiscent of 1999, when the judges of the Supreme Court had endorsed and legitimised Pervez Musharraf’s takeover by a full bench judgment (Zafar Ali Shah v. Pervez Musharraf 2000 SCMR 1137) and had granted him the power to amend the Constitution.
The intentions of these judges may have been noble, but the consequences of their actions have been detrimental not only to the country but also to themselves. The same general, who had cried high treason when he was removed from his post without a hearing, removed the chief justice of Pakistan without any hearing and put him under house arrest. More power to the chief justice for standing up to authoritarianism and particularly for not accepting the offer of the Saudi ambassador to perform Haj.
There is a lesson in this for the new judiciary. Once the emergency is lifted and the ‘grave circumstances’ threatening the country have passed, will the judiciary have the moral courage to take notice of the illegal acts perpetrated upon the country, particularly in the last six weeks?
Or will it excuse President Musharraf merely to provide him another opportunity to repeat his actions? The fruits of their previous endorsements of intrinsically illegal actions are before them, and the choice is theirs. [Dawn]
ENLIGHTENED AND MODERATE?
[Abdul Rauf, Fateh Jang]
These are strange times. A federal health minister's graduation degree has been found fake. A military general, after being allowed by the highest court of law and the election commission, has been re-elected as president. Dozens of the superior court judges have been sent home with a single stroke of pen. The 'constitutional' chief justice of the Supreme Court is under house arrest. A twice-elected prime minister has been declared ineligible to contest for a parliamentary seat. Television viewers are deprived of their right to watch current-affairs programmes of their choice. A leading news channel is not allowed to air its transmission as it has refused to bow to the state's illegal demands. Scores of lawyers, students and civil society members are being subjected to baton-charge and even torture for expressing their dissent in the streets. Is it the 'enlightened and moderate' Pakistan President Musharraf pledged us about eight years ago? [The News]
LESSONS FROM DICTATORS
[M. P. Chishti, Karachi]
President Musharraf not only appears to believe but also makes it appear that he is indispensable for the country and it won’t be able to survive without him. A look at some dictatorships around the world in the last several decades should show his self-serving claim to be untenable.
Indonesia survived after Suharto, as did Pakistan after Ayub Khan — who played an important part in alienating the East Pakistanis, which led to their ultimate secession. The Iraqis were tired of Saddam Husein, although the Americans have made a mess of the country, while the Iranians were sick of the Shah. In Burma, people have been agitating for long against the military junta and the world is disturbed, whereas despots in the USSR had destroyed their country. In the Philippines, people had thrown off not one but two dictators. Now, they are very angry with president Gloria Arroyo for corruption and election rigging, yet they would not want someone like Marcos to grab power.
A philippine columnist has criticised the recent attempt by a few people to stage a coup, yet she also wrote: “No matter how rotten the civilian administration, there’s no way the Filipinos are going to install a military junta.” (Dec 2).
The foregoing should make it absolutely clear to Musharraf that nobody is indispensable, that people everywhere detest dictatorship and military rule and that nations did survive without those dictators who considered themselves to be essential for their countries. Greek philosopher Demosthenes had said: “Nothing is so easy as to deceive one’s self for what we wish we readily believe, but such expectations are often inconsistent with the reality of things.”
If the president really wished to find out the truth, he would have stepped down and contested in a truly free and fair election. But, in his heart knows the people won’t re-elect him, therefore he is fixing everything to ensure his continued hold on power against their wishes. Mr Musharraf, please listen to what so many wise and experienced Pakistani judges, generals, politicians, lawyers and other notable members of the intelligentsia have been saying. And, just about every counterpart of theirs in the West is also saying the same thing. Your narcissism is leading Pakistan to its destruction. [Dawn]
HEROES
[Dure Aziz Amna, Rawalpindi]
A week ago my family and I visited Barrister Munir A Malik at PIMS. Although he looked quite weak physically, he was in high spirits and without any bitterness about what has happened to him. No one can really predict what will come out of the turmoil our country is going through, but at least now civil society has found its heroes. And it is not the president (uniform or no uniform), not our politicians.
Our heroes are people who have willingly sacrificed everything for the cause of democracy in this country--the lawyers and the judges, especially our chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudry. We salute all of you! [The News]
DEALING WITH TROUBLEMAKER
[Dr Syed Amer Raza, Islamabad
It is said that Judge Alvin K Hellerstein of the US district court for the southern district of New York is creating problems for the Bush administration and the CIA in the detainees’ tapes destruction case. I think the Bush administration does not need to put up with a ‘troublemaker’. The Bush administration should promptly declare a state of emergency in the US, promulgate a provisional constitutional order and purge the judiciary of all the troublemaking judges who are accused of tarnishing the ‘positive image’ of America. It should also declare the proclamation of emergency as an act necessary for the survival of the country and the democratic process. [Pakistan Observer]
THREAT TO THE KING
[Shahnaz Zardari, Hyderabad]
Bairam Khan, the Iranian noble, played a very important role in establishing Akbar’s rule in India during his early years in power. He asked the king to execute Hemu which Akbar refused and he himself went and decapitated Hemu. This act posed a challenge to the king’s authority. He asked Bairam to go for Haj. Bairam Khan was executed on his way to Makkah. This is one example when anybody who posed to be a threat to the king’s authority was given a chance to go for Haj and then disappeared.
The news of the Saudi ambassador meeting deposed chief justice Iftikhar, who declined a Haj invitation, sounds much like Bairam Khan’s story. It seems that we as a nation have not been able to come out from the primitive ages. Today when we call the doffing of Musharraf’s uniform a ‘big step’, only God knows how many centuries it would take to get out of the authoritarian rule and bring true democracy where people will be allowed to decide and not be persecuted for belonging to different schools of thoughts. [Dawn]
CJ'S DAUGHTER
[Dr A P Sangdil, Oslo, Norway]
I was moved by the letter of Palwasha Iftikhar Chaudhry (Dec 1), proud daughter of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. She and her family have braved tumultuous times together with the resolute and upright head of the family. Chief Justice Chaudhry was not prepared to forsake his principals of justice and honesty in return for gains and comforts, although he knew that his whole family was going to suffer with him.
Palwasha's great father has carved his name in the judicial history of this country. He is a giant unlike Justice Munir, a pygmy still remembered with disdain many years after his passing away. [The News]
LAWYER OF THE YEAR
[M. Maqsood Khattak, Karak]
The American National Law Journal has nominated Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry for Award of Lawyer of the Year 2007. This is the first time that this journal is nominating a non-American lawyer for the award. The editor-in-chief of the journal, Rex Bozert, not only recommended his name for award, but also appreciated the services he rendered for the defence and the rule of judiciary and law.
European countries are appreciating the role of Mr Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Sadly, the Pakistani government removed Mr Justice Chaudhry along with other judges. The Pakistani people are missing the honest and truthful chief justice now. May Allah provide justice to Mr Justice Chaudhry. [Dawn]
BHUTTO, MAULANA AND JUDICIARY
[Advocate Nasir Kamal Yousafzai, Mardan]
Benazir Bhutto and Fazlur Rehman have stated recently that they respect the independence of the judiciary and will therefore not insist on the restoration of the pre-Nov 3 situation, as the other members of the APDM want. According to Ms Bhutto and Maulana Fazlur Rehman, whose party is a member of the APDM, it is not of vital importance for the judges who refused to take oath under the PCO to be reinstated.
However, their reinstatement is the need of the hour. Unless the deposed judges are reinstated, Pakistan's judiciary can hardly be considered independent. What happened on Nov 3 has tarnished Pakistan's image, because the absence of an independent judiciary in the country is being criticised around the world. Ms Bhutto's and Maulana Fazlur Rehman's refusal to honour the APDM's decision on a boycott of the elections is equally difficult to digest. [The News]
COURAGEOUS DAUGHTER
[Uzma Shah Shirazi, Jamshoro]
This refers to the captions, ‘Tribute to courage of uncle judges’, and ‘I am a proud child’ (Dawn, Nov 30 and The Guardian, Nov 29). I would like to appreciate Palwasha lftikhar Chaudhry, ‘Pinky’, the daughter of Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, for her courageous open letter, though she along with her family is still under house arrest since the imposition of the emergency in November.
Pinky, of course, is a daring daughter of a daring father. She supports all those judges of the higher courts who have been suspended for not taking the oath under the PCO, which would have conferred legitimacy and legality on the unconstitutional acts of the present government. Ms Chaudhry’s open letter will not only boost the morale of the dignified judges but also of the legal community as a whole, which is facing the strong-arm tactics of the establishment. I salute the brave and proud Pinky, her family and the honourable judges for their steadfastness, and their principled stand on the ‘independence of the judiciary’, a principal prerequisite for democracy.
Palwasha is 16 years old. I am one year older than her. She must rest assured that all the youngsters are her brothers and sisters and, indeed, strong supporters. So are our parents. We are with her in her ordeal, which will be, God willing, short-lived, and all the victimised families of judges and jurists will emerge as the real heroes of Pakistan. I appeal to all the conscientious Pakistanis, and the members of the international community to support the demand of civil society for the reinstatement of the sacked judges with dignity. Without their reinstatement, the genuine democracy will never return to Pakistan. And democracy is a must for the country’s stability. [Dawn]
REMARKS ON JUDICIARY
[Saiqa Khan, Lahore]
I was surprised by the British high commissioner's remarks regarding the judiciary at Youth Parliament. Together with the US, Britain bears the greatest responsibility for the situation in Pakistan today. They were the countries which initiated the Afghan war against the Soviet Union, used us for the fulfilment of their objectives and then ran away once that war was over. We were left to bear the fallouts in the form of extremism and militarism in Afghanistan.
After 9/11 they came back to support military rule that had forcibly removed an elected democratic government. At the same time, Britain and the US make lofty claims of moral superiority and of their being champions of democracy and human rights. They are supposed to be civilised and democratic, but wherever it suits them they back dictatorial and repressive regimes. In this instance, the British high commissioner has forgotten that our judiciary is based on British principles--at least principles that used to exist in Britain before the Blair era. [The News]
POSITIVE ROLE OF THE MASSES
[Riaz Hussain, Islamabad]
This is in response to Amjad Bhatti’s article, ‘The anatomy of protest’ (Dec 1). The writer has painstakingly analysed the ongoing protest and has raised some serious questions. We must appreciate his good effort but as far as the question of public participation in this protest is concerned, he has certain doubts and is reluctant to call it a social movement.
It might be partially true that the movement, as the writer says, is largely viewed as an elites’ and intelligentsia’s movement. I wonder that in the view of Mr Bhatti the protesting groups like lawyers and journalists have failed to widen their struggle by not touching broader questions of governance and the everyday concerns of society.
My viewpoint is that we must keep it in our minds that these are professional people and it was necessary to speak first in legal or professional parlance. It is their right. But it has been witnessed that they have rather gone far beyond their professional limitations.
The firm attitude of Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and the way of showing retaliation by some prominent lawyers against Pervez Musharraf gave inspiration to the masses to a great extent. Many slogans that truly reflect the masses’ retaliating action against dictatorship have been raised in the protest gatherings of lawyers, journalists, civil society activists and students.
These people began to attain public support. Pervez Musharraf and the establishment timely apprehended this phenomenon turning into a large movement having the support of almost all segments of society. This was the reason that the army (rule) came into motion.
I am not convinced that only the professional approach of lawyers like Aitzaz Ahsan and TV anchors like Talat Hussain and Hamid Mir has angered the government, causing imposition of emergency, curbing of media and pressing the press. Emergency-cum-martial law was imposed, judges were deposed, lawyers were detained and tortured, human rights activists and some political figures were arrested and journalists were baton-charged not just because of their professional and personal (economic) interests, rather they directly or indirectly began to give projection to miseries, problems and demands of society.
Such type of resistance was not acceptable to the government. If the emergency had not been imposed, I am sure, only further four months were sufficient for their protest for taking shape of a massive movement. And it could have set a unique example for the first time in our political history that semi-political, social and professional groups filled the vacuum of political leadership.
In short, the positive role of the masses in this constitutional crisis, political anarchy and social unrest should not be misconceived. People at large have been protesting and will continue protesting against tyranny, injustice and suppression in the ‘given’ circumstances. Need is to analyse their protest from a different perspective. [Dawn]
BENAZIR AND JUDGES
[Jawaid Raja, Rawalpindi]
Being a great admirer of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and the PPP, I want to remind Benazir Bhutto not to forsake the judges. The lure of power should not blind her. She should avoid being part of Musharraf's system. In the name of pragmatism Ms Bhutto is showing total disregard for the wishes of the Pakistani people. It seems she has lost touch with reality and with the true feelings of the masses. They want her to be her old self, the daughter of the East and not the daughter of the West. [The News]
FREEDOM IS A RIGHT
[Amir A. Zia, USA]
Banning the media and disallowing citizens from being able to watch news and other political debates would be impossible to justify. The amount of disruptions occurring at any one time in any part of the country is in no way the fault of the media. The inherent fundamental rights such as freedom of speech, vote, movement and debate are not the gifts from any leader and no one should take credit for them.
The judiciary should be allowed to review such stringent imposition of laws and take their course of action even if it leads to extreme measures. There is no one above the law and if the laws of the land are violated, one should be dealt with without restrain or prejudice. [Dawn]
TWO SIDES OF A COIN
[Nadeem Hasan, Islamabad]
What did Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry do to deserve dismissal? Mr Musharraf has cried hoarse explaining the reasons, but without conviction. So here is a "charge sheet" against the chief justice.
a) Putting to a halt to the privatisation of Pakistan Steel Mills.
b) Recovery of missing people (around 186 of them).
c) Setting up a proper human rights cell in the Supreme Court, to ensure speedy and effective justice to the common man.
d) Stopping projects like the mini golf course in Islamabad and the New Murree Project.
e) Challenging the violation of various laws and lack of transparency.
f) Trying to rein in the intelligence agencies by suggesting a law to regulate them.
Here is how an official charge sheet would go:
a) Destabilising Pakistan; in other words: 'Please look the other way while I subvert the constitution and make a mockery of the country around the world.'
b) Causing a clash of institutions; in other words: 'I do not want any institutions at all, except for those that I decree.'
c) Hindering the war on terror; in other words: 'I want to retain power come what may.'
[The News]
PROVIDING JUSTICE
[Farah Jamil Syed, Karachi]
There are many problems which plague Pakistan: poverty, unemployment, unclean drinking water, lack of quality education, inflation, substandard health services — I can go on and on. But the main problem, and the root of all the problems, is injustice.
In Pakistan it is no secret that justice seems a rare commodity. Justice can be sold and bought, it can be manipulated, it can be affected by power, kinship or wealth. It is expensive, time consuming and often substandard. Injustice is at all levels. The poor, the rich, the educated, the labourer, all are affected by it. All the civilised societies in the world have near accurate, cheap, and accessible justice system. If anyone feels that he has been mistreated by individual or the state, he can go straight to the judiciary and file a claim. [Daily Times]
NOT THEIR JOB
[Engr S T Hussain, Lahore]
Being an ordinary citizen, I want to know why the Supreme Court judges, who have taken oath under the PCO, gave a freehand to President Pervez Musharraf to amend the constitution. Did the Supreme Court itself have this authority that it allowed the president to make amendments to the constitution just to prolong his stay in power?
I believe making amendments to the constitution falls in the jurisdiction of parliament and that the Supreme Court's job is to interpret it only. Why the respected judges approved of the extra-constitutional acts of a military general is a question worth asking. It was despite the fact that their brother judges stood bravely for the rule of law. [The News]
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
[Dr Yasir Abbasi, Sheffield, UK]
Freedom of expression is inherently a valuable part of self-actualisation of the speakers and listeners. There have always been limitations to express freely and the threshold varies from country to country. But was the media really free in Pakistan prior to Nov 3? Is the media right in claiming that it was being responsible and professional. With the power to beam into millions of homes around the globe comes the grave responsibility of being just and fair.By inviting ignorant and bewildered politicians on a talk show and to let them say whatever they feel like is not really freedom. Whenever breaking news occurs, instead of inviting specialised analysts, certain channels would interview their own senior journalists, who would present personal opinions as news items. For instance, the following discourse:
Question: “Why do you think the emergency has been imposed?” (Interview over the phone.)
Answer: “This is all a conspiracy hatched by the USA in the war on terror, where the deposed chief justice was releasing so-called terrorists and this was unacceptable to the West, therefore, it was done under their patronage.” (Translated into English from Urdu.)
This might as well be a conversation of two lay people sitting by the roadside. I have no qualms if they want to make such allegations, but it should be a part of a well-researched and investigated documentary and not a frantic news statement. Nowhere in the West are military operations covered live as they were in Pakistan. The US learnt its lessons from the Vietnam War and since then journalists are embedded with the troops during wars and are shown only specific things.
Ironically, the media portrays that modernisation means westernisation and this has led to the creation of completely distant and confused generation. The truth is not far from the opposite. We see young TV hosts trying to speak English in an imitating foreign accent, while our soaps are cheap imitations of an already plagiarised media industry across the border. How many journalists can report on the crimes by feudal lords in rural areas of Pakistan and then continue to walk the planet? I have yet to see a single documentary of how criminally-minded our political parties and politicians are.
The media was never really free in Pakistan and it will never be until we really free ourselves from feudal and colonial mindset. Nevertheless, banning and subjugating fundamental rights is not the answer to anything. Naom Chomsky says in one of his documentaries: “Goebbels was in favour of free speech for views he liked. So was Stalin. If you’re in favour of free speech, then you’re in favour of freedom of speech precisely for views you despise. Otherwise, you’re not in favour of free speech.” [Dawn]
RIGHTS
[S T Hussain, Lahore]
The country is without the rule of law and an independent judiciary. Here might is right. We are a country among the 10 most corrupt nations in the world. The president has sacked 60 judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts who were a check on the misuse of authority by the executive. Their directing the police and intelligence agencies to strictly adhere to the provisions of the law and perform their functions according to the law turned out to be unacceptable because it was against the national interest! Now I have no rights as I can be picked up by the police anywhere, harassed, tortured and jailed without trail.
[The News]
INTERNATIONAL ‘NO RIGHTS’ DAY
[Adnan Nasir, Lahore]
Monday, December 10 was the International Human Rights Day. This year, the theme of the day was ‘justice and dignity for all’. However, the gory picture that Pakistan presents today, in terms of human rights, forced civil society to declare December 10 a ‘Black Day’.
There are no rights of procession (a basic right), so peaceful protests were likely to get raided by riot police. What is even more interesting is that Monday’s newspapers reported that a pro-Musharraf rally was staged in Liberty Market, Lahore, with around a hundred students chanting pro-Musharraf slogans. Was this not a violation of Section 144? If anti-establishment forces cannot conduct peaceful protests without the threat of suppression, then pro-government rallies should also be disallowed. This was a sad and strange International Human Rights Day for Pakistan. [Daily Times]
ISLAMABAD RALLY EXPERIENCE
[Tariq Hassan, Islamabad]
On December 17 the police prevented a peaceful procession comprising lawyers, students, media persons, and civil society activists from going to see Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry who remains incarcerated with his family without any charge. The police used force to disperse the crowd and 33 of us were taken into custody that day. While women and students were later released under pressure from the crowd that gathered outside the police station, 14 of us remained locked up in a single cell until mid-afternoon the next day. We were made to sit and sleep on a concrete floor without any heating in the cold December weather and taken in chains (being "officers of the court" two other lawyers and I were spared this humiliation!) to the Court the next day. We were charged with committing various penal offences (malicious lies!) listed in the attached document and while we lawyers were lucky enough to be granted bail on the surety given by the president of the District Bar Association, Islamabad, we were only able to get the others released on bail after concerted efforts.
If anything, this horrendous experience has only strengthened our resolve to continue our peaceful struggle for not only the restoration of judiciary and rule of law but also revival of genuine democracy in the country. [The News]
AITZAZ’S RESOLUTION
[Mehran Leghari, Lahore]
Aitzaz Ahsan’s determination to restore the suspended judges is indeed unique in our tainted national history. No one has stood up as gallantly at the face of ruthless dictatorial state power as he has; hats off to him and those he is defending. They are heroes of our time. Their sacrifices for espousing the cause of an independent judiciary are supreme. What could have been the alternative? CJP Chaudhry could have served as CJ until 2013, Aitzaz become an MNA and held ministry of interior as he did in the past, other judges, who refused to take the oath under the PCO, would have gone on to serve and retire with full benefits.
Instead, these honourable men answered the call of their conscience, which is rare, and declined to submit to state hubris. They have inscribed their names in golden words. They have made history at the cost of living comfortable lives and providing all comfort to their families. They are no ordinary men; they are indeed men of substance who deserve our respect. On the New Year Day, we must rise to salute them. They would live in our hearts forever. [Dawn]
CIVIL SOCIETY
[Ahmad R Shahid, York, UK]
It is good that Nawaz Sharif has decided to contest the elections rather than leave the field open to the pro-establishment PML-Q, even though many sections of society have called for a boycott. Even Aitzaz Ahsan has decided to boycott the elections despite his party's decision to participate. It is something totally new in Pakistan that politics has moved beyond the military and the pro- and anti-establishment parties. Although it is still nascent, civil society has started asserting itself and has found partners in the lawyers' community and the smaller parties, such as Imran Khan's Tehrik-e-Insaaf and Qazi Hussain Ahmad's Jamaat-e-Islami.
It is quite possible for civil society to become so strong in the years to come that it starts influencing the policies of the mainstream political parties. Yet for two particular reasons it has hitherto failed to win over the big parties: 1) It is mainly the upper middle class or the professional class that is the core of civil society. 2) It has hitherto failed to impress the lower middle and the lower classes, which are more concerned about issues other than the rule of law. Until the size of the upper middle class remains low there will be few takers for the concept of a society based on laws. [The News]
AFTER THE TRAGEDY
[Naeem Sadiq, Karachi]
Never before have I witnessed the people in such state of pain and sorrow. In these trying moments, the people of Pakistan are confused, uncertain and anxious about the future. Pakistan stands at a crossroads today and it must decide whether to take the peaceful, progressive and democratic path or disintegrate under the illegitimate rule of a dictator. At this time, following demands should be met to unify the entire nation in this hour of grief.
a. President Musharraf should resign and be held accountable for violating constitution before a court of law.
b. The 1973 Constitution as of October 12, 1999 should be restored.
c. The pre-November 3 judiciary should be reinstituted.
d. A neutral and caretaker government along with an independent election commission should be appointed to hold general elections within three months.
These demands will be met only if political parties and the entire civil society pressure the sitting government. It is time we took a peaceful and democratic path and said goodbye to the politics of violence. [The News]
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Issue of the Month: The Aftermath
LOOTING AND RANSACKING
[M. Faizan Ansari, Multan]
No doubt, assassination of Benazir Bhutto is an irreparable loss to the nation. It is such a political vacuum as is never filled because Allah blessed her with unique leadership qualities. She also learnt a lot from her father’s political career as well as life. Now the nation is in a state of great distress and feeling itself orphan without her. Reaction is severe, people are not ready to listen that she is no more among them because she was assassinated brutally and mercilessly.
But at the time of such mourning and depression who are the people ransacking and looting banks, shops and setting the petrol pumps and trawlers on fire. This act will bring a bad name to the party. All these public and private buildings and institutions are our own property. They should keep in mind that they were damaging their own country. Is this a decent way of protest?
At this crucial juncture, first, we need to unite ourselves and console each other peacefully. We as a nation need to reorganise ourselves and raise demand to hold a transparent inquiry into her murder whether it was security lapse or a conspiracy of an extremist group. Who are these people who want to make people politically orphan and cripple and want to impose their own decisions against the political will of the masses? Looting and ransacking will bring a bad name to the party.
The onus lies on our entire politicians to console PPP workers at each and entire local level and also join hands with them for the restoration of democracy in true spirit. All political parties should be vigilant about such looter groups who have their own agenda and vested interests on such occasions. This is high time to review the political process and to reorganise ourselves in order to put the country on the right path of democracy. [Dawn]
TRAPPED ON DECEMBER 27
[A citizen, Karachi]
Yesterday had been a day which I can never forget even if I would want to forget it. I don't know if I should count myself as a fortunate or unfortunate one. If I remember those gloomy moments of uncertainty then I feel that I was the most unfortunate one at that time given the tension in Karachi in the aftermath of Benazir Bhutto's assassination. But now when I am safe and sound, I consider myself lucky enough to have survived and reached back home safely, though I was a mere arm's length from tragedy.
Let me share those moments with you. I left my office near PIDC at my usual time of six in the evening. At that time I knew that there had been some killings earlier in the day, because of an attack on Nawaz Sharif's convoy, but had no idea about Benazir's assassination. My mother picked me up from office and as per our plan made earlier in the day we went to Capital Market (near Regal Chowk in Saddar) for some work. I was inside the Capital Market shopping plaza when all of a sudden I heard shouting and screaming and people running around and shutting down all the shutters and gates of the shopping centre. I had no clue as to why it all was happening. Suddenly some guys came and asked me to shut down all shops immediately.
I was in Zareen House (a large shop which could easily accommodate many people) at that time. We were trapped inside there with many other people who were out there for shopping. Most of them were women and children and all of us were scared as we had not the slightest clue as to why all this was happening. Then one of the people in the shop received a phone call informing him that Benazir has been killed. We were in a state of shock – we were trapped inside a shopping plaza and we could hear firing around in its near vicinity.
It was impossible to get out at that time. The toughest moment was to make a decision: should we leave the shopping plaza knowing that outside it was dangerous with a mob setting tyres on fire or should we stay put and leave after a couple of hours when things may have calmed down a bit? I came to the decision that the best thing would be to head for home instead of staying inside trapped where we were.
I just can't explain the fear I had in my heart at that minute. We were two women – me and my mother – and we had to drive all the way from Saddar to Bahadurabad in the midst of all the firing and rioting. Before leaving the plaza I recited all the prayers that I know and it might sound crazy or funny but I sought forgiveness for all my sins.
We ventured out of the shopping plaza at around seven and for the next two hours we were stuck at the very same place. It was something more than a traffic jam because for two hours not one car even moved a foot. By this time the streetlights went out and there were no lights at all – except of course the headlights of the cars trapped there. This was the time when I felt scared the most. I was getting calls from my family that people were being killed and that vehicles were being set on fire especially in places where there were traffic jams. Fortunately, my mother was able to reverse the car and we went through an alternate way – but there was heavy traffic everywhere. On our way we were so panic-stricken and scared that we asked a police man driving a police van for help. His reply was: 'Bibi hum tau khud apni jaan bacha kar ghar bhaag rahay hain. Aap bhi yehi karein aur ghar bhagein. Hamein bhi ghar jana hai'. I mean this was the height – the police is supposed to provide protection to its citizens but two women asking for a little guidance were being left to fend for themselves.
Somehow we managed to escape from the traffic and took an alternate way from St. Joseph's college towards the FTC but when we reached the FTC the road was full of burning tyres and people with sticks in their hands were roaming around. We then decided to take an alternative route which took us through the Lines Area. Much to my surprise, things seemed pretty much normal in that area. The stores, and even some tandoors, were open and people were out on street. Compared to this, the rest of the city which we travelled through was pitch dark with no signs of street lights or the police or rangers.
We managed to reach our home by ten at night and my first reaction was of utter disbelief – that we managed to make it back to our home safe and sound. This was the first time that I felt I had experienced death at close range because much of the time while going home I kept thinking that I could die any minute – and believe me this feeling is not good.
Looking back, I am perplexed and have so many unanswered questions in my mind. What is our future in this country? I did computer engineering and won several medals but what is this all worth when living in such a country brings so much uncertainty and unpredictability? When will our Dark Ages end? Is this the dream of the Quaid-e-Azam? [The News]
CHAOS AFTER BHUTTO’S MURDER
[Gulraiz Shah, Lahore]
The country has been descending into chaos since the unfortunate and tragic demise of Benazir Bhutto. Riots have been breaking out in most urban centres of Pakistan. While PPP workers and sympathisers have been showing their anger on the streets, most of the damage is being done by organised and hardened gangs of criminals who are using the situation to their advantage and are looting people freely. Entire markets have been robbed and hundreds of banks have been attacked. The army and paramilitary units have been deployed across the country to try and get the situation under control.
Ms Bhutto was a peace-loving and democratic leader. She would not have wanted this to happen, she would have wanted her supporters to grieve peacefully and ensure that her message is carried on. People definitely have the right to protest her heinous murder and demand justice, but damaging property and life is not the answer. This is exactly what the perpetrators of this crime wanted. Do not let them win. [Daily Times]
WHY BURN THE HOSPITAL?
[Kashif Mumtaz, Karachi]
Pakistan being what it is these days, the assassination of Ms Benazir Bhutto was bound to set off violence across the country: the usual burning of banks, other public and private buildings, vehicles (with hundreds of cars and motorcycles destroyed in Karachi alone), unofficial "wheel-jams" enforced by stone-throwers, indiscriminate firing, and, of course, attacks on police stations. This frenzy was to be expected after one of Pakistan's greatest political tragedies, even though little of it is really justified.
But what defies comprehension, let alone there being no justification for it, is the burning of a hospital in Karachi on Thursday night. There are no reports on whether any of the gravely ill among the patients died because of their sudden exposure to the cold when they were forced out of the building. Or, take the attacks on trains in Sindh. In two cases, the carriages were burned after the passengers had been forced to disembark. A perverse form of humaneness, if you like.
It doesn't need pointing out that there is politics behind such violence, destruction and mayhem. It is elements who seek unrest and chaos in furtherance of their respective political "agendas" who ignite violence--don't blame "the agencies" alone. It's also the result of the government's abdication of its primary responsibility to maintain peace and safeguard people's lives and property. But ultimately it's also a frightening sign of the kind of country Pakistan has become since the late 1970s. [The News]
BURNING
[Mohammad Fayyaz, Charsadda]
Very many Muslims in general and many of the Pakistanis in particular loot and burn the properties of individuals and national assets in situations such as the one the nation faces these days after the most merciless killing of a female popular political leader of the country. If this is the level of our Eemaan (faith) that could not stop us from looting and burning our own brethren' properties, then we should expect greater tragedies from Almighty Allah. Let us improve our Eemaan, which will help us tread the right the path. [The Frontier Post]
LOOTING AND RANSACKING
[Ishtiaq Lodhi, University of Leeds UK]
I have been feeling so upset since I heard this shocking news that seven workers, including a woman, lost their lives inside a burning garment factory in Karachi following the riots inflicted shortly after the killing of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. The government rightly deserves to be blamed for this gruesome and tragic incident as it has been its top priority to avert such an incident done by miscreants. It seems that there is no rule of law in Pakistan, no body is secure, even the high - profile people who have been quite often the target of killers.
Besides bringing the people to justice who killed the PPP chairperson, the killers of these seven factory workers should also be dealt with in the same way. [Dawn]
BURNING OUR OWN ASSETS
[Uzma M. Hanif, Islamabad]
Railways engines, coaches and stations, banks, petrol pumps, commercial markets as well as public and private transport are among the national assets. These belong to the nation either directly or indirectly. The wheels must keep moving to ensure pace of progress, development and economic growth on the whole. There can be no two opinions that the tragic demise of former Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto is a great national loss. But the violence which has broken out following the unfortunate killing of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi the other day cannot be appreciated. This must be stopped forthwith. Please do not burn your own assets and do not let the anti-Pakistan, anti-state and anti-people elements claim they have succeeded in disrupting the peace, calm and law and order of our country. There are much better, peaceful, decent and religious ways to remember Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. [The Nation]
Issue of the Month: Where has all the wheat gone?
ENGINEERED FLOUR SHORTAGE
By Mansoor Ahmad
[This was first published in The News International on December 18, 2007.]
The prevailing flour shortage belies all logic. The government knows the daily requirements of 20 kg flour bags in every city. It has adequate wheat stock but wheat supply to flourmills was suppressed that created shortage. Economists term the current flour crisis as engineered or caused by the incompetence of regulators. They point out that governments world over do not risk shortages of staple food. Wheat is the staple food of Pakistan. Even a slight hint of any shortage in its supply creates panic among consumers. In Pakistan and particularly in Punjab, it was not the threat of shortage that created panic rather it was the ‘engineered’ shortage that created the real shortage.
This of course suits vested interests that take advantage of administration’s lethargy and inaction that doubles flour rates from Rs.13 to around Rs.26 per kg. Households in Punjab usually buy 20-kg flour bag and consume it in ten to fifteen days before buying it again. However, during the recent flour crisis, households started stocking three to four 20-kg bags to assure uninterrupted supply of flour for a month or two. Lahore for instance on average consumes 120,000 bags of flour of 20-kg each. When flourmills stopped buying wheat from private sector due to its high price, the Punjab government was very slow to plug the supply gap. It started with supplies of wheat adequate to produce 60,000 bag of flour that was half the daily requirements of the city.
This short supply started creating shortages of the commodity after which the Punjab government slowly started releasing more stocks but still much less than the daily requirements of the city. A few days back the daily supplies were increased to produce 90,000 bags of 20-kg flour each. Finally, the government had now started releasing the required amount of wheat to flourmills.
On December 16, it arranged supplies of 200,000 bags out of which 15,000 were returned and not sold. This for the first time gave a hope of easing of supply side pressure on flour. Perhaps, the election pressure forced the government to give flour supplies some priority. It is a sad fact that flour price had lost its significance and it is the supply that matters the most. According to a UN report, flour (wheat flour) provides 45 per cent of the total energy intake of average Pakistani individual. It is the main food item consumed to satisfy hunger.
The use of flour increases with increase in poverty as until early this year it was the cheapest source of energy and nutrition. The doubling of flour rates might not impact the budgets of middle class or higher income groups but it definitely has upset their monthly budget. What pains most the experts is that the government did not take cue from the prudent handling of similar wheat situation by the last PML-N government in the Punjab province.
The planners of PML-N government created a flour glut from the same amount of wheat stock that is currently available with the government. That governance was at its best as far as regulating the flour supplies and rates is concerned. The PML-N government had done its homework. It knew that the milling capacity of flourmills in Punjab was three times the total flour demand of the country. So instead of supplying flour left or right to all mills it selected the most efficient mills during the crisis period and monitored to ensure that each bag of flour goes to retail out lets.
The present Punjab government and the one preceding it devised such a policy that flour supply to retail outlets was totally suspended and people were provided the commodity through few Utility Stores or from trucks loaded with flour bag. The procedure of supply itself created the impression of acute shortage. A rush of buyers was expected towing to a shortage of retail outlets and it created panic among consumers. [Courtesy: The News]
HIGH COST OF WHEAT IMPORT
[Sultan Karim, Lahore]
According to a news item (Dec 3), Pakistan has ordered import of one million tons of wheat from Russia to meet the domestic demand. Out of this, the first installment of 26,498 tons wheat has already reached Karachi. The second installment of 23,500 tons would be reaching Karachi in mid-December. The authorities, while releasing this news, which occupied a very small space in the paper, very cleverly have said nothing about the huge expenditure in foreign exchange on importing this quantity of wheat. The estimated cost of one million tons of wheat import is $510 million.
The tragedy is that this import was avoidable. It is because of the wrong official policies regarding the support price of wheat and cultivation, production and management of the crop. It is essential for the government to immediately raise the support price from Rs.425 per 40kg to Rs.600 per 40kg as in India, in order to have the wheat crop sown on the maximum area by giving this incentive to farmers.
If this is not done, there will be even more shortage of wheat next year — approximately three million tons — putting a very heavy burden on expenditure in foreign exchange which will cost $2.5 to 3 billion to import wheat at the international price, which is very likely to increase further. [Dawn]
WHEAT CRISIS
[Saadatullah Khan Niazi, Islamabad]
The current wheat shortage is a rerun of similar crises related to food items. Two years ago, there was the sugar crisis. At that time President Musharraf issued directives to NAB to probe the crisis and the Bureau selected 11 officers for the enquiry. It turned out from the data they collected that mill-owners were involved in it, including about ten ministers, as well as the Chaudhrys of Gujrat. But instead of taking action, President Musharraf dissolved the committee. The causes of the wheat crisis appear to be of the same nature. Some big stockists who have influence with the government seem to be creating this crisis.
The wheat crisis is artificial and generated by the government itself to increase the prices of wheat and flour. [The News]
WHEAT CRISIS!
[Inayat Ullah Sheikh, Karachi]
This is with reference to the photograph of around 200 men and women queuing outside a Utility Store in Peshawar to buy a bag of wheat flour (Daily Times, December 5). Pakistan had a bumper wheat crop this year, sufficient for local consumption. However, it was reported soon after the presentation of the 2007-08 budget that wheat was being hoarded across the country, and also being exported to India and Bangladesh. We have been facing a shortage for months now, and the government has had to import wheat, adding to the burden on our national exchequer.
Various government departments and authorities concerned with the production, storage and distribution of wheat should be asked about this situation. Why was hoarding not checked and why were such large amounts allowed to be exported to other countries when local demand was not fully met? These are questions that need to be answered and those responsible need to be punished so that such careless planning does not re-occur.
[Daily Times]
IMPORT OF WHEAT BY TCP
[M. H. Murad, Karachi]
I have been reading in your daily the irregularities committed by the TCP with regard to placement of awards for import of wheat. These corrupt practices are not new in the TCP. Since assuming charge, the chairman has brought a group of officials from such departments as FIA and income-tax who prepare favourable cases of only those who first meet their demands and then respective approvals are released.
Suppliers are not only blackmailed but their cases, even the same are on merit, are not decided for weeks/months. As a result, when approvals are given, those are of no use to the suppliers as by that time the purpose for which approval was sought is no longer viable.
After award of commodity contracts to the successful suppliers, this group then starts twisting local vendors, i.e. suppliers of empty bags, vessel agents at discharge ports, transporters, inspection agencies and stevedores, as placement of awards for all these activities is totally at the discretion of the TCP without any formal tender.
The TCP’s role in the last several years has been to import commodities as directed by the ministry of food and agriculture and in lieu of this service the TCP charges them heavy commission (two per cent plus) of the total value.
However, it has been observed that the TCP neither arranges timely import of the required commodities nor does it conclude deals on a competitive basis simply because of its own vested interests.
It is time for the ministry of food and agriculture to think to re-establish its own import wing to meet the timely import demand of essential commodities like wheat, sugar, fertilisers and cotton as it used to have before 1999 so that suppliers in international and domestic community can be saved from the existing corrupt practice, and the common man can benefit from the availability of essential items in the market.
I hope my suggestion will find approval of the Minfal which will do its bit to get rid of malpractices. [Dawn]
SMUGGLING OF WHEAT
[Mohammad Imran, Peshawar]
Recently, the Afghan government closed down the border at Chaman as a protest against increased scrutiny and security on the Pakistani side to check the smuggling of wheat. Thousands of tons of wheat have been smuggled into Afghanistan over the past few months and this movement of the commodity has directly contributed to the massive shortages taking place across the country, leaving many poor Pakistanis in tears. While it is commendable that the federal and provincial governments are finally doing their best to ensure that local demands are met, the problem runs deeper.
It is now well-known that Pakistan produced a bumper wheat crop during the past season. Significant amounts of that wheat were smuggled out of the country and we had to import wheat at a much higher price to meet local demand. The government needs to factor hoarding and smuggling into its planning calculus. While local production may be enough to meet local demand on paper, planners need to factor in smuggling and hoarding and then see if wheat should be exported or not. We should think before we act instead of shuffling around to find last-minute solutions like we are right now. [Daily Times]
WHEAT CRISIS
[A. Niazi, Karachi]
The wheat and flour crisis continues to get worse day by day. The inherent problem is that world market prices of wheat have gone to record levels, primarily due to crop shortfalls in Australia and Europe amongst other factors.
Therefore, massive quantities are being smuggled out to Afghanistan and even India as the domestic price in Pakistan is still less than the international price. The result of this is that flour prices for the Pakistani consumer has shot up to Rs18/20 per kg. However neither the government nor the farmer has benefited from this huge price increase. The government bought wheat from the farmers at Rs425/maund. The government continues to supply flour mills at the rate of Rs460/maund.
Although the market price of wheat has increased to Rs625 to Rs650/maund, the government states that by selling wheat at those prices to the flour mills, they are ensuring that the flour mills are able to sell flour at the government mandated price.
The reality is that the flour mills are selling wheat at ex-factory price of Rs680 a maund, at a gross profit of Rs 220/maund. Taking into account the conversion charges of grinding wheat into flour of a maximum of Rs40 a maund, the millers are still making Rs180 a maund. That is a profit of 39 per cent, which is unheard of in a basic industry such as flour milling, where regular margins are between 1.5 per cent and 3 per cent.
The government is basically handing out free money to the millers. Would anybody sell you gold for the price it was six months ago? So, the millers are making billions which should have instead gone to the farmer or the government. Now the government is importing wheat which will cost it Rs1,000/maund and the government will take a massive loss of billions to subsidise this.
Sadly to say, the prime benefactors will be the flour millers and those government personnel who are busy taking bribes from the millers rather than taking any action. Until we let the laws of supply and demand to operate, there will always be market distortions that will be exploited by a few to enrich themselves at the expense of the nation. [Dawn]
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From the National Press
BEST COUNTRIES FOR BUSINESS
[Zill-E-Rehman Khan Niazi, Islamabad]
According to the World Economic Forum’s recent competitive ranking on the Best Countries for Business, Pakistan stands nowhere in those 50 countries listed, getting beaten by countries like Chile, Estonia, Thailand, Tunisia, Puerto Rico, Slovenia, India and Slovak Republic. And then our political leaders have the nerve to determine that Pakistan’s economy is pacing forward and the country has been attracting business from global players. The Global Competitiveness Report tallies 113 factors that contribute to an economy’s competitiveness. It boils down to how well a country is positioned to squeeze efficiency out of its business and attract companies and investment from abroad. Components of the resulting Global Competitiveness Index range from the quality of a nation’s roads to the independence of its judiciary to the incidence of tuberculosis to how easy it is to hire an engineer.
Looking at the current political situation in the country, and even the time before the current state of emergency, it does not take a rocket scientist to conclude why Pakistan may never make it to those 50 countries best for business. Perhaps, this is about time that instead of bragging about its laurels, the government should seriously focus on having some people after the upcoming election who would really lead the country to the road to success. This also falls as an obligation on the shoulders of the citizens of this country to determine the positive leadership for them and avoid the thieves, the thugs and the robbers who already have stuffed their coffers with public money and are again building up momentum to do the same. After all, a nation deserves the rulers it has. [Dawn]
ECONOMY & NECESSITIES OF LIFE
[Muhammad Amir, Rawalpindi]
Are we expecting another crisis engulfing the common man as the caretaker government has removed 15 percent duty on sugar export? Briefing media men after the economic coordination committee (ECC) meeting, Dr Ashfaq Hasan Khan, economic adviser to the ministry of finance said that the country had a record sugarcane production of 62 million tons, enough to produce 4.3-4.5 million tons of sugar. He claimed that a carryover stock of 52,8000 tons had brought about a surplus. Rather than making the stock available for the local market, the government has given an opportunity to export the commodity. The common man is still facing difficulty in procuring wheat as a long queue can be seen at subsidized purchasing points. Why doesn’t the government realize how much pain a common man feels when essential items become sparse? In May this year, our economic wizards allowed export of wheat that caused the deficiency of the commodity, resulting in the sharp rise in the prices at home. The government had to import wheat at relatively higher price.
What kind of economic policy is this and can the government claim progress when people are pined away for basic necessities of life? The government evolves polices to give boost to its economy besides passing maximum benefits to masses. However in our case, the elite class gets maximum benefits and the poor masses suffer. One example is of electricity and gas as the government increased the prices of electricity in this summer and decreased it in winter without realizing the impact. The prices of gas were also decreased in summer and increased in winter. [Pakistan Observer]
THE POOR
[Ishtiaq Ali Khan, Islamabad]
Let me attempt a synopsis of the situation of the poor in our country. The Human Development Report, 2007-2008, just released by UNDP country director Alfaro Rodriguez, has the following:
1. Pakistan placed 136th on a list of 177 countries, behind India. Bhutan and Ghana.
2. 76.6 percent of the population has daily income of less than $2 while 17 percent earn less then one dollar a day. In other words, over 90 percent are on or below the poverty line.
3. The national poverty line stood at 32.6 percent in 2004. In 2007 it stands at around 30 percent according to independent economists, though the government puts the percentage at around 35.
A UNDP report published in an English newspaper here a few years ago revealed the following facts about Pakistan:
1. 56 million people didn't have clean drinking water.
2. 70 percent of the population had one-room houses.
3. 80 percent lived in unhygienic conditions.
But appearing on television talk shows, icons of the finance ministry give you a rosy picture of Pakistan. They give you certain facts and figures, especially of GDP growth and foreign exchange reserves, but cleverly avoid the factors of poverty, high prices, unemployment and the appalling conditions in which our people live. They ignore the fact that the benefits of their macro-economic achievements have not passed on to the poor of the country.
It makes no difference to ordinary people if GDP is high and foreign exchange reserves have gone up. They don't even understand them. After January 2008, the finance ministry should be infused with a new spirit and formulate and implement radical economic policies that alter the lives of the poor people of Pakistan. [The News]
ERODING VALUE OF COINS
A Rauf Sozer, [Karachi]
Of late 50-paisa and 25-paisa coins have gone out of circulation as if they have been (unofficially) demonetised, though there is no clarification to that effect from the mint of government of Pakistan. Or may be the aforesaid coins have no buying power whatsoever left in its metal. One can say, on the basis of this trend, that the existing one-rupee and five-rupee coins are also headed to meet the same fate, if not now, then in a distant future in view of the unabated price hike of commodities and utilities.
Those who have seen the British era might reckon that one-rupee had 16 annas, and ¼th of that mighty anna, i.e. one (old) paisa, used to be counted in settling accounts. [Dawn]
VALUE OF COINS
[Farhad, Karachi]
This is apropos of the letter, ‘Eroding the value of coins’. I agree with the views of A.Rauf Sozer. The problem is that 50-paisa and 25-paisa coins disappeared as if they never existed in our economy. I suspect that since the price of metal has gone up, these coins had intrinsic value more than their face value. People have taken these coins, melted them and sold them for more than their worth.
Our economy has become so-called rich that we need not use coins of such low denominations. These coins are a symbol of disgrace for our economy. Countries like Europe which are having a strong economy are still using the coin of one penny. Why can’t we use 50-paisa and 25-paisa coins?
You go to a petrol station and you end up paying more money because coins are not available. If the amount comes up to Rs100.40, you have to pay Rs101 and there is no other way. In order to pay 40 paisas to a petrol station, one ends up losing 60 paisas.
The cry today is to make our economy strong. We ourselves are devaluing our currency by making these coins extinct. This consequently leads to weaken our economic position. As a nation, are we in a position to cope with this? My request to the State Bank of Pakistan is to bring these coins back in circulation. This will strengthen our economic position and make our currency stable against other currencies. [Dawn]
INFLATION CONTROL
[Farooq Ahmed Shaikh, Hyderabad]
The Pakistani economy is witnessing snowball effect of inflation due to a number of reasons. The top ones however, are foreign remittances, increasing DFI and back breaking prices of food items. Although the State Bank of Pakistan has tried to contain inflation by various monitory/inflation control tools like OMO’S, increasing interest rates etc., the impact is nominal.
In its monitory policy statement, SBP has time and again mentioned that food prices are the most triggering factor in overall inflation hike. The SBP has taken effective steps but to make them effective, some targeting steps are required.
Despite ample supply, we have seen that food prices are often rising ironically like wheat and rice. Indeed, it is the middleman who is reaping the benefits by hoarding the food item inventories by taking financing facilities from financial institutions in shape of pledge. The SBP must devise a mechanism so that vested interests are not able to hoard food inventories resulting in price hikes. I hope SBP authorities will consider this measure. [Dawn]
HIGH FOOD PRICES
[Dr Irfan Zafar, Islamabad]
The poor of the country have been listening patiently to the tall claims of the financial wizards of the Musharraf regime regarding the macro economy's positive indicators and their trickledown effect. Let's compare the prices of daily items in 2007 to those in 2002.
Pulses (chana) were Rs20 per kg in 2002 and are Rs50 per kg in 2007. Ghee was Rs54 per kg in 2002 and is now selling at Rs112 per kg. Fresh milk cost Rs22 per kg in 2002; it costs Rs45 per kg in 2007. Sugar was Rs20 per kg in 2002; it is Rs34 per kg in 2007. Flour was selling at Rs11 per kg in 2002; it is priced at Rs20 per kg in 2007. Basmati rice was Rs26 per kg in 2002; now its price is Rs80 per kg. Normal rice cost Rs16 per kg in 2002, now it costs Rs32 kg. Beef boneless was Rs80 per kg in 2002; it is Rs218 per kg in 2007. Beef (with bone) sold at Rs60 per kg in 2002; it is selling at Rs160 per kg in 2007. Mutton was Rs130 per kg in 2002; it is Rs310 per kg in 2007. The rate of petrol was Rs37 per litre in 2002; it is Rs53.79 per litre in 2007. Similarly diesel sold at Rs18 per litre in 2002; it is now sold at Rs37.82 per litre.
The so-called financial experts should stop fooling the public by presenting their cooked-up figures based on deception. [The News]
VVIP AIRCRAFT
[Haris Masood Khan, Lahore]
According to a news item (Nov 30), our government has acquired another VVIP aircraft for exclusive use of the president of Pakistan at a cost of $60 million. This was approved by our ex-prime minister during his tenure. What shall we call this? Who has allowed them to fritter away our (taxpayer) hard-earned money like this? If Mr president or other VVIPs are so desperate to fly in such lavish aircraft, why cannot they buy these from their pockets, and mind you this is the 14th VVIP plane in their fleet, they already have 13. What’s the end?
It will be quoted as another mark of so-called economic development, a country where 34 per cent live below the poverty line, where more than 60 per cent do not have access to drinking water, where there is only one doctor for over 1,000 people. [Dawn]
ROLE OF PRIVATE SECTOR
[Mian Raheel Ali Shah, Islamabad]
The first thing that the private sector must do is to improve their competitiveness employing state of the art machinery; through better management cost effectiveness and by improving their working environment. They have a comparative advantage in terms of relatively cheap labour, relatively low cost of capital, a strong macroeconomic environment represented by a stable exchange rate, relatively low inflation and strong growth. The Government has attempted to reduce the cost of raw materials by not only reducing but rationalizing the tariff structure of imports. The objective of the exercise was to make our exports competitive in international markets. The electricity charges are though high but these are not bad when compared with other countries in the region. For example, Sri Lanka has much higher electricity charges than Pakistan. It may be pointed out that the Government has inherited higher Electricity prices which cannot be reduced in a short period of time.
The second most important task that Private sector must undertake is to look for new markets and new products. Today our Exports are highly concentrated in few items and going into few markets. More than 75% of our exports originate from four items, namely cotton, rice, leather and sports Goods. Similarly more than one-half of our exports go to 7 countries in the world. This state of affairs will not take us at higher export path. Diversification of exports, both in terms of commodity and regions will be needed. For new markets we need to look at China, Japan, Latin America and ASEAN region. With Pakistan becoming Member of the ASEAN Regional Forum the task of the private is to establish contacts in that part of the world and exploit the advantage that now exists. A more diversified export mix may enable the country to Accomplish stability and growth-oriented policy goals. [Pakistan Observer]
JAIL FOR NOTHING
[Dr Anwar Ul Haque, Islamabad]
I read with interest and sadness the story of a taxi driver who was sent to jail for 15 days just because he took his wife in labour pains to hospital on a VIP route. How sad this is! And what kind of justice is this? In medical emergencies such simple violations are condoned. Otherwise ambulance drivers should also be sent to jail for rushing heart attack patients to the hospitals. Dawn has previously reported many deaths and medical causalities due to so called VIP movements.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Pakistan has been turned into a banana peel country by the VIP culture. Banana has some substance but its peel makes people fall down and get hurt. The poor taxi driver at most could have been fined but to send him to jail when his wife and newly born baby required his utmost presence reflects our callousness. It is high time to inject the true moral and ethical values in society and eliminate imprisonments as punishments. These are punishment to the innocent and not to the culprits (not the taxi driver in this case). The jails are crime universities and a big burden on tax payers. [Dawn]
THE ROOT OF CORRUPTION
[Tariq Khosa, Lahore]
As a Pakistani I feel ashamed of bagging the dubious distinction of being a citizen of one of the most corrupt ten countries in the world. As a police officer, I am even more ashamed that my department continues to be perceived as one of the most corrupt public departments. May I venture to assert that police in Pakistan is the most honest as well as the most corrupt. Look at the Motorway Police. They are perceived by public as polite, firm and least corrupt. Their salaries are three times more than regular police. They have 8-hours shift and a weekly day off. Their self esteem is high. Therefore, they are fulfilling public expectations. On the other hand, look at the district police. Low salaries, long working hours, no amenities, misuse by people in authority. The result is obvious: brutal and corrupt police service with low self esteem and poor morale.
Three positions are important if you want good governance and less corruption in public departments: Chief Justice for a clean judiciary, Chief Secretary for responsible civil services, and Inspector General Police for a professional and accountable police service. The fault, dear Brutus lies with those who appoint Chief Justices, Chief Secretaries and Inspector Generals of Police. The result is too obvious: a compliant judiciary, spineless civil services and corrupt police. The fish is rotting from the head. [Dawn]
DEADLY NOISE
[Ayesha Maroof, Karachi]
Global environment and health organisations recommend certain decibel limits for sound levels in a city. Crossing these limits is known to cause serious damage to people and buildings. Experts say that exposure to sound levels of or in excess of 90 decibels is detrimental to health and can result in permanent hearing loss.
In large cities like Karachi and Lahore, noise levels in high-traffic areas have been recorded to be consistently in the 75 to 90 decibel range. These noise levels are because of vehicle engines, loud music systems installed in cars, minivans and buses and the constant honking of horns by motorists. Pedestrians on Pakistani roads have always had to watch out for a speeding vehicle (even on footpaths meant for walking!), but now they have to worry about going deaf as well. We can make the usual pleas to the authorities to do something about this problem, but the fact of the matter is that drivers must take responsibility themselves and should drive carefully and not use their horns so liberally. [Daily Times]
PASSING THE BUCK
[Sardar Mumtaz Ali Bhutto, Chairman, Sindh National Front]
Apropos of your editorial, ‘Feudal stranglehold’ (Dec 9), I have always held and often expressed the view that our media is ignorant of even the basic truths about our own country. Nevertheless, it observes no restraint in being dogmatic and passing judgment. Such a disposition is most visible in its condemnation of so-called feudalism.
I hold no brief for the landed class and do not come to their defence. They are ignorant and spineless, for which reason the control of government and parliament that you attribute to them is totally misplaced. Indeed, they become visible on the scene by winning election, which is only because they have contact with the voters. However, the word feudalism, which conjures up images of the practices of Marquis de Sade and his ilk, is now only fiction. In no society can support and sympathy be generated by using the whip.
Incompetence and corruption has brought a total collapse of government institutions and all venues of complaint and relief for the man in the street are closed. The only door which opens to his knock is that of the creature you call the feudal. He, in turn, does not venture forth as the standard-bearer of the rights of the people but begs and crawls before the local police and bureaucracy so that the complainant somehow gets relief and becomes obligated to him.
Thus, in truth, it is the bureaucrat and his master, the military officer, who are the real feudals in Pakistan. They cling on to the conquering ‘gora sahib’ mentality of the erstwhile ruling elite and refuse to accept the fact that they are servants of the people. Basically this is where things have gone wrong in the country right from the start. The military-bureaucracy axis has destroyed this country and in no way can the buck be passed on to the so-called feudals. [Dawn]
FEUDAL MINDSET
[Tanvir Shahzad, France]
This is in response to the letter, ‘Passing the buck’ (Dec 12), apropos of your editorial, ‘Feudal strangehold’ (Dec 9). I have no qualms with your views on the issue. One thing I would like to add is that it is not only the question of their owning big chunks of land or businesses. This is in fact the mindset of the political class that is to blame.
Feudalism is the mainstay of almost all the political parties. Even if someone doesn’t own land, his behaviour and dealing with his people will be no different from that of a true classic feudal. The same is true of bureaucrats and military personnel. They too look down upon the general public and consider themselves some superhumans.
But I could not take the point expressed by Sardar Mumtaz Ali Bhutto. He places the blame only on military and civil bureaucrats vindicating the ‘so-called’ feudals. But I ask of the honourable Sardar, who is responsible for giving in political space to them? Who bends his knees before the army for a space in power game? Who believes that complying with top generals is enough and that there is no need to go to the public in an election? Who manipulates the bureaucracy to suit their ways? Who uses the out-of-the-law ways to get the legal/illegal from the district/tehsil bureaucracy and thus make them realise their importance?
Sir, it is the politician whom you call ‘so-called’ feudal and whom you set free of this blame of political mess. [Dawn]
TRAIN CRASH
[Ali Ahmed, Karachi]
At least 50 people were killed and 130 injured in a train accident when the Lahore-bound Karachi Express derailed near Mehrabpur district, Naushero Feroze. According to reports, five of the carriages derailed and overturned. Those on board were heading home to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha. Railway accidents have become frequent in Pakistan but nothing is done to ensure that such accidents do not happen again, except body counts, paying compensation to the families of the victims, and debates.
Rail derailments, crashes and accidents are mostly caused by negligence, rule violations, or reckless conduct. Our government must ensure a proper judicial inquiry into the matter and punish those who are responsible. If the government is committed to provide secure and comfortable travelling facilities to the masses, it should take strong notice of the negligence of the Railways authorities and ask them to improve their working or face harsh punishment. [The Post]
FLEECING PTCL PACKAGES
[Shahid Ahmad Khan, Karachi]
I have since long been observing that most of the packages floated by PTCL are aimed at fleecing subscribers, one way or the other. The latest in the row is “Pakistan Package” that PTCL has one-sidedly activated for all its subscribers at Rs199 per month. It may be lucrative and useful for those making frequent nationwide calls but absolutely unwanted and useless for the others.
The PTCL’s ad says that a subscriber may opt for “de-activation” of “Pakistan Package” by calling at their helpline 1236. It is wrong that it brings an extra duty for the subscriber to get it “de-activated” if not interested. I don’t want to subscribe for Pakistan Package. I have been trying to get it “de-activated” through PTCL help line 1236.
However, to my utter dismay, despite countless repeated attempts I could not succeed as the pre-recorded message always terminates telling me that my request could not be entertained as the network was busy. I have to get it “de-activated” before the end of the month to save me making compulsory payment of Rs199 for a service which was neither needed nor utilized.
Think of the thousands of PTCL subscribers like me who would be paying undue extra money. This is nothing but merciless swindling of the innocent subscribers. The dishonest marketing tricks would cause a disastrous collapse of the PTCL very soon. I have made up my mind not to pay the next month’s bill if PTCL includes Rs199 in it. There are private phone companies offering far better and honest packages with true “after sales services”. PTCL loses one subscriber. [Dawn]
PTCL'S 'EXTORTION'
[K P, Rawalpindi]
PTCL has recently launched the Pakistan Package by automatically activating it on all the landline connections while leaving it up to each subscriber if they wish to deactivate it. However, the helpline number PTCL has provided its subscribers with is always found giving a 'system busy' message.
Those people who did not read about the launch of this package in newspapers will pay Rs199 every month for something they did not ask for. Some months back, PTCL did a similar thing by removing the call-barring codes that cost a good sum to PTCL subscribers. Well done PTCL for inventing novel ways of generating revenue. Changing one's phone package should be the subscriber's prerogative. Why should the subscriber waste time and money in deactivating a package that he did not request in the first place. [The News]
UNWANTED CHARITY
[Sadaf Hussainy, Lahore]
It is the government policy to provide free textbooks to students to improve the access of education in Punjab. Without going into the merit of educational reforms whether free books improve the access to education as a motivational instrument, by just looking at the primary Class V textbook of science of Punjab Textbook Board, one can certainly say that these kinds of books even free are not required.
The book in question does not prepare students to be a learner who can take charge for themselves and their country in the 21st century. Just looking at the Four Unit related to environment, importance of water and impurities in water given in the textbook, one can see the disconnect.
These units have provided sketchy and outdated knowledge about the subject. The textbook is not based on authentic material and have not used knowledge, skills and attitude aspect in the text so that the students can critically examine their context and take responsible environmental action.
Shams Kasam Lakha is a seasoned educational leader who can look into this aspect as federal minster of education. Although education is a provincial subject, the issue of quality needs to be addressed. In my view there is a need for primary education commission on the same footing as of the HEC in Pakistan which looks into the issues of quality, reforms and teacher education. We do not want these poor standard books even free. [Dawn]
POLITICAL AWARENESS IN YOUTH
[Amna Marwat]
How many 15 - year - olds around us can name any Pakistani political party other than the PML and the PPP? How many of them can tell that the system of government in Pakistan is presidential, parliamentary or a mixture? How many of them listen to news broadcast or read newspapers? You may get different results but my observation shows that very few of them can give encouraging replies to the above questions. I don’t intend to throw light upon the different factors responsible for this situation; rather I wish to draw attention towards two remedial measures.
As parents and elders we should try to inculcate in our teenagers the habit of keeping oneself up to date by reading newspapers or by listening to news broadcast (at least weekly). Second, we should ask the print and electronic media to help us in keeping the teenagers up to date about latest the domestic and foreign news.
Teenagers can have a weekly news supplement/news programme that gives the latest news in a light way — the language simple, the format catchy and the layout colourful. It’s not a difficult step towards mass awareness, and the well aware masses are not that easy to fool. [Dawn]
A DEARTH OF LIBRARIES
[Neelum Murtaza, Karachi]
Libraries provide knowledge to readers but we can hardly find any in many parts of the city. Being a resident of Gulistan-e-Johar, Karachi, I haven’t seen a single library in my area which attracts people towards books. Libraries are also essential places of opportunity because they provide a world of information to anyone seeking it and are essential partners in creating educated communities because they provide opportunities for self-education, learning and self improvement. Unfortunately, not everyone understands or appreciates the value of libraries.
Books are the gateway to a better tomorrow, for books challenge us to use our minds, to find better ways of conducting ourselves and managing the great problems of human existence. By establishing libraries, we can find the resources to examine and confront our most difficult social problems and be able to promote reading habits in our new generation because nevertheless, there is hope to make Pakistan better and prosperous. [Dawn]
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CSR Views & News
WHERE ECONOMY AND ALTRUISM GO HAND IN HAND
By Talib ul Haq
In the existing state of media frenzy rampant in Pakistan today, the global village has come to associate the country largely as a haven for extremists and the seemingly daily barrage of terrorist or insurgent acts of random violence that have become a bane to this nation’s pride. In this entire hullabaloo, it is sometimes easy to forget that as a nation, we are one of the most philanthropic of societies this side of the Indus River; this compassion coming second nature perhaps to followers of a religion which has charity as its basic tenet.
However, this particular piece is not aimed at furthering the cause of enlightened moderation, or to market the viability of Islam in today’s day and age. Rather, it aims at highlighting a particular aspect of Pakistan’s corporate sector that goes largely unnoticed, and unaccounted for, when it comes to balancing the annual trade deficit, and documenting the growth of the economy over the course of a particular period in time.
Nearly all corporate organisations across Pakistan have some form of role in working towards the benefit of society, collectively summarised under the tag of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR, though intrinsic to the vision and values of each organisation, is also largely the organisation’s answer to the consumer’s desire to associate with a corporation that contributes to the community at large. Today’s consumer realises the importance of how organisations draw upon the resources of the communities that they work in, thus making it all the more imperative for such organisations to give back to the community as well. Consumers have come to expect, and even demand that organisations make a positive input into their respective communities.
It is perhaps a direct result of this demanding nature of today’s enlightened consumer that CSR activities have steadily taken firm root amongst the ideologies of almost every tier of corporate strata in Pakistan today, a fact that has begun to get its due acknowledgement from the global corporate diasporas; specifically, the Asian CSR Awards.
ASIAN CSR AWARDS 2007
The Asian CSR Awards Program recognises and honours Asian companies for outstanding, innovative and world-class products, services, projects and programs in five distinct categories. These awards highlight organisational leadership, sincerity and on-going commitment in incorporating ethical values, compliance with legal requirements, respect for individuals, involvement in communities and protection of the environment into the way they do business. In the five years of the awards’ existence, 2007 was only the second time that a Pakistani corporate entity was selected for the top prize in one of the heavily contested categories, beating 196 other entrants for the accolade.
Indus Motor Company is one of Pakistan’s premier automobile manufacturing organisations, locally producing the Toyota and Daihatsu brand of cars. It is also one of the country’s most prominent corporate philanthropists, with a full fledged, and well funded, Corporate Social Responsibility program, working under the banner, ‘Concern Beyond Cars’. Over the years, IMC has undertaken initiatives in education, health, community welfare, environment and road safety projects, thus playing a significant role in the communities where it operates. In 2007, the Asian CSR Forum chose to award the first prize in the category ‘Support and Improvement of Education’ to IMC for its ‘Road Safety Awareness Campaign’. This highly successful and innovative campaign has played a tremendous role in highlighting Road Safety and educating road users throughout Pakistan on aspects of safe driving and proper road usage. Over the last two years, IMC has worked with a number of stakeholders in Pakistan for initiatives such as the Road Traffic Injury Research Project; Toyota Road Safety Campaign and Concerts (for schools); and Pakistan’s 1st National Road Safety Conference to name a few.
At the end of the day, like charity, CSR is a personal decision, one made on the basis of a corporate organisation’s values and desire to do well while simultaneously doing good. In the long run, organisations need to view CSR as part of the corporate ‘DNA’, one which decides how far an organisation is willing to go for the overall good of the community it operates in. Organisations like Indus Motor Company have taken the initiative, with commitment from executive offices down to every individual department and staff position. Getting there has surely not been an easy process, but as IMC has highlighted, the commitment defines the goal. [Courtesy: The News]
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HumorWise
NEW MISSILE
[A Scientist, Karachi]
In 1981, the British newspapers had quoted someone as having said: “Britain has invented a new missile. It’s called the Civil Servant – it doesn’t work and it can’t be fired.”
Now, it has come to light that Pakistan has also invented a new missile. It is self-guided, chooses its own targets and is normally covered by a bush. It can’t be guided by anyone else or fired. Also, it uses a locally-developed fuel called ‘propellant-cum-oxidant,” or PCO, for short. [Dawn]
THE BENEFITS OF EMERGENCY
[Pir Shabbir Ahmad, Islamabad]
On December 19, newspapers carried a half-page advertisement sponsored by the Ministry of Information, outlining the benefits of emergency. Indeed if emergency has benefited democracy so much in our country, we should offer free advice to our friends in the West so that they too may use our prescription to strengthen democracy in their respective countries. [Daily Times]
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?
[M. Ali, Karachi]
Although the summer is long past but unlike the previous years, this time the power outage is still continuing at least in my area for several hours each day and sometimes for the whole day. I told a friend that since the deposed chief justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, is responsible for everything that is wrong in the country so, this, too, must be his fault.
He looked horrified and said it is only my unenlightened immoderation that has led me to this wrong and unfair conclusion. As a proof, he pointed out that one of the complaints against the CJP was that he was interfering unnecessarily in government work by trying to bring down the prices of foodstuffs.
However, according to a report in Dawn of Dec 1, the government has finally slapped a 30 per cent duty on the export of wheat flour now, in order to bring down its price. So, what was wrong if Justice Chaudhry was compensating for the authorities’ negligence or incompetence by trying to reduce the poor people’s suffering months back, he asked?
Not to be defeated, I insisted that President Musharraf, who is a very wise person, has blamed the judge for many problems, so he must be right. Besides, that most powerful man in the world, George Bush, too, is fully backing him in everything and he must be even more knowledgeable than Mr Musharraf because the American president keeps receiving long-distance calls from heaven, there is no way our leader could be wrong.
My buddy looked at me in wonderment and said: “Actually, you are the wisest of them all!” I am not sure if he really meant it or was just being sarcastic and am even more confused about who is actually responsible for the power shortage. Would some of your readers please advise? [Dawn]
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?
[Nusrat, Karachi]
Apropos of the letter, ‘Who is responsible?’ (Dec 11) in which M. Ali had sought the advice of readers about whether the deposed chief justice is responsible for the power outages, here’s my opinion. Justice Chaudhry is not only responsible for everything that is wrong in Pakistan, including the electricity shortage, but I would also blame him for the train accident of Dec 19 that has killed at least 50 people and injured over 200. Supporters of the CJP may ask how it is possible that someone who is under house-arrest since his ouster on Nov 3 could have a hand in that.
The answer is that the government functionaries were so fearful of his suo motu actions that they are no longer able to work with concentration or plan properly. This is bound to cause mishaps. [Dawn]
PCO AVENUE
[Jawaid Raja, Rawalpindi]
The other day while travelling on Constitution Avenue, I thought we should rename the road as the country has no constitution and is being governed under a PCO given to us by a chief of the Army Staff (COAS). In all fairness, I suggest that Constitution Avenue should now be called PCO Avenue. [The News]
PAKISTAN FIRST
[Mohammad Imran Khan, Baltimore, USA]
The Transparency Interna-tional has ranked Pakistan seventh in order of corruption. This must be very disappointing to our leaders as they have worked hard to get Pakistan the first place but we still lag behind. We expect that with the current state of affairs, we will soon get our goal of ‘Pakistan first.’ [Dawn]
A JOKE
[Jawaid Raja, Rawalpindi]
President Musharraf told a foreign TV channel the other day that Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had been trying to remove him illegally and the country would have been in trouble if he had been allowed to have his way. The most ironic part of his statement was the use of the word "illegally." For me this was a bit of a joke. [The News]
ANTI-CORRUPTION CONFERENCE
[Hashmat A Khwaja, Islamabad]
Darkness prevails at the lamp’s back” is an old proverb. NAB has a sense of humour, they have hosted an International Anti-Corruption Conference. That too in Pakistan, as if it is the country of ‘Saints’. How wonderful, but a wishful thinking. Our people, civil and military bureaucracy, politicians and the rest must be laughing. Caretaker Prime Minister knows better, since he thinks only low paid employees are corrupt, while the ruling elite have good governance record, follow rule of law and are transparent. How nice of him? NAB boss follows three principles ie awareness, prevention and implementation, without realizing that the wounds caused to the poor people by wheat and sugar scandals are still fresh. Its investigation has been conveniently brushed under the carpet. Now the joke is that the same ‘saints’ are again gunning for the posts, they occupied a month earlier, only to ‘serve’ the people. Gentlemen, please don’t bother about the public awareness, they are fully alive but helpless. They only pray to Allah to show light to the new incumbents that they have mercy on the people of Pakistan and be faithful to the country. Amen. [Pakistan Observer]
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Letters to FreePakistan
great efforts, keep it up
regards,
[sajid salim]
you are doing well ,thanks for adding me
[inam, London]
thanks for forwarding the newsletter. i found it very interesting.
sincerely
[mushir anwar]
Thank u for your mails that I have received. Praying for success of our people who struggle to establish rule of law, Constitution and a strong and viable Pakistan.
Regards
[Ghulam Hassan Muhammadi]
Yesterday I at last finished reading the 1 November newsletter... I was amused to read your satire: AN NRO FOR ME ALSO... it could be any country. I will be writing a letter to our governor to grant me clemency for a parking ticket. Finding parking in Boston is more difficult than in New York City, because many areas are 'resident only' parking. This makes it very difficult for those of us who have no choice but to drive into the city from outside where public transportation is not in abundance. One would expect that those who live in the city ought to take advantage of the excellent public transport services, walk or bicycle rather than congest the city with more automobiles... let us see if I succeed.
wishing you all the best.
peace,
[Katherine, USA]
I just heard the news about the assassination. It must be a shock for you and all the people in Pakistan, somehow. I hope the situation will improve soon.
Yours sincerely,
[Gorawut Numnak, Thailand]
This morning I awoke to the news that Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated. Such a shock... it took my breath away. I am profoundly saddened. Although it is not a great surprise, it was never expected. All day the radio station I listen to has dedicated its programming to Bhutto. I feed deeply for you and all of Pakistan. Was not enough that the turbulence is already there? It pains me that the Bush regime has been so very insensitive in their approach to all that has happened since 2001. One hopes for better times. I wish you all the best and a better 2008.
peace,
[Katherine, USA]
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Edited and prepared by
Khalil Ahmad
Email: khalilkf@yahoo.com khalil@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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