Free Pakistan Newsletter #79

CONTENTS:

0 Announcements
0 Are Dictatorships More Successful Than Democracies
By Alvaro Vargas Llosa
0 What remains of Pemra law?
By I.A. Rehman
0 Issues of the Month: Judiciary’s Moment of Redemption; The
Redistributive Budget; and,
Failures of the Monopoly
0 From the National Press
0 Private Initiatives
0 Good News
0 Letters to FreePakistan
0 Free Pakistan Highlights
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Quote of the Month:

Without protection of civil liberties, the idea that our rulers should or would love us like our parents is naïve to the extreme. Personally, I think that one writ of habeas corpus is worth more than all the Confucian philosophy ever written.

[Lin Yutang, 1895-1976]

Stripped of its academic jargon, the welfare state is nothing more than a mechanism by which governments confiscate the wealth of the productive members of a society to support a wide variety of welfare schemes. A substantial part of the confiscation is affected by taxation. But the welfare statists were quick to recognize that if they wished to retain political power, the amount of taxation had to be limited and they had to resort to programs of massive deficit spending, i.e., they had to borrow money, by issuing government bonds, to finance welfare expenditures on a large scale.

[Alan Greenspan, 1926-0000]
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Free Pakistan, a monthly newsletter, exists for the promotion of limited government, rule of law, protection of property rights, market economy, individual freedom, and private initiative. Its vision is a free and prosperous Pakistan; for only such a Pakistan can contribute positively to the creation of a free and prosperous world.

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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

BIGGEST BATTLE FOR THE RULE OF LAW

The Post of Friday June 22, 2007 carried an article "Biggest Battle for the Rule of Law" by Dr. Khalil Ahmad. The article argues that Pakistanis want an inviolable Constitution, rule of law, and an independent judiciary as mechanisms of check-and-balance in a country that has long been governed by a military rule. Pakistanis want their rights and freedoms to be protected by the judiciary. That's a good omen.

Here is the link: http://thepost.com.pk/OpinionNews.aspx?dtlid=103518&catid=11
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ARE DICTATORSHIPS MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN DEMOCRACIES
By Alvaro Vargas Llosa

[This article first appeared on June 13, 2007 at http://www.independent.org Alvaro Vargas Llosa is Director of The Center on Global Prosperity at The Independent Institute. He is a native of Peru and received his B.S.C. in International History from the London School of Economics. He is widely published and has lectured on world economic and political issues including at the Mont Pelerin Society, Naumann Foundation (Germany), FAES Foundation (Spain), Brazilian Institute of Business Studies, Fundación Libertad (Argentina), CEDICE Foundation (Venezuela), Florida International University, and the Ecuadorian Chamber of Commerce. He is the author of the Independent Institute books The Che Guevara Myth and Liberty for Latin America.]

WASHINGTON—A group of European readers of this column recently wrote to me, arguing that from an economic point of view, dictatorships have been outperforming democracies for many years and that if the trend continues, there will be very little incentive to replace autocrats with the rule of law.

This is an old discussion that resurfaces from time to time. The success enjoyed nowadays by autocracies awash in natural resources has reignited it. A recent article in the online magazine American.com measures economic performance against the degree of political and civil freedom existing in various nations. The conclusion is that in the last 15 years, the economies of nations ruled by despots have grown at an annual rate of 6.8 percent on average—two and a half times faster than politically free countries. Those autocracies that have opened their markets in recent decades but continued to restrict or prevent democracy—China, Russia, Malaysia, and Singapore, for example—have done better than most of the developed or underdeveloped countries that enjoy a considerable measure of political and civil freedom.

It would be silly to deny that a dictatorship can boast sound economic results. Any political system, free or unfree, that removes some obstacles to entrepreneurship, investment and trade, and makes a credible commitment to safeguard property rights to a certain extent will trigger a virtuous economic cycle. Spain’s Francisco Franco and Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew discovered that in the 1960s, as did China’s Deng Xiaoping at the end of the 1970s, Chile’s Augusto Pinochet in the 1980s, and many others at various times.

But this is not the end of the story. Of the 15 richest countries in the world, 13 are liberal democracies. The other two are Hong Kong, a Chinese territory that enjoys far greater civil liberties than mainland China, and Qatar, where the abundance of oil and natural gas, and the tiny population, translate into a large per capita income average.

What this picture really tells us is that stability and reliability are most important when it comes to economic prosperity over the long term. Spain, a modern success story, has seen its wealth double since 1985 and yet at no point in the last quarter-century did the Spaniards achieve annual growth figures comparable to those of China. Similarly, the U.S. economy has grown by a factor of 13 since 1940, but never experienced “Asian” growth figures.

When the environment in which the economy breathes depends on institutions rather than on the commitment of an autocrat or a party, stability and reliability generate the sort of long-term results that we call “development.” That is probably why Chile’s economic performance after Pinochet compares favorably to the years when the general was in power. Not to mention the fact that dictatorships that enjoy economic success are heavily dependent on technology invented in countries where exercising a creative imagination does not land one in jail.

Another reason dictatorships are outperforming liberal democracies has to do with the fact that many of the latter countries are fully developed. Once a country starts to move forward, spare capacity and unrealized potential tend to allow it to grow faster than developed nations. Furthermore, if we consider that China is a disproportionately big component of the group of unfree nations outperforming liberal democracies, the growth rate gap is not surprising.

In fact, liberal democracies can compete favorably with dictatorships even in the short term. India, one of the world’s fastest growing economies, is a liberal democracy. So is Peru, whose economy is experiencing 7 percent annual growth. These are imperfect democracies, for sure, and in the case of Peru there has been little poverty reduction. But the recent success indicates that elections, freedom of the press and freedom of association can coexist with high economic growth.

From a moral point of view, the relative prosperity that a dictatorship can trigger is a double-edged sword—it brings relief to people who are otherwise oppressed but also serves as an argument for the indefinite postponement of political and civil liberty.

Two things are certain, however. First, history indicates that the combination of political, civil and economic freedom is a better guarantee of ever-increasing prosperity than a capitalist dictatorship. Second, there are sufficient examples—Portugal or the Baltic countries—of underdeveloped countries that have generated stable and reliable environments through political freedom to invalidate the notion that a country should be kept in political and civil infancy until it reaches economic maturity.
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WHAT REMAINS OF PEMRA LAW?
By I. A. Rehman

[This article first appeared in Dawn http://dawn.com on June 14, 2007. ]

The decision to withdraw the Pemra (Amendment) Ordinance of June 4 last can only be welcomed. The satisfactory turn of events is surely the result of the media community’s unity and steadfastness and the support it received from civil society at home and abroad.

It should now be possible to take a critical look at the law as it stood before the ill-timed and ill-fated amendment because its scrutiny during the recent agitation brought to light quite a few of its aspects that are violative of the right to freedom of expression.

The Pemra Ordinance in its original form was a bad law to start with, because it created a mechanism to control the electronic media in contravention of the objectives given in the Ordinance itself. These objectives were: to “improve the standards of information, education and entertainment”, to “enlarge the choice available to the people in the media for news, current affairs….music, sports, drama and other subjects of public and national interest”; to “facilitate the devolution of responsibility and power to the grass-roots by improving the access of the people to mass media at the local and community level”, and to “ensure accountability, transparency and good governance by optimising the free flow of information.”

The people have a right to ask the Pemra as to what it has done to realise its mission and whether, instead of optimising the free flow of information, it has been trying to restrict the flow of information.

That the Electronic Media Regulatory Authority created under the ordinance was wholly under the federal government’s control is borne out by the following:

The federal government’s directives on a matter of policy were binding on the Authority. What constituted a matter of policy was to be decided by the federal government (Sec 5). The Authority comprised a chairman and nine members, all appointed by the president. Out of the nine members, five had to be “eminent” citizens (Sec 6). The licensee was bound to broadcast programmes (in public interest) specified by the government or the Authority and comply with the rules and codes made by the Authority with the government approval (Sec 20).

The Authority was given the power to prohibit a broadcast/ distribution of programmes and the premises of a broadcaster/operator could be inspected “after giving reasonable notice.” The Authority could revoke or suspend a licence if (a) the licensee had not paid fee and charges; (b) a committee appointed by the government, headed by a retired HC or SC judge (and a nominee each of the Authority and licensee) expressed opinion that the licensee had violated the Ordinance/rules; (c) licensee had failed to comply with licence conditions; (d) If the broadcast company’s ownership changed. However, a show cause notice (reasonable) was necessary except for reason of necessity in public interest (Sec 30).

The penalties were: (1) For any violation of the ordinance, fine up to Rs. one million; (2) second violation, a three-year imprisonment or fine or both; (3) violation by a person who is not a licensee, a four-year imprisonment or fine or both.

The ordinance overrode other laws. (Sec 37), a feature not allowed in case of the Freedom of Information Ordinance, despite media community’s clamour.

Changes made by Act II of 2007: In 2004 the government decided to put more teeth in the ordinance. The relevant bill got stuck in Parliament but eventually it became the Pemra Act of 2007 (II of 2007) and was gazetted on April 14, 2007. A simple reading of this Act leads one to the conclusion that Parliament failed to show due respect for the right to freedom of expression and gave Pemra sweeping powers that could easily be abused.

Several amendments brought substantial changes in the law, and quite a few of them of a sinister nature. The number of members of the Authority (besides the chairman) was raised from nine to 12. As earlier, the number of ‘eminent citizens’ remained five and two members were to be appointed by the federal government on need basis on the recommendation of the chairman. The remaining five members were to be government officials/nominees. The composition of the Authority was thus radically changed. The five non-officials, who earlier on faced an equal number of officials, now faced seven officials. The pretence that the Authority could be an autonomous body was given up.

The section on delegation of power by the Authority (Sec 13) had a proviso in 2002 text: “Provided further that the rules made under this ordinance shall specify use of delegated powers and shall be framed and enforced after promulgation of this Ordinance and before the notification of the establishment of the Authority.” Under the Act of 2007 this proviso was dropped. This meant rules regarding delegation could be made at any time, even after the Authority had been established.

The gates of arbitrariness were thrown wide open. Further, previously the delegation of power did not include “the power to grant, suspend, reverse or cancel a broadcast licence.” Now the word ‘suspend’ was deleted and cable TV was excluded from protection. Obviously, it was made possible for a delegatee of power to suspend a TV channel licence and cancel a cable operator’s licence.

Amendments to Section 19 gave the Authority unfettered power to fix the number of licences to be issued in each category. This means that parties seeking licence after the limit for licences in a category has been reached cannot be entertained. This is not only contrary to the holy principle of market competition but also appears to be violative of fundamental rights.

The conditions of licence were expanded (Sec 20). Earlier, a broadcaster was required to ‘respect’ national, cultural and religious values and the principles of public policy, now the order was to ‘ensure preservation of’ the values already mentioned. The condition is quite ridiculous and it is impossible to comply with it.

Earlier, the federal government could establish only one Council of Complaints, now it was bound to establish councils of complaints at Islamabad, at provincial capitals and at any other place. All councils were given power to summon a licensee in the course of hearing a complaint against him. This could mean relief to broadcasters from traveling to Islamabad in each case, and it could also imply a Karachi-based broadcaster’s obligation to travel to FATA or Gilgit if a council were set up there.

The replacement of Sec 27 increased the grounds on which a broadcast could be prohibited. In addition to the standard jargon on integrity, security and decency, a programme could also be prohibited for “engaging in any practice or act which amounts to abuse of media power by way of harming the legitimate interests of another licencee or wilfully causing damage to any other person.” This was much too broad a power.

A new provision (Sec 29) empowered the Authority as well as its chairman to seize a broadcaster’s equipment and seal the premises for contravening “this Ordinance or the rules made thereunder or any other law.” Equipment could be returned to the holder of a valid licence after payment of penalty determined by the Authority. A licensee could be fined up to Rs one million. The new provisions encouraged abuse of power. Suppose a broadcaster attracted the defamation law, the Authority could supplant the courts of law and punish the accused.

Substantial changes were also made in Sec 30 (Power to suspend/revoke a licence). Earlier, a licence could be suspended/revoked for failure to pay fee/charges for failing to comply with conditions of licence, if a broadcast company’s ownership changed, or if a committee headed by a retired judge gave an opinion against a licensee.

The Act of 2007 replaced reference to the committee of inquiry with the Council of Complaints and gave the Authority blanket power to vary the terms of a licence “where such variation is in public interest.” Although a new Section (30 A) gave the right to appeal to the High Court, the granting of sweeping power and possibility of their abuse cannot be denied.

The fine for the first offence was raised from one to ten million rupees. Violation by a non-licensee could be punished with confiscation of equipment in addition to imprisonment or/and fine. A new sub-section was added to provide for punishment of anyone who damaged or stole a licensee’s equipment.

The Act of 2007 had made the Pemra ordinance as draconian as can be but obviously the establishment’s lust for arbitrary and absolute power was not satiated. Only 50 days after the Act II of 2007 was gazetted, it promulgated an ordinance to further amend the 2002 ordinance.

What the new ordinance did was: Sec 29 was amended to give power to the Authority as well as its chairman to seize a broadcaster’s equipment and seal his premises without a show cause notice for illegal operation or violating orders passed under Sec 30. The amount of fine under this section was raised from one to ten million rupees.

Vide a new sub-section added to Sec 30 a licence could be suspended by “a duly constituted committee comprising members of the Authority.” What this meant was that a committee of any two official members or any two officials and one ‘eminent’ citizen could suspend a licence. Further, the proviso to Sec 30 was amended to drop the provision for revoking a licence on the opinion of the Council of Complaints, and the condition of a show cause notice before suspension of a licence was dropped.

Perhaps one of the most pernicious changes in the Pemra law made by the latest ordinance was the insertion of a Sec 39-A which gave the Authority powers to make regulations in addition to rules. While the rules had to be made by the Authority subject to government approval, no such approval was needed for regulations that might be made at any time. Any violation of regulations was as serious an offence as a violation of the ordinance and the rules.

Even after the ordinance of June 4 has been withdrawn, it will be necessary to review the Pemra law, to purge it of provisions that are likely to be abused.

It may be noted that in most of the recent cases when broadcasts by some of the TV channels were blocked/suspended for hours and days, it was not considered necessary to invoke the Pemra law. The reason is, first, that formal orders of Pemra can be challenged and, secondly, the powers available to the regulating authority are so awesome that a mere threat of their use can be sufficient to achieve the desired result. [Courtesy Dawn]
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Issue of the Month: Judiciary’s Moment of Redemption

HISTORICAL MOVEMENT
[Engr Ahmad Kundi, Dera Ismail Khan]

I hope for the first time in the history of Pakistan we are heading on the proper track of independent judiciary, rule of law and real democracy. Democracy without free and fair elections will always be called controlled democracy. While free, fair and transparent elections can only be possible through a free election commission that is the progeny of an independent judiciary. So an independent judiciary is the prerequisite for real democracy.

We have been badly affected by controlled democracy and law of necessity for the last 53 years, which were the products of a military-judiciary alliance. Numerous resistances from the prestigious judges have been seen in the past but these resistances have either been sabotaged by their brother judges or crushed by the military dictator. Now, for the first time the judiciary (bench and the bar) are unanimously striving to get free from the shackles of the military. At this sensitive moment I pray for the triumph of the movement, being led by Chaudary Iftikhar, which is indispensable for the security of our motherland. [The News]

SOCIAL OBLIGATION OF LAWYERS
[Aqeel Ahmed Rajpar, University of Karachi]

The need to pen down these lines arose only because of some statements by the president in public and private meetings. He is criticising the protective role of the lawyers in the present political and judicial imbroglio in the country. One must remember that our beloved homeland got freedom due to the untiring efforts of Allama Iqbal and Quaid-i-Azam. Both were Barristers-at-Law and served their people in a manner that till today they are remembered as national heroes.

A number of veteran members of national and provincial assemblies were and still belong to law profession. Gandhi and Abraham Lincoln were also lawyers. The great American Jurist, Daniel Webster, who revolutionised many legal concepts, once said while addressing a Bar Association that “I love our common profession, and love all who honour it. I regard it as the great ornament and one of the chief defences and securities of our institutions. It is indispensable to and conservative of public liberty.

I honour it from the bottom of my heart. If I am anything, it is the law, that notable profession, that sublime science, which we all pursue, that has made me, what I am. It has been my ambition, coeval with my early manhood, nay with my youth to be thought worthy to be ranked under the banner of that profession”.

We are going to celebrate the 60th Independence Day on 14th August, but the democracy in Islamic Republic of Pakistan is still in its infancy and hence the institute of judiciary is not enjoying independence. The democratic processes have been ruthlessly interfered with in our country by some ‘ambitious careerists’. In the prevailing judicial and political crisis in the country, the law professionals are occupying a very significant position in society.

The profession of law has been universally acknowledged as a noble and learned profession. Lawyers have played and are playing a pivotal role in the making of nations. They are guiding the nations towards their rights and duties. In many countries, the lawyers have been great and active leaders of public opinion and have materially contributed to the general welfare of the people. The lawyers are much concerned about the better living conditions of the common man; while protecting his fundamental rights, for the supremacy of rule of law.

The lawyers outside the courtroom are valued members of society. They are in a position and duty-bound to render useful service to the public at large. Due to the background of legal education/knowledge and acquired acumen of politics, they should help in the growth of democratic processes and to strengthen the democratic institutions of the country.

The lawyers should vigilantly supervise the human rights and repressive acts that cropped up in the society, if anywhere. They have the qualification, tradition, and training for leadership and must not shirk this great national responsibility of serving the nation while carrying on their professional duties. Undoubtedly, the lawyers belonging to every stature have sacrificed in the present judicial crisis due to the urgency and sensitivity of the issue.

The way Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Choudhry has been maltreated by the law-enforcement agencies and has faced the belligerence of state aggression, there is the decisive moment in the judicial history of Pakistan to make a decision that whether the Pakistani nation should be blessed with independent judiciary or not?

The lawyers represent every ethnic, religious and political group of the country. This democratic platform is entirely united over the present judicial crisis and for the independence of the judiciary.

The army is responsible for defending the borders of the country, and the judiciary is bound to defend the rights of the countrymen. The fool-proof and absolute rule of law and independence of the judiciary is inevitably desired by every individual Pakistani today and the lawyers’ fraternity is struggling and sacrificing for this only. [Dawn]

THE CLOCK IS TICKING
[Saeed Najam, Lahore]

When a point is reached in the affairs of a nation when it becomes obvious to the discerning that a single false step is likely to end up in a catastrophe it is time to step back and make a cool appraisal of the crises without personal biases. There is no room for brinkmanship or miscalculation. There are two distinct sides to the present crises – one represented by President General Musharraf, and the other a major section of 160 million Pakistanis represented by the lawyers’ community with the Chief Justice as the rallying point.

The issue is simple even though extremely serious: President Musharraf wants to stay in power; the opposing side wants him to quit. President Musharraf believes, rightly or wrongly, that he is the only man who can steer the country out of several internal and external threats, and that to enable him to do so, he needs total power. The opposing side believes that the threats are of President Musharraf’s own making, or because of his wrong policies, and that he is using them to stay in power.

It is heartening to note that after remaining in a ‘state of denial’ for almost 3 long months, President Musharraf is beginning to recognise the dimensions of the crisis even though he is still attributing wrong causes to them. His insistence that the Chief Justice has been hijacked by political parties and political lawyers is way off from the truth.

The political parties may be supporting the lawyers, but there is no worthwhile public support for the political parties themselves. Both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif have had their chances and stand discredited due to their own corruption and misrule. It would be a folly to make a deal with either of the two ex-prime ministers. The religious parties do not command the support of more than 5 per cent of the people. They only gained importance because of General Ziaul Haq’s support and General Musharraf’s indecisive attitude.

One solution could be that President Musharraf immediately dissolves the present assemblies, restore the Chief Justice, and form an interim government. The lawyers, as representatives of the people, should accept him as head of the new setup minus the uniform. The cabinet should be comprised of leading members of the lawyers’ side who have proven themselves as true democrats and moderates. Imran Khan should be the prime minister and Mr Shaukat Aziz should be retained as the finance minister. Fair, free, and transparent elections should be held after a year. All political parties should be banned during the interim period.

The exemplary unity maintained by the lawyers, disregarding their political affiliations, should be an indicator that the people of this country do not lay store in any political party and are demanding a non-political government comprising honest, intelligent, and patriotic Pakistanis. [The News]

JUDICIAL JOURNEY
[Qazi Nazim Naeem, Hyderabad]

This refers to the news item that `Judges won’t officiate as acting governor’ (May 27). This decision of the judges of Sindh High Court shall be written in the golden words in the chapter of our political history. This decision was presided over by the chief justice of Sindh, Justice Sabeehuddin Ahmed. I salute his brave and bold step.

This step of the Sindh CJ is also a healthy sign in view of the basic principle enshrined by the Constitution of Pakistan that envisages tracheotomy of powers in the three organs of the state, namely, the legislature, the judiciary and the executive. I am sure this is the first step towards the thousand miles journey of judicial independence. [Dawn]

A DEFINING MOMENT
[Sardar Ali Aman, Chitral]

It goes without saying that the judicial crisis, the Lal Masjid issue and the May 12 carnage in Karachi have awakened the people and made them reject dictatorship, authoritarianism, extremism, fascism and parochialism. They have been inspired to fight for rule of law, independence of the judiciary, safeguards of fundamental rights and upkeep of national unity. This is indeed a defining moment in the history of Pakistan. The nation has already decided to take the side of truth and justice. In this connection, people like Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Munir A Malik, Aitzaz Ahsan and Imran Khan, who continue to lead the way, deserve full appreciation for their courage, determination, sagacity and selfless leadership. Moreover, hats off to the print media and private channels for doing an excellent job in providing true information to the people without fear and favour. Additionally, the lawyers' community deserves appreciation for its continued struggle for rule of law and independence of judiciary. [The News]

LEGAL PARASITES
[Irfan Khan]

Dear folks don’t be over optimistic about the possibility that if the CJ is reinstated, our judiciary would become independent and our nation would ultimately return to democracy. Legal parasites are busy day and night to invent something similar to the ‘doctrine of necessity’ so they can subvert the whole process in case the outcome is not according to someone’s desire. To remain in power and enjoy perks and privileges at state expense these parasites have worked hand-in-glove with every illegitimate government in the chequered history of Pakistan. There is no dearth of such self-centred individuals, as once they leave the scene for their permanent abode, many of their protégés will take over the reins. So regardless of the final outcome of the CJ case, the nation will remain in the perpetual grip of these mandarins. [Daily Times]

CHIEF VS CHIEF
[Zohaib Ali Khan, Rawalpindi]

Reportedly the corps commanders extended full support to their chief on the judicial crises in the country. Those who know the working in the army, will agree that the majority of the corps commanders dare not disagree with their chief. If the corps commanders can blindly extend support to their chief for his wrong actions, why can't the judges of the Supreme Court extend support to their chief who bravely faced the army chief and his spymasters to uphold the rule of law and independence of the judiciary? [The News]

LAWYERS & DEMOCRACY
[S Karim, Karachi]

Some people have criticised our lawyers for resorting to violence instead of emulating the lofty examples set by Mr Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. While I myself believe in using peaceful means to achieve objectives but, unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to work in this lawless environment. There are several ground realities that should also be taken into account. Mr Jinnah was not just one in a million, but one in hundreds of millions type of persons. It is unrealistic to expect people to have his kind of self-control. We have seen how an innocent teenager protesting against the disappearance of his father was publicly stripped in Islamabad within a stone’s throw of our seats of power. Also, how even our chief justice was humilitated with the apparent blessings of those who call the shots. If Mr Jinnah had happened to be around and a twist of fate had by now made him a leader of the opposition, I am quite sure he would have been dragged by his collar in Islamabad and fired upon in Karachi, his status as Father of the Nation notwithstanding. He would have been too disgusted and simply quit politics, as he had done during the early stages of India’s freedom movement. To achieve one’s goal in such a nasty environment does drive people to adopt desperate means. Still, one should appreciate the CJ, who has not resorted to any undignified actions or words and does provide a worthy example. Nevertheless, the lawyers should try to exercise as much restraint as possible and show forgiveness. [Pakistan Observer]

'GENERAL JUSTICE'
[Gulkhaiz Hassan, Rawalpindi]

Dr Farrukh Saleem in his usual succinct and poignant style has very aptly put across in his article 'General justice' (June 3) that "…court decisions are reflections of the time and an attempt at defining what is real…" I would like to add here that court decisions actually reflect the intellectual maturity of the court in particular, and society in general. It implies the degree of moral courage, blended with vision, which they posses. The moral courage is manifested in the judgment. Consequently the quality of judgment demonstrates whether it can stand the test of time and justifies the socio political requirements of the society or otherwise. The doctrine of necessity has failed miserably and let the society down. What will be the outcome now, only time will tell? But I am sure of one thing. It will reflect the true worth of our society. [The News]

A BREEZE OF FREEDOM
[Khurshid Anwer, Lahore Cantt.]

For the first time there is a welcome breeze of freedom all around. The black coats have given an unprecedented lead to the civil society. All praise to them. The political parties have followed their lead in a big way. The media too is flexing its muscles and coming out with bold coverage as well as editorials. It is also giving space to learned opinion as never before.
The electronic media went beyond the call of duty to give us a blow-by-blow account of the terrorism by the custodians of Karachi. I heard a reporter screaming, “bullets are flying around me, a man is lying shot at my feet”, his studio anchor shouted back, “stop covering the scene, take shelter”. No wonder the media, print and electronic, is being heaped with the deserved praise. It is only the apologists for the General who are feeling uneasy at this sudden joining of ranks of all segments of the civil society in this fight to the death against the military hegemony. [The Nation]

AFFIDAVITS
[Abubakr Khan, London]

I am writing with reference to the affidavits submitted by the heads of intelligence agencies against the Chief Justice of Pakistan. Under what law are these salaried employees of the government playing politics? Are government servants allowed to indulge in these practises? Is there no check on how they spend public money? [The News]

SENTENCED TO DEATH
[Zoha Waseem, London, UK]

What Pakistan needs are more men like the chief justice who can stand up against injustice, for his rights and for the rights of the judiciary. What we need are more people like the lawyers who have recognised what they're standing up for and against. Desmond Tutu once stated that "if you are neutral in times of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor". What side has most of the Pakistani youth selected?

Who is to stand up against injustice when tragic incidents put our patience and loyalty to test? What are we contributing towards our country as a human race? What characterises the human race?

In his novel Shantaram, Gregory David Roberts writes: "It isn't cruelty or shame that characterises the human race. It's forgiveness that makes us what we are. Without forgiveness, the human race would have annihilated itself in endless retributions. Without forgiveness, there would be no history. Without that hope there would be no art, for every work of art is in some way an act of forgiveness. Without that dream there would be no love, for every act of love is in some way a promise to forgive. We live on because we can love, and we love because we can forgive".

How many of us are willing to forgive? Do we not need to be aware of the facts of incidents and the history behind them in order to forgive or does mere turn-of-face signify as forgiveness. Does our future lie in forgiveness or revenge? Does forgiveness justify a revolution? I think, yes. The country cannot suffer and deteriorate at the expense of forgiveness paid to corrupt and weak politicians. It cannot fall apart and there should be no more citizens dying in the hands of vultures of greed.

I do not wish to judge the youth of my country but nor do I wish to explain myself. Pakistan has suffered deaths of those who remain anonymous and mere victims of the chess of politics and selfish parties running to gain power and control over cities. The question is, how many of us are willing to sit back and watch live coverage of Geo and Aaj TV and absorb it as just another headline of the day?

How many of us are willing to carry on with our sweet and subtle lifestyles when bodies lie in gutters mere meters away from our palatial homes? How many will blame it upon the corrupt government and not upon themselves till their own brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers who fall dead, pawned in this dirty game of sinful gluttony? [Dawn]

JUSTICE FOR ALL
[Dr. Maqbool Akhtar, Faisalabad]

The much-maligned capitalist society demands justice for all. Take for example the first amendment to the American Constitution which guarantees basic freedom. This the blighted media in Pakistan would love to have and have it now. If capitalists want certain freedoms for themselves, they have to grant these to all and sundry; witness the freedom misused by terrorists in Europe and the US.

See the number of groups trying to change the religion of people living in modern societies, spreading Islam they say. Can a Muslim country dream of granting this right to non-Muslims? An Apostasy Bill is waiting in the wings. In Pakistan you can abduct a minority girl and convert her with impunity. Can you even dare to “mouth” the converse?

When you hear the emotional cry of justice for the Chief Justice, the force behind the emotion comes from the crier’s hope of getting justice for himself and his children. A very selfish objective, but precisely this objective is the force of history. [The Post]

GREAT EXPECTATIONS
[S T Hussain, Lahore]

As reported in the press on 26 June, 2007, Justice Ramday defended the judiciary by observing that judiciary alone should not be cursed for all the ills in the country. This is true, but the judiciary is the state organ responsible for protecting the Constitution, the interest of the general public, upholding the rule of law, dispensing justice, and acting as a watchdog on other state organs.

Judges working with judiciary must have very high moral character and moral courage. As they may derive no personal benefit from their powerful position, their conduct and judgment should be without fear. Without strong judiciary, justice cannot be dispensed and the exercise of power by different state institutions and the executive cannot be held accountable. [Daily Times]
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The Redistributive Budget

THE BUDGET
[Taj Muhammad, Karachi]

The government is considering introducing subsidies on essential items through USC for poor people. Over 90 per cent of the population bearing taxes are poor while two per cent of the rulers and elite enjoy public wealth and resources. This means the tax is paid by 98 per cent but enjoyed by just two per cent.

Miseries and hardships are common because of the impact of the tax on the common person. A person earning Rs5,000 and another earning Rs200,000 are paying the same price for edible items and utility bills. Also all expenses become part of businesses and form cost of production. Businessmen never object to any increase in taxes because they charge all expenses to the cost of production and the impact falls on the consumers.

I suggest the government withdraw GST on all products forthwith. This measure will stabilise the price whereby the cost of production will decrease. Merely telling the milk or meat sellers to reduce their prices is not sufficient unless the government reduces the tax burden on other inputs which are responsible for the increase in the first place. There is no other way but to review the tax structure if the government wants to give relief to the common person. [Dawn]

BUDGET & THE POOR
[Muhammad Farooq, Abbottabad]

This has reference to a news report on food subsidies. With a monthly relief of Rs2 per head, a needy person will not even be able to buy an extra roti a month. This is cruel and outrageous to say the least. I have no doubt in my mind that while plugging in the food subsidy figure of Rs1.8 billion for the over 71 million “poor and vulnerable Pakistanis”, the minister of state for finance, Omer Khan, had no understanding of the value of two rupees or else he would not have told the National Assembly that the budget was about “relief and the people”. The government should be ashamed of churning out such an unrealistic budget. To compensate for his sins of commissions and omissions in this budget, I suggest the state minister abandon his palatial house and shun his legacy and lifestyle for at least a few days and live the life of a poor and vulnerable person. This way, he will truly understand what it means to be the poor and vulnerable. Western books and foreign degrees are no substitute for real life experience. Mr Khan should not forget his lessons learnt abroad. This budget will be of no relief to the poor and will only add to their miseries. The increasing gap between the haves and haves-nots will explode one day or the other. It is high time the ruling elite took measures for a more equitable economic system so that budgets provided some real relief to the poor and vulnerable. [Pakistan Observer]
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Issue of the Month: Failures of the Monopoly

POWER STATION LYING IDLE
[Mirza Iqbal Beg, Secretary, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sukkur]

I would like to draw attention of the power and water minister and the Wapda chairman to the fact that in Sukkur a thermal power station of 50MW has since been lying idle, with reasons best known to the authorities. This thermal power station was set up under Canadian aid and was functioning in the past, but now is lying closed. In order to reduce its operational charges, it was converted from fuel to gas, and successful trial was conducted, but again laid off.

If the government is able to put the plant to work, it would meet the power requirement of at least the Sukkur city and its industrial estates. It is pertinent to state the staff of this thermal power is already available and sitting idle and drawing salaries. [Dawn]

SOLAR POWER
[Zill-e-Rehman Khan Niazi, Islamabad]

The former East Germany has become home to one of the world's brightest industries: solar power. Pakistan is ideally located in the Sun Belt to take advantage of solar energy. Solar energy is abundantly available in the country while Sindh and Balochistan are particularly rich in sunlight. Balochistan even has the highest annual mean sunshine duration in the world and we should use this alternate means of generating power. [The News]

LOADSHEDDING MESS
[Hammad Ahmed Siddiqui, Karachi]

When Gen Pervez Musharraf seized power in 1999, he had strongly criticised the (PPP) government for allowing IPPs to produce electricity using oil. He had said that those IPPs were the main barriers in bringing down electricity charges. But after eight years of pathetic power generation planning and when the oil price is extremely high, the government is even encouraging opening new IPPs.

This late decision not only shows compromise but also causes punishment to the people to either sit idle without electricity every day or to buy a generator. The inverse effect of flawed plan has become exponential and multidirectional as the increase in sales of generators and its huge consumption of oil has also led to unnecessary increase in imports (of generator and its fuel) burdening the country and individuals in their daily expenses.

The tragedy is not over as yet. When people find a gas kit as a cost- cutting device of generator use, the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) has now found its time to exploit customers and has announced it will take action against those who are using gas generators without informing the company. The overall situation shows that people are finding ways for the solution to their problems themselves and the government is trying to make every way a dead-end.

The government should understand the gravity of this issue. Today, when the nation is already bearing around nine per cent inflation, the additional frustration and expenditure caused by loadshedding is creating immense problems for us. [Dawn]

FATAL OUTAGES
[Ayesha Saleem, Karachi]

Electricity is one of the fundamental necessities of life for ordinary people, but it is critical for patients with acute illnesses. My mother is diabetic has a serious liver problem. She suffers more than the rest of us during the two or three spells of power failure in Karachi every day. Students are another category of people who suffer from the outages, which have paralysed businesses. But the greatest sufferers are patients, who could lose their lives because of the KESC’s bad performance.

Ever since the KESC was privatised, the electricity problem seems to have worsened. Nowadays, newspapers are full of reports of protests in areas where electricity turned off for entire days. It is particularly intolerable that your supply is cut off if you fail to pay the bills in time, even if you have been over-billed.

Why doesn’t the KESC work out a real strategy for uninterrupted supply of electricity? If the KESC receives only 600 MW from WAPDA, it should start receiving more to meet the ever growing needs of Karachi. [The News]

POWER OUTAGES
[Mohammad Akram, Karachi]

Thanks to the Privatisation Commission (PC), the government, and the KESC, the citizens of Karachi are going through the agony and miseries of power outages for the last several months. Even public demonstrations and violence have not brought any sense to the three organisations that have created this mess. The PC has to bear the brunt of this wrong act in handing over the KESC to a Saudi Arabian group who had no experience in running a power station. The whole thing reeks of corruption. The government also bears a great share in this affair.

Why has the government not published the conditions of privatisation agreement? What are they hiding from the people? When the government holds a gun at the nation’s head, how can you make it accountable?

Lastly, look at the record of the KESC. If you do not pay their bills, they disconnect your electricity, then why cannot they be held accountable for six to nine hours of outages day in and day out? At the time of giving you connection the KESC has signed an agreement to provide you with electricity for 24 hours/seven days a week at a constant 220 voltage.

At present at no time they have given more than 200 volts, ruining expensive equipment such as computers, refrigerators and freezers. Should the KESC not pay for this damage? Is this not blatant dishonesty? But the amazing thing is that with daily outages of six to nine hours and more, your monthly bill has not decreased, on the contrary in some cases it has increased. Is this not highway robbery? The government should not forget that they will soon face elections and the citizens of Karachi will remember their sufferings.

Finally, what about the ‘rakhewals’ of Karachi? Why cannot they show their street power to protect the rights of Karachiites? Citizens of Karachi rise and make your voice heard right up to Islamabad. [Dawn]

NO ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
[Hussain Siddiqui, Islamabad]

The long hours of countrywide load shedding continue, paralysing normal civic, commercial and industrial life in Karachi and other places, for which the KESC and WAPDA are being blamed. Nonetheless, there is another agency responsible for widening the present gap between the demand and supply of electricity that no one is questioning.

The Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB), since its inception in July 2003, has not been able to establish a single project, either wind or solar energy, worth mentioning, despite tall claims made by the management. Three wind farms, each of capacity 50 MW, were planned by the AEDB to be installed on a fast-track basis, and connected with the national grid. The Board had awarded these projects after evaluation of proposals received from many international and domestic entrepreneurs, and they were to be completed by June 2005. The projects were re-scheduled twice but there is no physical progress on a single project and it is not known when any of the projects will see the light of day, if at all.
[Daily Times]

OSTRICH SYNDROME
[Kashif Ali, Lahore]

The gap between demand and supply in power generation has increased beyond alarming proportions and is bound to increase in coming years. All the stakeholders are blaming each other for this fiasco but no one is prepared to share the responsibility for this situation. Karachi is worst-hit by loadshedding. We as a nation should blame ourselves for this situation: we are all responsible.

It is a cultural norm to start taking measures against any situation when the problem is standing right before us and we bury our heads in the sand like an ostrich. Our culture today is a need-based materialistic one. We simply do not care about the social, communal, ethnic, political or even the corporate ethics. The story of two Pakistani bankers involved in inside- trading is still fresh in our minds.

As a power generation sector professional, it is not difficult for me to foresee what lies ahead. By the time, all these much-publicised projects come into commercial operation, God knows where our power energy demand will stand. Today's hydel projects would be commercial available a decade after. By that time, how much of our existing installed generation would have completed their useful life?

It is a matter of concern that the so-called industrial big wigs have tried to cash on by proposing the medium-sized HFO- based power generation projects at much higher sale prices. That's an unfortunate situation. Today, the need of hour is to have as much reliable source of power as efficient. As time passes by, our choices are getting limited. I was hoping for a qualitative foreign investment that would bring the technology transfer as well in the power sector. But despite blowing the trumpets that Pakistan is achieving seven per cent annual growth rate, no one is interested in exploring our emerging market, barring a few investors.

It's quite disappointing. Apart from all these passive facts, there is some hopeful news about an energy project that is heading in the right direction, albeit, slowly yet steadily. That is IPI gas pipeline. Let's hope for the best in this regard. [Dawn]

POWER GENERATION
[Zill-e-Rehman Khan Niazi, Islamabad]

The former East Germany has become home to one of the world’s brightest industries: solar power. Pakistan is ideally located in the Sun Belt to take advantage of solar energy. Solar energy is abundantly available in the country while Sindh and Balochistan are particularly rich in sunlight. Balochistan even has the highest annual mean sunshine duration in the world and we should use this alternative means of generating power. [Pakistan Observer]

WIND ENERGY REQUIRED
[Z. H. Effendi, Karachi]

The potential of the coasts of Karachi and Thatta (Mirpur Sakro) is massive in terms of wind power. It is 2007 and the Alternative Energy Development Board launched a programme to install 2000MW through almost 20 companies and the implementation is yet to be done. If the cost of power is 12-15 cents per kva for the next 20 years, then surely this will be very cheap and affordable for Pakistan in the next three years.

Pakistan should offer wind power companies a higher rate now and since there is no import of fuel in the picture, wind is forever free and the rate will be constant. So let us offer the interested companies a higher rate and let them install 10,000 MW of capacity in next three to four years. This will meet our present shortfall of 5,000MW and our expected demand in five years. This will also put Pakistan on the international map of environmental-friendly power producers, and a self-reliant power producer, which is the way of the future in all semi- and fully-developed countries around the world.

Another thing which also needs to be considered is that all the land given to the wind power producers along the coast of Thatta is prime land for palm oil production. This should be retained by another independent government company for planting a full-scale plantation of palm oil trees. Pakistan spends billions of dollars every year on import of edible palm oil. This needs to be balanced with enhancement of domestic production.

The model best suited for Pakistan is of Malaysia, where the government has taken direct interest to invest in the land and plantation costs, and the remainder of the process and distribution is done by the private companies. [Dawn]

KESC KUNDAS
[Khalid Ali Khan, Karachi]

Much has been said, written and demonstrated against the KESC, particularly with reference to loadshedding. However, there are other aspects of KESC operations that need comments. There are thousands of users of ‘kundas’ (illegal connections) who do not pay electricity charges), and there are users of illegal airconditioners, particularly in Gulshan-i-Iqbal and Gulistan-i-Jauhar, who pay only Rs120 a month as electricity charges. These ACs are visible from the main road.

The KESC has to remove the above illegal connections to improve the power supply. For this it should this job on contract to the Frontier Works Organisation, say RsX per kunda and RsY per illegal AC unit. Thousands of KWs of electricity will be saved, leading to reduction in loadshedding. However, having failed to tackle the above problem, the KESC is adopting devious and dishonest methods to increase its revenue.

The first method is for KESC officers to visit houses to ‘check’ meters. After the inspection, a letter showing ’violations’ is issued to the unsuspecting consumer showing ‘defects’ in the meter installations and wiring on the switchboard. The consumer is asked to explain these ‘discrepancies’ failing which revised bill will be issued. The meter was installed by the KESC and is seen every month by meter readers.

How can the consumer be held responsible for these ‘discrepancies’? But since the KESC has the absolute authority to disconnect power supply, the consumer has to put up with this illegal action. The second ploy being practised by the KESC is to replace the existing meters with new ones. These are reported to run 10 per cent faster. Not only this, when this bill based on the readings of the new meters is received, the KESC will revise the previous bills claiming that the old meter was recording incorrect reading. It is earnestly requested that Wapda, Nepra and the Sindh government should immediately look into these malpractices and restrain the KESC from such actions in future. [Dawn]

KESC PROBLEMS
[Maliha Ghazanfar, Karachi]

I am writing to complain not about the inefficiency of the KESC but the behaviour of Karachiites during loadshedding. While I agree that electricity causes frustration but coming out on the roads and destroying everything in sight is the height of stupidity. It is senseless to go out on the roads, block traffic and cause inconveniences to other people.

Unfortunately police officials for some reason become helpless in such situations, and the KESC were ironically also helpless because rioters were not letting the KESC's vehicles through so that they could go and repair the lines. One cannot be so frustrated that they cannot let the KESC through as that was for their own benefit. [Dawn]
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From the National Press

A JUST, LAWFUL ORDER
[Dr Zulfiqar Haider, Lahore Cantt.]

This is in reference to a letter by Col (Retd) Riaz Jafri in which he fails to find any relevance between the development of science and the rule of law. A society bereft of the rule of law and social justice is an unstable society where everyone is insecure. This is hardly conducive to developing long term policy for a knowledge-based culture. The author referred to China and Russia but failed to mention the great strides made by the West where law reigns supreme for all. One is reminded of Mr. Churchill, who at the height of the World War-II had remarked that “Britain is safe if its courts are functioning.”

As for Prof Abdus Salam, one of the great scientists of the 20th century, his genius flowered in the liberal milieu of the West. He died a sad man for lack of recognition in his own country, a reflection of our unjust system. I believe that for any kind of talent to flourish, a just, liberal and lawful social order is a must. [The Nation]

FAILED STATE RANK
[Khushhal Khan, Rawalpindi]

Pakistan has been placed 12th on an American publications' list of "failed states". If the governance of our government is appraised honestly, Pakistan's name should be among the first five states in the list of "failed states". In view of the recent crises: political, judicial, social and civic. Denial and the 'couldn't careless' attitude emanating from self-obsession and absolute disregard of humanity has been the dilemma of our nation as a whole; it is no longer confined to the powers that be, simply because every person (common or not) is fighting for survival. It is a bitter pill to swallow no doubt; but we have been facing a situation of "might is right" which can no longer fool the people or the world of the naked truth. [The News]

RIGHT TO INFORMATION
[Irfan Khan, Rawalpindi]

I am a citizen of Pakistan; born and raised in this country forming part of the silent majority everyone speaks of. I don't belong to any political party, pressure group or religious organisation. Neither do I go to any political or judicial rallies and I am not supported by or an agent of any external hand. I have till recently been a supporter of President Musharraf and still consider his achievements to be second to none in the history of this country. Yet I am deeply disturbed by the recent news of shackling the independent print and broadcast news media. One step in this direction was the recent cable operator union's threat to not carry channels which don't toe the government line. Some may consider this an assault on the media, I consider this an assault on my right as a free-born citizen of this country to get the information I want to get without anyone telling me what I can or cannot see.

The cable operator union claimed that they are taking this step on their own based upon complaints of citizens like me. I don't believe them and consider this to be pressure tactics by the government. If the cable operators care so much about public opinion then here in this letter I am raising my voice against any limitations imposed on the media by any entity be they the government, a political party or a union. I am sure many thousands of your other readers share my sentiments and will through your paper add their voices to this injustice against the rights of us, the silent majority. [The News]

VIEWERS' RIGHTS
[Khalil Ahmad, Lahore]

After attacking media installations/offices and seeing that it failed, the government has come to use immoral tactics to keep the people unaware of the CJ's activities, his journeys, his addresses and his supporters' unprecedented support. To achieve this anti-people agenda, the government is exploiting the uncultured and unprincipled Pakistan Cable TV Operators Association.

But isn't it up to the viewers to decide which channel they want to watch or not, how come this association has authorised these "suppliers" of TV channel services to block this or that channel! Actually, it's a transaction between viewers and TV channel owners, and the said association has nothing to do with this transaction. They will have to provide what their clients demand. They have no choice but to leave this business if they want to party with the government. Better they get a TV channel license and operate it in favour of the government.

Under the circumstances, and in view of the highhandedness of the Pakistan Cable TV Operators Association, it is high time that a Pakistan Cable TV Viewers Association is formed to raise voice in favour of the viewers' rights. [The News]

WHAT ENLIGHTENMENT?
[Dr Abdul Qadeer, Karachi]

Immanuel Kant the philosopher defines enlightenment as: “Man's emergence from his self-imposed immaturity (which) is the inability to use one's understanding without guidance from another. This immaturity is self-imposed when its cause lies not in lack of understanding, but in lack of resolve and courage to use it without guidance from another.

‘‘Sapere aude (dare to know)! Have courage to use your own understanding!” That is the motto of enlightenment. The trumpeteers of enlightenment have tried to deprive us of the pleasures of sapere aude on June 2 and afterwards by gagging the media. No doubt, the restriction to complete and direct access to information is an attempt to kill the truth.

But truth like a Phoenix rises from its own ashes.

The enlightened people of the country know enough history and philosophy of the enlightenment movement to be swayed by hollow slogans of ‘moderate enlightenment’ or ‘enlightened moderation’. We will never be befuddled into submission by the bogey or spectator of fundamentalism or extremism. [Dawn]

PAKISTAN PROSPERS
[R. R. Alvi, Lahore]

This refers to the ministry of finance' advertisement captioned ‘Pakistan Prospers’, appearing in newspapers these days. They have shown the quasi-military regime’s achievement in the shape of statistical bars to impress the readers. Some comparisons such as revenue collections are misleading: Rs835 billion has been shown as the current revenue collection against Rs309 billion in 1998-99.

During this period, the range of taxation has been considerably widened. Fresh taxation such as taxes on capital value and cash withdrawal from banks have been introduced. Sales tax net has been enormously enlarged. Even the food items like vegetable ghee have not been spared. Scope of withholding and presumptive tax has been increased compared to 1998-99. As much as 70 per cent collection are through withholding and presumptive tax. In order to have correct comparison of tax collections of two periods, they should be compared at the same level of taxation.

Figures for foreign direct investment during the period 1998-99 to 2005-006 are also misleading as they include privatisation proceeds from foreign buyers. The privatisation proceeds have not resulted in the creation of new assets. It merely involves the transfer of ownership to the foreign buyers. Foreign exchange reserve in 2006-2007 has been shown at $14 billion against $1.7 billion in 1998-99. These reserves have been accumulated largely due to the massive foreign aid of nearly $10 billion after 9/11 and rescheduling of external debt and the open market purchases of dollars by the State Bank of Pakistan and not through increase in exports. But still they are very small as compared to the Indian reserve of about $190 billion.

Doubtlessly, the remittance by the overseas Pakistanis have increased to $5.5 billion. It is due to the massive crackdown on the informal channel of remitting money such as ‘hundis’ after 9/11. The overseas Pakistanis were, therefore, constrained to use normal banking channel. The military-led government cannot claim any credit for it. It may be mentioned that during the period of quasi-military rule Pakistan’s per capita growth of GDP has been the lowest in the region, i.e., 4.6 per cent. [Dawn]

ECONOMIC SURVEY
[Muhammad Ilyas, Quetta]

As per the economic survey for the year 2006-07, money supply increased by 14 per cent during the year under study, whereas the economy grew by 7 per cent. What does it mean? It means prices will continue to rise until demand from the poorer section is forced to shrink and strike a balance with the supply available in the market. This will happen despite whatever steps the government takes to control the situation. [The News]

OF WHITE ELEPHANTS
[M S Hasan, Karachi]

It is unreasonable on the part of the opposition to stage a walkout every time the budget is presented in the National Assembly. The role of the opposition has been reduced to mere agitations, walkouts, protest and boycotts instead of being positive and constructive. On other side of the coin is a ruling junta which does not enjoy a reasonable degree of credibility with stakeholders, namely the public, hence prone to suspicion, doubts, rumours and misgivings. The assertion that the budget would provide ‘relief ‘ to the common person is utter nonsense. How many people can queue up, forego a day’s earning and waist a full day to buy subsidised kitchen items from few and far inadequately stocked Utility Stores. Providing subsidies may be a temporary, stop-gap arrangement, but it is no solution to the galloping inflation.

Now for the three “white elephants”, namely, the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) the Karachi Electricity Supply Corporation (KESC) and the PIA who according to the financial advisor, “despite receiving billions of rupees in subsidies” have performed miserably as dismal entities. WAPDA needs to be massively re-engineered. Anybody who says that flaws in transmission, distribution and theft of electricity cannot be arrested and corrected, should be put to pastures. As for KESC, it has been sold at a throwaway price to a group of incompetent investors who just cannot put their act together. The only answer for KESC is more investment, fast-track implementation and installation of adequate power generating capacity and more importantly, change of guards and management.

PIA is the third white elephant, marred by inefficiency, corruption, over-staffing, operating a junk fleet of aircrafts with questionable air worthiness and poor fuel efficiency. The airline now has a good business leader as its head, but he alone cannot fix the airline. The answer for getting rid of the liability is to sell it off. Let PIA be privatised since the nation cannot afford to subsidise and feed white elephants. [The News]

POLITICS ON YOUTUBE
[Sameer Ahsan, USA]

I am an avid watcher of Pakistani videos available on the popular video sharing website YouTube. Over the last month, there has been a surge in video clips of Pakistani political interviews, talk shows, and rallies. There are many clips that either mock or glorify political figures such as President Musharraf, Imran Khan and Altaf Hussain.

The comments posted in response to these videos are filled with ethnic slurs, abuses, and irrational language; it is unbecoming of a sensible nation. People siding with all political schools depict absolute bigotry in responding to each other. It is sad that most of them actually belong to whatever can be called the educated class of Pakistan. Far from using an international domain like the Internet for showing Pakistan in a positive light, they cannot even engage in a healthy debate.

And then we feel picked on when the world calls us intolerant and backwards. [Dawn]

EVALUATING THE ARMY
[Ummad Mazhar]

While the intensity of the president’s feeling that people must respect institutions like the army is understandable, feeling alone cannot resolve history’s mistakes. The president should be aware of the reasons for the resentment. Here are some:

* Pakistan army is engaged in all types of business activities, from hotel management to property dealership and from banking to agriculture. The details are known to most people.

* It is responsible for the present mess in which the country finds itself and which ranges from political uncertainty to a fraying writ of the state.

* It has facilitated pseudo political parties which have become a bane for civil society and a major factor in hampering the growth of democracy.

* It is responsible for denigrating democracy and politics and portraying the false image of its importance for Pakistan.

* The army occupies the best residential areas in every city of Pakistan, offering privileges like free electricity, water supply and security to its officers, while the average citizen suffers from lack of basic amenities on a daily basis.

The respect for an institution is a function of its performance, commitment and honesty in conducting its duties. Today, if people are pointing fingers toward the army then there must be something wrong with its performance. [Daily Times]

ROLE OF ARMY
[Dr Sabra Karim, Islamabad]

The conversation of Justice (Retired) Fakhruddin G Ibrahim in a talk show on a private TV channel on June 5 must be an eye-opener for the establishment. He quoted the words of Quaid-e-Azam from his address to the armed forces in Quetta “You are the servants of the Pakistani nation not masters.” The question arises how and in what circumstances the position has become inverted. Quaid-e-Azam’s speech is 60 years old. Neither were the people aware at that time nor was media so advanced, but now the times have changed. The people cannot be fooled any more, it is their right to know the truth.

Besides discussing the role of the media or the role of the judiciary there is a need to discuss the role of the army as well. Another meeting of corps commanders should be arranged to decide the role of the army in Pakistan. [The Post]

MILITARY ROLE IN STABILITY
[Khwaja Shamaas, Lahore]

This is apropos of Col (r) K. M. Ismail's letter (June 13) which epitomises the Pakistan army's utter disdain for the opinion of civilians and its indisposition to any form of criticism. It also displays Mr Ismail's grandiose delusions regarding his institution and his selective recollection of the 1965 war.

When he asserts that our army is the "finest machine in the world", he fails to tell us why the finest machine in the world capitulated to one phone call from America.

His inquiry as to where Mr Aitzaz Ahsan was on the fateful day of Sept 6, 1965 is a direct insult to the civilians who became martyrs underneath Indian tanks and played a crucial role in repelling the Indian blitzkrieg from Lahore.

In case Mr Ismail is not aware of what the consensus of history is regarding the 1965 war, it has been thoroughly analysed and laid bare as a massive strategic failure on the part of the Pakistani higher command. What began as an offence into enemy territory ended up as our own desperate defence. Pakistan paid the price for this failure at Dhaka in 1971. An army gains or loses its respect on the battlefield. It is an arm of the government and should be subservient to the houses of parliament and, therefore, to the people of Pakistan.

As far as I know, being a soldier is a profession just like any other. Everyone who is in the army joined it voluntarily and is paid for his duties. Being a soldier does not consecrate one; the Pakistan army must learn to take criticism.

By refusing to leave the political arena, the army is only increasing its hostility against the people of Pakistan. It must abdicate power to the people immediately and unconditionally. [Dawn]
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Private Initiatives

STARTING A COLLEGE?
[Z. Israr, Karachi]

The chairman of Gujranwala Citizens Forum, or some such, in his letter to The Nation (29th May) has asked Punjab government to establish a medical college in their city. Why beg from anybody? If two million citizens give Rs. 100/month each to the chairman, he will have Rs 20 crores every month. He can have a medical college started in no time. [The Nation]

WORRIED ABOUT CRIME
[S. H. Wasty, London, UK]

When people are faced with the imminent onslaught of an army of the enemy, what will they do? They will either surrender or fight back. To fight back people must be organised much before hand. The same goes for crime. Either surrender to criminals or eventually come to realise that you have to fight back. Over the years, I have been trying to get people to see it this way. You have to fight back against crime. There is no other way. To be able to do so, people need to organise themselves. To organise, they need to start coming together. Coming together in the locality where they live is the only way to solve the mountain of problems faced by them. Will the people see the sense in sparing some of their leisure time to come together to do such constructive work, which will pay them heavy dividends?

It is much better for people to do this than to waste time on those useless dramas that keep people glued to the idiot box. I am absolutely sure that they will achieve most of what are their just needs through organising self-help. The people must realise that either they organise self-help or they will get help from no one. By organising self-help they will see for themselves that they are getting help from where they would never dream of otherwise.
[The Post]
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Good News

COURTING CUSTOMERS
[ousuf Shabbir, Lahore]

At last, a consumer court has handed down a conviction in Lahore, in a case against a seller who sold a defective cooking range. The seller will reimburse the customer for the price of the appliance and will also pay a fine. Another petition, regarding a malfunctioning Haier air conditioner, is before the court.

This is good news for the hundreds of customers who have complaints against irresponsible manufacturers and retailers and have been able to do nothing about them. Much now depends on whether the verdict of the court will be enforced. Strict enforcement will encourage this kind of litigation, which is badly needed. People must be made to take the authority of the court seriously, otherwise it can do little good. [Daily Times]
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Letters to FreePakistan

Salaam,
Thanks for such an informative and thought provoking write up (The Greatest Battle for the Rule of Law in Pakistan).
Best Regards.
[Syed Javed Iqbal]
AP Administrator (PK Accounting)
www.enpointe.com

I hope Free Pakistan will be interested in this issue, it's an attack on
honest, privately-issued currency. We are innocent, and the guilty ones
don't want the truth to emerge because fiat money is evil.
[James M. Ray]

Dear Board Members of EFF,

Since 2001 http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2001/03/42745 ,
multiple observers have noted similarities between the (now-chronic)
USSS campaign to destroy e-gold and their 1990 actions targeting Steve
Jackson Games.

In its eleventh year online, e-gold is under a mortal-intent assault
by the US government. I believe you would find the issues interesting
and pertinent to the work of EFF. Whatever the case is about, it isn't
about good faith efforts on the part of US law enforcement to combat
cyber-crime. The asset seizure aspect has been remarkably abusive and
I believe may entail first impression from the standpoint of the
victim of the seizures being forced to liquidate the seized assets
themselves, before judgment [in fact before any case was even filed.]
Fortunately, one of the attorneys who has come forward to aid in the
defense literally 'wrote the book' on asset forfeiture law
http://www.englishandsmith.com/smith.html

I would be pleased to brief any/all of you regarding the situation.

Some background:

Gov press release regarding criminal indictment of companies and directors
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2007/April/07_crm_301.html

My preliminary response
http://www.e-gold.com/letter3.html
I would particularly direct attention to the hyperlinked documents,
especially the transcript from the emergency hearing of 12/05 where
the matter should have ended.

I held off on attaching a status report filed 17 May [because of file
size] to assist the judge as she transitions from the ex parte phase
to the phase that should more resemble due process. It is a worthwhile
document however and I would be happy to supply it and all other
pertinent documents that would enable you to evaluate the significance
and merits of the case.

What the USSS has done and is doing in this case makes SJG look like a
Sunday-school picnic.

sincere regards,
Douglas Jackson
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Free Pakistan Highlights

NEW BOOK: FIGHTING THE DISEASES OF POVERTY

Lahore: May 01, 2007
Many health policies promoted by intergovernmental bodies and governments in less-developed countries are counterproductive and lead to unnecessary suffering, according to a new book, “Fighting the Diseases of Poverty” launched here by Alternate Solutions Institute, a partner organization of Campaign for Fighting Diseases. In it, global experts challenge conventional wisdom about the diseases of poverty and set out pragmatic approaches to fighting disease.

The book's editor, Philip Stevens, says:

"Too often governments and international health bureaucracies promote grandiose and politically-motivated schemes that prove unworkable and lead to increased suffering and death. This is what happened with malaria and HIV/AIDS. Meanwhile, millions of children die every year from simple things like diarrhoea or chest infections. Governments need to prioritize their work better and get back to basics if there is any hope of meeting the Millennium Development Goals."

For a copy of the book, please contact the Institute at info@asinstitute.org

To download the full text pdf (1,613 kb), click here:
http://www.fightingdiseases.org/images/pictures/Full_FightDisofPov.pdf
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IDEAS FOR A FREE AND RESPONSIBLE SOCIETY

Ideas have consequences. They influence the political, economic and social systems that govern our actions and thereby affect the way we live our lives. Ideas have inspired many of the political and economic arrangements that have existed at different times in different places.

Some of these arrangements have promoted creativity, innovation, peace and prosperity, leading to improvements in quality of life and enabling people to fulfill their myriad needs and goals. Other political and economic arrangements have undermined creativity, inhibited innovation and lead to civil unrest, oppression, starvation, poverty and misery.

For most of history, in most places the latter type of arrangements prevailed and as a consequence the large part of humanity was poor, oppressed and miserable. Beginning around 1500, the political and economic arrangements in some Western European countries began to shift - and improvements in living standards began to be felt throughout those societies.

Over the course of the past two hundred years, the number of countries with such beneficial political and economic arrangements has gradually increased. As a result, this period has seen rapid improvements in technology and economic conditions. Meanwhile, the number of people living in abject poverty has been declining in absolute terms for fifty years in spite of a dramatic rise in the world population. Nevertheless, over a billion people continue to live in miserable circumstances.

“Ideas for a Free and responsible Society” is a collection of writings published on a CD. The CD contains a selection of contributions by some of the most important scholars and thinkers, both historical and contemporary, which explain the general intellectual concepts, some of the challenges, and some applications to public policy issues. This CD is designed for those who are interested in what these beneficial economic and political arrangements are that lead to economic growth and have the capacity to eliminate poverty. It does not pretend to provide a definitive answer but rather to point people in the right direction. The title of the CD, "Ideas for a Free and Responsible Society," was inspired by the observation that the political and economic arrangements that seem to be most conducive to peace and prosperity are those that exist in free and responsible societies.

In such societies, there exist certain institutions that guarantee political, economic and social freedom, and those institutions are in turn underpinned by ideas. Such ideas have been explored by individuals from many different perspectives, starting with ancient Chinese, Roman and Greek philosophers and continuing to the present day. The reader will find that a rich intellectual debate about the nature of these ideas exists even among the authors of texts on this CD.

The contents are not intended to be a comprehensive review of the literature of the subject, which is enormous. Instead, the CD contains a selection of contributions by some of the primary scholars and thinkers who have developed ideas which relate to a free and responsible society. Their contributions explain some of the general intellectual concepts and challenges, and the application of these ideas to public policy. It is hoped that the selections included on the CD will inspire readers to consider the advantages of a free and responsible society, to further investigate the wide array of literature on these topics, and even to put these ideas into practice.

If you live in Pakistan and want to own the CD: Ideas for a Free and Responsible Society, please download and fill out the following pro forma, and send it to the following address via mail only. This pro forma will enable us i) to remain in contact with you and ii) to have feedback as to the influence this CD would be having on your ideas and thinking.

Download the pro forma: http://ipn.lexi.net/images/uploaded/7-45a8aaa87c958--CDOrderForm.pdf

Released and distributed in Pakistan by
Alternate Solutions Institute
Email: info@asinstitute.org
Address: P. O. Box No: 933, GPO,
Lahore-54000 Pakistan
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THE INSTITUTION OF ASLAM EFFENDI MEMORIAL LECTURE

To promote the mission and work of Late Aslam Effendi (1924-2006) a great free marketeer from Pakistan, Alternate Solutions Institute has instituted Aslam Effendi Memorial Lecture. The First Aslam Effendi Memorial Lecture will be held in February 2007.

To read about Aslam Effendi, please check the following links:

http://asinstitute.org/www.free-market.net/rd/page.php?instructions=page...
http://www.free-market.net/news/effendi-obit.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FreePakistan/message/7
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SPECIAL PAKISTAN EDITION
OF THE ECONOMIC FREEDOM OF THE WORLD 2005 ANNUAL REPORT

For quite some time Pakistani government is pursuing diligently a policy of privatization and de-regulation but keeping its hold intact by over-regulating and over-taxing, and not only is the size of government increasing but its spending also! This amounts to less and less space for economic freedom and free economic activity for the people of Pakistan.

All of the Reports (such as UN Human Development Report), Indices (such as The Index of Economic Freedom, prepared by Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal), etc. published world-wide that measure the stages of economic development or economic freedom reflect figures that do not augur well for Pakistan.

One such report based on reliable data and considered very authoritative is annually published by the Fraser Institute, Canada. To introduce and promote the concept of Economic Freedom in Pakistan, Alternate Solutions Institute, Lahore, in collaboration with Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Pakistan, has published a Special Pakistan Edition of the Economic Freedom of the World 2005 Annual Report. This is second in the series first being the Special Pakistan Edition of the Economic Freedom of the World 2004 Annual Report (available at http://ipn.lexi.net/images/uploaded/7-4257db45139a4--efw-2004-pakistan.pdf) that was published and launched last year in July

The Special Pakistan Edition of the Economic Freedom of the World 2005 Annual Report was launched on March 29, 2006, in Islamabad. For a copy of the Report, contact khalil@asinstitute.org or click the following link: http://ipn.lexi.net/images/uploaded/7-458044e235be9--EFR2005-Part1.pdf

For more information and feedback, info@asinstitute.org
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CIVIL SOCIETY REPORT ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, INNOVATION AND HEALTH

This report from a global coalition of 16 civil society groups, including the Alternate Solutions Institute Pakistan http://asinstitute.org analyses the relationship between intellectual property, innovation and health. It was released ahead of the report of the WHO's Commission on Intellectual Property, Innovation and Public Health. Experience shows that such UN reports are typically biased by political considerations and subject to heavy influence by vocal interest groups. As representatives of civil society, the 16 civil society groups have produced their own report on the same issue. Their aim was to produce a report untainted by political influence and based on sound economic analysis of the situation. It was motivated in part by a concern that the WHO's Commission on Intellectual Property, Innovation and Health, would not address the fundamental issues because of concerns about the response of member governments. The report has been written by a group of independent experts from think-tanks and health organizations around the world and reviewed by senior academic economists and health experts.

The coalition's research finds that 50 per cent of people in parts of Africa and Asia have no access to medicines due to a range of harmful government policies including: weak health infrastructure; taxes and tariffs on medicines; price controls; bureaucratic drug registration requirements; and regulations that prevent the formation of health insurance markets.

For a copy of the Report, contact khalil@asinstitute.org

To read the report online, click http://www.policynetwork.net/uploaded/pdf/Civil_Society_text_web.pdf

To read the Executive Summary online, click http://www.policynetwork.net/uploaded/pdf/Executive_summary_web.pdf

For more information, please contact info@asinstitute.org
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TRADE AND SECURITY: A VIEW FROM PAKISTAN
Alternate Solutions Institute, Lahore, participated in a project of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation , and contributed the following report that can be accessed by clicking the following link:
"Trade and Security: A View from Pakistan" by Khalil Ahmad
http://www.townsquareforum.net/archive/esid0034_pakistan.htm
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STATEMENT CALLING FOR SOLUTIONS TO END THE WAREHOUSING OF REFUGEES

Alternate Solutions Institute has endorsed the Statement Calling for Solutions to End the Warehousing of Refugees. For details, please visit <
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PDF VERSION OF THE SPECIAL PAKISTAN EDITION OF EFW 2004 ANNUAL REPORT
The PDF Version of the Introduction to the Special Pakistan Edition of the Economic Freedom of the World 2004 Annual Report is now available online.

To download, click one of the following links:

http://asinstitute.org
http://asinstitute.org/page.php?instructions=page&page_id=505&nav_id=93
http://ipn.lexi.net/images/uploaded/7-4257db45139a4--efw-2004-pakistan.pdf
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TAX EVASION AND MONEY LAUNDERING IN PAKISTAN: AN OVERVIEW

Alternate Solutions Institute, Lahore, participated in a project of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation , it contributed the following report that can be accessed by clicking the following links:

"Tax-Evasion And Money-Laundering In Pakistan: An Overview" by Khalil Ahmad
http://www.atlasusa.org/reports/esid_Pakistan2004.doc
http://www.townsquareforum.net/archive/esid0012_Pakistan2004.doc
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ALTERNATE SOLUTIONS INSTITUTE’S FIRST BOOK OF TRANSLATION

Alternate Solutions Institute, Lahore, Pakistan, has published its first book of translation, Ken Schoolland's "The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey," in Urdu which is understood not only in Pakistan but throughout South Asia. Ken's modern fable has so far been published in 29 languages of the world Urdu being the 30th. This book explains the principles of market economy in a simple manner and helps promote the concepts of open market and property rights. The book has been translated into Urdu by Khalil Ahmad. A. S. Institute is indebted to Irshad Ameen for his tireless efforts in getting the book out of the press.

It is hoped that the book will give a new direction to the discussion of welfare state in Pakistan.

If you want to purchase the book, contact at info@asinstitute.org ; khalil@asinstitute.org
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HOW TO END ALL WARS FOREVER

Aslam Effendi, an old and unsung Libertarian of Pakistan, has written three books on free market philosophy: HOW TO END ALL WARS FOREVER, HARD FACTS OF HISTORY, and, ECONOMICS FOR THE CONFUSED. When no publisher agreed to invest in the project, he spent out of his own pocket to get HOW TO END ALL WARS FOREVER printed. But, for want of a distributor, this book which has been praised as a classic remained dumped and could not find its way to the market. For details, read ‘Aslam Effendi: A Free Marketeer in Pakistan’ <
or visit http://asinstitute.org/articles.php. Alternate Solutions Institute, Lahore, Pakistan, has purchased all the copies of the book from Aslam Effendi to make it available to the right persons and to compensate the author as well.

If you want to purchase the book, contact at info@asinstitute.org ; khalil@asinstitute.org

A. S. Institute intends to publish all of his books; if you are interested in this project, please contact at the above-given email addresses.
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HARD FACTS OF HISTORY

The Foreword of this second book of Aslam Effendi was written by Henry Hazlitt in 1992. Since then this book remained unpublished, but now Alternate Solutions Institute has taken up the task of publishing this book in a befitting manner. The book will be out most probably in July 2005.
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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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