Editoral-OHER VOICES - Pushto Press Peace in Balochistan

BALOCHISTAN Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani has reiterated that no military operation was under way in the province and that the law and order situation was better as compared to other places. Talking to media personnel, he said the Balochistan package had created employment opportunities … and the provincial budget was people-friendly. The chief minister said the government was planning to develop new roads and hospitals … [and] advised youngsters to avail job opportunities in the Frontier Constabulary and Pakistan Army. He advised youngsters to throw away weapons and try solving their problems with the power of democracy.

…[In fact] the law and order situation has deteriorated…. Thousands of Baloch are missing. …The government should hold talks with Baloch nationalists and try to resolve issues with them. …The maintenance of peace should be the ultimate goal of the present government…. — (June 21)

Illegitimate interference

…THE future of the US mission in war-torn Afghanistan is in a shambles and … countries are refusing to end their proxy wars on Afghan soil. The Afghan foreign affairs ministry has now accused the Iranian government of interfering in Afghanistan’s internal affairs. The International Security Assistance Force spokesman in Afghanistan … also said the same. According to the ISAF spokesman there is evidence that Iran is supplying money and ammunition to government opposition forces inside Afghanistan.

…[S]ome Afghan parliamentarians also claim to have evidence that Iran supplies arms to Afghan insurgents in coordination with its intelligence agency. Ahmed Waheed Tahiri, an Afghan MP, claimed … that Iran has transported 800 kg of explosives, 1,000 heavy weapons and some other light weapons to Afghanistan in the last two weeks. …All regional countries should help the Afghan government restore peace … — (June 23)

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Editoral-Whaling talks collapse

THOUSANDS of whales will continue to be killed each year following the collapse on Wednesday of international negotiations to redraw whaling rules after two intense days of secret talks.

Nonetheless, anti-whaling groups hailed the collapse as a success, as it means the ban on whaling — introduced 24 years ago but ignored by some nations — remains in place.

Pro and anti-whaling countries failed to reach a compromise agreement at the meeting of the 88 member countries of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Agadir, Morocco.

Acting IWC chairman Anthony Liverpool said “fundamental positions remained very much apart” while chief US delegate Monica Medina said: “After nearly three years of discussions, it appears we are at an impasse.”

Pro-whaling countries Japan, Norway and Iceland — with backing from the US, New Zealand and some green groups — had proposed lifting a ban on commercial whaling in return for cutting the number of whales killed under quotas that would reduce over a 10-year period.

But Britain, Australia and Latin American countries opposed ending the moratorium.

The failure to reach a consensus means the issue has been put to one side for at least a year. The result also calls into question the future of the IWC, with documents (PDF) published at the meeting saying “the status quo is not an option for an effective multilateral organisation”.

But the current situation, in which Norway and Iceland hunt whales despite the IWC ban and Japan uses a “scientific whaling” loophole to hunt 1,000 mostly minke whales, will now continue.

Wendy Elliott at WWF, which along with Greenpeace and the Pew Environment Group issued a statement on Monday backing a lifting of the ban under certain conditions, was disappointed at the outcome.

“Governments failed to find a way forward,” she said. “Once again, they have put politics before science.

“This brings into question the integrity of the commission and its ability to make meaningful decisions that benefit whale conservation.”

Japanese whaling commissioner Yasue Funayama said her country had offered major concessions to reach a compromise and blamed anti-whaling nations which refused to accept the killing of a single animal.

“We must rise above politics and engage in a broader perspective,” she said. The head of the New Zealand delegation, Geoffrey Palmer, blamed an “absence of political will”.

Richard Benyon, Britain’s minister for the marine environment, said: “It is hugely disappointing that the world could not come together to give greater protection to these magnificent creatures.

“We in the UK have been consistently clear that any new agreement must reduce the numbers of whales that are killed each year with the aim of a complete phase-out of all commercial whaling.

But anti-whaling campaigners hailed the breakdown as a victory. “We have won the battle to keep the ban in place but must continue to fight to win the war on all whaling,” said Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society CEO Chris Butler-Stroud.

“We must not forget that Japan, Iceland and Norway continue to whale outside of the sanction of the IWC, and that is a situation that has to change. Their whaling activities must come to an end once and for all.”

The negotiations also took place in the shadow of corruption claims, with newspaper allegations suggesting Japan had bought countries’ pro-whaling votes by paying for flights and IWC membership fees, a charge that was denied.

— The Guardian, London

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Editoral-Islam’s stress on environment

THE verse, “Corruption has spread in the land and the sea because of what they had committed” (30:41), seems to refer to the trespasses that human beings have committed against nature, leading the earth at a dizzying speed to an impending ecological disaster.

Muslims need to look at the Islamic scriptures to determine their spiritual and ethical framework regarding responsibility towards preserving the environment. In Surah Ibrahim it is said: “God is He who created the heavens and the earth, and sent down water from the sky, then brought forth fruits with it for you to eat. He gave the ship under your control, so that it may sail on the waters by His command, as well as gave the rivers in your power.

“He made the sun and the moon to serve you, both obeying the same law, and made the night and the day useful to you. And (besides) gave you everything that you asked for. If you try to count the favours of God, you will not be able to. Indeed, human beings are unjust and ungrateful.” (14:32-34).

Being ungrateful also means not using a gift in the manner, and for the purpose, intended by the Giver. In Surah Al-Baqarah it is also said that everything on the earth has been created for ‘you’ (2:29). The ‘you’ here refers to all human beings including all future generations. We should take care of these blessings, and should realise our moral accountability to God as well as to the future generations, in order to fulfil the rights of Allah and the fellow human beings on us.

The Quran states that life was created from water (11:7; 21:30). The importance of water and its equitable distribution among the people and animals is stressed: “…We send down water from the sky, pure water, so as to bring to life with it a dead land and to quench the thirst of Our creatures, both animals and humans, in large numbers. We keep distributing it among them, so that they would reflect.” (25:48-50). According to the Quran, Prophet Saleh’s nation, the Thamud, was destroyed because they refused to share the food and water with the she-camel (11:64). Prophet Noah was warned of the imminent flood. He was taught, through revelation, to build a huge boat and to put on it a pair of every species of animals as well as his followers. This is a lesson in preserving the species, which had turned into endangered species and would have otherwise been wiped out by the flood. The command to save the animals came before the command to save the Believers (11:40).

That life is sacred is borne out by the fact that the Kaaba and its precincts, covering about 50,000 sq km, are a sanctuary (7:96; 28:57; 95:3), where the killing of the smallest of creatures and damaging the smallest of plants is strictly forbidden, when in a state of ihram (5:96). The meat of an animal becomes lawful only after asking for permission by pronouncing God’s name over it, at the time of slaughter. Indiscriminate killing of animals is a grave sin and disturbs the balance of nature resulting in disorder.

We are told, “God does not like disorder” (2: 205). Even hunting is permitted only in order to consume the meat and not for the pleasure of enjoying a sharp-shooting spree. The Prophet (PBUH) exhorted his followers to be kind to animals. He forbade giving them pain or killing them unnecessarily.

The Prophet taught: “God does not like those who waste” (7:31). Even as the head of his people he led a simple life, in which the resources of the earth were not wasted, requiring their just distribution. He taught people not to waste food; he wore simple clothes and slept and ate on the floor. He is reported to have emphasised the importance of planting trees, especially from which human beings and animals could eat, as a way of protecting the environment. He said that one should complete the process of planting a tree and not run away, even if the Day of Judgment suddenly approached.

Islam as a code of life assigns duties as well as responsibilities. In the light of the Quran and the Sunnah, we must realise that we are accountable and, therefore, strive to change and adapt our lifestyle and social structures in order to leave the world in a habitable state for future generations.

nilofar.ahmed58@gmail.com

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Editoral-UK budget to ‘hit the poor harder’

BRITAIN’S leading experts on tax and spending on Wedneday strongly challenged UK chancellor (finance minister) George Osborne’s claims to have delivered a “tough but fair” budget, concluding that the measures in the emergency package would hit the poor harder than the rich.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said the chancellor and the deputy prime minister and leader of the UK coalition’s junior partner Nick Clegg could only assert that the better off were the big losers from the austerity move by including reforms announced by Labour, such as the changes to pension contributions.

The think tank gave its view as the prime minister David Cameron came under House of Commons pressure to justify the insistence that the budget was fair, and as Osborne admitted he was looking for extra welfare savings to spare government departments, other than health and international development, from cuts averaging 25 per cent during this parliament.

Noting that Britain was facing the “longest, deepest, sustained cuts in public spending since the Second World War, Robert Chote, the IFS director, said: “Osborne and Clegg have been keen to describe the measures as progressive in the sense that the rich will feel more pain than the poor. That is a debatable claim. The budget looks less progressive — indeed somewhat regressive — when you take out the effect of measures that were inherited from the previous government, when you look further into the future than 2012-13, and when you include some other measures that the treasury has chosen not to model.”

The IFS estimates that the squeeze on poorer families would increase in the second half of the parliament as welfare cuts kicked in and the two-year increase in child tax credit ended.

Yvette Cooper, the Labour opposition work and pensions spokeswoman, said: “The IFS has confirmed today exactly what we thought yesterday: that George Osborne’s budget was a typical Tory budget — unfair and hitting those on lower incomes hardest. So much for ‘we’re all in this together’.”

Osborne’s aides said that it was legitimate for the government to include pre-announced measures in its analysis of fairness. It was arbitrary to look at Wednesday’s measures in isolation. “What matters is what happens over the course of this parliament,” one said, adding that the richest 10 per cent of the population suffered most from the budget once both (previous chancellor) Alistair Darling’s and Osborne’s measures were taken into account.

The IFS found that the richest 10 per cent would be 7.5 per cent worse off by 2014-15 because of measures coming into force during the current parliament but that almost seven percentage points of that was due to Labour changes.

— The Guardian, London

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Editoral-A progressive budget

There are a number of pleasant surprises in Gilgit-Baltistan’s first budget. Firstly, the territory has divided the Rs12.98bn budget almost down the line, with Rs6.4bn earmarked for non-development expenditure and the rest going towards development spending. The creation of 1,500 new jobs has been announced. But perhaps the most welcome aspect is that a quarter of the budget for FY2010-2011 has been set aside for education. The number of scholarships for students from Gilgit-Baltistan studying in other parts of Pakistan has also been doubled. This indicates that the Gilgit-Baltistan government has its priorities right. Its finance minister has also announced austerity measures, saying that the government’s operating expenses had been reduced by 26.5 per cent while expenses on entertainment, gifts and purchase of physical assets had been frozen.

However, there is room for improvement. The revenue target is a little over Rs355m and the vast chunk of the budget consists of federal money. But considering the fact that the territory was granted greater autonomy only in August last year, it will take time before it can develop a proper economic infrastructure. The elected representatives along with the federal authorities must chalk out a strategy that will help Gilgit-Baltistan generate more income and reduce dependence on Islamabad.

Observers say that if Gilgit-Baltistan is given a greater share of the revenue generated by the Sost dry port — a gateway to trade with China — it will go a long way towards improving financial autonomy. Also, Gilgit-Baltistan’s tourism potential must be tapped. With its natural beauty the region can be a magnet for tourists if the proper infrastructure is in place. If the Gilgit-Baltistan government follows up on the promises made in the budget and gradually improves revenue generation, it may prove to be an example worth emulating for progressive fiscal management.

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Editoral-Websites’ blockade order

It is hard to grasp the logic behind the Lahore High Court’s decision to block search engines that allegedly carry blasphemous material. Anyone familiar with the Internet knows that search engines are essentially devoid of content: they merely throw up thousands of related web links in response to a user’s specific query. This means that a person affronted by ‘blasphemous’ material unearthed by, say, Google deliberately looked for it in the first place. No one forced him or her to visit an ‘offensive’ site and it seems implausible to argue that a search engine can be held responsible for every bit of information available on the web.

Yet, on Tuesday the LHC’s Bahawalpur bench ordered the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to block nine websites including Google, Yahoo, MSN and Hotmail. An individual filed a petition and a judge ordered an interim ban without, apparently, consulting experts in the field of information technology. It can be asked here whether the order could have been reserved until June 28 when PTA officials are due to respond to the court’s queries. At the same time the public would not be amiss in questioning the role of the deputy attorney general, who supported the petition. To what extent did he brief the court on the technical aspects of the issue at hand?

Let’s pause here and take a look at the Internet as a whole. The information superhighway is, in short, full of information that we may or may not choose to access. It is possible to look up the lyrics of a song from one’s childhood or the views voiced on Aryan nation sites and those that support Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Blogs that are entertaining or boring can be read at the click of a mouse. There is sports news out there, as there are reports on meetings between world leaders. The point here is simple: everyone has a right to the information he or she seeks. Also let’s not forget that there is no compulsion involved, nor is it possible to police the Internet to the extent that some desire. Whatever happened to turning the other cheek? It’s simpler.

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Editoral-Pakistan-India ties

Not much was expected in terms of public announcements from the meeting of the foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India yesterday in Islamabad and not much was offered afterwards for public consumption other than blandishments. With their bosses, the foreign ministers, set to meet on July 15, such meetings are invariably about setting the stage for higher-level interactions. From the perspective of nudging forward Pakistan-India relations, the meeting to be held between Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Home Minister P. Chidambaram may hold greater promise. Undeniably, terrorism is a key issue between the two countries at present. Yet, bizarrely, there is no effective mechanism for sharing intelligence on potential terrorist activities between the two countries.

The Joint Anti-Terrorism Mechanism set up in 2006 had become a posturing club, involving members of the bureaucracy who were content to exchange ‘wanted lists’ periodically. A more meaningful mechanism would involve the exchange of real-time intelligence between the two countries, and would almost surely require the active participation of the intelligence agencies on both sides. Messrs Malik and Chidambaram could use their meeting towards at least initiating such a process, one that would in concrete ways address some of India’s concerns on the terrorism front.

The fact of the matter is that big breakthroughs are not likely any time soon. Perhaps because of external, read US, pressure or perhaps because India is afraid the shifting tide in Afghanistan may jeopardise its investments there, India agreed to talk to Pakistan. But it’s striking that even now, some months after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made his surprise announcement, there is no decisive shift away from the Indian position post-Mumbai. What seems to have changed is more the tone and tenor rather than the substance of the conversations. Also not very encouraging is the lack of creative thinking on the Pakistani side.

As long as India clung to its ‘no composite dialogue’ line, Pakistan seemed to know what to say: restart the composite dialogue. But given some kind of ambiguity in the Indian position, Pakistan has not been able to put any new ideas on the table. To be sure, it’s in Pakistan’s interests to talk, and talk soon, about the ‘core’ issues, Kashmir, water, etc. Yet, diplomatic breakthroughs are not had by sitting back and sticking to traditional demands. In Prime Minister Singh, Pakistan has a potential peace partner who appears willing to at least go beyond the bare minimum in the quest for peace. Creative thinking here could give the latest ‘process’ the necessary impetus.

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Editoral-Politics of ethnicity

POLITICALLY motivated targeted killings, sectarian violence, forced occupation of other people’s property, illegal bulldozing of poor settlements, a growing crime rate and an increasingly helpless and corrupt administration are making Karachi ungovernable.

There are many local, national and international causes for this state of affairs. However, a major cause is the politics of ethnicity and the close link it has unwittingly acquired with the trillions that can be made from the land and real-estate business.

According to the 1998 census, 48 per cent of the city’s population is Urdu-speaking, 14 per cent Punjabi-speaking, 12 per cent Pushto-speaking and about nine per cent is Sindhi-speaking. The rest of the population speaks all the remaining languages of Pakistan.

Almost 75 per cent of the city’s population lives in settlements or neighbourhoods segregated on the basis of ethnicity. This is not just true of low-income settlements but also of lower middle-income and some middle-income settlements as well. As such, the city is physically divided along ethnic lines, and in an increasing number of cases, along religious lines as well. Crossing from one ethnically defined neighbourhood to the other is, in many cases, no longer possible.

Ethnically homogenous settlements exist in many global cities. However, unlike these cities, the state’s service and justice delivery institutions in Karachi have become weak and corrupt due to helplessness in the face of an ever-expanding population, and more so due to neglect by an unconcerned and self-indulgent social, bureaucratic and political elite.

Today, in Karachi, if a person needs a job, or wants to get his child admitted to a school, wants a domicile certificate, wishes to get an FIR registered, or get a friend released from legal or illegal police custody, he will go to his ethnic organisation or networks. He may also have to pay some amount of money for this service but it is easier and cheaper to do this than go to a state agency. In recent years, it has also become common for ethnic networks to resolve family and property disputes.

As a result of these realities, Karachi today votes on ethnic lines. By and large, Pakhtuns vote for the JUI and ANP. Sindhis and Baloch vote for the PPP, middle-class Punjabis vote for the Muslim League and the Urdu speakers for the MQM. Before 1992, this was not so. People, voted along ideological and class lines, although there was an ethnic element in the choice of ideologies.

Different ethnic groups today toe their party lines which divides Karachi further. Mohajirs feel that the Talibanisation of Karachi is a real threat and that the Pakhtuns are responsible for it. Similarly, the Pakhtuns feel that target killing is carried out by Urdu speakers and aimed at ousting them from Karachi. The Sindhis and Baloch feel that the MQM is responsible for the Karachi conflict so that it can use it to strengthen its negotiating position with the PPP and ANP. What is serious about this situation is that at the local level, there is no communication between these differing points of view.

Meanwhile, in the last 12 months, at least 17 estate agents and three land rights activists were murdered in Karachi and an unspecified number of estate agents have disappeared. Conversations with estate agents in locations where these killings took place reveal a situation not too different from other global cities such as Mumbai and Seoul, except that in these cities, unlike Karachi, killings are rare.

A research into the Karachi situation shows that before deregulation of the economy as a result of the WTO regime, there was a powerful underground economy based on contraband goods, gold and foreign exchange. This was controlled by ‘criminal gangs’ who had the active support of the rogue elements in the police and customs. These gangs were subservient to these elements and as such, kept in check.

After deregulation, except for drugs and alcohol, all other contraband goods became legalised and the nexus between the police, the custom officials and the criminal gangs was no longer effective. The gangs, independent of police and custom officials and with a lot of money and muscle power at their disposal, have gone into land and real estate for which they need the support of the political establishment which is ethnically divided. In addition, after devolution, local leaders in Sindh, as in the rest of Pakistan, have acquired considerable executive authority.

As a result of these changes, a nexus between certain rival ethnic elements of the political establishment and the gangs has been established leading to a booming formal and informal real-estate business, much of it on illegally or coercively occupied land and properties in complete disregard of existing byelaws and zoning regulations. Violence, targeted killings and kidnappings of opponents, rivals and social activists are an essential part of this development process.

The land-related law and order situation will get much worse, and the gangs much stronger, unless the Sindh politicians can rise above their ethnic and vote-related interests to negotiate the creation of effective state-controlled urban governance institutions. Such negotiations will have to be for promoting universal principles of justice and equity. However, so far all negotiations and agreements between them have been on the basis of ethnicity which merely strengthens the ethnic divide and makes effective governance difficult.

It is unfortunate that the only urban governance-related consensus that the politicians have managed to achieve is the recent enactment of the Sindh High Density Development Board Bill as a result of which a non-technical committee of the political establishment will be able to determine urban density and hence land use. Thus, the political establishment has the potential of becoming the legalised godfather of those currently involved in the coercive land and real-estate business at the expense of the citizens of Sindh and the physical and socio-economic environment of its cities.

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Rental P.Plant fails test run, loss Rs225m

A 150 megawatt rental power plant (RPP) installed in Samundri has consumed furnace oil worth Rs225 million provided by the government over the past year, but is yet to pass a reliability test run mandatory to join the national transmission system.

Because of its old age, the plant manufactured by China in 1958 failed its first test conducted on June 4 by a Dutch engineer hired by the Asian Development Bank. The engineer gave another chance to the Techno E-Power, the company which had installed the plant, suggesting that it should replace old equipment to make it work. The plant failed another test on June 11.

According to sources, the company’s owner has sound contacts in the power corridors and it is not bound to return the amount spent on furnace oil by the government.

The federal government signed a rental services contract with the company on Feb 14 last year and the 150MW plant was imported from China.

The Northern Power Generation Company (NPGCL — Genco-III), a state entity and buyer of electricity, bore the entire cost.

The $135 million project was to supply power to the national grid for three years after passing the test. The government has pledged that it will provide furnace oil till termination of the contract and the company will pay Rs26,000 per ton of the oil. The government will also pay $45 million annual rent to the company.

The NPGLC favoured the Techno E-Power by paying it $9.45 million (Rs687 million, or seven per cent of the total cost) in advance. The company was paid as much for the second time on April 1 last year as ‘additional down payment’.

The sources said the government had also been paying instalments of a loan obtained from a consortium of banks for the project. The first quarterly instalment of Rs38.2 million was paid to the Askari Bank on Feb 23 last year, second instalment of Rs38.9 million on March 7 and the third instalment of Rs18 million on May 28.

The Techno E-Power will return the amount to the government in instalments after the plant starts production.

Genco-III is following instructions of the Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) regarding payments to the company.

It is learnt that the company had promised to supply 60MW till June 20 and 150MW by July 30 last year.

Over two dozen diesel engines were installed at the plant for speedy power generation.

A source at Wapda House said Genco-III had also paid for a power connection for the company in Samundri. It paid Rs434,400 on Feb 14, 2009, as security deposit for the temporary connection and Rs468,000 to the Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco) on Sept 22 as electricity charges. It also paid Rs744,850 and Rs434,400 to Fesco on other occasions.

The sources said engineers had made it clear to Nepra at a meeting a couple of months ago that the plant was outdated and would not work according to the schedule.

Nobody is allowed to visit the plant and the sources said that former Fesco chief executive Ahmed Saeed had also been barred form entering the place.

Several internal tests were also conducted to ascertain the plant’s capacity for power distribution, but it failed all of them. However, no action has been taken against the contractor company despite the failures.

Techno officials refused to comment on the issue.

Pepco Managing Director Tahir Basharat Cheema said efficiency of rental plants was not his organisation’s responsibility. He said the oil that had been provided was meant for test run and Pepco owed another Rs300 million worth of oil to the plant which was producing 60MW.

He said the plant had been partially cleared by ADB experts.

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SC orders EC for fake degree MPs

June 24: The Supreme Court ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Thursday to initiate action against legislators accused of having used fake degrees to contest the election.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry issued the order after writing a detailed judgment to justify rejection of an appeal of Rizwan Gill, PML-N’s former member of the Punjab Assembly from PP-34 (Sargodha VII), for possessing fake bachelor’s degree.

The commission is required to depute an officer to supervise the entire exercise, while sessions judges who will conduct these trials will conclude the probe in three months in consonance with the spirit of elections laws.

The ECP has taken the position that it cannot act against lawmakers unless the Senate chairman or speakers of the National Assembly or provincial assemblies send references against them. It has pointed out that under an amendment to Article 62 of the Constitution, a person cannot be disqualified for being corrupt unless a court declares him to be so.

“No criminal could ever be heard, in any civilised society, to avoid punishment on the ground that some others, similarly placed had, on some earlier occasions escaped punishment,” the verdict said.

“Likewise, no individual, except the ones constitutionally and legally authorised for the purpose, could be allowed in a civilised society to declare which law of the land was good and which one was bad and then feel authorised to defeat the same through unlawful and even criminal acts,” the judgment said, adding that such attempts, if not nipped in the bud, could lead a society to the dark depths of destruction.

The judgment said: “Every law of the land, so long as it exists on the statute books, has to be respected and must be followed. The same should also serve as an answer to some reservations expressed about disqualification of a person from becoming a member of a legislative institution if he did not practice the obligatory duties.

“Suffice it, however, to add that identifying persons who could or could not become members of legislative institutions was a policy matter, but so long as such-like disqualifications were not omitted from the Constitution or the law, the courts were bound to honour and enforce the same and not so doing could amount to a grave dereliction of duty.”

In his verdict, the chief justice also mentioned what he called a revealing incident when Rizwan Gill, who had secured 72 per cent marks in a subject called IPS, was asked to define what it stood for. A long silence was the answer offered by Mr Gill who himself had come to the podium to address the court.

On court’s insistence and after a deep thought, his reply was “Health and Physical Education”. The detailed marks certificate produced on record by Mr Gill himself mentioned the IPS as “Islamic Studies/Ethics and Pakistan Studies”.

“This answer of the appellant, said it all,” the verdict said.

The judgment said: “The parliament of any country is one of its noblest, honourable and important institutions making not only policies and laws for the nation, but in fact shaping and carving its very destiny.

“And here is a man who being constitutionally and legally debarred from being its member, managed to sneak into it by making a false statement on oath and by using bogus, fake and forged documents polluting the piety of this pious body.

“His said conduct demonstrates not only his callous contempt for the basic norms of honesty, integrity and even for his own oath but also undermines the sanctity, the dignity and the majesty of the said august house.

“Shouldn’t it then be incumbent upon the ECP in discharge of its constitutional obligations to guard against corrupt practices, to launch prosecution of persons who stood accused of the commission of the same. The punishment and consequent disqualification of such-like persons would not be an act undermining the dignity and the majesty of the houses of legislature, but an act in aid of enhancing the same.

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Foreign secretaries swap proposals

The foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India swapped on Thursday proposals for addressing the issues constraining bilateral ties, as the two countries prepared for a long haul to address mutual mistrust.

While Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna are set to meet in Islamabad on July 15, it was evident after the secretaries’ parleys that the return to peace talks, suspended in November 2008 in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, would not be happening soon.

But, more worrying was a warning from the Indians that the trust building process was not insulated from any future terrorist incident.

“We understand that this process will be protracted,” Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said at a press conference with her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir.

Both Ms Rao and Mr Bashir said they were more focused on identifying the many ‘achievables and doables’ in the short- and medium-term before they returned to full-fledged peace talks.

The secretaries’ meeting, which both sides agreed was marked by ‘cordiality, sincerity and earnestness’, took place as a follow-up to an agreement between Prime Ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Manmohan Singh in Bhutan in April for re-engaging to normalise the ties.

The proposals for confidence building shared at Thursday’s talks will be considered by both governments and later firmed up through diplomatic channels, before the foreign ministers’ meeting where a host of measures to be jointly undertaken by Pakistan and India are expected to be announced.

At the press conference, both secretaries avoided discussing the specific proposals presented by them and instead emphasised on creating conducive atmosphere for re-engagement and putting the difficult bilateral relationship on the right track.

However, Secretary Rao’s assertion that “people are lifeblood of any relationship”, was a clear indication that the two countries were eyeing measures for improving people-to-people contacts and humanitarian issues to form the core of any trust-building formula.

Diplomatic sources said both sides candidly discussed the most contentious issues of terrorism and Kashmir and Mr Bashir noted after the media briefing: “I think it is not a question of irritation (on each other’s core concerns). We realise that there are complex issues on both sides that we have to address.”

TERRORISM: While India reiterated its demand for expeditious prosecution of the alleged perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks and dismantling of the so-called India-focused terror network allegedly based here, the Pakistani side pointed out its concerns about Indian sponsorship of terrorism and espionage in Balochistan and Fata.

The accusations and counter-accusations, which have become hallmark of any Indo-Pakistan dialogue, more importantly did not stop the two sides from expressing their resolve to jointly deal with the menace of terrorism.

“We should work together to resolve outstanding issues and deal with dangers, threats and evils of terrorism,” the Indian foreign secretary said.

Mr Bashir supported the Indian call for anti-terror cooperation, saying such collaboration would be beneficial for both countries which stood to gain from not allowing space to terrorists to act against each other.

The details of the proposed anti-terror cooperation are expected to be discussed at a meeting of the home ministers of both countries on the sidelines of Saarc interior ministers’ meeting due to be held here on Friday.

Mr Bashir said a broad agreement had been reached during his meeting with Ms Rao to move from rhetoric to effectively dealing with the menace.

This understanding was visibly at work at post-meeting background discussions with Indian officials, who looked more accommodative towards Pakistan’s efforts against terrorism. One diplomat said that while India acknowledged that Pakistan existed in a ‘terror-infested environment’, it expected Pakistan to have a ‘non-segmented’ approach in dealing with extremists and terrorists of all shades.

The Indian officials also appeared to have reconciled with Pakistan’s difficulties in confining Jamaatud Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed because of superior courts’ directives, but demanded that the government should at least stop virulent anti-India propaganda by him.

Pakistan, the sources said, was open to India’s new proposal vis-a-vis Hafiz Saeed and was also wary of the anti-peace lobby in both countries trying to scuttle the re-engagement process.

The Indians informed the Pakistani side that the re-engagement was not insulated from any future terrorist attack that could badly impact the process by restricting the already little negotiation space Dehli had.

At the secretaries’ meeting, the Indians minced no words in cautioning that attacks on Indian assets in Afghanistan would affect the ties, the sources said.

KASHMIR: Proposals discussed for intensifying Kashmir-related confidence-building measures included increasing cross LoC communication, trade and transport.

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US Senate approves Iran curbs

The US Senate on Thursday approved tough new unilateral sanctions aimed at squeezing Iran’s energy and banking sectors, which could also hurt companies from other countries doing business with Tehran.

The Senate passed the bill 99-0. The House of Representatives was expected to follow suit later in the day. Then the measure will go to President Barack Obama for his assent.

Congress intends to pressure Tehran into curbing its nuclear programme.

Lawmakers from both parties have been pushing for months to tighten US sanctions on Iran. At the Obama administration’s request, they held off until the United Nations Security Council and the European Union agreed to new multilateral sanctions. But the lawmakers then declared that still tougher measures were needed.

The UN sanctions, though a good first step, are quite tepid. And they are tepid because there are other members of the Security Council who want to keep doing that business with Iran ... The United States therefore has to pass these unilateral sanctions,” Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski said during debate in the Senate.

The legislation penalises companies supplying Iran with gasoline as well as international banking institutions involved with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, its nuclear programme or what the United States calls its support for terrorist activity.

It would effectively deprive foreign banks of access to the US financial system if they do business with key Iranian banks or the Revolutionary Guards.

Global suppliers of gasoline to Iran could also face bans on access to the US banking system, property transactions and foreign exchange in the United States.—Reuters

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Pakistan-Afghanistan anti-terror cooperation

akistan and Afghanistan agreed on Thursday to enhance their cooperation in combating terrorism and extremism for the sake of regional security and development.

Addressing a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi after a meeting, Afghan Foreign Minister Dr Zalmai Rasoul said that peace and security in Pakistan and Afghanistan were interlinked and they should cooperate with each other to achieve shared goals.

Dr Zalmai said his government was ready for a rapprochement with reconcilable Taliban militants to bring the nine-year-old strife to an end. “Peace talks are possible with those Taliban who have no links with Al Qaeda and renounce violence and respect the Afghan constitution,” he added.

About 1,600 delegates from across Afghanistan had at a jirga in Kabul early this month supported President Hamid Karzai’s plan to seek reconciliation with Taliban and other warring factions.

Mr Karzai had during a visit to Islamabad in March welcomed Pakistan’s offer to play a role in the reconciliation process.

In reply to a question about drone attacks, the Afghan minister said his country was opposed to any attack which killed innocent people.

Mr Qureshi said they had agreed to enhance bilateral relations in diverse fields and cooperation in border security.

The two sides reviewed security situation in the region and Afghan government’s efforts to achieve stability through reconciliation.

“Peace and security in Afghanistan are important for Pakistan and we have sincerely offered assistance, cooperation and training facilities to Afghanistan in all fields,” Mr Qureshi said.

He said Pakistan had offered training to Afghan military personnel to enable them to take over responsibility of security in their country.

He said economic cooperation could increase bilateral trade from the present $1.5 billion to $5 billion by 2015. He said Pakistan had also proposed the setting up of a commission to improve construction in Afghanistan.

The two sides agreed to develop direct road and rail links between Peshawar and Jalalabad. Mr Qureshi said the international community was ready to provide necessary funding for the projects.

Issues relating to the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, Afghan-Transit Trade, Afghan refugees in Pakistan and smuggling from Afghanistan were also discussed at the meeting.

Pakistan called for early finalisation of the transit trade agreement.

The Afghan minister said that relations between the two countries were improving and called for measures to implement past agreements.

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