Monday, October 30, 2017

OF SEPARATIST MOVEMENTS, CPEC, BALOCHISTAN AND PAKISTAN

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/10/30/of-separatist-movements-cpec-balochistan-and-pakistan/

The People of Balochistan should feel the advantages from CPEC rather than feeling cheated

Movements for separation to gain autonomy from a larger whole are on the increase, with the USSR, Scotland, and others in the past, to Brexit, and now Catalonia. It is in the interests of governments around the world to study these cases and either work towards keeping the disparate segments of their population happy, or figure out how best to allow them to separate if required; that is of course if they are interested in peace.
Has Pakistan, which has gone through two major and bloody separatist events, one which gave birth to the country, and the other that split it into half, learnt from any of these events given that there is a thriving separatist movement in Baluchistan that has existed ever since the country came into being?
Baluchistan makes up almost half of Pakistan, although population wise it is only almost 4 percent of the whole. But far from its people benefiting from the mineral wealth the province has contributed to the country’s economy, the Baluch are among the poorest and most marginalized, the majority of them living in abject poverty without the basic necessities of life, clean water and electricity.
Baluch dissatisfaction with this and the manner in which it became part of Pakistan took the form of rebellion, which, rather than being addressed at the roots has always been dealt with aggressively.
With the separatist movement in Scotland, the government wisely allowed the Scots the democratic route, to choose whether to stay or leave by means of a referendum. The poll was held and they chose to stay. It was the same with French speaking Quebec in Canada.
The idea of such a referendum in Baluchistan is a pie in the sky.
Catalonia, like Baluchistan has long had a vigorous freedom movement. Like Baluchistan, Catalonia is a sparsely populated region. Its population accounts for just 19 percent of the whole of Spain. Unlike impoverished Baluchistan however, the people of Catalonia make up the wealthiest segment of Spain, although their wealth is more industrial (textiles, and a growing chemical and service industry) than mineral. But as in the case of Baluchistan where its secession would spell economic disaster for Pakistan since Baluchistan is one of the richest provinces of the country in terms of natural resources, the loss of Catalonia would mean a vital loss for Spain in terms of the Spanish economy.
In the early days of the Spanish Republic, Catalonia was granted a large degree of autonomy. This autonomy was revoked with the coming into power of General Franco, who also came down heavily on the distinctive Catalonian identity. The people of Catalonia were not allowed to use their language and other political and cultural restrictions were imposed upon them.
Franco’s dictatorship fed the already strong separatist sentiment in Catalonia, as bans, prohibitions and suppression invariably do, but dictators rarely understand this, and military dictators – never. In Catalonia, a poll was recently held to determine if its people want independence from Spain. Without taking into account the large number of abstentions, the result was pro-independence, and controversial.
After invoking article 155 of the Spanish constitution by means of which the center takes direct control of the largely autonomous province of Catalonia, the government of Spain declared the referendum for independence invalid, dissolved the Catalonian regional parliament, and ‘fired’ the Catalan leader, Mr. Puigdemont. The central government has ordered fresh elections in December, but in a refreshing contrast to the scenario in Pakistan, it has invited Mr. Puigdemont to stand in these elections if he wishes. There has been violence as a result of the Catalonian separatist movement, but this violence has been open.
The first act of aggression against Baluchistan was way back in 1948, right after Pakistan came into being. Then the army moved into the province, to ‘persuade’ a reluctant Kalat to join Pakistan. Kalat became part of Pakistan but the fact has never been accepted by Baluch Nationalists, who called the annexation a forced, unconstitutional move, as it was.
This was followed by resort to other violence, such as the killing by the Pakistan army of Akbar Bugti and several of his men in 2006. There have been other operations, covert ones, kidnappings, and ‘disappearances,’ and it is alleged that around 4000 Baluch have been either detained without trial or determined missing.
But now another factor has entered the field, namely CPEC (the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) which is likely to play a crucial role in the economy and society of Pakistan and the region.  It will certainly play an important role in Baluchistan seeing the layout of the corridor which stretches from Gwadar a port in Baluchistan in the south up to Kashgar, a Muslim province of China which is already a scene of unrest. It is a volatile setting. Surely on this occasion and in the light of changing times, the powers that be would do well to re-evaluate their relations with this province.
CPEC includes many transport and energy projects, and since Baluchistan contains the bulk of Pakistan’s gas and oil reserves, this marginalized, angry province will play a major role in this venture. You wonder what lies in store for the people of Baluchistan and the country as a result.
The results of CPEC are as yet uncertain.  If one can be certain of one thing it is that a lot depends on whether the people of Baluchistan feel they have gained by means of the project, or whether they feel cheated as they do at present. The track record of successive government of Pakistan, and of its intelligence services has not been good in this matter. One can only hope that sense will prevail, and with it chances of prosperity and peace.

Monday, October 23, 2017

HUM AISI CHEZEIN NAHIN KARTAY (WE DON'T DO SUCH THINGS)

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/10/23/hum-aisi-cheezein-nahin-kartay/

By exposing the extent of the problem, the ‘Me Too’ campaign has made it impossible to ignore the subject of sexual abuse of women. It should not have been ignored in the first place but it was. That was because in this country, we like to imagine that such things as sexual abuse do not take place here, in the Land of the Pure.
If ever there is a misconception, it is this.
The sexual abuse of women, as well as the sexual abuse of minors of either gender takes place here as much as anywhere else, and with for example the marriage of girls while they are still minors, also has social sanction.
To help create a safer environment for children, the NGO Sahil works to combat such abuse, and Sahil’s annual publication ‘Cruel Numbers’ provides some damning statistics. But what, as always, of women?
Women everywhere, and very much so in Pakistan, are subjected to abuse and harassment on the street and at home. It would be hard to find a woman, whether in a rural or urban setting, liberal or conservative, who has not been subjected to it. Which is interesting, given that the conservative segment of society, both here and elsewhere such as the Republican Congresswoman from Texas Eddie Bernice Johnson, thinks that women invite abuse, and advises them to dress to avoid it. Yet it would be impossible to find anyone dressing more to dispel such things than the unfortunate burqa clad, gloved and socked women in this country of temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius.
So what is the solution? Is it to keep women from interacting with anyone outside of home?
Twenty years ago it was estimated that the majority of murders of women in this country were committed by family members. ‘According to a study carried out by Human Rights Watch, an estimated 70-90 percent of women in Pakistan have suffered some form of abuse of which an estimated 5000 women are killed as a result of domestic violence every year, with thousands others maimed or disabled.’ A survey carried out by the Thomson Reuters Foundation found Pakistan to be the third most dangerous country in the world for women.
So no, there is no point keeping women confined to the house, or keeping them covered from head to foot since studies show that abuse takes place whether women cover themselves excessively, or not.
Since it is not possible to eliminate the female of the species although that is often tried, we are left with a problem. The first thing that comes to mind, is that perhaps the problem lies with men.
To imply that the problem lies with the biological make up of men is to cast aspersions on divine engineering, yet, that is what conservatives say, that ‘men can’t help it, that’s how they are.’ Taking that as the usual throwing the blame elsewhere statement that comes from such quarters, could it be that there is something lacking or undesirable about the education (taaleem) of men, and their upbringing (tarbiyat)? At least that would be something one could do something about, if one tried.
School and home. These are the two places responsible for education and upbringing respectively, with a substantial overlap. If schools are monitored, homes are likely to improve in their role of imparting attitudes which influence an adult’s behavior.
Pakistan has one of the highest rates of illiteracy in the world. And it has hundreds of thousands of madressahs, schools teaching so called ‘religion’ and very little else. Although attempts have been made to monitor these madressahs, the syllabus and the teachers of these madressahs are pretty much allowed to remain as they are and do as they wish. These institutions are very often funded by ‘foreign’ donors, and the brand of Islam taught here does not include rights for women, an irony since Islam was responsible for some of the first rights given to women, ever. Not believing in rights for women is indicated by the disparity in numbers between education among men and women in the poorer class of society from which madressahs draw their clientele. Madressahs also often stress things like jehad, the violent sort, and sectarian divisions.
It is hard to blame families for enrolling their children in madressahs. Often illiterate themselves, and almost always poor, these families see madressahs as free institutions that (claim to) impart literacy and religion to their children, children who would otherwise not receive either. In many of these madressahs, students also receive boarding, lodging and food free of cost.
The solution is to a) monitor madressahs if they must exist, b) to overhaul their curriculum to include mainstream subjects, and a better quality of education c) to improve the quality of mainstream government schools d) alleviate poverty so that families do not feel constrained to send their children to whichever institute feeds them.
For this the person in charge of the Ministry of Education needs to be a person of dedication, vision, and education. We might well have this in the person of the current incumbent, but it has been impossible to discover his educational credentials online, where one can generally discover anything, down to what the latest celebrity ate for breakfast.

Monday, October 16, 2017

INCITEMENT TO VIOLENCE

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/10/16/incitement-to-violence-2/

“…statements ‘distancing themselves’ from Captain Safdar’s views
came several days too late for decency,
and much too late for  a family belonging to the Ahmadi faith
that was shot to death in Sheikupura
a day after Captain Safdar’s speech
in the National Assembly.”

 The similarities never cease to amaze. There’s Donald Trump and his equally unfortunate son in law, and there’s the not very different family in Pakistan that harbours Captain Safdar, who more than unfortunate, is a danger to the society that he imagines has granted him permission to spout his sectarian views. Mr. Kushner’s dealings with Russia might well be on a similar plane, but it is the wellbeing of Pakistan that concerns us.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan Khaqan Abbasi, and the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s statements ‘distancing themselves’ from Captain Safdar’s views came several days too late for decency, and much too late for  a family belonging to the Ahmadi faith that was shot to death in Sheikupura a day after Captain Safdar’s speech in the National Assembly. The husband, wife, and their two year old son were murdered in their home by ‘unidentified gunmen’, while their five year old son who hid under the bed in terror escaped being killed. The heart of each and every person calling himself human must bleed for this family, and for the little boy so brutally deprived of his loved ones, and who witnessed their murders. If Captain Safdar thinks for a single split second that the Prophet of Islam Muhammad (PBUH), a man who loved his grandsons and all humanity so tenderly would condone any such thing, any such thing at all, he is supremely deluded, and commits the greatest blasphemy of all by saying so.
It is no coincidence that the US has seen a sharp rise in racist incidents since Mr. Trump succeeded to the Presidency, and it is no surprise that such an incident as the murder in Sheikhupura took place in Pakistan right after the Captain’s speech in the National Assembly.  Views do filter down from the top and attitudes are given legitimacy when they are supported by people in power, however flawed, feeble and ill their minds may be.
There is a reason for the existence of the constitution of the country which is formulated after much deliberation by some of the best minds the country can afford. The constitution is meant to guide laws and to protect people from just such views as the Captain claims were the driving force behind his entering politics.
There is something seriously wrong with the state of a country if people can openly profess that they entered politics with views such as Captain Safdar’s. You wonder how Captain Safdar means to protect anyone by means of ideas that, as stated by himself, are violent, divisive, and selective in their choice of whom to protect.
According to the Constitution of Pakistan a person stands disqualified from the National Assembly if he or she is found to have opposed Pakistan’s ideology. Do we need a reminder that as per that ideology and according to Article 20 of the Constitution of Pakistan, its citizens are granted the right to profess, propagate and practice their religion? That Article grants every denomination and sect the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions. In which case the Captain stands to be disqualified from his position in the National Assembly, as well as held for incitement to violence and murder, because in his speech he called for ‘action’ against members of the Ahmadiyya community, and praised Mumtaz Qadri. Qadri, remember, is the man who murdered the Governor of Punjab Salman Taseer for showing sympathy for a woman of that community condemned to death for blasphemy.
It is hard to imagine why a person or a group of persons should feel inclined to use violence as a first resort, to defend his or her beliefs. Violence, except when resorted to in self-defence, is by its very definition unconstitutional, and not a rational act. It takes place with the view to hurt, damage or kill someone or something.
The first thing anyone who considers himself to be a patriot must do is stand up to any infringement of the constitution. One of those infringements, quite incidentally, is to consider khaki above green. That just needed to be slipped in.
Standing up for the constitution means upholding the law and justice, and does not mean using violent means. That, strangely enough, is not as understood by lawyers in this country, who assaulted security personnel at the doors of a court of law in Islamabad recently, and threatened the judge in the same court.
Defending the constitution also does not mean ‘taking action’ against any community simply because of their views. Especially if those views have not translated to violence, and the only violence surrounding the Ahmadiyya community is that which has been committed against them.

Tuesday, October 10, 2017

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PROSPERITY?

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/10/10/an-opportunity-for-prosperity/

Some individuals in the meantime have the foresight and the nous to seize the opportunity
so obviously presented to them in the Tharparkar district of Sindh,
a large subtropical desert invariably sidelined by the powers that be.
 The CPEC, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, defines itself as ‘a framework of regional connectivity,’ and hopes to provide a ‘better region of the future, with peace, development and growth of the economy.’ sic.
Let’s hope this is so, that CPEC does improve relations and conditions all around. For now, there is an objection from our neighbour to the east, which says that CPEC passes through disputed territory, with the US backing that claim.
There are also other matter that have to do with Pakistan’s past; CPEC tends to raise spectres of the East India Trading Company, and rulers now are no wiser than they were then.
Despite all this it is hoped that the culmination will be somewhat different this time around when once again, another country is allowed in with special concessions. Such tussles are likely to be a feature of this project, and the government would do well to deal with them as carefully and diplomatically as possible. It remains up to Pakistan to steer this venture into safe waters and to use it wisely so it can bring prosperity to its people and the region. Whether or not the government is likely to be able to do this remains to be seen.
Some individuals in the meantime have the foresight and the nous to seize the opportunity so obviously presented to them in the Tharparkar district of Sindh, a large subtropical desert invariably sidelined by the powers that be. Thar has, as a result, the lowest Human Development Index in all of Sindh.  Yet the coalfields of Thar are said to contain the sixteenth largest coal reserves in the world.  According to Wiki ‘a total of 175 billion tons of coal resource potential has been assessed, equivalent to total oil reserves of Saudi Arabia and Iran combined and can be used to produce 100,000 MW for 300 years.’  Thar is therefore now the site of one of CEPEC’s energy priority projects which involves the establishment of coal fired power plants. It is here in Thar, that some women have made up their minds to use CEPEC to better the lot of their families. Otherwise, women in Pakistan have a tough time, particularly those living in less developed areas.
Pakistan trails behind the world where women’s rights are concerned, with the exception of Saudi Arabia where women have just been ‘allowed’ to get behind the wheel – an infuriating choice of words. Women in Pakistan have never been barred from driving on a national, official scale. Pakistan possesses women’s sports teams, and women are not restricted to a few jobs. Yet there are huge social problems facing women in this country, some of which were very much highlighted by the reaction to Qandeel Baloch, and her murder, by her own brother. The antagonism for the murdered woman from a sizeable chunk of the population speaks volumes for the attitude towards determined women who take their lives into their own hands.
It has been estimated that hundreds of trucks will be needed to service the coal mines once they are established. These are not your ordinary little trucks, but large sixty tonne monsters and Reuters reports that each driver may earn up to Rs.40,000 a month. At present, for the coal mine that is now functioning the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) is already running some trucks, and among the drivers being trained to drive these trucks are thirty female drivers taken from amongst the local population of Thar.
You have to be a woman to fully appreciate the cultural barriers these women are breaking. They are stepping into these jobs in a country where female drivers even on crowded urban streets although they are allowed to drive are invariably harassed. It is a hugely admirable achievement, equal to the conquest of Everest to drive such a large vehicle, in this inhospitable, terrain containing people holding prohibitively conservative views as people do in such uneducated regions. It goes to show the will to survive, and the courage of the people of this country, a will and courage that deserves a leg up.
Pakistan has a lot of catching up to do. The government serves its people only so far. The people go much further to make up the shortfall. There are hospitals in this country run entirely on donations, schools, training institutes and other services. With something like CEPEC coming up, although it lays the country open to many issues, also holds the potential for prosperity. If only those involved are able to bring themselves to look beyond their personal interests and bank accounts, this might be achieved.



Monday, October 2, 2017

WHY THAT SPEECH WAS IMPORTANT

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/10/02/why-that-speech-was-important/


“Don’t blame us for the Haqqanis,

and don’t blame us for the Hakim Saeeds.

These were the people who were your darlings just twenty to thirty years ago.

They were being wined and dined in the White House.”

Last month, Khwaja Asif made a speech at the Asia Society Forum. The Foreign Minister said, “Don’t blame us for the Haqqanis, and don’t blame us for the Hakim Saeeds. These were the people who were your darlings just twenty to thirty years ago. They were being wined and dined in the White House.” And now, said Khwaja sahib, Pakistan is being blamed by the US for nurturing these people.
Good thing Khwaja Asif is not a retired army officer, because that would have been a bit rich coming from him.
Also, the chief of the banned Jammat ud Dawa/Lashkar e Taeba/Milli Muslim League, Hafiz Saeed has now sued the Foreign Minister for his words. Being a good little man, and a literal one whatever else he condones, he cannot condone that reference to a glass of the tut-tut, even though alcohol is not relevant to what his organisation does or does not do, violence is.
Why did so many people pump their fists into the air, and say: “Yes!!” when the Foreign Minister said what he did? Was it because finally a politician said what should have been said a long time ago?
One of the most significant tragedies to hit Pakistan was a moustachioed dictator with peaked eyebrows. Mangoes were of service to the country then, not that one would have wished any service to take such a shape, but the fact remains that most of the problems that beset the country today were fostered at that time. Then is a good place to start if we wish to study the now, although before those roots came the seed, and before the seed the soil was prepared, religious extremism being a plant that requires careful fostering over time.
It’s an old story, one that we have all heard, but it has been so painted over and put aside, and those involved posture as such heroes, that when finally someone speaks of it, it creates waves as if it were something new. After all, politics is all about information, or the lack of it.
At a time when the world was gripped by the much exaggerated threats of the Cold War the US needed access to Afghanistan and support against the Russians. They were not picky where they got it from, to be honest, and they got it by keeping Pakistan on their side and doing what had to be done via that country’s leaders, one of whom was el-generalissimo. These leaders, like Dickens’ Barkis, were more than willing, because they had their own axe to grind, details of which are given in Ayesha Siddiqa’s ‘Military Inc.’
It was okay, then, to put aside a democracy (however flawed) and support a military dictatorship. It was also okay to foster and support ‘jihadist’ groups. Here is what the New Yorker in 2011 has to say about what happened when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan: ‘President Jimmy Carter, in a panic, offered Zia four hundred million dollars in economic and military aid. Zia rejected the offer, calling it “peanuts”—the term often arises in Pakistani critiques of American aid, but it must have rankled the peanut farmer in the White House. Zia was smart to hold out. Under Carter’s successor, Ronald Reagan, U.S. aid nearly quintupled: about three billion dollars in economic assistance and two billion in military aid. The Reagan Administration also provided three billion dollars to Afghan jihadis. These funds went through the sticky hands of the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, the spy branch of the Pakistani Army. Starting in 1987, the I.S.I. was headed by General Hamid Gul, a cunning and bitterly anti-American figure. The I.S.I. became so glutted with power and money that it formed a “state within a state,” in the words of Benazir Bhutto.’
Aldous Huxley did predict that ‘There will be in the next generation or so a pharmacological method of making people love their servitude, a kind of painless concentration camp for entire societies, so that people will have their liberties taken away from them, but will rather enjoy it, because they will be distracted from any desire to rebel by propaganda or brainwashing.’
He could have been talking about the Zia who used religion to create mental concentration camps in which people if they thought for themselves or disagreed with his policies were anti-mard-e-momin mard-haq and all that that implied. If something that issues from a seriously limited understanding and a wily brain can be called brilliant, it was brilliant the way in which religion was positioned in the national arena by this man who pushed aside all laws, all constitutional provisions to put himself in power and to stay there longer than anyone else in the country has been able to before or since.
The point is what can be done now to change the way things are?
Little has changed in the way power is sought by certain groups, that create states within states, and threats where there are none. Instead the real threats, of poverty and illiteracy are hidden behind several curtains. They are in fact used to create more little radicals.
One of the powers that must be contained is military Inc. It is unclear how that can be done unless the public itself recognises just how many Punch and Judy shows are being conducted right in front of its eyes. Unfortunately the public does not realise this.
Khwaja Asif’s speech was important because it enabled this debate to take place. You wish that he or other leaders the world over had the courage to follow up, rationally, peacefully, on all that his words implied.