Israel can celebrate

IF there were any doubts about the Annapolis conference being a PR exercise for the benefit of the Republican Party they stand removed. Two events have followed in quick succession. Within a week of the joint declaration issued on Nov 27 at Maryland’s capital, Israeli Prime Minster Ehud Olmert repudiated the trilateral agreement by saying his government was not bound by the 2008 deadline for the emergence of a Palestinian state. On Sunday, without any qualms of conscience, Israel served notice on the world that it was going ahead with plans to build more homes in eastern Jerusalem. In the words of the Israeli minister concerned the new homes will be built “in those areas that are going to be included in its future territories”. If eastern Jerusalem — indeed the holy city in its entirety — is considered Israeli territory then the very basis of all the historic agreements is destroyed. These resolutions and treaties include UN resolutions 242 and 338, the Declaration of Principles signed in Washington in Sept 1993, Oslo II, the DoP’s altered version approved at the Wye Plantation, the 2003 road map and the Annapolis document.

Twenty-two Arab countries were among the 44 nations which attended the Annapolis conference in the fond belief that President Bush was sincere about peace in the Middle East. Indeed his Iraq policy was in a mess, and the Democratic victory in the mid-term elections in November last year meant the American people’s rejection of his war policy. This had led many to believe that he would make a last-ditch effort to go down in history as an American president who gave the Middle East a lasting peace, with the Palestinian people getting the right to live in freedom on their soil. The Arab hopes were misplaced, in spite of the fact that President Bush told Mr Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in categorical terms at Annapolis that he would “do all I can to help you achieve the ambitious goal”. However, as subsequent events showed, he has meekly accepted Israel’s repudiation of the joint document to which he was a party.

Those who opposed the Arab participation in the conference now stand vindicated. Hamas had expressed its scepticism of the utility of the conference, and events have proved the sacked Prime Minister Ismail Haniye right. For the American people, the sabotage of the Annapolis document by Israel and its acceptance by their president are non-events, for most probably the Zionist-controlled media would not even give due display to the Israeli breach of faith, much less criticise it. Israel has got away with it, and the Palestinians stand divided. There could not be a better moment for the Zionists to celebrate.

Planning for Karachi

THE long-awaited Karachi Strategic Development Plan 2020, or the ‘master plan’ in popular parlance, was adopted by the city council recently. Not free from controversy, the plan will nevertheless be welcomed if for no other reason than that the civic authorities are at least trying to move away from the ad hoc approach of yesteryear. Lack of planning has so far led to a haphazard growth of the city. The KSDP attempts to lay down strategies which are designed to guide the city government in drawing up development and improvement projects. Technically speaking, a good plan articulates the planners’ vision for the future of a city and provides an integrated framework for urban housing, water supply, sewage and garbage disposal, mass transit, traffic, environment, etc, in such a way that the various sectors are linked to one another and operate in a coordinated fashion. Most importantly, for a city plan to be efficient and effective, it must take into account the sociocultural and economic needs of the people so that it is not divorced from reality.

Seen in this context, one cannot overlook some basic weaknesses that will mar the KSDP’s implementation. It is flawed because no background studies were conducted to assess the socio-economic factors that shape the lives of Karachi residents. As such, the plan has emerged as a collection of guidelines that were suggested by just about everyone who had some say in the city government. That would explain why the plan is a package of ambiguities and contradictions with no clear-cut guidelines for the administrators. Another factor that has added to this confusion was the compulsion of the planners to integrate in their scheme a number of ADB projects that had been taken up even before the plan was drawn up. Additionally, the presence of 13 different agencies which run Karachi and the fact that the author of the KSDP, that is the city government, controls barely a third of the city’s area, makes the smooth implementation of the plan unlikely.

Of course experts will question the KSDP’s confused strategies on many counts. There is not sufficient emphasis on housing for the poor while many low-income families can be expected to be displaced. The high-cost proposals for traffic engineering and water desalination plants without addressing low-cost and feasible alternatives also cast doubts on the credibility of the planners. In these two cases, better traffic management and honest and equitable water distribution by checking water theft can produce effective results at minimal cost.

Implications of Gujarat polls

THE Indian state of Gujarat is back in the international news. Five years ago in 2002 Gujarat had received a lot of media publicity — of course of a negative kind — for a horrific carnage which saw over 2,000 Muslims brutally murdered. The same party, the BJP, which was then in the government has once again swept the state polls much to the horror of many who stand for secularism, non-violence and inter-communal harmony. Whatever implications this may have for Indian politics, the BJP’s win is certainly disturbing. With the general elections in India due in 2009 — they could be held sooner if the Congress-Left coalition at the centre fails to hold — Mr Narendra Modi, Gujarat’s BJP chief, could make a leadership bid in Delhi. That would certainly have a profound impact on India’s foreign policy, especially when Mr Modi’s brand of politics and ideology is not of the same kind as that of Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee who had led the BJP to power in New Delhi for the first time.

The Gujarat election will set the alarm bells ringing for another reason. It points to the growing trend towards communal and religious extremism and sectarian polarisation — mercifully not in the whole of India but certainly in the country’s most industrialised and affluent region. That also is worrying because the conventional wisdom is that such nationalist and communal selfishness comes when the economic cake is shrinking and there is not enough to go around. Is this a pointer towards ominous things to come? One hopes not. With societies regressing from the enlightened and secular stance many of them had achieved in the twentieth century to a narrow nationalistic and evangelical extremism, co-existence and tolerance are becoming increasingly difficult to find. This approach will only make polarisation and confrontation inevitable. In a world that is driven by globalisation and where societies are growing more and more pluralistic and multicultural, such intolerance will lead to further bloodshed before which the Gujarat massacre could pale into insignificance.

The cycle of politics continues

THE emphasis is on rigging. The All Pakistan Democratic Movement (APDM) is so sure of it that it has chosen to stay away from the electoral race. Ms Benazir Bhutto fears it and threatens that she won’t settle for anything less than her Pakistan People’s Party emerging as the single largest entity in the Jan 8 polls. Mian Nawaz Sharif concurs and asks the workers of his Pakistan Muslim League to thwart the king’s party’s attempt to steal the election.

Having so predicted, the two former prime ministers then busy themselves in containing the official Pakistan Muslim League and its allies — and indeed each other — as best as they can. The vote outcome apart, the politicians are after a long lull doing what their creed demands: politicking.

Ms Bhutto hopes to get a helping hand from the PML-N in Punjab. She is working by the old formula of anti- and pro-PPP votes and calculates that the presence of Mian Nawaz Sharif will prevent a consolidation of the votes against her party. Much to the consternation of the anti-traditional PPP forces in the province that even today warn the Leaguers on either side that their divide could lead to a rule by the infidels, the corrupt and the anti-Pakistan party, a three-way fight with all components in the equation fighting it out wholeheartedly suits her most. Mian Saheb on his part is finding it hard to come out openly against the PPP for he knows that he might need Ms Bhutto later on to launch an effective movement against the government.

At the same time he is seeking not to close the option of an alliance with the APDM and also the ‘civil society’ that is currently going alone in its fight for a free judiciary. He might feel the need to resort to his anti-PPP rhetoric as the election contest heats up. He cannot be seen as a PPP ally and get his ‘rightful’ share in the votes.

The PML-N leader appears destined for a street struggle post-election, unless he is barred from doing so by the people who arranged his return to the country after a seven-year-long exile.

He would be banking on a result that infuriates Ms Bhutto into becoming a part of the anti-Musharraf struggle. The problem is that no one is sure what will bring the people out on the street. The executive’s excesses against the judiciary have failed to move them. Will an election that violates the popular mandate prove a catalyst is a moot point.

The opposition parties say the violation has already taken place. They argue that they remain in the electoral race in the belief that the sheer number of their voters can turn the tables on the riggers on election day.

A survey of the scene does indicate that both the PPP and PML-N are very much in the run against an establishment that is not at all shy of using official resources and clout to win the competition. Of the two former prime ministers in the fray, Mr Sharif is better placed to speak on the rigging in Punjab mainly because of two factors.

One, Ms Bhutto, despite her best efforts and indeed despite the ground realities, has failed to convince the people at large that she has not in any way been facilitated by the government as she and her party seek to replace the current favourites of President Musharraf in power.

This, justifiably or not, gives Mr Sharif the reputation of being the only mainstream politician in the election who is out to challenge the Musharraf rule rather than carve a place for himself in the system run by the president.

Two, because of his long stay in power in Punjab with the support of the establishment, Mr Sharif is thought to be better qualified to comment on how the provincial machinery works to tilt the balance towards the one who is preordained by the authorities to rule.

As the old cycle continues, albeit with new official riders, already there are signs about the future that may not be unfamiliar to Mr Sharif. The people of Lahore and elsewhere in Punjab have been overwhelmed by the presence of the official party aimed at debilitating the opposition.

The first and foremost step towards unfairly influencing an election is to create awe among people about the inevitability of a win by the official candidates. Over the years this end has been achieved by throwing vulgar amounts of money into the campaign.

The official machinery is exploited to the fullest in the making of this impression, as are other visible non-government groups such as traders and shopkeepers. Once this objective is achieved, it becomes easier for the party menials to complete the election-day rituals.

The PML-Q is doing just that — trying to create an impression that its nominees are destined to win, notwithstanding who votes for them. This would explain an ostensibly small but actually quite significant incident that took place at Lahore’s Liberty Market a few days ago.

The traders who have been won over by the PML-Q foiled an attempt by a group of shopkeepers to hold a pro-PML-N meeting at the venue. A politically unknown trader, Sheikh Idrees, is contesting the National Assembly seat from the area with Chaudhry Moonis Elahi, son of Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, being the king’s party’s candidate for a Punjab Assembly seat from the same locality.

After some indecision, the best the PML-N has been able to do is to field Omar Sohail Zia Butt, a close relative of the Sharifs, from the constituency. The young Butt might still pull if off on the strength of the PML-N vote bank — a vote bank that will be difficult to retain in the long run without the traditional backing from the visible business community. Mian Saheb has a case to move against copyright infringement. His opponents are employing his tactics against him.

“We are taking part in elections under protest; we are not giving them any legitimacy… if we do not participate we leave the field for others.”
—Ms Benazir Bhutto

OTHER VOICES – Sindhi Press

Reasons for railway accidents

THE railway accidents that are taking place with great regularity every two or three months belie Pakistan Railways’ claims about its good performance and modernisation plans. Until recently we heard of fewer accidents.

The railways ministry has introduced a number of new trains on the main track which is about a century old. Just increasing the number of trains cannot be termed modernisation. If responsible railway officials were to travel by train, they would get first-hand information about the facilities available to the common man.

Passengers are loaded like animals on to the trains. The infrastructure is dilapidated. Since the British departed we have made no investment in infrastructure development. The addition of a few bogies and train services is all that has been done.

The track which was laid down about a century ago is tottering.

In the past, trains were supposed to be a safer, cheaper and more comfortable means of transport compared to road travel. But these qualities are no longer the hallmark of the railways. We see frequent and ever more serious railway accidents.

There might be different reasons for the growing number of accidents but negligence and weak infrastructure are key factors. We still use the very old kerosene-oil lighting system at railway stations. The changes claimed to have been brought about are at best cosmetic.

It is regrettable that the railway authorities have so far not even released the list of the passengers who died when the Karachi Express met an unfortunate accident last week near Naushero Feroze.

It is believed that the failure of the railway system is being engineered in anticipation of its privatisation. After continuous negligence the government will have a strong excuse to sell this national asset at a throwaway price. — (Dec 20)
Ibrat

A cruel joke

THE PML-Q and its allies have played a cruel joke on the unemployed youth of Sindh. At the end of their term in office they issued thousands of letters calling them for interviews for primary school teacher positions. Most of these letters were passed on through PML-Q candidates to enable them to win the forthcoming elections.

When these youths reported to the concerned officers, they were rejected on one pretext or the other. Now it is learnt that the education secretary has verbally instructed the education EDOs not to give applicants their appointment letters as [the earlier] orders were issued without fulfilling basic requirements.

The PML government did the same thing once before. A number of youths received appointment letters but these were later cancelled due to a dispute over the quotas of the ruling partners. So the PML-Q tenure ended and the youth of Sindh did not get their jobs.

Sindh has a higher ratio of unemployment as compared to the other provinces. The main reason for this is that Sindh did not have a representative government for a long time.

The migration of people from other provinces created pressure on jobs and livelihood in the province.

Karachi has a large number of jobs in the private sector but hardly 20 per cent of the people employed in the city are from Sindh. It is a universally accepted principle that indigenous people have the first right over the resources of an area. But in Sindh the situation is quite different. The people of Sindh are not receiving their due share in federal jobs either.

It is ironic that thousands of youths were cheated by the government issuing fake orders. We demand a thorough probe into the matter. The scandal should be exposed. — (Dec 20)
Koshish

— Selected and translated by Sohail Sangi.