Cooperation is the key

SOLIDARITY on any issue is a rare phenomenon in Pakistan’s political circles. So the unanimous support the government and the armed forces received from parties of all shades on Tuesday on the issue of national security following the reprehensible happenings in Mumbai was a departure from the past. Notwithstanding initial reservations about how Pakistan reacted to the crisis, this unified posture should bolster the government’s position as it seeks to defuse tensions with India. There is hope of this being achieved as New Delhi, after directly holding Pakistan responsible for the attack, is now prepared to take a more level-headed view.

Although India’s foreign minister, Pranab Mukherjee, warned that the peace process could be harmed if Pakistan did not act decisively, he ruled out military action. Considering the pressure on New Delhi to compensate for apparent intelligence lapses by leaving no stone unturned to punish the perpetrators, this must have been a difficult decision — especially when state polls are being held in India and a general election is scheduled for next year.

However, it is also time for a few home truths for India. The biggest confidence-building measure in the subcontinent will be a move towards the resolution of the Kashmir issue which would deprive the lunatic fringe of most of its oxygen. In this, Pakistan has already taken the lead. The government — including the previous one under Gen Musharraf — has given up age-old defiant postures and extended a hand of cooperation across the border. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the case of foreign fighters, believed justifiably to be a creation of Pakistan’s intelligence services, who were conspicuous by their absence during the recent uprising in the Valley. With Islamabad willing, there is no reason why India should not take advantage of the little-used joint anti-terror mechanism set up some time ago to help itself and Pakistan weed out dangerous, non-state actors. It would be disastrous to make the peace process a casualty of this latest terror attack.

Finally, just as New Delhi needs to accept that there could be a link between militancy and the socio-economic conditions of minorities in India, there should be no memory lapses on Islamabad’s part when it protests against being a prime suspect each time there is a terrorist attack. With many militants, such as those in the 7/7 London attacks, having links to Pakistan, and some of the 9/11 suspects having used its soil for transit, pressure is bound to mount on Islamabad from all sides. This should propel it to ‘do more’ to combat Islamists who are responsible for death and destruction in the country, the region and beyond. Pakistan will continue to draw criticism — and more — from the global community unless it cracks down.

Excessive use of force

THE raid on Afghan Basti in Karachi on Tuesday epitomises everything that is wrong with law enforcement in the city. After days of violence left dozens dead and scores injured and the law-enforcement agencies looking increasingly impotent, a raid was conducted on the basti by several hundred police and Rangers personnel as a show of strength by the government and to give the impression that it was acting to bring the situation under control. Granted the 24 individuals they picked up may well turn out to be criminals, and some may even be found to be involved in the events of the past few days, but the law-enforcement agencies surely went about their task in the most wrong-headed way. News channels flashed images all day of uniformed officers breaking down doors, grabbing hold of men and then herding them into official vehicles, all the while slapping, punching and generally mistreating the men they were detaining.

It is true that in law-enforcement operations officers must be ready to use a heavy hand when needed, especially if those detained are putting up resistance, but from Tuesday’s disturbing images it is not clear at all if that was the case. Under the law, all detained persons have rights. The mistreatment of detained persons in the full glare of the cameras by officials showed the impunity with which those rights are violated. And it left one wondering what will happen to them away from the cameras. As a frightened, worried city tries to recover from the latest bout of ethnic violence, the plight of a couple of dozen poor, unknown detained persons may not appear as the highest priority. But that impulse is highly misleading. The city can only return to normality once the law-enforcement agencies appear to be even-handed and impartial in the enforcement of the law. The sight of men from just one neighbourhood belonging to one ethnic community being targeted by the authorities at a time when many areas have witnessed trouble and other ethnicities are also believed to have perpetrated the violence can only inflame ethnic tensions. So not only was the manner in which Tuesday’s raid was conducted distasteful, it is likely to be counterproductive. All denizens of Karachi deserve better from their law-enforcement agencies. Using them as a blunt instrument for political purposes has damaged not only the city but the agencies themselves. But that is a realisation that only appears to occur to our politicians when in opposition.

Piracy or terrorism?

IT is indeed an extraordinary phenomenon that a terrorism-conscious world has taken so long to wake up to the dangers of piracy in two of the world’s busiest sea lanes. Since Somalia’s collapse as a state, pirates have been active in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since 2005. On Sunday, pirates operating from speedboats fired on a US cruise ship which had 1,000 people on board, and on Tuesday five ships were lucky when a Nato warship came to their rescue. So far this year the pirates have attacked or hijacked 100 ships. While they have released some ships after ransom was paid, 14 ships and 250 crew members are still with them. Their biggest catch came last month when they hijacked a Saudi oil tanker carrying crude worth $100m. In September they seized a Ukrainian freighter with 33 tanks on board. The American ship, Nautica, wasn’t the first cruise liner to be targeted. In 2005 they had attacked another cruise ship, Seabourn Spirit, which escaped because it was faster than the pirates’ boats.

It is amazing that an area with such heavy shipping and patrolled by Nato warships should be so vulnerable to this criminal activity. What has emboldened the pirates is the readiness with which the shipping companies and the governments concerned negotiate with these criminals and give them money. This is in sharp contrast to the attitude where any group suspected of terrorist acts is given a taste of the international community’s firepower and punished, even if this results in heavy civilian casualties. We see, for instance, Israeli jets swinging into action against ‘Palestinian terrorists’ every now and then in Gaza, killing women and children, and America never hesitates to use drones to attack suspected terrorist hideouts in Fata, sometimes on the basis of anything but ‘actionable intelligence’. However, nothing seems to move the Nato war machine and America’s own Fifth Fleet to act against the pirates. If they wanted, Nato warships could wipe out the pirates in no time. Evidently, the world doesn’t seem to believe that piracy is much of a crime, much less terrorism.

OTHER VOICES - Middle East Press

A major shift in Iraq

Gulf News

DESPITE opposition from the influential Sadrist bloc, the Iraqi parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of the security pact with the US. The Sunni bloc, which was expected to vote against the agreement, supported the deal….

The vote can be perceived as a sign of confidence in the government of Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, which lobbied hard to get the pact approved.But it also marks a major shift in Iraqi politics. The agreement, which allows the US forces to stay for three more years in the occupied state, is opposed by the majority of Arabs. It is being seen as a deal that legitimises the occupation.

But what is less known is that under the pact, Iraq will finally be removed from the United Nations’ guardianship — which forces Iraq to get the Security Council’s approval for every sovereign decision.

And that places a responsibility upon Al Maliki and his allies to settle other burning issues — such as rehabilitating the army and security forces, increasing political participation and the much-talked about constitutional changes — to pave the way for a complete US withdrawal. Al Maliki may consider the vote on the pact as a personal victory. But it is also a historic chance to turn it into a victory for Iraq. — (Nov 28)

This squabbling benefits none

Arab News

THE reported crackdown by Hamas on Palestinians wanting to perform the Haj highlights the depth of the bitterness Hamas and Fatah have sunk to. That Hamas police may have set up checkpoints across Gaza to prevent pilgrims from leaving for the Haj simply because the pilgrims coordinated their journey with the Palestinian Authority instead is serious as it is ironic. The ban on the Haj is unbecoming of an Islamic movement….

Meanwhile … PA security forces in the West Bank continue to round up Hamas activists…. Detentions will force Hamas into making concessions, especially with regard to the extension of Mahmoud Abbas’ term of office….

It appears that the Egyptian government is still upset at Hamas for turning down its invitation to attend Palestinian reconciliation talks in Cairo. But the sane thing Egypt and all other Arab countries should do is not to take sides in the internal Palestinian factional dispute and refrain from apportioning blame….

Hamas and Fatah each claim to be legitimate. But their claim of independence means they will never unite for the good of their one cause: an end to the occupation.... — (Dec 1)

Concept of social entrepreneurship

RECENTLY I attended a talk given by Jacqueline Novogratz of the Acumen Fund on the concept of social entrepreneurship. The Acumen Fund is a New York-based investment fund seeking to invest in business that can help alleviate the problems caused by poverty.

Deeply affected by the events of 9/11 and wanting to help build civil infrastructure as an alternative to the American war on terror, Novogratz and her partners opened offices in Mumbai, Nairobi and Karachi, and work on building investments in companies that deliver both financial and social returns.

In layman’s speak they’re investing solid charitable contributions from American corporations in innovative businesses in India, Pakistan and Kenya that impact the lives of low-income populations in these three countries. But what really made me sit up and take notice was when Novogratz began speaking about one of the projects they fund: a low-cost drip irrigation project started in Tharparkar, Sindh.

All Sindhis know of our dependence on water. The drying up of the Indus has been a major source of concern for agriculturalists of the province, who are, because of our geostrategic location, the last in line to receive benefits from its abundant flow. We are also dependent on the generosity of India and Punjab in ensuring that we get an adequate supply of water. Who knows how long we can depend on India honouring its side of the Indus Waters Treaty? And the growing demands for water in Punjab will always affect Sindh’s water supply.

Drip irrigation, first developed in Israel, is a technology that can change all of that. It delivers a steady stream of water straight to the roots of crops, thus minimising wastage and making delivery much more efficient. It has its pros and cons, but has always been prohibitively expensive for Pakistani farmers. The average cost of installing a drip irrigation system for even a minimal-acreage land holding runs to Rs100,000.

There’s no need to tell you about the extreme poverty and deprivation of the Thar area, but most farmers live on less than $1 a day. Drought and lack of access to water make survival extremely difficult for the small farmers who own less than four acres of land. But with an initial investment of $200,000 in debt, and $300,000 in equity investment, the fund partnered with the Thardeep Rural Development Programme, and brought over low-cost drip irrigation technology from Global Easy Water Projects, its partner in India.

With this financial support, Thardeep was able to set up a for-profit, drip irrigation company called Microdrip, run by Dr Sono Khangarani, a Hindu Sindhi from the Dalit caste who wanted to do something for his community in Tharparkar. They have marketed the drip irrigation system, which costs on average Rs28,000, to a staggering total of 3,000 villages in the Thardeep network.

They plan to reach 20,000 farmers over the course of five years, and the impact of this work will be grand: not only will small Sindhi farmers become economically secure, they will also be able to reduce their dependence on rain-fed farming and reduce their need of water by about 50 per cent. They’ll also be able to farm all year around so they won’t have to migrate to the cities during times of drought; and this will result in more stable food supplies for the entire province.

The biggest lessons from this entire experience are that the poverty stricken of Pakistan require three main elements: access to financing, an investment in quality inputs and technology and probably the most vital of all an investment in knowledge. But what lessons can we Sindhis learn from the way social entrepreneurship conducts its business? First of all, dignity. You can throw all amounts of charity at a person, and charity will always be an important part of our efforts to aid the poor. But charity has a tendency of maintaining the social structure, and of encouraging everyone to stay in the have-and-have-not paradigm. Unless you make a person an equal partner in the attempt to better his or her life, there will never be significant change in society. Following the model of social entrepreneurship gives dignity to the people you aim to help. Sindhis need that dignity badly, as the last 30 years or so have robbed them of it in the most violent ways. Second, integrity. Those companies that want to do social entrepreneurship the right way will vet their potential partners carefully, following all the protocols of due diligence. If they find any irregularities in the way the partner company does business, any evidence of bribe-giving or bribe-taking or notes any sign that the partner company is involved in corruption, they must refuse to take on that company. Social entrepreneurship requires cleanliness of the highest sort, because it is serving a population that has suffered for generations under the brutal yoke of corruption, which has been a particularly crippling problem in Sindh and all over Pakistan. Thirdly, sincerity. I was struck by the willingness of two of the American partners involved in this social entrepreneurship project to travel to Karachi during the ethnic riots that have gripped us in the last two weeks. Not only were they sincere enough to actually come here instead of conducting their business via remote control, they also wanted to engage with the audience and really listen to the suggestions and solutions that could come from those conversations. There was no sense of superiority, preaching or posturing. Sindhis need to feel that sincerity from those who claim to want to help them, whether they are local or foreign partners.

Empty promises from politicians, the draining of funds that end up in people’s pockets and a complete disregard for the Sindhis’ needs and wants have made them very wary of outsiders promising them the moon and the stars. Sincerity, integrity and dignity are the cornerstones of social entrepreneurship and they signify a willingness to invest in people as well as projects. We Sindhis would do very well to listen to what social entrepreneurship can teach us if we want to make our people once again part of a peaceful and prosperous nation.

The writer is a novelist.

binashah@yahoo.com

Antarctic survey

SEAS surrounding an archipelago near the tip of the Antarctic peninsula are richer in animal life than the Galapagos islands, scientists claim. Their findings challenge the notion that tropical regions are richer in species than the poles.

Much less is known about the South Orkney Islands than the tropical islands that helped shape Charles Darwin’s thoughts about natural selection on his Beagle voyage. But according to a study published by the Journal of Biogeography, the sea around them is teeming with a huge variety of life, disproving the notion that chilly polar waters have a much poorer variety of fauna.

“There has been a long-held belief that the tropics are rich and the polar regions are poor and mid-latitudes are somewhere in between,” said Dr David Barnes at the British Antarctic Survey, who led the study, part of the international census of marine life. “This is the first time we’ve been able to actually look at the fauna of a polar archipelago — it is not actually that poor at all.”

Barnes said the reason for carrying out the survey was to establish a baseline from which changes in biodiversity due to global warming could be judged: “This is in the part of the world with fastest change in terms of temperature.” The Antarctic peninsula has experienced warming of 3C over the past 50 years. “If you don’t know what the fauna is at any one point it is very difficult to detect either species moving in or species moving out,” he added.

The survey recorded 1,224 species in 50 different biological classes. The team discovered five new species and one genus — the biological category that is higher than species — that was new to science.

The new discoveries are all sea mosses (bryozoans) or isopods (woodlouse-like animals) but they have not been given names yet.

The team also scoured reports from scientific expeditions and scientific literature going back decades to find every mention of species observed in the region, in an attempt to create the most complete and authoritative list of creatures found there. Barnes’s team had to brave biting winds that frequently stopped them working, and watch for attacks by orcas (killer whales) and leopard seals. If either predator came near they had to climb on to the British Antarctic Survey’s royal research vessel James Clark Ross or scramble to shore.

“Although that sounds dramatic, weather is a far bigger issue,” said Barnes. “It stops us working far more and makes our work far more hazardous ... Sometimes it’s much warmer under the water — it’s only -1.5 [degrees]!”

Once under water the view is spectacular, said Barnes, who has dived all over the world: “I don’t think I’ve been anywhere where you can see so many different types of major groups of animals all in one place.’’

As well as diving in the shallows, they also trawled the sea bottom to a depth of 1,500m using nets and a special sled with a sieve that held everything bigger than 0.3mm.

— The Guardian, London