COMMENT: Talibanisation of the heart —Abbas Zaidi - Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Source : www.dailytimes.com

The Sialkot lynching is not spontaneous. It is in fact a great tribute paid to General Zia who created the Islamo-fascist mindset with the help of Arabian money and Pakistani-sectarian manpower

In the backdrop of the public lynching and then hanging of brothers Hafiz Mueez Butt and Muneeb Butt in Sialkot on August 15, a journalist writing in an English language daily asked the following questions about the murderers: (i) Are they human? (ii) Are they Muslim? and (iii) Are they really Pakistani? (The writer thought they were none of these.)

These questions are evidence of the lowest depth of misery, hollowness, and dishonesty to which some Pakistani journalists have taken their profession. Of course, these murderers are human, Muslim, and Pakistani. The hollowness of the word “really” reminds me of Kurtz’s outburst of “The horror, the horror!” in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Why is there so much hype about this lynching in both the media and the judiciary? Is it something that came out of outer space and so we cannot accept it? Do we human-Muslim-Pakistanis not lynch and destroy unarmed people while the entire nation and national institutions react from blatantly cheering on to finding crooked justifications for our sins and crimes because “Muslims cannot do it!”, a mantra on the lips of everyone from Zardari the secular and Gilani the reconciliator to Nawaz the Amir-ul-Momineen and Shahbaz the servant-in-chief? Think about the journalists, the Islamists, the retired and quasi-retired bureaucrats and generals, and the list will go on ad infinitum.

To the above three questions, add a highly arrogant claim that we the human-Muslim-Pakistanis make without fail while raising an eyebrow at non-Muslims: “We the Muslims never disrespect a corpse!”

The Sialkot lynching is a mirror image of another lynching that we have conveniently forgotten. This takes us to 1994 when the Taliban, made and moulded in and by Pakistan, invaded the UN-protected enclave in Kabul where they lynched Dr Najibullah and his brother. After lynching them publicly, just like their brethren have done in Sialkot, the Taliban hung the corpses of the two brothers and mutilated them; they even chopped off their private parts. At that time hundreds of people cheered on the Taliban as they disrespected the two corpses just like the hundreds of people did in Sialkot; the only difference being that there were no mobiles phones available at that time. Again, it is our ‘Pakistani’ Taliban who last year dug up a pir from his grave and then hanged him.

The Sialkot lynching is not spontaneous. It is in fact a great tribute paid to General Zia who created the Islamo-fascist mindset with the help of Arabian money and Pakistani-sectarian manpower. The Zia-sponsored and Islamist-created curriculum taught in Pakistan to this day has created a vision in which Muslims of a certain denomination are the only superior people in the world whose divine mission is to put the entire world on the righteous path by speech or sword, depending on how quiescent or stubborn the people targeted for conversion are. Because Muslims can do no wrong, whatever they do is right. General Zia and his accomplices created an Islam that was unheard of in Pakistan, and since then that Islam has been creating us the human-Muslim-Pakistanis.

Thus, the very fundamental motivating principle of human-Muslim-Pakistanis is that law has no meaning if it hinders our desires. We also know that the state of Pakistan has morphed into impotence, and accountability and rule of law are nonexistent. From 1977 when General Zia dismissed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto up to the Sialkot lynching, very few serious crimes have been punished. Crime has become an easy choice because people know that (i) they will never get justice, and (ii) crime is not punished. Unless you are hopelessly poor and unconnected, you are above the law. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is hanged and Benazir assassinated, and their murderers live honourably; lawyers assault journalists, judges, and policemen, but the judiciary takes no action; policemen kill innocent people and drag their dead bodies in the streets like trophies and are decorated with medals of bravery; journalists can demonise people at will and not be held responsible; murderous fatwas (religious edicts) are proclaimed publicly and the bloodthirsty mullahs are addressed as ulema (scholars); billions are loaned from the banks and never returned and no questions asked. What message do people get?

In January this year, Prime Minister Gilani said on the floor of parliament that despite the Supreme Court and parliament, the army cannot be held accountable for anything. Are we repeatedly not told and taught by the media, mullahs, and textbooks that we the human-Muslim-Pakistanis are soldiers of Islam?

The writer is a researcher and has a PhD in sociolinguistics. He can be reached at hellozaidi@gmail.com

No repentance–no shame - Dr A Q Khan - Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Source : www.thenews.com.pk

Even though we are slowly but surely forgetting our history and rich cultural heritage, young and old alike know of Ghalib and Allama Iqbal and love them and their works. Ghalib was the undisputed king of Urdu poetry and prose. After the 1857 War of Independence, Indians in general, and Muslims in particular, were subjected to severe torture, murder, deprivation of property and wealth, etc. The last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, and his wife were banished to Rangoon, where they died painful deaths. Before they were deported, their two young sons were beheaded and their heads put on a breakfast tray and placed before the king. This act was carried out by the so-called "civilised" British. Ghalib's pension was stopped, and despite his extremely arduous trips to Calcutta, it was never restored. Begum Sikander Jehan Begum of Bhopal offered hospitality to him, which he politely refused, as he was very old and did not want to leave his friends and colleagues. The Begum then fixed a monthly honorarium to be paid him.

Humility was in Ghalib's blood, and in a number of his verses he spoke of himself as a humble, ordinary soul, even though he was accepted by all as a giant literary figure. Hali and Iqbal were full of praise for his genius. Ghalib expressed his shortcomings in the following verse while comparing himself with Bedil:

Tarz-e Bedil men rekhta likhna

Asadullah Khan, qayamat hai

In yet another verse, he expressed it like this:

Ham kahan key daana thay, kis hunar men yakta thay

Besabab hua Ghalib dushman aasman apna

A wise person never boasts of his knowledge and wisdom, but quietly goes about his life. Ghalib did not taunt anyone else to be ashamed of their deeds, but asked himself why he was not ashamed of his own deeds. He was an example of self-chastisement.

The situation in our country and with our leaders is just the opposite. They neither repent their misdeeds, nor are they ashamed of lying, cheating, corruption and fraud. We have developed a culture in which moral and legal wrongdoers are treated with respect and honour and are given important posts in the running of the country. The leaders and the parties of these miscreants support them openly, rather than getting rid of them, more often than not because they themselves do not have a clean slate. This is a blatant demonstration of violation of laws and moral ethics. The wrongdoers move around in expensive four-wheelers with heads held high. Nobody can dare to question their status. We see a certain similarity to the reign of the Pharaoh where he and his subalterns behaved with total impunity. A small bright spot is that the public is no longer deaf and dumb. The media has made them aware of political games and voiced their concerns.

I wish all those in power would pay attention to these verses. As if embezzlement of government funds, corruption, nepotism, etc., is not enough, we are now faced with the moral and legal crime of politicians using fake educational degrees and testimonials. People have used this dubious means to become public representatives, even managing to get lucrative posts. Stop to think for a moment. Would anyone who could stoop so low not also make the most of the opportunities for wrongdoing that are offered?

It is the misfortune of this nation to have party leaders who not only support such people, but then place them in important and lucrative posts where they are further rewarded for cheating and fraud. No matter what they do and what they achieve through dubious means, the public sees through all their mischief, even though they may not be in a position to act upon it. Even if they are unable to challenge fraudsters to their face, they do discuss these matters amongst themselves and with their friends and hopefully would not vote them into office again. The press also plays a role and acts as their spokesman. It all boils down to:

Dunya men kaminey ko sharafat nahin milti

Daulat bhi lutadey to yeh daulat nahin milti

Allah Almighty has cursed such people and proclaimed that they will be doomed to hell. We all know that not so long ago President Nixon had to resign because he had lied about the Watergate break-in. He had known about it, but denied any knowledge. A similar thing happened to President Clinton when he claimed that he did not know Monica Lewinsky, whereas he knew her well and had flirted with her. He survived impeachment but lost a lot of respect and prestige, both nationally and internationally. Had both Nixon and Clinton told the truth, American lawmakers and the public would probably have pardoned them and considered their behaviour to be due to human frailty. Lying is not acceptable in the Western world, whereas in our country it has become accepted not only as a moral norm, but as a pillar to leaders and rulers and all their despicable acts are simply laughed off.

Some time ago it was reported in the press that a woman in Saudi Arabia had used a fake degree in order to get a job. When she was found out, she was not only dismissed from service but was punished with lashes and imprisonment. I am sure many of our leaders and culprits of similar acts saw that article, but there was no reaction from any quarter.

Our politicians are crazy for power, money and status, and this prevents those involved from telling the truth. If they are politicians, they are afraid that the party bigwigs will get annoyed and that they will then be sidelined or thrown out of the party and/or government. This compels them to remain quiet regarding all the wrongdoings they know of and become "yes-sir" persons. It takes guts and moral courage to speak the truth, and our leaders should encourage such behaviour, provided, of course, they themselves have nothing they want to hide. They should encourage their colleagues to follow such a practice. We can only move forward if party leaders weed out the cheats and liars, something difficult for them to do if their own reputation is not spotless. All wrongdoers lack moral values and personal pride and they never seem ashamed of their actions. Unfortunately, this cancer has affected the whole nation and entered every walk of life. We have lost dignity and respect in the eyes of the world at large, but we are least bothered about this--if we stop to think about it at all, that is. The public can do nothing. They are either mere passive spectators or participants in their own small way. A famous Persian proverb comes to mind here: "Mara che azeen qissa keh gao aamad o khar raft" (what difference does it make to us if the bull goes away and the donkey takes its place).

Floods, loan and debt - Ashfaque H Khan - Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Source : www.thenews.com.pk

Pakistan is currently witnessing one of the worst human tragedies in history. The unprecedented floods have rendered millions of Pakistanis homeless and destroyed their livelihoods. Thousands have lost their lives. The UN chief has appealed to the member states to help Pakistan recover from this tragedy. The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have expressed readiness to provide billions of dollars as loan to Pakistan for rehabilitation and reconstruction of flood-hit areas. We should be thankful to them for standing with Pakistan in its hour of need.

While international institutions are willing to help Pakistan, are we doing enough to help ourselves? Are we really short of resources to address the challenges of rehabilitation and reconstruction? Should Pakistan accept loans from international institutions? Has our debt carrying capacity improved or deteriorated in recent years?

Let me first give some update on Pakistan's debt situation. Pakistan's public debt which stood at Rs4814 billion in June 2007, increased to Rs8913 billion by June 2010. In other words, we added Rs4099 billion debt in just three years. Similarly, external debt which stood at $40.3 billion in June 2007 rose to $55.6 billion in June 2010--an addition of $15.3 billion in three years. Thanks to Shaukat Tarin and his henchmen who drowned the country under debt. Such an act of reckless borrowing forced the current finance minister to mention in his budget speech the "indiscriminate borrowing" in recent past. As a result of unrestrained borrowing in the last 2-3 years, debt servicing alone consumed over 48 per cent of total revenue – up from 35 per cent in 2007.

Given the horrifying state of debt, should we accept the loan offer of WB, ADB and bilateral countries amounting billions of dollars? Do we need external assistance for flood-hit areas? My argument is that we have enough resources available in the budget 2010-11 which can easily be utilized for the purpose at hand.

Let me turn to budget 2010-11 and see how we can divert substantial resources for flood-hit areas. The government has allocated Rs.124 billion under 'other development expenditures' which includes Rs.50 billion for the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and Rs45 billion for Internally Displaced People (IDPs). The allocations for BISP and IDPs are meant for the poor and displaced persons, hence Rs95 billion can easily be diverted for flood affectees. The government has also allocated Rs30 billion under the "Special Programme" which includes the People's Works Program I and II. These can also be diverted for the same purpose. Thus, Rs125 billion is available from the federal budget for flood affectees. The irrational increase (50 per cent) in the salary of government servants can also be reviewed and extra funds can also be diverted for flood-affected people.

A cursory look at the development budget (PSDP) will show that the provincial government can divert Rs173 billion from their provincial PSDP. The federal PSDP has already been slashed from Rs421 billion last year to Rs280 billion this year – a reduction of 33.5 per cent. On the contrary, the provincial PSDP surged from Rs200 billion to Rs373 billion in the same period, showing an increase of 86.5 per cent. This is the height of financial indiscipline on the part of provincial governments. How can PSDP be increased to such an extent when the country is passing through the most difficult period of its economic history? It appears that the provincial political leadership is totally oblivious to the gravity of the situation.

They have a chance to correct themselves by reviewing their budget priorities. One way to correct them is to freeze their PSDP at last year's level, that is, zero growth as apposed to a reduction in federal PSDP by 33.5 per cent. In doing so, the provincial governments can divert Rs173 billion for flood-affectees. By postponing the implementation of the irrational increase in the salary of the government servants, the provincial governments can also save several billions which can be utilised for flood-affectees.

Thus, federal and provincial governments together can divert Rs300 billion from the existing budget for the flood affected people. Postponing the implementation of the pay hike would release additional resources for the purpose. We are not short of resources. What is lacking is the will of the political leadership to tighten their belt. They don't want to disturb the allocations which would 'benefit' them. It is for this reason that they are further cutting the PSDP and are eager to borrow more resources from the international institutions to finance flood-related expenditures.

The international financial institutions must study the debt-carrying capacity of the country before committing billions of dollars. Pakistan is already a highly indebted country and additional lending for flood affectees would further aggravate the debt situation. As discussed above, Pakistan can easily mobilise over Rs300 billion or $3.5 billion in the current fiscal year from the existing budget. Give Pakistan a chance to become a fiscally responsible nation. Allow it to mobilise its own resources first and tighten its own belt. If there was a need for additional resources Pakistan would certainly turn to the WB and the ADB but at the moment the calculation suggests that Pakistan does not require additional billions of dollars.

The government must not seek additional loan from any quarter. We must encourage grant assistance and discourage even a soft loan. Pakistan has no capacity to carry more debt. We should say No with thanks to the international financial institutions. This is the time to reallocate resources from the existing budget. This is not the time to further cut the PSDP from already depleted level. We must learn to live as a proud nation and face the challenges boldly.



The writer is director general and dean at NUST Business School, Islamabad. Email: ahkhan@nbs.edu.pk

Generals are winning, politicians losing - Farrukh Saleem - Monday, August 23, 2010

Source : www.thenews.com.pk

ISLAMABAD: More than 20 million Pakistanis, nearly 12 percent of the entire population, are suffering. More than 160,000 square kilometres, or 20 percent of Pakistan’s landmass, are inundated. A million homes have been destroyed or damaged. Of the 50 million acres of cultivable area no less than 20 percent or 10 million acres of standing crops — cotton, rice and sugarcane — has been lost or severely damaged.

One out of every eight Pakistanis is at risk of severe diarrhoea, asthmatic attacks, dysentery, meningitis, hepatitis, skin diseases or a whole host of food and waterborne diseases. But, politics will be politics. Practical politics, perhaps, means ignoring facts. Within the PPP, the president and the prime minister are playing their own politics. The PM commits to a ‘clean commission’ but the president shoots it down. In Punjab, PPP and PML-N are playing their own politics. Pakistan’s right is way ahead of the left in bailing out drowning children and comforting battered souls. At the international front, America is playing its own politics by giving and then advertising that Uncle Sam has given much more than has China or Iran combined. EU is playing its own politics by sending confusing signals of giving us trade breaks. India also wants to win a billion political miles by pledging a paltry $5 million.

At the camps, a battle for survival is raging like never before. Ten million Pakistanis need bread to continue to breathe; five million need shelter to hide and at least ten thousand diarrhea treatment centers. Domestic resource availability can sustain no more than a million hungry. Domestic response capacity is next to nothing. Foreign money isn’t coming. Corruption, inefficiency, donor fatigue and an unpopular presidency are all playing villains.

While one-fifth of Pakistan drowns under water, Karachi, its financial hub, is cloaking itself under a bloody deluge. As MQM and ANP fight out their own bloodstained politics Pakistani Taliban are wining without even fighting.

Economy was sick to begin with now it’s severely anemic. Pakistan being unable to carry oxygen from its lungs to its tissues the IMF will now play its own politics. We are bound to miss IMF targets and structural reforms will now take a back seat. Rural unemployment and unprecedented inflation will be followed by widespread social unrest and crime.

On a much broader canvass, generals of Pak Army are winning ‘hearts and minds’ and thus capturing more and more of the Pakistani political space—all at the cost of the political class. Pak Air Force has diverted 5 C-130Bs and 7 C-130Es, its tactical transport aircraft, for picking and delivering flood relief to wherever it’s needed the most. Pak Navy’s boats are speeding through floodwaters delivering food and saving survivors still floating just above the water level. Right is winning by doing while the left talks. Generals are also winning by doing while politicians talk. Would the khakis take over? Answer: They did that several months ago.

‘Relief Work’ visa offered to flood aid providers - Tariq Butt - Monday, August 23, 2010

Source : www.thenews.com.pk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to issue three months “relief work” visa to genuine foreign assistance and relief providers in connection with flood relief work.

The special facility will not be available to the Indian and Israeli nationals, said a letter of the ministry of interior to the foreign affairs ministry that was asked to circulate it among all Pakistani diplomatic missions abroad.

A policy/standard operating procedure (SOP) has been approved to facilitate the aid workers/relief providers coming to Pakistan to provide assistance/relief in the flood-affected areas.

According to this policy, the Pakistan missions abroad will grant three months “relief work” visa to aid workers/relief providers taking part in relief/rescue operation for the flood victims. The facility will be available to United Nations officials and international aid workers.

The SOP said that Pakistani missions would provide the relevant details to the interior ministry of organisations/relief workers who have been granted visas.The aid workers/relief providers from well-known organizations will be granted Visa on Arrival or VOA (Gratis-without payment of fee) initially for a period of three months by the Federal Investigation Agency (Immigration) at the entry points including airports.

The in-charge officers of immigration at all entry points of Pakistan have been directed to immediately provide details about such persons to the interior ministry. Saeed Ahmed, deputy secretary, has been designated as resource person at the interior ministry, who, in case of any difficulty in obtaining VOA on any entry point/airports, should be contacted.

A similar visa facilitation policy was introduced after the 2005 earthquake that flattened several parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Kashmir. It was put in place after complaints from genuine aid workers surfaced that they were facing difficulties in getting timely visas.

Meanwhile, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has asked people at large to provide food items including liquid milk (milk packs with sufficient expiry date) for children and families, dates, high nutrition biscuits, food packets consisting of tea, sugar, milk powder, vegetable oil, pulses and spices.

Non-food items including water cooler, cooking utensils, footwear for children, mosquitoes nets/repellants, bed spread, tents, blankets, floor mattress and tarpaulin; and personal hygiene kit including soap, tooth paste, diapers/pampers for minors, hand towels, female sanitary pads, washing powder, ORS, prickly head powder, water purification tablets, children anti-rash cream, candles and match boxes are also required for the deluge hit areas.

COMMENT: Mosque in Manhattan —Dr Syed Mansoor Hussain - Monday, August 23, 2010

Source : www.dailytimes.com

One of the fears expressed by the opponents of this project that such a centre will eventually become a hotbed of Islamic extremism is entirely misplaced. If and when the centre is up and running, it will probably become one of the most closely watched places of worship in any part of the country

The planned Islamic centre in Manhattan near ‘Ground Zero’ has become quite controversial. The facts are straightforward. The planned centre will, among other things, include a mosque. The project has passed all local zoning laws and has been approved by all relevant authorities. As such there are no legal impediments to building such a centre. More importantly, the proposed building will not even be visible from the site where once the twin towers stood.

The opposition to the project is thus based on the perception that it will somehow offend the sensibilities of the families of those who died on 9/11 after the twin towers came down. Interestingly, most of the opposition to this project is coming from the ‘conservative’ members of the Republican Party and their allies among the Christian right as well as Jewish opponents of President Obama’s perceived stand against Israeli policies.

This is an election year in the US and the Republicans have a chance to regain control of the US Congress. President Obama has become increasingly unpopular with his poll numbers falling almost every day. Even though he is not up for re-election himself, the Republican Party has and will make the upcoming election a referendum on his presidency. The Islamic centre issue thus ties in neatly into the Republican strategy of attacking President Obama personally.

President Obama came out strongly in support of this project. By attacking the project his opponents have not only attacked President Obama politically but have also indirectly raised the question about his religious affiliations. Recent polling in the US suggests that an increasing number of Americans have started believing that President Obama is a Muslim. This helps the anti-Obama lobby by conflating Islam, terrorism and Obama.

Whether American Muslims like it or not, sadly the building of this centre has become a political issue. As such, everything about it is going to be examined in great detail by a relatively hostile pro-Republican media and opposed by all candidates up for election who wish to oppose President Obama or from his own party who wish to show their independence.

Within the US, most American Muslims instinctively support the right of Muslims to build a mosque at any place as long as it does not violate the law. If there is any discussion among them, it is about whether this particular mosque/Islamic centre should be built so close to the place where the twin towers once stood. Difference of opinion though runs along social and political lines. Frankly, I do not have a handle on what American Muslims in general feel about this project but I do have some knowledge about how the Pakistani-American Muslims think of such things.

The Pakistani-American Muslim community is not a monolith. Roughly it can be divided into two broad categories. First are the relatively well-to-do professionals who are established within the general American communities. These include physicians, educators, people involved in finance and other business activities. Most of them are obviously well-educated and aware of their constitutional rights. Then there are the less educated and often self-made people who are usually involved in small businesses and depend on the goodwill of their neighbours to make a living.

The first group is generally supportive of this project because they understand that it is their right under the US Constitution to build such an Islamic centre. Since most of them are well established in their professional lives and have lived through the aftermath of 9/11 without any adverse effects, therefore they feel quite comfortable at present with their American identity. As such they expect that they, as Muslims, will also be afforded the same rights as any other religious denomination in the US.

The second group is made up of less educated and less well established people. This group tends to worry about how they will be treated and what financial disadvantages will result if they are ostracised as a group and possibly victimised for being Muslims. Many of them, especially in the New York area, suffered considerably after 9/11. For them, the basic idea is that it is best not to make waves and not have their communities thrust into the limelight unnecessarily.

The question then is whether this mosque/Islamic centre will ever be built at this particular site. The US midterm elections will be over in a few months. The US public has a very short attention span. It is also definitely going to happen that some new issue will in time take up the attention of the general public. Once that happens, the mosque/Islamic centre will become yesterday’s news and the spotlight focused on it at present will move on elsewhere. Ultimately it will be mundane matters like financing and local realities that will determine the future of this project.

One of the fears expressed by the opponents of this project that such a centre will eventually become a hotbed of Islamic extremism is in my opinion entirely misplaced. If and when the centre is up and running, it will probably become one of the most closely watched places of worship in any part of the country. And I am almost inclined to believe that it will probably be avoided by most ordinary Muslims as a place to visit regularly. For all I know most of the worshipers who will frequent it will probably be either members of the FBI or FBI informers.

However, it might also not be all bad if Muslims make a grand gesture of reconciliation and offer to move the mosque to another place. This will considerably diminish the political pressure on President Obama and other liberal supporters of this project and more importantly take this issue off the table as far as the upcoming midterm elections are concerned.

Personally though I would rather see most of the money destined for the mosque being donated to the flood relief effort in Pakistan.

Syed Mansoor Hussain has practised and taught medicine in the US. He can be reached at smhmbbs70@yahoo.com

EDITORIAL: Prompt response needed - Monday, August 23, 2010

Source : www.dailytimes.com

More than 20 million people have been affected in one of the worst floods to have hit Pakistan. It took some time before the international community woke up to the magnitude of the disaster. International aid is now pouring in, though still not as much as is needed. At a time like this, it is pertinent that the people of Pakistan stand by each other and help those who have been affected by the floods. It was in this backdrop that Prime Minister Gilani agreed to PML-N chief Mian Nawaz’s proposal to “set up an independent commission, comprising impartial, non-controversial and principled individuals” to raise funds for the rehabilitation of the flood victims. But it seems that there are some technical problems due to which this commission cannot be set up. Prime Minister Gilani said that the “provinces did not agree to the centralisation of funds so the proposal of Nawaz Sharif regarding the formation of an independent commission is not applicable”. The provinces did not agree to contribute 30 percent of their Annual Development Programmes’ budget to the commission as had been proposed. The prime minister has now announced to form a 10-member council instead of the proposed commission and has asked the provinces to propose some names. This council will be headed by a civil society member.

Now all this is good but the government and all political parties have to realise that the situation demands a prompt response. The proposed statutory body is a good idea but to make it credible, all stakeholders must be taken into confidence and the members of this council should be nominated after a consensus. It should be done on a war-footing given the crisis at hand. The flood victims have not only lost their homes, they have lost their lifesavings. It is the responsibility of the state and the entire nation to come forth and help them restore their lives. Since the number of displaced people is unprecedented, it is hoped that the citizens would open up their houses and hearts for their fellow countrymen in this hour of need. What is reassuring is the spirit of the people of Pakistan. Despite the daunting task at hand, the nation has not lost hope. Every individual is trying to do his or her part in these trying times; every single penny counts! We also have to realise that this crisis will not end after the floods have subsided. More people are expected to die from the ensuing wave of epidemics that have broken out in the aftermath of the floods and in the forthcoming months there is a greater risk to their lives. There are reports that in some places, the prices of medicines have shot up because of their demand. This practice must stop. This is not the time to make profits, this is the time to come forward and help our brethren regardless of their religion, race and creed. In the coming months, there will be a shortage of food items as well. The government must ensure that the hoarder mafia does not exploit the grave situation.

The aid coming in from both the local and the international community must be spent transparently and reach the deserving people. Charges of corruption may have slowed down the pace of aid, but we must rise to the occasion and show the world that this time around, the money will be spent in an honest manner. The proposed council should become functional soon and ensure transparent aid distribution. *

SECOND EDITORIAL: Convicting terrorists

In recent years, Pakistan has seen an increase in the number of terrorist attacks on its soil. The terrorists have not only targeted the security forces, politicians and their families but civilians have not been spared either. Sacred places like mosques and shrines have also been hit widely, yet we have not seen a single terrorist being convicted for these gruesome attacks. There are many reasons for this, the foremost being the lacunae in our judicial system.

Pakistan’s security agencies, particularly the police, lack basic investigative skills and with little or no knowledge of forensics, most of the evidence in a terrorist attack is lost or wasted. Even when the police catch the terror suspects, the legal system sets them free. When the prosecution fails to provide enough evidence to indict the terrorists, the courts are left with no choice but to let the terrorists go. The judges do have the power not to grant bail to terror suspects, but we have not seen this judicial discretion being exercised. There are other reasons such as intimidation of lawyers, judges and witnesses by the terrorists’ cohorts during a trial. Though the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2010, when passed by parliament, will address most of these issues, there is an urgent need to give proper forensic training to our law enforcement agencies. We also need state of the art forensic laboratories in Pakistan. The government must start a witness protection programme as well so that no one is able to hurt those who have the guts to come forward and speak out against the terrorists. Lawyers and judges involved in these trials should also be given adequate security. These are some of the things that must be taken care of as soon as possible if we are to be successful in our fight against terrorism.

On another note, Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that banned militant outfits “are not allowed to visit flood-hit areas”. We would like to remind Mr Malik that members of the banned outfits are already providing relief in some flood-hit areas and since the government has not been able to reach those areas as yet, how will it stop them from operating there? The government should get to these areas, catch them and put them away for good as soon as possible. The whole fight against terrorism can go to waste if these banned outfits are not stopped from operating on our soil without fear or obstacle.