Not My Problem

Op-Ed by Masood Hasan

In Pakistan the operating principle is it's everybody else's problem. This absolves all individuals of any responsibility and paves the way for all and sundry to behave irresponsibly at the best of times and break every existing law, intact or already broken. Thus all problems go on magnifying till they become so huge that any solution cannot even be conceived leave alone implemented.

So the mess just gets bigger. Since no one is ever responsible, no one can be challenged. When the proverbial S hits the proverbial C, the axe falls with monotonous regularity on the little guys who take the rap and melt away into the shadows. The big alligators, shed tears, make disapproving noises, mouth a few well-thumbed clichés and move on pretty much without sustaining any hit. This may be a bit simplistic but it's pretty close to what characterises our national behaviour. This can also explain why we are buffeted by one crisis after another.

One month we are gleefully exporting wheat, the next there is a huge shortfall in the country. Riots break out, people raid flour shops, police raid the people, fights erupt all across the land, much abuse on a national scale is witnessed and through it all, the government does its 'lever' bit -- contorting the truth, shifting the blame and accusing those who are not at fault. The great dream-wizard, the king of dubious numbers meantime is lolling about in Davos or his luxury home in London, but he is not to blame. In this century, Pakistanis are learning to live by candlelight whose prices have shot up four fold. Those with lanterns are worse off because there is no kerosene. As for power it is more off than one and generator prices, for those who can afford them, have shot through the ceiling.

There are no times for power cuts. They happen as and when. Gas shortages are rampant and a ludicrous campaign runs on and on, blithely informing suffering consumers that it is not at all load shedding, but load sharing!! Dear God, are our sins so serious? It was WAPDA which inflicted this rubbish on us years ago and now, like a bad ghost, the gas boys have taken it up. Consumers are further asked to move their thermostats from 'hot' to 'warm.' How many geysers has anyone seen with those red caps on and gauges that work? Most just run like gas fires. That's not enough. People are advised that gas heaters are dangerous and must not be used. It is far better to wear warm clothes. In summer I guess we'll be advised to wear no clothes. This in the year of our Lord 2008!

The government led by Mr Aziz (anyone remember him?) threw open the country to all kinds of imports. Shops were flooded with hundreds of economically priced air conditioners and as far as the additional power was required to run these, that was not Mr Aziz's problem. He created conditions for thousands of easy-pay cars to flood the market but didn't think twice what this would do to the country's oil imports, the dwindling financial condition of the people or the roads of this country. Banks had a ball but power simply got sucked out. Mobile phones were placed under 'industry' and their numbers used to claim progress, yet he has sailed away into the sunset and even has the gall to take his benefactor out to a Lebanese meal in London rather than treat him at his home.

In our culture, a guest who cannot be entertained at home is not an honoured guest but Mr Aziz gets away once again and in fact complains that his buddies of yesterday, the Chaudhrys of Gujrat Sharif are maligning him and his policies. The president even calls the Gujrat boys and tells them to chill it. So as the buck passes from hand to hand, things just get worse but since no one is bothered to address what really ails the country, nothing is going to change. High profile prisoners saunter away cool as cucumbers from hordes of policemen 'guarding' them, but other than a few lowlies no one is going to have to answer for it. When he is questioned in London, the president flies into a temper and suggests that whipping errant journalists may be quite the appropriate thing to do. And so it goes on.

They say that no one can really solve our problems -- they are just too gigantic in size and scale. There is nothing that can seemingly fix any of the critical issues that now hold us in a vice. Can anyone do anything about it? Ask any Pakistani and all you get is a firm shake of the head. The problems are just insurmountable and because they have been ignored so many years, now have assumed alarming proportions. Almost every Pakistani at an individual level believes that an individual action will make absolutely no difference to anything. This thinking -- or lack of it, makes serious issues even worse.

Consider this. For a country where 40 percent of the people have no access to drinking water, the way we all waste water washing our cars is a matter of great depression. House after house in any part of what passes for urban Pakistan witnesses thousands of gallons of water being poured on cars and drives. Perfectly good drinking water but we simply waste it without a second thought. None of us ever admonish our servants or drivers not to wash the cars daily. We all know perfectly well that an hour later the car will be dusty again and the sparkling shining black tyres will sooner than later fall into a gutter or a dirty puddle but the cars must be washed, summer or winter. I don't know any other country where washing cars is such a fetish.

And it's not cars alone. Rickshaws, motorcycles, vans, trucks, buses even bicycles are washed, washed and washed. Hundreds of service stations use high pressure hoses to clean the under carriage of vehicles as if one was going to eat off them. It is a criminal waste of a precious and dwindling resource and we are depleting our water reserves as if there is no tomorrow. Does anyone care? Has anyone even begun to think of this? Like power and now gas, soon it will be too late but neither is anyone answerable and nor is anyone going to make it his life mission to prevent this.

We are eating into what is God given but it will not last. The earth's resources are not infinite and people who are unaware of the damage they are doing to the environment are simply bringing doomsday closer. We may not be able to hold elections without rigging them, but is conservation of water, power and gas to name three, possible? We are not a people who believe in saving, which probably explains our lowest rate of savings in the world, but unless some extraordinary steps are taken, we'll be history before we know it. Some strong, no-nonsense measures need to be taken and defaulters punished but even while saying this, a niggling thought tells me that we will simply lurch on from crisis to crisis, never knowing our left foot from our right. Perhaps that is our final destiny.

The writer is a Lahore-based columnist.

Source: The News International

Travel photography: winning visions

The best travel photographs of 2007, as chosen jointly by ‘Wanderlust’ magazine and ‘The Independent’. Each category winner earns a photo assignment in South Australia.

People

The runner-up was the work of Jeff Wilson: three wise men scanning for snow leopards in the Hindu Kush of Pakistan. “Chitrali men employed as wildlife rangers can spend hours squatting like this, noticing the minutiae of their surroundings – crucial when looking for an animal as well camouflaged as a snow leopard. They can spot the creature more than a kilometre away.”

Source: The Independent

Peshawar Citizens Peace Walk - Jan. 30th 2008

A 'Peace Walk' organized by residents of Hayatabad in which families, civil society and political party members also participated.

PART I


Mr Zahid Hussain Mohmand, Secretary Information of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf NWFP, addressed a gathering at a 'Peace Walk' organized by residents of Hayatabad in which families, civil society groups and political party members also participated.

PART II


Courtesy: peshawargallery

Double Standards of Pakistan Government in Dealing with High Profile Deportations

E ILAHI

The brother of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Wajahat Hussain and his other family members were detained last Tuesday at Gatwick airport under the anti-terror law for serveral hours. They were on their way to UK from Spain. According to newsreports, 'Commander Wajahat' as he is referred to in Gujrat had left for Europe to organize pro-Mush rallies everywhere Mush was to visit. Afterwards, they were deported to Pakistan.

The Foreign Office was quick to summon Britain’s Acting High Commissioner on Friday to protest and tell them they deplored the treatment given to the Chaudhries. According to Dawn, Pakistan High Commission in London was pursuing the matter with the British authorities (as of last Friday). As if that was not enough, an envoy from the British High Commission in Islamabad went to the residence of Chaudhry Shujaat on Friday to personally apologize on behalf of the British government. As if that was 'yet' not enough, Chaudhry Shujaat flew out to London himself yesterday in order to take legal action against those who ordered the deportation. Apparently, he is not satisfied with the 'regrets' expressed by the British High Commission and feels his relatives were humiliated.

Now take the case of Abdul Sattar Edhi. On Jan. 8th he was stopped at London on his way to New York. After he arrived in New York on Jan. 9th he was detained for several hours and was questioned about his beard among other things! According to reports, his Pakistani passport and US green card have been seized and he is not allowed to return to Pakistan until the matter is solved; which might be Feb. 20th when the US Immigration authorities have decided to deal with the issue. He was also reportedly threatened intially with deportation from the US. Yesterday, the Foreign Office said it was trying to resolve the issue. As Dawn has reported, this was the third time that Edhi was detained at an airport abroad. In 2006, he was investigated by Canadian authorities at Toronto and in 2007 he was detained at the New York airport.

It would be a great shame if the Foreign Office and Government of Pakistan do not protest and make greater noise than they did when it came to the entourage of the Chaudhries!

After all, Abdul Sattar Edhi is our national hero who is even recognized internationally for his humanitarian and welfare work. A person who actually does do something for the benefit of the people of Pakistan, not for his own benefit unlike our run-of-the-mill politicians. Lets wait and watch how much time and 'power' it takes the Foreign Office this time to resolve the issue of Abdul Sattar Edhi, if at all.

Waltzing among wolves

Op-Ed by Anjum Niaz

Hair blow dried with a hint of a mid-parting and temples conveniently left white to create that academic look, the Pakistani president took his road show to Europe. He did a minuet with Condi Rice. The setting at Davos was sufficiently strategic with a mini Pakistani flag sitting between Musharraf and the American secretary of state. Yes, he looked debonair enough and marshalled notice; yes he stayed at the Dorchester (with taxpayers' money) in London and boasted he'd play bridge with buddy Brig Niaz at his expensive retreat when off, still the president earned criticism not laurels.

Did Pervez Musharraf really think he'll conquer European hearts and minds with his aggressive defence of the indefensible? Yet, at the same time he played the victim. He talked of his opponents whenever he got a chance, accusing evil doers like the sacked Supreme Court judges down to atta hoarders and smugglers eviscerating his writ. Presenting himself as a modern day messiah, Musharraf opened up the wounds of his crucifixion to earn sympathy. Sadly he did not earn much.

Is anyone keeping Musharraf updated with the scornful news stories, editorials, columns and blogs that keep pouring in daily? Not so long ago, the same man was aggressively pursued by every editorial board worth its name whenever he went west. He received kudos. Now he is met by the baying of the wolves.

Since he is a commando he will not throw in the towel and call it a day. Of late we have heard him say he will resign if he's unwanted. Obviously the mercury in the thermometer kept at the Presidency has not shot to danger levels necessitating his emergency exit while everywhere else the barometers are turning red. He still has his followers who go with him to chant slogans wherever they can. Musharraf's party would have been made more the merrier by the addition of another six lackeys flown to London to shout their throats out for him. Unlucky for them, they got nabbed by the airport police under anti-terrorist act and locked up for almost 24 hours and were finally packed off to Pakistan. Among the arrested was Chaudhry Shujaat's younger brother Wajahat, his three nephews and two hangers-on. These Gujrati supporters flew in from Barcelona but were trundled off on the next flight to Pakistan after Interpol grilled them of possible links with Pakistani terrorists recently arrested in Madrid.

The incident warranted an appropriate show of protest for face saving. Hence the British acting high commissioner in Islamabad was trotted out before our acting foreign secretary and made to say sorry. The Foreign Office muscle flexing hardly intimidated the Brits who mumbled tepid apologies and said the deported guys were welcome to return to London anytime. What a farce? We'll never know the truth -- either from Pakistani authorities or the Brits.

President Musharraf often uses our Foreign Office in such situations, ordering about the babus and getting them to do stuff (like intervening for the Chaudhry clan), but treats the Pakistani media with contempt. An amused Maulana Fazlur Rehman has just complained why the FO was not used when he was deported from Dubai. At London at a desi do, he singled out a senior Pakistani journalist who asked him about Rashid Rauf, the suspected terrorist who escaped from a Pakistani jail recently. Musharraf didn't like his question, accusing the journalist of "casting aspersions" and "undermining our forces and your own country". He questioned the journalist's patriotism and professionalism saying that no western media person had asked him this question throughout his tour. "What's bugging this guy (the Pakistani journalist) to ask such a question," Musharraf impugned, "what's his problem?"

His behaviour further fuelled media tut-tutting. He "treats his fellow Pakistanis with contempt while oozing charm for the benefit of foreigners" wrote David Blair, diplomatic editor of Daily Telegraph. But a possible embarrassment awaits Musharraf when he wakes up from his VVIP dream-bed at Dorchester this morning. At 11.30 am before 10 Downing Street will stand Asma Jehangir, Imran Khan, Jemima Khan, and activists of political parties. They will shout "Go Musharraf, go." It is not Islamabad where Musharraf would have had the three lathi-charged, manhandled and tear gassed. This is London. You cannot use the stick here.

Interestingly Musharraf has become controversial. While the governments of Britain, US and Saudi Arabia support him and encourage him to continue throttling people's freedoms as long as he promises to contain suicide bombers killing Pakistanis and not any foreigners, the western media is no longer in love with him. Musharraf in turn hates the Pakistani media because he thinks it is the source of his malignancy spreading cancer against him abroad. In this zero sum game, bigger issues often get blotted out.

What's this talk about Pakistan being the most dangerous country? The British Interior Minister Jacqui Smith according to an AFP report confessed that she is scared walking the streets of London at night. Even posh districts like Kensington and Chelsea are not safe at night, she conceded. Why did the world media not pick up this lead and flash it around the world saying that if the interior minister feels unsafe at night what does it signify? But no one paid much attention because the world media remains Pakistan-centric and loves to dig out all the dirt it can about it from whosoever is willing to snitch.

Recently two retired intelligence bigwigs told the New York Times the intelligence agency had "lost control" of some of the networks of Pakistani militants it has nurtured since the 1980s, and is now suffering the violent blowback of that policy. Who are these two men and why are we keeping quiet? Musharraf's criticism, I guess, is selective and he likes hitting out at those who cannot hit back, like the Pakistani journalist in London.

The writer is a freelance journalist with over twenty years of experience in national and international reporting.

Source: The News International

Edhi faces deportation

US authorities have threatened Pakistan’s most respected citizen Abdul Sattar Edhi with deportation, he said.

“I just received a telephone call from someone, telling me that I am being deported,” Mr Edhi, who is now in New York told Dawn.

He said he was stopped at the airport in London when he tried to board a plane for New York on Jan 8.

Mr Edhi then contacted the US Embassy in London who gave him a letter which allowed him to proceed to New York. The letter also advised him to see US authorities on Feb 18 to clear whatever misunderstandings they may have about him.

Mr Edhi arrived in New York on Jan 9 and was detained at the airport for eight hours.

“They were questioning me why I look the way I look,” said Mr Edhi who has a long beard and always wears traditional Pakistani dress along with a traditional cap.

“They also wanted to know why I visit the United States so regularly,” he said. “I told them I am a social worker. What else I do? I only do social work,” said Mr Edhi who has branches of his trust in several US cities.

“If they do not let me work here, I will work somewhere else.”

About Edhi:

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, as of 1997, Edhi Foundation’s ambulance service is the largest volunteer ambulance service in the world. He also personally holds the world record for having gone the longest time working without having taken a holiday. As of when the record was set, he has still not taken a single day off work.

Source: Dawn

Another Award for Lawyers & Judges of Pakistan

Annual Award for Distinction in International Law and Affairs presented to the Lawyers and Judges of Pakistan, as represented by Aitzaz Ahsan, in asbentia

Embattled judges and vulnerable children are among the issues to be taken up this week as more than 5,000 lawyers gather at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square for the annual meeting of the New York State Bar Association.

The International Law and Practice Section tomorrow (Wed. Jan. 29th 2008) gives its annual award for distinction in international law and affairs in absentia to Aitzaz Ahsan, on behalf of the lawyers and judges of Pakistan. Much of that country’s legal and judicial community has been in conflict with Pakistan’s leadership since President Perves Musharraf suspended the constitution and replaced seven of the 11 members of the Supreme Court.

Mr. Ahsan, president of the Pakistan Supreme Court Bar Association, has been under frequent arrest for his efforts to restore Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as chief justice.

Earlier this month, the New York City Bar Association granted honorary membership to Justice Chaudhry. In November, the city and state bars, as well as the New York County Lawyers’ Association, organized a rally attended by about 700 people at Manhattan Supreme Court in support of Pakistan’s lawyers and judges.

Sources:
New York Law Journal
New York State Bar Association (NYSBA)