Over 100,000 Afghans return voluntarily this year

Source: Express Tribune

Date: Nov 01, 2010

ISLAMABAD: A total of 109,243 Afghans returned home this year through the voluntary return programme initiated by UNHCR in 2002, said a press release on Sunday.

About 3.7 million refugees have returned to Afghanistan in the past nine years, while 1.6 million registered Afghans are still living in Pakistan.

The number of returnees this year has increased by 51 per cent, when compared to the number of people that returned in 2009.

The main reason for the higher number of returns this year is that the voluntary repatriation programme had to be suspended in July last year due to precarious security situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The voluntary return process is governed by a tripartite commission agreement by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Every year the programme resumes in spring and continues until the end of October.

The repatriation programme conducted by UNHCR is the largest operation conducted by the agency anywhere in the world and will continue until 2012, according to the handout.

Mengesha Kebede, UNHCR representative in Pakistan, said, “Repatriation is one of our preferred solutions in any post-conflict situation. These returns prove that Afghans are eager to go back home if better alternatives are provided to them.”

Kebede added that UNHCR was working with government of Pakistan to help support the Afghan government in managing their population in a more efficient manner. The renewal project of Afghans and the upcoming population profiling verification survey are two of the initiatives undertaken by the Pakistani government with support from UNHCR, Kebede said.

The initiatives, he said, will enable the two countries plan development activities for Afghans who have returned and those who may not be able to return in the near future.

Dr Imran Zeb Khan, joint secretary of Ministry of States & Frontier Regions, added that the voluntary and gradual return of refugees remained the government’s top priority.

Link: http://tribune.com.pk/story/70658/over-100000-afghans-return-voluntarily-this-year/

 

 

 

Economic empowerment of women stressed

Source: Dawn

Date: 29 Oct, 2010

ISLAMABAD, Oct 28: Women will have safer work environment and equality with dignity after proper implementation of the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010.

The participants expressed these views at one-day seminar organised by Ministry of Women Development at National Trust for Population Welfare (NATPOW). The seminar was aimed at creating awareness of the law.

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Project Director Nyghat Siddique said that this act would give courage to women to come forward and work shoulder to shoulder with men for the development of the country.

Dr Parveen Ashraf Parveen, Chairperson, Board of Directors Committee of NATPOW, said that the economic empowerment of women was necessary to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and emphasised that government and private organisations should provide women a healthy working environment to utilise their talent for the development.

She ensured active participation of NATPOW with the ministry in order to create awareness for implementation of the act. 

NATPOW Chief Executive Officer Iftikhar Durrani stressed upon equality with dignity and equality with integrity. He explained that NATPOW was working on a project on women health in flood-hit areas.

 He said that his organisation would establish human rights cell to promote culture of peace and equality. 

Link: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/local/islamabad/economic-empowerment-of-women-stressed-900

 

Rights ministry faces 40% cut in funds

Source: Express Tribune

Date: Oct 28, 2010

ISLAMABAD: The government has cut 40 per cent of the budget allocated for the federal ministry of human rights, disbursing 60 per cent the remaining funds for employees’ salaries, officials said on Wednesday.

An official source told The Express Tribune that the ministry was previously allocated Rs20 million in annual budget for fiscal 2010-11 to meet its expenditures in terms of salaries and for launching various public awareness schemes.

He said that Rs12 million would be disbursed for salaries, adding that the government had cut Rs8 million needed for initiating other projects.

The official said the reduction in ministry allocations was part of the austerity drive ordered by the prime minister to meet extraordinary expenses to overcome devastations caused by recent floods, adding that the ministry could not initiate any project because of a lack of funds.

“The ministry cannot even organise five seminars planned to sensitise people in various public and private sectors about various human rights issues in the federal and provincial capitals,” he said. “The ministry is not even in a position to send its representatives to areas like Sialkot where two brothers had been killed recently by an angry mob in the presence of police officials,” he said.  “The ministry and its projects do not seem to be among government’s priorities.”

He said that the ministry had been assured by the prime minister’s office about the release of funds which the ministry needed to initiate various human rights projects. The funds are still frozen and are yet to be released.

 

 

Notice issued to Transparency International for issuing false report

Source: Associate Press of Pakistan

Date: Oct 27, 2010

SLAMABAD, Oct 27 (APP): Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting,Qamar Zaman Kaira on Wednesday said the government has issued notice to Transparency International (TI) for issuing a misleading report on corruption in Pakistan which would be pursued.  

He said the report of TI was not based on facts and compiled through media reports and cases in courts. 
The Minister said the coalition government of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has always welcomed positive and constructive criticism but it is unfair that TI has released a report which has many flaws and prepared without proper assessment and research. 
He said the mechanism and methodology adopted by TI in compiling the report is faulty and does not present a true picture.

 

 

Pakistan moves up on world corruption chart

Source: Dawn

Date:  27 Oct, 2010

KARACHI: The country may not be performing well in several fields but it has moved up the corruption ladder, from the 42nd rung in 2009 to 34th this year. 

According to Transparency International’s report for 2010, Pakistan is more corrupt today than it was last year. 
The report released here on Tuesday by TI Pakistan’s chief Adil Gilani and in Berlin by its president Huguette Labelle said that on a list of 178 countries Pakistan fared worse than Bangladesh and India.

 The perception of the most corrupt government was in 1996 when Pakistan had achieved the second position. 
Mr Gilani claimed that billions of rupees were siphoned off through corruption which seriously affected the country’s progress.

 The report showed that nearly three-fourth of the 178 countries had scored below five on a scale from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 10, indicating a serious corruption problem.

 The country perceived to be most corrupt was Somalia with a score of 1.1, followed by Afghanistan and Myanmar with 1.4. 

View details: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/pakistan-moves-up-on-world-corruption-chart-700

Evolving a new labour policy

Source: Dawn

Date: 25 10 2010

KHYBER Pakhtunkhwa did away with labour inspections to promote industrialisation under its first-ever industrial policy which expired in June this year. Now, the second version of the policy is being formulated.

As per old policy, all industrial units operating in the province were also exempted from the property tax including waiver of all arrears.

Industrial units, however, were required to furnish an undertaking stating that they comply with labour laws along with their production figures and other relevant details to the Directorate of Industries and Labour This has not happened and the policy has led to rampant violation of core labour laws, says workers representative..

As the industrial policy has expired, the government is mulling over its second version. Incidentally, none of the industrial units, employing over 50,000 workers, had ever complied with what they were required for availing the given relief.

Gohar Taj, general secretary, Pakistan Workers’ Federation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter told Dawn that the industrial policy had not helped industrialisation. Rather it added to the worsening plight and exploitation of the labour..

Before the industrial policy, there were three labour inspections yearly for checking compliance of labour laws, Mr Taj added.

Pakistan, he says, is a signatory to 188 different international laws and protocols dealing with labour including the four main/core ILO laws. “Unfortunately, most of these laws are being violated in the province ” he said.

Apart from international laws, there are a number of local statutes that are designed to protect workers from exploitation but are violated. For example, the Labour Department is required to ensure that workers in industrial units and other business concerns are paid in accordance with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minimum Wages Ordinance, 1961.

The minimum wages were fixed for the workers by federal governments which the provincial government used to follow. Early this year, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani increased minimum wages from Rs6000 to Rs7000. However, most of the industrial units are not following the directive. A gender discrimination is more visible in wages where women workers usually are not paid more than half of the officially fixed minimum..

“Just go and check any of the pharmaceutical unit in Peshawar and you will find that women workers are paid salary at Rs2500--3000 per month. A portion of this wage is deducted as transportation charges,” said an official at Labour Department, who is not allowed to go and inspect the factories.

Apart from violating the minimum wage law, violation of other laws dealing with child labour, overall working conditions and compensation in case of accidents are also adding to the workers’ miseries.

View details: http://epaper.dawn.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=25_10_2010_604_003

 

 

 

Grant increased for public sector universities

Source: Dawn

Date: 25 Oct, 2010

QUETTA, Oct 24: The provincial government has increased the grant for public sector uni- versities in Balochistan from Rs200 to Rs500 million with immediate effect in order to help resolve their financial problems. 

The five public sector universities of the province had sought Rs1,427 million in grants from the Higher Education Commission (HEC) for the financial year 2010-2011 to complete their development projects. However, they were provided only Rs837 million. 

The universities have been facing financial difficulties since the last several years but this year their woes grew worse as the HEC cut their grants further. 
The commission suggested that the universities generate funds through their own resources — that is, through enhancement of tuition fees, etc. 

But the administrations of the universities and various bodies representing their students and staff opposed this option, saying Balochistan was a poor province and its people could not afford higher fees.

 This year the universities could not send their teaching staff and students abroad for higher studies because of their financial woes, sources said. 

They said that in view of the financial problems being faced by the universities, Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani had approved the increase in government grants by Rs300 million. 

View the link: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/grant-increased-for-public-sector-universities-500

 

The disconnect

Source: The News

Date: 22-10-2010

Harris Khalique

While the judiciary, legislature and executive of the country are busy negotiating their respective powers on how to formulate or strike down laws, accept or reject decisions made by each other and the scope and shape of institutional arrangements needed to enact the laws and translate decisions into action, Karachi continues to bleed. More than seventy people lost their lives and scores were injured in incidents of target killing and sniper shooting. Those killed due to their ethnic or linguistic identity were mostly labourers. Others were young political workers of various parties. All were either breadwinners for their dependents or represented hope for their struggling low-income families. This fresh outbreak of violence is the latest in a series of such events over the past decades. But this time around, the spread of carnage is the biggest compared to the past few years. The disconnect is so evident between those plying the Constitution Avenue in Islamabad and the residents of Usmanabad, Lyari in Karachi. Or for that matter, Ghaziabad, Lahore, Tench Bhata, Rawalpindi, and Kharotabad, Quetta. Urban poor are to provide services to the affluent and that's it. The rural masses are no more than farmers who are supposed to grow food for us or are socially and economically incarcerated in order to be counted periodically to bring the landlords and ladies or tribal chieftains to positions of government-authority. A wide segment of the urban poor and lower middle class in Karachi and Hyderabad is converted into captive voters. The cities have become psychic prison houses in the political sense for the largest community which has assumed a single political identity reflected rightly or wrongly in ethnic terms. If it had been a civilised country, all matters would be set aside and a special session of parliament called to discuss the matter or perhaps a suo moto action taken by the superior judiciary to question why the poor citizens of Pakistan are being brutalised and killed in its economic hub and largest city. Widows, orphans, bereaved fathers and siblings and chest-beating mothers of dead sons fail to perturb any one. I am amazed that the neo-liberal economic managers of the country, with their incredible influence over policy-making, are not getting it either. Because in the case of Karachi, it is not just a humanitarian issue of mourning widows and sisters but a major economic concern in terms of revenue earnings, tax collection and the fate of whatever is left of industry in this country.  View details: http://www.thenews.com.pk/22-10-2010/opinion/11279.htm

 

Concern over less share for women in decision-making

Source: Dawn

Date: 22 Oct, 2010

ISLAMABAD, Oct 21: A United Nations report on women says they continue to be underrepresented in national parliaments, on average occupying only 17 per cent of seats.

The report “Women’s World 2010: Trends and Statistics”, released on the World Statistics Day on Wednesday, states the share of women as ministers also averages 17 per cent, indicating their less representation in decision-making.

The highest positions are even more elusive: only seven of 150 elected heads of states in the world are women, and only 11 of 192 heads of governments. At the local level, elected female councilors are underrepresented worldwide and female mayors even more so.

Reviewing the situation in Pakistan, the report said in the largest-ever federal cabinet, there was only one female member, looking after the affairs of population welfare while there is no minister for women development. However, there are three female ministers of state having minimal powers. The National Assembly is headed by a woman, while there are six female chairpersons of National Assembly standing committees, and six parliamentary secretaries.

In the Senate, there are four women from each province in addition to one female senator from the federal area. The Senate has four female members on its standing committees. Its committee on women development has 12 female senators as members.

 The report stated that violence against women – physical, sexual, psychological and economic – was a universal phenomenon within and outside their homes. Women are abused physically and sexually by intimate partners at different rates throughout the world. “Younger women are more at risk than older women….” The report said customs put ‘considerable pressure’ on women to accept being beaten by their husbands, even for trivial reasons.

View details: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/local/islamabad/concern-over-less-share-for-women-in-decisionmaking-200

 

Independent assessment of post-disaster damage sought

Source: Dawn

Date: 21 Oct, 2010

SLAMABAD, Oct 20: A think-tank on Wednesday called for developing independent mechanism to assess post-disaster damage and needs. 
Jinnah Institute, a think tank recently formed by former information minister Sherry Rehman in a report titled “Pakistan at risk: challenges and opportunities after the floods” stressed that there must be a mechanism independent of multilateral donor organizations. 

The report says that development finance bodies and international financing institutions should be asked to partner with local organisations initially to create an infrastructure of knowledge and expertise on grassroots data compilation and analysis in disasters.

It recommends empowering and funding the budget less National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to coordinate relief efforts with credible provincial disaster management authorities (PDMAs).

 It must be answerable to parliament, and enhance the core capacity of all DM units by working through a statutory body called the National Institute of Disaster Management. As it stands, the NDMA itself reports a paucity of trained staff, and the PDMAs were clearly tested beyond capacity. There was little evidence of District DMAs on the ground, with rare exceptions found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Most DDMAs’ existence is limited to PowerPoint presentations to the government, which needs to change, particularly given the volume and scale of natural disasters Pakistan had faced over the last decade.

The report also recommended strengthening Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) and provincial Flood Warning Cells (FWCs), noting that the PMD being a structural as well as service body must be given requisite equipment for its predictions, given that it is neglected and under-resourced. It urged the government to pay attention to calls for cuts in non-development expenditure and invest in accountability protocols. Many international and local NGOs have called for more transparency in the governance of the disaster and these must be heeded. 

A report on the government’s austerity measures may yield information on reductions proposed by the ministry of finance, but policy execution and monitoring by the Cabinet Division remains poor. 

For details click on web: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/local/islamabad/independent-assessment-of-postdisaster-damage-sought-100

 

 

Education ministry surrenders Rs264m allocated for hiring houses

Source: The News

Date: 20-10-2010

n somewhat astonishing move under austerity drive, the Ministry of Education has surrendered Rs264 million out of the total of Rs420 million allocated for hiring of houses for about 5,000 teachers working under the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), making it difficult for most of them to maintain possession of their rented houses. 

Sources said that the government has asked ministries to surrender 40 per cent of their funds as part of the austerity drive, but the high-ups of the ministry instead of reducing unnecessary expenditures thought it fit to deprive about 4,000 teachers of their house hiring funds. 
According to sources, a section officer wrote a letter to the AGPR on the directives of Education Secretary

... View Details

NGOs complain to Gilani about poor relief work

Source: Dawn

Date: Tuesday, 19 Oct, 2010

ISLAMABAD: Representatives of leading national non-governmental organisations (NGOs) complained to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday about lack of coordination and adequate monitoring of relief and rehabilitation work in flood-affected areas. 
At an interactive dinner with the prime minister, they called for immediate revival of the local government system and said the worst-hit rural areas were being neglected in the relief and rehabilitation work.

 They called for land reforms and more tax on the rich, terming it the only way to help the affected people. 

Samina Khan of the Sungi organisation said it was impossible to undertake rehabilitation work at the district and tehsil levels in the absence of local governments and, therefore, the government should take immediate steps to hold their elections. 

The prime minister said that 2011 would be the year of local bodies’ elections.

 Naeem Mirza of Aurat Foundation said women and children were the most vulnerable among the affected people who needed special attention of the government. He complained of a lack of coordination in relief work. 

View details: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/ngos-complain-to-gilani-about-poor-relief-work-900

 

'Still ominously topical' by Aziz Ali Dad

Source: The News

Date: Oct 16, 2010

"And hard by Gilgit it is that, in an undefined way, on the high Roof of the World – what more fitting a place! – the three greatest Empires of the Earth meet – Great Britain, Russia and China."--E F Knight in Where Three Empires Meet, 1892. The three greatest empires of the 19th century were attracted to the Himalayan region and the Central Asian principalities because of these places' geostrategic importance. To establish their supremacy there the British and the Russian empires embarked on a new political game. Believed to have been coined by the East India Company's intelligence officer Capt Arthur Conolly, the term "Great Game" was immortalised by Rudyard Kipling in his novel Kim. The term, and the region to which it applied, subsequently disappeared from modern political discourse. But after the end of the Cold War the phrase and the region re-emerged on the political radar screen of global politics.  In his article, "China's discreet hold on Pakistan's northern borderlands," Selig S Harrison has expressed his concern that the "Chinese behemoth" would devour Gilgit-Baltistan. Writing in The New York Times on Aug 26, Harrison, director of the Asia Programme at the Centre for International Policy, said there were 7,000-11,000 soldiers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) present in the region.  In his article "China and India: the great game's new players", Jaswant Singh, India's former minister for defence and foreign affairs, wrote in The Guardian on Sept 25 that China, hungry for land, water and raw materials is encroaching on Himalayan regions redoubting and directly challenging India.  The newfound interest of policymakers and political pundits of different states in Gilgit-Baltistan is evidence of a revival of the Great Game. It supports Peter Hopkirk's observation in The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia that "not much has changed in the last hundred years," and that "the Great Game is still ominously topical." In the New Great Game, the only change is the addition of new players: India, Pakistan and, indirectly, the United States. Gilgit-Baltistan has a geography of pivotal geostrategic importance, which is why the New Great Game is liable to produce profound repercussions in the region. The Karakoram Highway there was built by the personnel of the PLA with the help of the Pakistani army's corps of engineers. The highway helped the Chinese win the hearts of the local people. The Chinese are now upgrading the highway and working on other projects within the region.  Their initiatives in the region are driven by economic interest rather than ideological affiliation. They have until now focused on building infrastructure. Their contribution in social development is nonexistent. On the other hand, Western countries are working in collaboration in the social-development sector with the government and NGOs, with little focus on infrastructure.  It is yet to be seen whether infrastructure development or social interventions are going to tilt the local population towards the players in the New Great Game. But it is imperative for the local people to get an understanding of the complexities of the New Great Game which blurs boundaries between local, national, regional and international interests.  The people of Gilgit-Baltistan are still more vulnerable to the game being played there because of the region's ambiguous status within Pakistan. It is still outside the ambit of the constitution and has no representation in parliament, and has therefore no role in decision-making in Islamabad.  During the Great Game the players either negotiated with or confronted local rulers of the different valleys in the region. Since the interests of the local rulers and people were embedded within the indigenous power relations of society, they were not ready to surrender their power to foreign forces. Unfortunately, there is no link in the current dispensation which links power with the interest of the local populace.  Furthermore, the convergence of conflicting interests and continuous unrest in the same space might pave the way for the new players to intervene. Sporadic sectarian violence, incessant targeted killings and segregation of people of the same family, ethnicity and language along sectarian lines in Gilgit are just parts of the bigger picture of the New Great Game.  To protect Gilgit-Baltistan from the fallouts of this game, it is indispensable for the local people to be empowered economically, politically and constitutionally. Provisional arrangements will make the people an easy prey to the power politics of the New Great Game. The local people interpret the politics of different countries regarding Gilgit-Baltistan through folk lore, such as the prophecy of a shaman named Khameto. Centuries ago, the legendary shaman predicted a great war in the following song in the Shina language: Peace will prevail, When horses wade through the blood up to their knees at Khunjerab, The meaning of Khunjerab in the Wakhi language is "blood stream."  A logical analysis of the modern power politics of the region lead us to a similar conclusion. Let us remember that the players of the New Great Game are three nuclear states.  The writer is associated with a rights-based organization in Islamabad. Email: azizalidad@hotmail.com

 

At a crossroads, again

Source: The News

Date: 17-10-2010

Democracy is facing serious threats from undemocratic forces

By Salman Abid

Is democracy under threat in our part of the world? The answer is yes because democracy in Pakistan has always strived and lived in a transitional period. Unfortunately, it remains weak after all these 63 years. The undemocratic forces and so-called non-state actors play an active role against democratic institutions of country.

Strong democracy results from continuation of the political process. Our story is totally different. The President, Prime Minister and other government spokesmen have denied any challenge or threat against the present democratic set-up. They claim that all politicians and political forces are united against non-democratic forces trying to destabilise democracy or the present government.

The assurance from President Zardari came many a times. He said that he, along with his party fellows, will defeat all non democratic forces, including militancy with the support of people. He admitted that the real threat to democracy is from militant forces.

The question of the present government and its legitimacy is being discussed and questioned among different sections of society. Government allies like the MQM has on one occasion invited military as "patriotic generals" to play a pro-active role for the larger 'interest' of the nation. He claimed patriotic generals would clean the system of corrupt politicians and feudals and bring in a transparent political system.

The government recently passed resolution in the National Assembly in favour of sustaining democratic institutions and any illegal action against the parliament and elected government. The government also took assurance from the Army Chief with regard to the sustainability of democracy in the country. The question is if there is no threat to democracy, as claimed by the leaders, why they are so conscious about that?

Some political circles are seriously talking about political change in the country and remove or wrap up the present political set-up. People are talking about the idea of a national government, based on different political groups or technocrats and professional groups. One section of society believes only military leadership in the country can resolve our present problems.

We should admit that both internal and external factors are behind the weak democratic system in country. This is because the political party's internal structures are weak. Major decisions are taken by non democratic forces not the elected political government. Democracy cannot flourish in a speedy way; it's just a process and takes some time. But people refuse to show patience and want change in a very short period of time.

Unfortunately, our civilian leaders are also responsible for raising people's expectations and making big political commitments after coming in power. The civilian leadership also trusts state forces instead of the masses. Some of them believe that powers come through the establishment forces, not from the common man and their votes.

No doubt, non democratic forces are the major factor but we cannot ignore the internal threat within the political parties, their leadership and their governance. There are some sections in our society that indirectly support non democratic actors and want change through illegal actions. Their support and manipulation not only supports illegal actions but also pave way for back door politics. Democracy cannot survive in isolation. It is always linked with people's expectations and their need, especially the poor and marginalised groups.

The common notion is that if a government fails due to bad governance, it is assumed that democracy has also failed in the country. This is wrong. Some people cannot differentiate between failure of a government and the failure of a system. Nawaz Sharif once rightly pointed out that failure of the government does not mean that democracy has failed in the country. When people criticise and say that the present government and democracy have failed; it means we are talking about a different system.

The only way to democracy is through continuation of the political process, with elections taking place on regular intervals. If the elected people want change, they should use their right and change the government through the vote of no confidence, and not through extra-constitutional actions. But, sadly, the nation has already had bad experiences in the past when no confidence motion created more corruption in politics, but that is another debate.

In the past, every effort either from military or civilian people failed in the country to bring positive changes for the people. Some people are expecting to bring about a change through judiciary but judiciary itself is facing criticism from some quarters.

We should realise that only democracy can save Pakistan; only if we allow the democratic forces to play a free and fair game in country politics. We all know that illegal actions against democracy can stop the political process in the country. Without political process no positive change can be brought in the democratic practices.

All this is not new; we have been oscillating between democratic and undemocratic forces. In the present circumstances, democracy is facing serious threats from undemocratic forces.

After the February elections President Zardari and Nawaz Sharif had agreed on a democratic set-up and resisted any illegal actions against the derailing of nascent democracy in the country. Later, political grievances resurfaced and both showed mistrust in each other. Al, this at a time when the society is facing serious challenges like terrorism, poor governance, inflation, and clash of institutions. The only solution is democracy, more of it. The pro democratic forces should be aware of the fact that without democratic practices and good governance with accountability, democracy cannot deliver.

Democracy does not survive only on political slogans. Some are pointing towards external factors against democracy. In order to save democracy in the country leading civil society organisations need to play a pro-active role in the form of resistance movement. If civilian leadership fails at this time, non-democratic forces will emerge and capture power once again.

The write is a political analyst and human rights campaigner. He can be reached atsalmanabidpk@gmail.com

Link: http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/oct2010-weekly/nos-17-10-2010/pol1.htm#8

 

 

Creation of jobs vital to alleviate poverty

Source: The News

Date:  October 18, 2010

Decent and productive work is one of the most effective ways to fight poverty and accelerate the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, says the United Nations Millennium Campaign in observance of the 2010 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. 
This year’s observance focuses on decent work, meaningful employment, income-generating livelihoods under the theme of ‘From Poverty to Decent Work: Bridging the Gap.’ The theme underlines that combating poverty is linked to the satisfaction of basic social needs, including education, health, food, sanitation, shelter and clothing, as well as the provision of sufficient work opportunities as stipulated in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

“Different facets of poverty are manifested in every MDG being off track. When a child doesn’t go to school or a family cannot afford health or sanitation, the underlining cause is poverty,” says Minar Pimple, director of the UN Millennium Campaign Asia and the Pacific Regional Office. 

Almost 70 per cent of the world’s poor live in Asia and the Pacific region, according to the UN Asia-Pacific Regional MDG Report 2009-10. Whilst Asia and the Pacific is anticipated to serve as the engine that pulls the global economy out of recession, the same report shows a contrast picture to that speculation. Hundreds of millions of people in this region are still left in appalling destitution — living on less than $1.25 a day, lacking clean water and sanitation, their families devastated by the tragic and needless deaths of mothers and children.

View Details: http://www.thenews.com.pk/18-10-2010/islamabad/10626.htm

17,000 students may lose academic year

Source: The News

Date: October 14, 2010

HYDERABAD: As many as 17,000 students of the government schools and colleges currently occupied by flood displaced people are likely to miss out on their academic year if IDPs are not immediately relocated to alternate shelters.

Furthermore, a majority of private schools had also turned down the district education department's request for making available their buildings for running classes for the affected government students in second shifts, Executive District Officer (EDO), Hyderabad, Education Niaz Ahmed Laghari said Thursday.
"Keeping in view the break of summer vacations, educational institutions were converted to relief camps for urgent but ephemeral accommodation of the IDPs," the EDO maintained, adding that the occupation had prolonged to an unbearable extent.

He cautioned that if the government did not take any prompt action for early resumption of the stalled learning process than an entire academic year of the affected students would go waste.

Laghari informed that the education infrastructure had suffered a loss of at least Rs 75 million in the district and once the IDPs had withdrawn from there, cleaning and repair work would have to precede the restart of academic activities as soon as possible.

View Details: http://www.thenews.com.pk/latest-news/2950.htm

 

ADB, WB estimate flood damage at $9.5bn

Source: The News

Date: October 14, 2010

KARACHI: Pakistan’s recent floods inflicted $9.5 billion in damage to property, crops and infrastructure, according to an Asian Development Bank and the World Bank assessment, Finance Ministry officials said on Wednesday.

Aside from trying to cope with that direct damage, the government may face total recovery costs of $30 billion, the Finance Ministry officials said, although they had not seen the report.

If that figure proves correct, it would likely to disappoint the government, which had estimated damage at $43 billion and needs all the aid it can secure.
Pakistan may not be able to manage billions of dollars of financial support needed for reconstruction, a reality that worries the United States, which wants stability in an ally seen as vital in its war on militancy.

The government is often preoccupied by one crisis after another, from feuding politicians to waves of militant suicide bombings to showdowns with the powerful Supreme Court.

If aid money does not reach millions of flood victims soon, unpopular Pakistani leaders will lose more credibility, and Taliban insurgents may capitalise on hardships to gain recruits.

At the heart of Pakistan’s latest turmoil is an amnesty law that allowed some politicians to return after years of exile, but was thrown out in December 2009 by the Supreme Court.

If the Supreme Court rejects a government appeal against the overturning of the law, which is likely, that could open the door to attempts to prosecute government leaders, including President Asif Ali Zardari.

Maria Kuusisto, an analyst at the Eurasia Group, said the government was weighed down by a familiar set of problems.

Structural tensions between the civilian leadership, the bureaucracy and the military, were exacerbated by the floods.

“The government is not very focused,” she said. “It’s constantly dealing with political tensions. And it doesn’t have adequate resources.”
The floods, which began in late July, left more than 10 million people homeless and affected 20 million and devastated an economy that was already fragile before one of the country’s worst natural disasters. 

Link: http://thenews.com.pk/14-10-2010/ethenews/e-9874.htm

 

Preliminary WB report puts flood losses at $9.5bn

Source: Dawn

Date: 13 Oct, 2010

ISLAMABAD: A preliminary Damage Need Assessment (DNA) report prepared by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank says that Pakistan suffered a loss of about $9.5 billion (over Rs800 billion) in recent floods, in terms of damaged crops, infrastructure and public and private property in the four provinces and Fata. 

The report has been presented to the Planning Commission and the government is preparing a presentation for the Friends of Democratic Pakistan meeting to be held in Brussels. 

According to the report, Sindh suffered the maximum damage amounting to around Rs350 billion, followed by Punjab Rs253 billion, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rs103 billion, Balochistan Rs55 billion and Fata Rs5 billion. 

Individuals, it said, suffered losses of crops and livestock to the tune of Rs428 billion.

 Sources in the planning commission said the report had only highlighted the damage caused by floods, but the reconstruction of infrastructure again and compensation to be paid to people who had lost their sources of livelihood would cast between $25 billion to $30 billion.—Kalbe Ali 

Link: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/preliminary-wbadb-report-puts-flood-losses-at-$9.5bn-300

 

Pakistan among eight nations facing worse water shortage: ADB

Source: The News

Date: October 13, 2010

MANILA: Pakistan is among eight countries that are facing severe impact of water shortage, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Tuesday.
“China, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Nepal, Uzbekistan and Cambodia are currently feeling the heaviest impacts of the water shortage in terms of food and energy production, as well as ecological damage,” the ADB said.

Arjun Thapan, Infrastructure Adviser of ADB, said that Asia faced a worsening water crisis that threatened to curtail food production, while taking an increasingly heavy toll on the region’s economies.

Governments, industries and people around the region urgently need to stop wasting so much of the precious resource if they are to limit the shortage, he said.

“The water footprint in our towns and cities, in our irrigation systems, our energy production systems and in industry, in general, is extravagant,” Thapan said at a water crisis conference hosted by the Manila-based lender.

“It needs to shrink and Asia needs to become acutely conscious of the scarcity value of its accessible fresh water, and the imperative of efficiency in managing it.”

In a report, the ADB faulted weak enforcement of laws for the degradation of Asian water quality, with between 80 and 89 percent of all untreated wastewater leaching into fresh water in east and south Asia, respectively.

“In short, Asia is witnessing a despoliation of its freshwater resources with disastrous consequences for ecological balance and environmental sustainability,” the bank said.

It also highlighted that while irrigated agriculture uses up 80 percent of the region’s fresh water, there have been only very minimal moves to boost irrigation efficiency over the last two decades.

At least $9 billion worth of treated water was lost each year in Asia’s cities, the ADB said.

Climate change, rapid industrialisation, water pollution, dietary shifts and the drive to grow bio-fuels are also expected to deepen the water crisis,

said Thapan.

On the current trends, this would lead to a 40 percent gap between water demand and supply in Asia by 2030.

For details: http://thenews.com.pk/13-10-2010/ethenews/e-9713.htm

 

Headline inflation hits 17-month high of 15.71pc

Source: The News

Date: October 12, 2010

KARACHI: The country’s headline inflation hit a 17-month high of 15.71 percent year-on year in September owing to the impact of devastating floods, which resulted in a sharp increase in the prices of basic food items, according to the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) data issued on Monday.
The consumer price Index (CPI), the key barometer to gauge inflation in the country, registered a growth of 17.19 percent in April 2009. Analysts said that the impact of floods was the main reason behind the current increase in inflation. The depreciation of rupee and a global increase in commodity prices also kept the domestic rates on the higher side.

“The CPI figures are alarming and it may force the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to further tighten its monetary policy stance next month,” said Ahsan Mehanti, Director, Arif Habib Investments Ltd.

Realising persistent inflationary pressure, the central bank increased the discount rate to 13.5 from 13 percent in the last monetary policy announcement on Sept 29. The floods, which started hurting the economy early this fiscal year, dented the agriculture infrastructure and standing crops.

 There are no exact estimates of devastations caused by the recent calamity, but the provisional estimates of the central bank suggested that the economic growth for the current fiscal year could come down to 2.5 percent from an earlier target of 4.5 percent.

The disruption in supply chain of food items caused the month-on-month food inflation to jump to 5.26 percent in Sep, pushing the monthly CPI inflation to 2.65 percent.The central bank said that the upward trend in food inflation would take two to three months to return to normal levels.

For more details: http://thenews.com.pk/12-10-2010/ethenews/e-9566.htm

 

UNHCR aid reaches 665,000 flood victims

Source: The News

Date: October 11, 2010

PESHAWAR: The UN Refugee Agency has provided assistance to 665,000 flood-affected people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa so far which was devastated in recent floods.

To reach the needy people, the UNHCR established 17 distribution points in coordination with implementing partners in Peshawar, Charsadda, Swat, Kohat, Nowshera, Kohistan, Shangla, Dera Ismail Khan, Dir Lower and Dir Upper districts. 

In addition, the UNHCR distributed aid to affected people in Haripur, Mansehra and those scattered in various parts of the Chitral valley. The UNHCR and its partners carried out assessments and those whose houses were destroyed or damaged received tokens, which were used to collect assistance that included tents and other non-food items like jerry cans, mosquito nets, or kitchen sets at distribution points. 

UNHCR Peshawar Officer-in-charge, Yoshimi Saita, said: “Needs of affected people are immense and they need continued support from aid agencies to survive through these difficult times.” 

UNHCR and UAE Red Crescent Authority recently launched a joint emergency shelter programme in Nowshera district. Under this project, 20,000 families will receive emergency shelter and basic domestic items to assist them cope during these difficult period.
Materials for 105 transitional shelters have already been airlifted into Uthror village in Swat Upper, airlifting is preferred as access by road through the recently constructed route to the village is only possible on light vehicles. Training in construction is being provided to community by partner Sarhad Rural Support Programme and locally hired engineers.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/11-10-2010/peshawar/9407.htm

 

Bumpy road to rehabilitation by Mr. Naseer Memon

Dear All

Find below recent article “Bumpy road to rehabilitation” of Mr. Naseer Memon, Chief Executive of SPO. The article appeared in Political Economy section of The News on 10^th Oct 2010

 http://jang.com.pk/thenews/oct2010-weekly/nos-10-10-2010/pol1.htm

Bumpy road to rehabilitation

The major challenge in rehabilitation process would be resource mobilisation

By Naseer Memon

Floods have now receded, leaving a trail of devastation behind. Deep scars of this disaster would take years to heal. Although relief phase is yet to end but concomitant to that more arduous phases of early recovery and rehabilitation can't afford any delay. The camp life ordeal of affectees would soon get over yet their suffering would only change its form as they return to their uprooted abodes.

Early recovery typically requires rapid assessment that may help initiating a transition from life saving to life sustaining activities in the affected areas. This phase entails issues like resettlement, livelihood restoration, rebuilding of basic infrastructure and planning for effective rehabilitation phase. The major challenge in this phase would be the magnitude of physical disaster. The scale of mammoth challenge can be gauged from the damage data. According to NDMA's update of 23rd December, over 1.9 houses are damaged in the country. Sindh province appears to be the worst hit accounting for over 1.1 million damaged houses.

Estimates of infrastructure such as roads, bridges, government offices, culverts do not appear in this report. However, various other reports provide information on these aspects. A report of UNESCO puts the number of damaged schools to 10,000 that corresponds to 1.5 to 2.5 million students affected. Punjab government's initial estimates reckon the damages to the tune of Rs67 billion. Website of PDMA Sindh shows staggering damage estimate of Rs446 billion.

Sector-wise breakup shows housing and agriculture as the worst-hit sectors in Sindh with estimates of Rs134 and 122 billion respectively. Secretary Industries Department of Sindh has confirmed that 67 industrial units in Sindh have been damaged. Similarly the Sindh Agriculture Department estimates agriculture losses at 102 billion rupees. A report of the UNOCHA on 10th August mentioned that 281 bridges and 283 roads were affected in KPK. Balochistan fretfully decried underestimation of its damages. In the long and short, volume of damages is mind-boggling and that explains the lurking ramifications of the bumpy road to rehabilitation. Putting together federal cabinet was informed that the colossal losses are estimated to US$ 43 billion, nearly 25% of the nominal GDP of Pakistan.

Early recovery in the affected areas would demand greater focus on agriculture and its extended strands of livelihood. Since most of the affected areas, specially in Punjab and Sindh, have their economy embedded in agriculture, immediate attention is required to secure winter sowing, mainly wheat that guarantees staple diet for millions of households. Any laxity in this would precariously push the rural economy and livelihood to the brink of collapse that may eventually culminate into a perilous social chaos. To avert this risk, government will have to work on a war-footing mainly for dewatering of submerged swathes, repairing field channels and regulators and mobilising seed, fertilizer and other inputs.

Paucity of supplies would skyrocket prices, initially of inputs and subsequently of commodities. Efficient management of winter crop would partially assuage the miseries for affectees as the local economy would get a shot in the arm with good harvest. This would bring respite for the edgy government and rehabilitation phase would also become less turbulent.

Rehabilitation phase is targeted to restore life to pre-disaster stage. This stage has to focus both on individual affectees and public services. Many experts of disaster management consider rehabilitation as an opportunity of better rebuilding through ameliorated planning, infusing socio-economic reforms, redefining imperatives of rural economy and reconstructing infrastructure as disaster-resistant and environmentally sustainable.

Rebuilding major infrastructure and reshaping socio-economic vista require meticulous planning and a turbocharged institutional array to make this transition wrinkle-free. The Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank has also indicated in its report that Pakistan has a unique opportunity to introduce land and irrigation reforms for long term political and economic gains. The report suggests that the disaster also presents an opportunity to redress or to begin to redress, the long-standing land rights issue related to powerful landlords and indebted tenants in areas like Balochistan, Sindh and Southern Punjab.

Likewise, better land use planning can help rebuilding environmentally sustainable human settlements. Stemming from shear lack of land use planning, villages and towns in Pakistan have become breeding grounds for social strains and environmental nightmares. Unbridled sprawl of villages and towns have completely disregarded the fundamentals of development. Over the years major infrastructure schemes were implemented in the flood prone areas.

A vicious web of private dykes, illegal irrigation channels and other imprudent creatures was recklessly allowed to sneak into the flood plains. How this environmentally myopic development multiplied the damages need to be delved. Rehabilitation phase is a heaven-sent opportunity to rectify these gaffes. Land reforms, especially judicious allocation of katchha land and recovering illegally occupied tracts of riverine forest would be the best harvest of this worst disaster.

The insurmountable challenge, however, would be convincing the ruling elite to let it happen unhindered. Since the fragile democratic dispensation stands on the crutches of unscrupulous landed aristocracy, such reforms look like a distant dream. Otherwise erasing social imbalances would provide bedrock foundation to democracy in Pakistan.

The major challenge in rehabilitation would be resource mobilisation. Ever bulging security cost has hemorrhaged the cash-strapped government from its residual liquidity. According to newspaper reports the federal budget has recently been defaced by major changes into defense and development allocation. The former has been allocated additional Rs110 billion and the later has been drained by Rs73 billion, leaving development kitty in pallor.

Council of Common Interest announced a compensation of Rs100,000 for every affectee family but the provinces are too impoverished to afford this. The Advisor for Planning and Development in Sindh has already conceded that the slim purse of the province can't afford 190 billion rupees required for the purpose. The international aid response had been sluggish due to medley of reasons. The UN has launched "Pakistan Floods Emergency Response Plan" seeking US$ 2 billion.

The plan aims to provide humanitarian relief and early recovery assistance to up to 14 million people through 483 projects. The anemic treasury needs aid injection to foot the rehabilitation bill that would run into several billion dollars. There is a need of massive public sector investment to reinvigorate the caved-in economy in the affected areas.

This investment, however, should not be restricted to dole outs; it should rather follow the 'New Deal' paradigm of socio-economic recovery of US after Great Depression in 1930s. President Roosevelt declared it a peacetime emergency and established Federal Emergency Relief Administration that pumped money in "work relief" operations. Huge projects of roads, bridges, schools and other public works were rolled out that generated jobs for 4 million citizens.

Such a model would proffer multiple benefits of rebuilding public services, rejuvenating the tormented local markets and creating much needed employment for affectees. Creating exclusive small and medium enterprise corridors in urban areas fueled through soft loans would also help affectees to recuperate from crisis. In presence of heavy debt servicing and ballooning defense expenditure, little is left for public sector development, which complicates the dilemma of civilian governments. Considering these harsh realities, rehabilitation phase immediately requires an all encompassing master plan before rolling out muddled development schemes. The plan may comprise short term, medium term and long term targets coupled by a strategy to mobilize resources and efficiently investing them to achieve strategic socio-economic gains.

The writer is an environmentalist Chief Executive of Strengthening Participatory Organization-SPO. email: nmemon@spopk.org