US brings students from small towns in Pakistan

Source: Dawn

Date: December 31, 2010

WASHINGTON, Dec 30: As part of its efforts to improve bilateral understanding, the US has launched one of its largest ever students exchange programmes with Pakistan, a senior US official said on Thursday.

“To give a chance to Pakistani students to learn more about the US and Americans to learn more about Pakistan and Pakistanis,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Alina Romanowski while explaining the motive behind the arrangement.

“The purpose is to build human bridges between our two countries and to encourage face to face communication.”

As many as 100 undergraduate students from Pakistan will spend a semester in US educational institutions this year under the Global Undergraduate Exchange Programme in Pakistan. Although they all have to return home after the semester, they will be encouraged to apply for further studies in the United States.

The US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in coordination with a partner organisation, IREX, will host an arrival orientation for 50 of these students in Washington from Jan 3-6, 2011.

Launched in fall 2010, Global UGRAD-Pakistan provides a substantive exchange experience at a US college or university to a diverse group of 100 emerging student leaders from underrepresented sectors in Pakistan.

Responding to a question from an Indian journalist, Ms Romanowski said the students were not screened to ensure if there were `wahabis` among them or if they had `a terrorist mentality`, as the journalist had suggested. “We are not screening students for their religious orientation or affiliation.”

For more details: http://www.dawn.com/2010/12/31/us-brings-students-from-small-towns-in-pakistan.html

 

 

Women Protection Act: Top Islamic court rules against law

Source: Express Tribune

Date: December 30, 2010

The government on Wednesday decided to challenge in the Supreme Court a Federal Shariat Court’s(FSC) judgment declaring some clauses of the Protection of Women Act-2006 as “violative of the Constitution.”

“We will move the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court for the suspension of today’s ruling,” a law ministry official told The Express Tribune, requesting anonymity.

“Sections 11 and 28 of the Protection of Women Act-2006 are hereby declared ultra vires to Article 203DD of the constitution because these provisions annulled the overriding effect of the Hudood Ordinance-1979,” FSC Chief Justice Agha Rafiq Ahmed Khan, who was heading the three-member bench, said in the ruling.

Referring to its jurisdiction, the FSC verdict said that “no legislative instrument can control, regulate or amend this jurisdiction which was mandated in Chapter 3A of Part VII of the constitution of Pakistan.”

Aslam Ghumman, Shahid Orakzai, Abdul Latif Sufi and Mian Abdul Razzaq Aamir had filed identical petitions in the FSC challenging various sections of the Protection of Women Act-2006 and the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

The judgment has sparked a constitutional debate on the FSC’s powers to rule on the constitutionality of any law.

Former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Qazi Anwer told The Express Tribune that the Federal Shariat Court has no constitutional authority to declare any

law as against the constitution.

For more details: http://tribune.com.pk/story/93167/shariat-court-terms-women-protection-act-clauses-repugnant/

 

 

Middle class in Balochistan the suffering lot (Organized by SPO)

Source: Dawn

Date: December 29, 2010

ISLAMABAD, Dec 28: Speakers have blamed the troika of militants, Sardars and government for suppressing the middle class in Balochistan.

They were speaking at the roundtable forum on ‘Peace and Human Development’ arranged by Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) here on Tuesday.

The speakers, coming from all provinces, said Pakistan was utilising more resources on security paradigm than on human development.

Senator Dr Abdul Malik said Balochistan was backward because of the collusion of local politicians with the ruling class to maintain a status quo, adding that there was a need to shift the current paradigm from security state to human security to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

“The current insurgency in Balochistan is a result of deprivations of the last 63 years and the only solution lies in accepting the legitimate demands,” he added.

Director of Area Study Centre, University of Peshawar, Dr Sarfraz said terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) had a deep-rooted impact on the achievement of MDGs.“When schools are bombed, students are threatened to join seminaries and women are prohibited from getting education, it becomes impossible to achieve the targets of MDGs,” he said.

“The thought process that has traditionally been independent in KP is curtailed now, and this will harm the quality of education in seats of higher learning in the province,” Dr Sarfraz said.

Abrar Kazi presented the perspective of Sindh and said being a postcolonial state Pakistan was entangled in ideological, religious and nationalist conflict.

He said the violent conflict in Sindh was rooted in ethnicity and attributed this situation to the failure of institutions.

He told participants that tribal feuds, jirgas and ransom in the inner parts of Sindh had brought economic development to a standstill.

Former chief economist Dr Pervez Tahir said the objective of security in the country was always the state and never human security.

Shedding light on performance of MDGs vis-à-vis Pakistan’s performance, he claimed that Pakistan was far away from achieving the targets.

“In education and health, expenditure is lower now than what it was in 2001, but on defence and military expenditure had increased manifold,”Dr Tahir said.

Educationist Dr Rubina Sehgal stressed the need to look more into militancy in Punjab as it provided 50 per cent of the jihadi workforce.

Speaking on the impact of conflict/terrorism on women in Pakistan, she provided historical overview of the conflict in which civilians remained largely immune to wars.

Senator Hasil Bizenjo said: “Our politics is based on secularism but secular parties do not openly go against the Federal Shariat Court.” Military and mullah are doing whatever they like, he added.

Link: http://epaper.dawn.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=29_12_2010_153_003

 

 

 

Achieving Development Goals: Human Security Comes First (Organized by SPO)

Source: Express Tribune

Date: December 29, 2010

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are unlikely to be achieved under the prevalent economic and security circumstances, agreed speakers at a roundtable discussion held on Tuesday.

The Round Table Forum on Peace and Human Development was arranged by Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO). The speakers stressed the need for a paradigm shift from state-centered security to human- centered security if the MDGs are to be achieved.

Speaking on the conflict in Balochistan, Senator Dr Abdul Malik said, “ The current insurgency in Balochistan is the result of deprivation of the last 63 years and the only solution is to accept legitimate demands.” He blamed the alleged collusion between militants, sardars and the government for stifling the middle class in Balochistan.

Sharing the views  on terrorism and its impact on the achievement of MDGs in Khyber Pakhtunkhaw, Director Area Study Centre University of Peshawar Dr Sarfraz commented, “ When schools are bombed, students coerced to join seminars and women prohibited from getting educated, it is impossible to achieve the targets of MDGs”.

Presenting the perspective of Sindh, Abrar Kazi said, “ Being a postcolonial state, Pakistan is entangled in ideological, religious and nationalist conflicts. The violent conflict in Sindh is rooted in ethnicity”.

He attributed  this situation to the failure of institutions.

Eminent educationist Dr Rubina Sehgal stressed the need to look more into militancy in Punjab. She provided a historical overview of conflicts in which most civilians remained sheltered from war, but added that this was no longer the case. She attributed the militarization of society to the military’s involvement in social affairs.

Former Chief Economist Dr Parvez Tahir observed that Pakistan’s education and health expenditure is lower than it was in 2001, while government expenditure on defence has increased manifold. He said that the work of 50 years has to be completed in five years, remaining sceptical about the achievement of MDGs.

Former minister and writer Javed Jabbar shared his observation that there are four kinds of wars: physical, psychological, ideological and anti human development. He phrased the current violence by religious militants as a war of obscurantists against human development.

 

 

Creating awareness: Lots to show for Rs285m, but not in work

Source: Express Tribune

Date: December 28, 2010

ISLAMABAD: The Privatisation Commission has spent Rs285 million on its publicity campaign over the past 17 months, which is five times the size of its entire budget for the current year, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Sources within the commission said this expense had been incurred since August 2009, with the monthly average coming to Rs17.8 million.

The expenditure had been made under the pretext of an advertising campaign for the Benazir Employees Stock Option Scheme (Besos), city branding and a flood relief campaign. A part of this amount was used for Besos publicity but most of it was spent on the campaign related to floods.

Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour aptly remarked that the money spent on publicity could have bought the Railways nine locomotives as the cost of manufacturing one engine is Rs30 million.

The money belongs to the Privatisation Fund, which is pooled by deducting two per cent of the proceeds from privatising public sector entities. This fund can only be utilised to meet expenses specific to the privatisation process. Since 1991, Pakistan has privatised 167 entities worth Rs476.5 billion.

Senior officials from the Privatisation Commission confirmed that Rs285 million had been spent but none of them was willing to speak on record due to a possible  “backlash from certain quarters”. They all said that the management was in a fix over how to deal with the issue. However, one of the officials said that the Besos campaign did fall under privatisation-specific spending.

For more details: http://tribune.com.pk/story/95808/creating-awareness-lots-to-show-for-rs285m-but-not-in-work/

Anti-polio target unmet as 2010 draws to close

Source: Dawn

Date: December 27, 2010

KARACHI, Dec 26: Despite tall claims made and targets set by national and provincial immunisation functionaries as well as local and foreign health managers, the spread of polio in Sindh as in other provinces of the country could not be halted even this year.

Planners of anti-polio campaigns are now pinning all their hopes on the “National Emergency Action Plan 2011”, which is being finalised on a directive of President Asif Ali Zardari.

With 136 polio cases reported in 2010, Pakistan is one of the only three Asian countries, the other two being India and Afghanistan, where polio is endemic.

However, the convenience of postponement of deadlines in the “knock out polio game” has never come as a surprise during the 16 years of polio eradication activities in the country.

The irony of the entire child inoculation during the years is that nobody — right from foreign experts to volunteer vaccinators — is ready to learn from mistakes and reach at least their own-set goals.

Mass vaccination with a “trivalent” form of the vaccine aimed at all three viral subtypes helped reduce the number of countries with endemic polio from 125 in 1988 to four in 2010.

In April 2003, country representative of the World Health Organisation Dr Azmoudeh stated that Pakistan was likely to achieve the status of a polio-free country by the end of that year.

Similar hopes were pinned on immunisation campaigns in 2005. Since then, the provincial government, international health organisations and the NGOs working in the province for the eradication of polio have been claiming that the “coming year will be a polio-free year” in Sindh. According to experts, things were achievable as the province of Sindh in no way underwent a situation of having inaccessible localities such as the strife-hit areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and federally administered tribal areas (Fata).

However, the year of much-awaited achievement has never come. The gravity of the situation can be understood from the fact that polio cases has increased by 117 per cent this year as compared to last year.

Polio that afflicts children mainly under five is caused by a virus that invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis or death. The anti-polio oral vaccine works by infecting children with a benign form of polio and giving them immunity to the virulent strain.

As per official figures, this year has witnessed a six-year high number of polio cases. Of the total 26 new cases, 12 cases were reported in Ghotki, three each in Karachi and Kambar, two each in Sanghar and Khairpur, and one each in Jacobabad, Hyderabad, Kashmore and Sukkur.

The year`s first case of polio in Sindh was reported in January, following which no case was reported till the mid of August. However, with the beginning of the high-risk months (August to November), the number of polio cases started climbing almost every week. At present, the figure is just two short to equal 28 cases, which were reported in 2004.

For more details: http://www.dawn.com/2010/12/27/anti-polio-target-unmet-as-2010-draws-to-close.html

 

 

The elusive MDGs

Source: Dawn

Date: December 24, 2010

How can a country achieve MDGs when its people don’t have a clue what the goals are about? There is virtually no development dialogue in Pakistan with mass participation.

THERE are two ways to make the point that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will not be met in Pakistan. One can offer analytical reasons in support or place a large bet on the outcome. Given that Pakistanis are currently swayed more by spot bets than appeals to reason, I am willing to wager Rs10 lakh on the MDGs remaining unmet by their designated end date of 2015.

I hope there are some who will wonder why I am willing to risk my money on this bet. To them I will present some very obvious and some not so obvious reasons for my pessimism as a Pakistani and optimism as a bettor.

The very obvious reason is easy to get out of the way. I doubt if there is anyone who believes that our governors are serious about MDGs or have time to spare for them. As usual, they have signed on to international commitments and welcome the accompanying perks knowing full well that there is to be no accountability at the end of the day. A miracle may yet transpire but I am not betting on it.

The slightly less obvious reason is that the international community is not too serious either. Those paying attention might remember that the 1980s were designated the International Decade for Water and Sanitation with similar targets and the 1990s were to culminate in Health for All by the Year 2000. Whatever happened to those goals? Instead of a post-mortem to fathom the reasons for failure, the international community simply reset the clock to 2015, conjured up another fancy title, and continued the merry globetrotting. Why would it be any different in 2015?

Then there is the fact that governments unable to solve small problems cannot be expected to solve big ones. Many years ago I heard my 10-year old son chuckling while reading the newspaper headline ‘Benazir vows to make Karachi weapon-free’. Being an activist, he wrote the prime minister a polite letter requesting she make Karachi garbage-free first. Needless to stay, Karachi was freed of neither.

It doesn’t take much to figure all this out but I wish to focus on another, less obvious and more important dimension. Take a taxi from the Secretariat complex in Islamabad and ask the driver if he knows what MDGs are about. Elaborate that you mean the Millennium Development Goals and see if anything registers.

I assure you nothing will unless you happen to run into the one taxi driver whose cousin works in the Planning Commission. He might pass on the information that something containing MDGs regularly receives extensive polishing in the office before being dispatched to New York and therefore must contain something of great importance.

This is the state of affairs right outside the halls of the Secretariat. Travel a few kilometers out of town and the incomprehension deepens into bewilderment. By the time one gets to Lehtrar, people declare you a deluded pir to be returned promptly to the confines of the Secretariat.

I know we are not an English-speaking nation so I offer the official translation to my interlocutors — Hazarsala Tarraqiati Ahdaf. The perplexed get even more perplexed. Who in the world speaks like this? Why hazarsala? What’s tarraqiati about these things? Who has ever heard of the term ‘ahdaf’?

For details: http://epaper.dawn.com/ArticleText.aspx?article=24_12_2010_007_004

 

 

Women Protection Act: Top Islamic court rules against law

Source: Express Tribune

Date: December 23, 2010

The government on Wednesday decided to challenge in the Supreme Court a Federal Shariat Court’s(FSC) judgment declaring some clauses of the Protection of Women Act-2006 as “violative of the Constitution.”

“We will move the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court for the suspension of today’s ruling,” a law ministry official told The Express Tribune, requesting anonymity.

“Sections 11 and 28 of the Protection of Women Act-2006 are hereby declared ultra vires to Article 203DD of the constitution because these provisions annulled the overriding effect of the Hudood Ordinance-1979,” FSC Chief Justice Agha Rafiq Ahmed Khan, who was heading the three-member bench, said in the ruling.

Referring to its jurisdiction, the FSC verdict said that “no legislative instrument can control, regulate or amend this jurisdiction which was mandated in Chapter 3A of Part VII of the constitution of Pakistan.”

Aslam Ghumman, Shahid Orakzai, Abdul Latif Sufi and Mian Abdul Razzaq Aamir had filed identical petitions in the FSC challenging various sections of the Protection of Women Act-2006 and the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

The judgment has sparked a constitutional debate on the FSC’s powers to rule on the constitutionality of any law.

Former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association Qazi Anwer told The Express Tribune that the Federal Shariat Court has no constitutional authority to declare any law as against the constitution.

For more details: http://tribune.com.pk/story/93167/shariat-court-terms-women-protection-act-clauses-repugnant/

 

 

Economic growth can help reduce poverty

Source: Daily Times

Date: December 21, 2010

ISLAMABAD: The economic growth and control of price inflation efficiently would help to mitigate the poverty and allied issues. An economist Dr Ashfaq Hasan termed poverty and growth are interlinked and poverty could never be completely eliminated, as it was a relative term. In foreign countries 6 percent to 7 percent ratio of poverty remains despite their utmost efforts to eliminate it, he said. He said the total ratio of poverty in Pakistan was 22.3 percent and it has been reduced from 34.5 percent since 2000 to 2010. In 2008 inflation increased from 5 to 6 percent, he added. He said Pakistan was about to reach 15 percent of economic growth rate but in 2008 it was reduced to 17 percent due to various reasons and now it’s difficult that we could reach the target. “`BISP and other programmes only provide help and relief to the poor peoples according to their situation but they can never create jobs for them and be the source of income for the peoples”, he added. He suggested poverty could be reduced only by economic progress and the role of private sector in this regard also worth mentioning. The responsibility of the government is to evolve policy and not to provide jobs to the citizen. The private sector is there to arrange the job opportunities for the citizens, he maintained.

Link: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\12\21\story_21-12-2010_pg5_16

 

Heavy govt borrowing causes inflation: SBP

Source: Dawn

Date: December 15, 2010

KARACHI: State Bank Governor Shahid H Kardar on Monday said that heavy government borrowing in excess of R1,500 billion, against only Rs53 billion borrowed by June 2003, is a major cause of whooping inflation.

He acknowledged that the private sector had borne the brunt of required adjustment in the economy and the government has considerably crowded out the private sector both through reduced availability and price of credit.

He said that between June 2003 and June 2007 the private sector credit cumulatively grew by 162 per cent, while it increased by only 24 per cent between June 2007 and Nov 2010.

The governor pointed out that in cumulative terms, country`s economy has experienced an inflation of 66 per cent between June 2007 and Oct 2010, as against 36 per cent inflation seen during June 2003 and June 2007.

Mr Kardar said monetary policy alone could not control inflation and stressed the need of a well coordinated strategy, which must include timely response to changing macroeconomic conditions along with concerted efforts to raise productive capacity of the economy.

Addressing members of the business community at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) the SBP governor warned that any delay in implementation of such a strategy would only make the policy trade-offs much more difficult resulting in continuing uncertainty about desirable economic outcome.

He said that the credit extended for commodity operations, including both wheat and sugar, grew by 288 per cent during the last three years compared to 33 per cent in the previous three years.

He said that the borrowings of this scale would not have been possible without an upward pressure on market interest rates.

Above all, he said that the borrowing of the government agencies for financing its wheat, urea, and sugar trading operations was Rs382 billion at just under three percentage points above KIBOR, indicating the interest rate regime that the private sector would have to face in competition with the state borrowing.

For more details: http://www.dawn.com/2010/12/14/heavy-govt-borrowing-causes-inflation-sbp.html

 

What is going on in economic ministries?

Source: The News

Date: 9 December 2010

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Dr Nadeem Ul Haq is trying hard to distance himself from approving multi billion rupees development projects today (Thursday) when the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) is going to accord approval of new projects.
The federal government had slashed down development budget from Rs280 billion to Rs140 billion for the current fiscal year owing to financial crunch but in view of mounting pressures from all quarters including the Prime Minister Secretariat, President House and relevant ministries, the Planning Commission was forced to convene Ecnec meeting for approving around 30 projects with estimated cost of over Rs300 billion.

“We can only give advice to the government that there is no need to increase throw forward at time of financial crunch that will result into overrun of cost as well as cause delays in completion of projects,” sources close to deputy chairman Planning Commission quoted him as saying to his top aides but he seems helpless before the political leadership of the PPP government.

When contacted senior officials of the Planning Commission said the approval of projects did not mean that the throw forward was increased because it would be included into Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) list when the NEC would approve the next financial year development plan for 2011-12.

However, the sources said that the deputy chairman Planning Commission is persuading the government to bring about major changes in its development strategy by arguing that the growth strategy of last 63 years remained unable to deliver in an effective manner because Pakistan experienced boom-bust cycle in its whole growth trajectory. He had argued that the growth touched 6 to 7 per cent per annum but pulled back quickly to 3 to 4 per cent after one after another shock.

According to his model of economic growth, Pakistan’s growth strategy should be based on physical capital, human capital and productivity by bridging missing links of innovation, entrepreneurship and promoting markets. “Pakistan has focused more on hardware growth instead of software growth,” Dr Haq always stated.
With this new approach, the Planning Commission reduced the throw forward from 1905 projects with estimated cost of Rs3,057 billion to 1,421 projects with estimated cost of Rs2,509 billion. In order to avoid criticism, the authorities are not disclosing the cost of those projects, which will be approved by Ecnec today.

One of the most important projects under consideration is “Procurement of 150 Diesel Electric Engines” of the United States origin.

It is relevant to mention that the controversy surfaced on import of locomotives from China or USA in the recent past. When contacted a Planning Commission official said that the quality of US locomotives is better and Ecnec is going to consider approval to purchase of US manufactured locomotives. He said that ministry of railways has prepared a summary in this regard and they would pursue their case before the Ecnec today for getting approval.

Link: http://old.thenews.com.pk/09-12-2010/ethenews/t-2558.htm

 

Civic Cafe: Radio's role highlighted (Organized by SPO)

Source: Express Tribune

Date: Monday, 06 Dec 2010

ISLAMABAD: Community radio broadcasts content that is popular to or focuses on the needs of a specific audience, said Syed Abid Rizvi. The writer and former Station Director of Radio Pakistan  said this while delivering a lecture on community radio at Civic Café programme of the Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) on Sunday.

He said that various necessities gave birth to varieties of radio, of which community radio is a new addition. “It is an alien concept for the Pakistani society, but people should not be afraid of experimenting with it as it can have a liberating effect on the community.”

He said that as any other medium for mass communication, community radio can be put to harmful use.  He said that loopholes in laws should be removed and a proper regulatory mechanism needs to be in place to monitor radio broadcasts.

In absence of such a mechanism illegal radios could emerge like that of Maulana Fazlullah’s in Swat. Currently, he said, Khyber Radio is being employed to counter extremist propaganda on radio by fundamentalists.

Chief of Program SPO Zafar Zeeshan said, “Radio is one of the most significant inventions having far-reaching influence on our worldview.”

He said radio was a prologue to the communication revolution that took place in latter centuries but it is disappointing that our society could not reap the benefits of this medium of communication.

Radio in the United States, in relation to population, experienced 29 per cent growth during 1950 – 1970, said Chief Executive SPO Naseer Memon. “This expansion did not lead to division of heterogeneous communities, rather it paved way for people to converge around common issues and interests.”

In his concluding remarks Memon said that our society needs to promote freedom of though. He said that people should not resist change nor should they be afraid of experimenting with new mediums.

The lecture was attended by renowned historian Dr Mubarak Ali, members of the civil society, students and teachers.

Link: http://tribune.com.pk/story/86379/civic-cafe-radios-role-highlighted/

 

Good governance, media's positive role urged (Organized By SPO)

 

Date:  December 3rd, 2010.

ISLAMABAD: Speakers underlined the need for good governance along with constructive role of media and civil society to highlight disaster response issues.

They were speaking at a conference titled, “Moving from Disasters to Development,” organised by Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) at a local hotel.

Naseer Memon of SPO said, “The recent devastating floods have raised many questions that need to be addressed well in time to handle natural calamities.” Pointing at governance as the biggest issue facing the government, civil society and the media, he said ways to move forward should be devised in this regard.

“We should not forget that in every disaster there is an opportunity, which we must avail,” he added.

Dr Tufail Mohammed Khan said the conference was aimed at taking stock of the situation and learning ways to control losses caused by natural disasters.

In his keynote address, independent economist Dr Pervaiz Tahir said, “It is unfortunate that we were not using our own resources and relying upon foreign aid and loans.” He stressed the need for using domestic sustainable resources to address issues caused by natural disasters. He added that media played an important role in 2005 earthquake as well as in the recent floods.

Dr Tahir said that as floods played havoc in the country, many issues of governance which needed attention were also unearthed. He said the government should first compensate the flood victims and then work for their rehabilitation and reconstruction of homes. He added that the government’s idea of making model villages is not pragmatic.

Former Minister for Information and Broadcasting Javed Jabar stressed on the need of community media, which should only focus on issues related to public interests without depending on advertisements.

He also expressed his astonishment that Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has not issued a single license for community media and has set the priority of a sound economic position for the applicants.

He said there is a huge gap between political and civil society and urged to fill it for development.

Talking about poverty and development, he said poverty could not be abolished without creating indigenous livelihood sources.

The former information minister underlined that Pakistani media is suffering from ‘media excess’ and there is need to organise it.

Chairing one of the sessions at the conference, Federal Minister for Labour and Manpower Syed Khursheed Shah regretted that politicians often forget their pledges. The federal minister said PPP-led government had abolished and amended all those laws allowing a ruler to prolong his/her rule over five years.

He said country and government were two different things, but regrettably political parties think of their tenure, not the country.

The minster stressed the need for continuity of system to foster and strengthen institutions and democracy in the country.

Shah said a foreign mafia was involved in weakening the country, adding that power deficit problem would have been solved if the World Bank and International Monetary Fund had provided funds.

Dr Mubarak Ali said responsibility should not be  given only to the bureaucracy but also local government in development and civic services.

View the Link: http://tribune.com.pk/story/85198/good-governance-medias-positive-role-urged/

 

 

 

Water for all` remains a distant dream

Source: Dawn

Date: December 1, 2010

ISLAMABAD, Nov 30: Despite spending over Rs7 billion, the government has so far set up only 1,173 water filtration plants out of the total 6,638 planned across the country under the Clean Drinking Water for All (CDWA) project.

According to documents, out of the installed 1,173 plants, 467 plants were not working for want of proper operation and maintenance. As the federal government is transferring the Ministry of Special Initiatives, looking after the project, to the provinces, chances of completing the project have become grim.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the project presents a pathetic picture as all of the 237 plants are not working. In Punjab, out of 153 installed plants, 82 are not in working condition. In Sindh, out of 353 installed plants, 75 are inoperative. However, Balochistan is maintaining a good record as 358 filtration plants are in running condition, out of the total 407 installed there. Reliable sources say during a recent meeting, provincial governments have threatened to cap the project if the federal government did not provide them funds.

“Despite availability of funds, provincial governments` complete lack of interest has failed us in moving this project of pivotal importance ahead,” Lal Mohammad Khan, federal minister for special initiatives, told Dawn. “Now, when the entire responsibility of the project is being shifted to provinces, only God knows what happens next,”

The minister said for the last two years, his ministry “tirelessly tried to woo the provinces for timely completion of the project, but they remained unmoved”. Mr Khan`s ministry is one the federal departments being shifted to provinces under the 18th amendment.

The minister said the Punjab government misspent around Rs2 billion given to it for setting up water filtration plants. “I have come to know that money was instead shifted to Sasti Roti programme. Whenever we talk to them, they only ask for more money.”

The minister said the other provincial governments only talked about money, adding nobody was interested in the project`s implementation. He regretted that because of the provinces` indifference, the installed water filtration plants were going out of order.

For more details please visit website: http://www.dawn.com/2010/12/01/water-for-all-remains-a-distant-dream.html