BREAKING NEWS
By Ahsan Waheed
Originally Posted: Area 14/8
Several interesting developments seem to be taking place as the post election scenario moves to the swearing in of the new federal and provincial governments. The electronic and print media is going bananas reporting the kaleidoscope of events as they unfold. It would be instructive to review some of the more significant stories.
It seems the old guard of the PML(N) is all set to come back at the federal level and in Punjab. This was,of course expected but one was hoping against hope that there would be at least a few new faces. Names of known criminals and religious fanatics are being mentioned as having wormed themselves in to the political mainstream on PML(N) tickets and this plus the PML(N)'s soft stance on the Taliban is leading to the speculation that the PML(N) government may take a hard right turn for survival and to appease their friends the Saudis - especially if the reports of billions being doled out by them are true.
There are reports of bureaucrats being selected by a former bureaucrat closely tied to the PML(N) leadership. Competency and merit would be far more important considerations if the government is to gain credibility through governance. So far there is no sign of any significant policy making activity nor is the issue of the public sector enterprises being addressed in spite of the losses being sustained and the various mafias within them operating with impunity. PIA recently made a spectacle of itself in London by failing to control two unruly passengers - and this in spite of the large numbers in the cabin crew - maybe the poor quality and shortage of food being reported by passengers was the trigger.
One report has it that a policy to permit duty free import of hybrid cars is being considered to ease the CNG shortage and misuse. If true then this would be another hare brained scheme like the earlier yellow cab disaster. The terrible tragedy in Gujranwala where a CNG fitted unsafe van exploded burning children alive should have been a game changing event but no one has moved a muscle beyond the standard platitudes. CNG needs to be banned in vehicles. If hybrid car import is to be encouraged then a proper policy of import and domestic production must be evolved. Populist knee jerk utterances are not required. In any case future tragedies must be averted by enforcing safety standards and laws.
There are reports of various measures being taken to address the horrendous electricity shortage that is causing untold misery and loss. No one seems to know exactly what is happening and TV anchors besides trying to resolve political issues are also trying to figure out an answer to this crisis. A white paper laying out the unvarnished truth would help more than various speculative reports of Saudi oil and plans to jump start dead projects or THAR coal being the final answer or alternatives like solar energy being an option besides cutting the losses.
The Yaum e Takbeer being celebrated with gusto and the PML(N) hogging the limelight needs to be tempered with some cold logic. Is this something to celebrate? Does any other country do so? Is it proper to have models of the nuclear test site all over the place? Should scientists be paraded around to crow about their individual achievements? Can a country with nuclear weapons be in economic decline,politically unstable and under threat from militancy and radicalism? If our nuclear tests were security driven in response to India's tests and if we want to retain this capability as a deterrent to balance the threat from India then surely we need to be quietly professional and restrained and not shouting our heads off from roof tops.
A Special Envoy from India has met our Prime Minister elect with a special message from the Indian Prime Minister. This is probably to reciprocate the enthusiasm shown by our incoming Prime Minister for better relations with India. These are good positive developments but the larger picture in the region and beyond has to be the backdrop for this important bilateral relationship. The Chairman of the Indian Policy Advisory Board and a former Foreign Secretary Mr Shyam Saran has very recently laid out India's views about are nuclear ambitions and a more distorted picture would be hard to come by. While laying the blame at Pakistan's door for any future nuclear event he conveniently forgets that India tested first and that the discriminatory US-India Nuclear Agreement and the exemption by the NSG,as well as India's SLBM and BMD ambitions are the real drivers behind the escalatory trends in the sub-continent. There is also the perception that India uses Afghanistan to destabilize Pakistan. All this and much more has to be factored into the bilateral relationship.
Much is being said about the talks with the TTP but very little is being revealed about how and on what basis these talks are going to be held given the stated stance of the TTP. The Maulana who is being made the go-between has very little credibility and is already setting pre-conditions for the talks like an assurance from the military! Such decisions are best made in forums where there can be an inclusive and informed debate and discussion. In fact what is needed is a forum for formal civil-military interaction and policy decision making.