WASHINGTON, Dec 11: Pakistan has signalled its readiness to deal with
terrorists operating within its borders as well as with those who cross
over to Afghanistan, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said on Tuesday.
The
statement followed a clarification by officials of the Defence and
State Departments of a Pentagon report that tended to create an
impression that Pakistan was still allowing terrorist safe havens in
Fata to operate.
The officials said the report was old and since
then Pakistan had carried out several `complementary operations` with
Afghan and Nato forces against the terrorists.
`We are more
encouraged with the fact that they want to take steps to try to limit
the terrorist threat within their own country and obviously the threat
that goes across the border` to Afghanistan, Mr Panetta told reporters
travelling with him to Kuwait.He said that army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez
Kayani had `indicated a willingness to try to put more pressure on safe
havens` While `actions have to speak louder than words, I do believe
they`re in a better place because they understand the kind of threats
they should deal with,` Mr Panetta added.
A Pentagon report,
released to the media on Monday but sent to Congress three months ago,
had alleged that terrorist safe havens in Fata were preventing US and
allied forces from dealing a `decisive defeat` to militants inside
Afghanistan.
`The Taliban-led insurgency and its Al Qaeda
affiliates still operate from sanctuaries in Pakistan,` the report
claimed. `The insurgency`s safe havens in Pakistan, the limited
institutional capacity of the Afghan government and endemic corruption
remain the greatest risks tolong-term stability and sustainable security
in Afghanistan.
The Pakistan Embassy in Washington drew the
Pentagon`s attention to the report, widely publicised by the media,
pointing out that it did not reflect the improvements that have occurred
since July this year.
In July, the United States had apologised
to Pakistan over an air raid that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last year
and Islamabad reopened the supply routes to Afghanistan it had closed
after the attack.
Since then the two countries have taken a
number of steps to improve ties and this month they held a series of
working group meetings to restart the US-Pakistan strategic dialogue
after more than a year.
Secretary Panetta also acknowledged that
Pakistan was helping Afghanistan in talking to the Taliban for seeking a
peaceful solution to the Afghan conflict.
But reconciliation with the Taliban, he said, was not easy because of the number of factions involved in the conflict.
`We
have to at least make the effort to develop some kind of political
solution as well as the military effort we are engaged in.
PENTAGON
REPORT CLARIFIED: At the Pentagon, two senior Defence and State
Department officialsbriefed the media on the report sent to Congress,
explaining that relations with Pakistan had improved considerably since
the reporting period.
The report was apparently prepared before July, when the two countries took several significant steps to improve ties.
`We`re
very encouraged by the dialogue that`s taking place between Afghanistan
and Pakistan. And an important and essential part of that dialogue is
the cross-border situation,` said a senior State Department official.
`So
we hope that dialogue will continue. We hope and expect to see
confidencebuilding measures from both the Afghans, and the Pakistanis.
The
United States wants to encourage that dialogue is in the interest of
peace and stability `to the extent that can be helpful`, he said.
`Cooperation with Pakistan has improved during this reporting period.
Pakistan
agreed to reopen the ground lines of communication, which were closed
in November of last year, observed a senior Defence Department official.
Meetings
with Pakistan, both bilaterally between ISAF forces, and Pakistani
military forces, and trilaterally with Afghan military forces, were also
going well, he added.
The official noted that NATO forces were
now conducting `a growing number of complementary operations` with
Pakistan, which in the last reporting had virtually ceased.
`At
the same time, I don`t want to leave you with the impression that we
think everything is working well, because the safe havens do continue to
exist,` the official warned.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
New tax on CNG planned
ISLAMABAD, Nov 28: The government is considering to impose a new tax on
compressed naturalgas to reduce the price difference between CNG and
petrol in order to phase outtheuse ofthe gasin private transport.
`The government has planned to phase out CNG stations gradually as they are causing heavy loss to the national economy by wasting this valuable commodity (natural gas), instead of its use for industrialisation and investment and domestic use, Prime Minister`s Adviser on Petroleum Dr Asim Hussain told the National Assembly`s Standing Committee onPetroleum on Wednesday.
The country does not have sufficient or surplus gas reserves to allow it to be burnt in private and luxury vehicles.
He said the government wanted to set equitable prices for all fuels and allow only a reasonable profit to owners of CNG stations.
He said the CNG should only be used by public transport and private vehicles should be discouraged from burning the cheaper fuel.
To achieve this goal, he indicated imposition of a new tax but did not give details.
The committee headed by Muhammad Tariq Khattak asked the petroleum ministryto come up with a solution by Dec 5 and play the role of a mediator between the CNG station owners and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) in fixing a reasonable price to mitigate people`s difficulties.
It expressed concern over closure of CNG stations and the disagreement over the pricing mechanism.
Dr Asim said Ogra had failed to play the role of a regulator. The government increased the wellhead gas price to $6 which boosted exploration work and 40 rigs were operating in the country. He said 30,000 barrels of oil from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would start flowing into the national system by March next year.
He said the department of explosives that granted no-objection certificate to CNG and petrol stations was under the industries ministry where officials received bribes to issue laboratory certificates. The petroleum ministry, he said, had initiated a legislation to bring the department under its control.
The parliamentarians expressed concern over recent explosions in CNGfitted vehicles and wondered what role the department of explosives and the Hydrocarbon Development Institute played in allowing substandard cylinders.
The members said that while Ogra and the station owners were taking extreme positions, the consumers were forced to spend a major part of their day in long queues to get CNG.
Some members called for a national debate to determine if there was sufficient gas available for vehicles or it should be used only for value-added sectors so that a clear roadmap could be followed and confusion and people`s difficulties removed.
MNA Rana Afzaal Hussain said the CNG Association had become a cartel and minted millions ofrupees at the cost ofpeople. He wondered why 100 per cent profit was promised in the agreement the government had reached with the CNG sector in 2008.
`The government has planned to phase out CNG stations gradually as they are causing heavy loss to the national economy by wasting this valuable commodity (natural gas), instead of its use for industrialisation and investment and domestic use, Prime Minister`s Adviser on Petroleum Dr Asim Hussain told the National Assembly`s Standing Committee onPetroleum on Wednesday.
The country does not have sufficient or surplus gas reserves to allow it to be burnt in private and luxury vehicles.
He said the government wanted to set equitable prices for all fuels and allow only a reasonable profit to owners of CNG stations.
He said the CNG should only be used by public transport and private vehicles should be discouraged from burning the cheaper fuel.
To achieve this goal, he indicated imposition of a new tax but did not give details.
The committee headed by Muhammad Tariq Khattak asked the petroleum ministryto come up with a solution by Dec 5 and play the role of a mediator between the CNG station owners and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) in fixing a reasonable price to mitigate people`s difficulties.
It expressed concern over closure of CNG stations and the disagreement over the pricing mechanism.
Dr Asim said Ogra had failed to play the role of a regulator. The government increased the wellhead gas price to $6 which boosted exploration work and 40 rigs were operating in the country. He said 30,000 barrels of oil from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would start flowing into the national system by March next year.
He said the department of explosives that granted no-objection certificate to CNG and petrol stations was under the industries ministry where officials received bribes to issue laboratory certificates. The petroleum ministry, he said, had initiated a legislation to bring the department under its control.
The parliamentarians expressed concern over recent explosions in CNGfitted vehicles and wondered what role the department of explosives and the Hydrocarbon Development Institute played in allowing substandard cylinders.
The members said that while Ogra and the station owners were taking extreme positions, the consumers were forced to spend a major part of their day in long queues to get CNG.
Some members called for a national debate to determine if there was sufficient gas available for vehicles or it should be used only for value-added sectors so that a clear roadmap could be followed and confusion and people`s difficulties removed.
MNA Rana Afzaal Hussain said the CNG Association had become a cartel and minted millions ofrupees at the cost ofpeople. He wondered why 100 per cent profit was promised in the agreement the government had reached with the CNG sector in 2008.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Saving the saviours ( the bomb disposal squad is at risk)
WHILE the security situation has been derailed across the country over
the past decade or so, it is Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that has borne the brunt
of increasing incidents of bombing. Lives are not only lost when
terrorists hit security or civilian targets; even the bomb disposal
squad is at risk when it attempts to defuse an unexploded device. The
latter point was underscored by the death of explosives expert Inspector
Hukam Khan who was killed while defusing an IED device in September.
The incident highlighted the fact that bomb disposal is a potentially
lethal line of work and each attempt at defusing explosives is haunted
by potential tragedy. It is fitting, then, that yesterday`s newspapers
carried photographs of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police department
initiating the use of robotic systems operated remotely through a
computer interface and capable of defusing explosive devices. Purchased
from the British government, the robotic systems can scan a suspicious
object or vehicleand defuse explosives if present. Equipped with camera
sensors and with the capability to dig up explosives, they can be used
for dealing with IEDs, bombs, parcel bombs and vehicles rigged with
explosives. Indeed, on Monday such a robot was used to defuse a device
in Peshawar`s Nasirpur area.
Police departments all across the country, particularly in metropolises where bomb attacks are common, need to be equipped with such technology. The hard fact is that militants and terrorists are conversant with technology of various kinds for their grim purposes from cellular communication tools to the Internet to ever-mutating methods of blowing things up. Worryingly, however, the country`s law-enforcement agencies, particularly on the civilian side, continue to operate with archaic methodologies and insufficient technology. Investing in machines and systems that can help save lives and avert tragedy is expensive, but the country`s hostile and worsening climate demands just this.
Police departments all across the country, particularly in metropolises where bomb attacks are common, need to be equipped with such technology. The hard fact is that militants and terrorists are conversant with technology of various kinds for their grim purposes from cellular communication tools to the Internet to ever-mutating methods of blowing things up. Worryingly, however, the country`s law-enforcement agencies, particularly on the civilian side, continue to operate with archaic methodologies and insufficient technology. Investing in machines and systems that can help save lives and avert tragedy is expensive, but the country`s hostile and worsening climate demands just this.
karachi- new wave of violence
EVEN as the law and order situation in Karachi gets increasingly out of
hand dozens have been killed since the start of the weekend the reaction
to the sectarian violence that has flared up has been as inadequate as
the usual response to political violence in the city. When clashes erupt
between activists of ethnic or mainstream political parties, those
parties let a certain amount of bloodshed take place before they hammer
out a deal and then issue instructions to their workers or affiliates to
retreat.
While that process is taking place, law enforcement appears to be at a complete loss as it sits back, taking only reactive action, and waits for the politicians to sort out the mess. Meanwhile, the interior minister blames mysterious and unnamed external forces.
As sectarian clashes now dominate the Karachi headlines, a similar pattern of response or lack thereof seems to be emerging.
In this case it is the ulema who are issuing empty platitudes in public while in reality being unable or unwilling to order their followers to stop the bloodbath. Over the weekend the Milli Yakjehti Council met in Islamabad not in Karachi, where a meeting of this particular organisation, meant to promote cooperation across sects, would have sent a strong signal against sectarian violence. And while it discussed everythingfrom the role of religious parties in Pakistani politics to unity of Muslims across the world to supporting the blasphemy laws, what got lost in all this talk was the carnage taking place in Karachi, which should have been thefocus of the meeting. A couple of days later, the interior minister made the rather remarkable assertion that there is no sectarian conflict in Karachi and that the recent clashes are being carried out by `invisible forces`. He said this after another meeting of the ulema again held in Islamabad.
The upshot of all this is that officials and leaders appear to be doing nothing, leaving an illequipped, poorly trained and understaffed lawenforcement structure to react to incidents once they have already taken place. Putting in place extraordinary Muharram security arrangements is a necessary step, but that is only a short-term fix. What it will not improve is the fundamental inability of law enforcement to tackle a problem that is simply beyond its scope;even the army is now vulnerable to anti-state groups, and the Rangers have demonstrated that they cannot fill the void created by an undermanned and easily influenced police force. As long as the ulema and the government fail to develop a more lasting political solution, there is only so much any of these organisations can do
While that process is taking place, law enforcement appears to be at a complete loss as it sits back, taking only reactive action, and waits for the politicians to sort out the mess. Meanwhile, the interior minister blames mysterious and unnamed external forces.
As sectarian clashes now dominate the Karachi headlines, a similar pattern of response or lack thereof seems to be emerging.
In this case it is the ulema who are issuing empty platitudes in public while in reality being unable or unwilling to order their followers to stop the bloodbath. Over the weekend the Milli Yakjehti Council met in Islamabad not in Karachi, where a meeting of this particular organisation, meant to promote cooperation across sects, would have sent a strong signal against sectarian violence. And while it discussed everythingfrom the role of religious parties in Pakistani politics to unity of Muslims across the world to supporting the blasphemy laws, what got lost in all this talk was the carnage taking place in Karachi, which should have been thefocus of the meeting. A couple of days later, the interior minister made the rather remarkable assertion that there is no sectarian conflict in Karachi and that the recent clashes are being carried out by `invisible forces`. He said this after another meeting of the ulema again held in Islamabad.
The upshot of all this is that officials and leaders appear to be doing nothing, leaving an illequipped, poorly trained and understaffed lawenforcement structure to react to incidents once they have already taken place. Putting in place extraordinary Muharram security arrangements is a necessary step, but that is only a short-term fix. What it will not improve is the fundamental inability of law enforcement to tackle a problem that is simply beyond its scope;even the army is now vulnerable to anti-state groups, and the Rangers have demonstrated that they cannot fill the void created by an undermanned and easily influenced police force. As long as the ulema and the government fail to develop a more lasting political solution, there is only so much any of these organisations can do
the good qualities of west
IN one of the provinces of Canada the electricity bill is delivered
after every two months. Owing to the use of the central heating system
the bill charges rise three to four times in winters as compared to the
rest of the seasons.
As my semester was to conclude at the end ofJune 2009,Ireturned to Pakistan. Since my electricity bill for May and June wouldn`t have been delivered before the first week of July and my flight back home was at the end of June, I decided to make the bill payment in advance.
I wrote the cheque for an amount exceeding even that of our last bill for (winter) months of March and April, though there was no need for showing such generosity as I had not used the central heating system in May and June). I did that as I did not want ourhost country authorities to have the slightest idea that we had cheated them.
On the same note, like my university, bank, insurance, Internet and telephone company and mobile phone service provider, I had also apprised the electricity company about my address in Pakistan in case a need arises to settle the bills.
However, to my surprise and delight, in August and then in November 2009 I received two cheques from our electricity company.
I have personally known a number of people, including doctors and engineers who got loans worth thousands of pounds from banks abroad, never to return the same, before going back to Pakistan.
On the other hand, there are institutions like our electricitycompany in Canada which gladly returned almost 100 Canadian dollars to me without any demand and that too to an ex-consumer who is not even residing in Canada.
I feel pity for the West bashers, the majority of whom might not have even gone beyond their provincial territories but feel it their birthright to condemn the West for their say one per cent evil deeds and very conveniently overlook 99 per cent of their traits like honesty, justice, fairness and, above all, respect for humanity without any discrimination.
Lastly, I pity this mob of most ignorant hooligans who burn down their own abodes just to condemn sheer acts of stupidity committed by some lunatics thousands of miles away.
MAKHDOOM SAIF Islamabad
As my semester was to conclude at the end ofJune 2009,Ireturned to Pakistan. Since my electricity bill for May and June wouldn`t have been delivered before the first week of July and my flight back home was at the end of June, I decided to make the bill payment in advance.
I wrote the cheque for an amount exceeding even that of our last bill for (winter) months of March and April, though there was no need for showing such generosity as I had not used the central heating system in May and June). I did that as I did not want ourhost country authorities to have the slightest idea that we had cheated them.
On the same note, like my university, bank, insurance, Internet and telephone company and mobile phone service provider, I had also apprised the electricity company about my address in Pakistan in case a need arises to settle the bills.
However, to my surprise and delight, in August and then in November 2009 I received two cheques from our electricity company.
I have personally known a number of people, including doctors and engineers who got loans worth thousands of pounds from banks abroad, never to return the same, before going back to Pakistan.
On the other hand, there are institutions like our electricitycompany in Canada which gladly returned almost 100 Canadian dollars to me without any demand and that too to an ex-consumer who is not even residing in Canada.
I feel pity for the West bashers, the majority of whom might not have even gone beyond their provincial territories but feel it their birthright to condemn the West for their say one per cent evil deeds and very conveniently overlook 99 per cent of their traits like honesty, justice, fairness and, above all, respect for humanity without any discrimination.
Lastly, I pity this mob of most ignorant hooligans who burn down their own abodes just to condemn sheer acts of stupidity committed by some lunatics thousands of miles away.
MAKHDOOM SAIF Islamabad
private school vs government schools
PRIVATE schools are better than public schools. This is an established
fact in the urban areas of Pakistan. Now this trend is also seen taking
place among the rural population, as the demand for private schools is
increasing. The main reason is the belief that the quality of education
and facilities in these schools is better than that of their
public-sector counterparts.
But is that really the case? Recent studies show that there definitely is a difference in the quality of education between the two sectors, measured by the difference in the learning-level outcomes of the students.
Students studying in privately-owned schools in the rural areas perform better atevery level of schooling as compared to the students from the same grade levels in government schools.
However, the alarming feature that needs to be noted is that the difference between the two education providers is negligible at best.
Using the information from a survey of 32 districts across the country by ASER 2010, it was seen that any child going to a private school has less than four per cent probability of having better learning levels as compared to a child going to a government school. The difference is minute.
This is the case because private schools have no incentive to improve any further than the bare minimum that is required forthem to attract demand.
The quality of government schools is the benchmark for the private sector education providers, above which they have no incentive to further improve their facilities or other quality indicators.
The pre-conceived notion of private schools being always better than government schools is contradicted by the evidence from ASER 2010 facilities` statistics where other than the availability of water and toilet facilities, private schools have no edge over government schools.
In case of the number of classrooms, availability of playgrounds, boundary wall and the attendance of teachers, private schoolsare not only at similar levels but are even worse off than government schools in some provinces.
The poor quality of education and facilities is not just an issue in government schools but for the whole educational system. There is not only a need to alter the popular notion that private schools are always better than government schools but also to work on improving the quality of learning in both types of school.
Improving quality in government schools, and regulating and setting standards for the private sector is the need of the hour.
But is that really the case? Recent studies show that there definitely is a difference in the quality of education between the two sectors, measured by the difference in the learning-level outcomes of the students.
Students studying in privately-owned schools in the rural areas perform better atevery level of schooling as compared to the students from the same grade levels in government schools.
However, the alarming feature that needs to be noted is that the difference between the two education providers is negligible at best.
Using the information from a survey of 32 districts across the country by ASER 2010, it was seen that any child going to a private school has less than four per cent probability of having better learning levels as compared to a child going to a government school. The difference is minute.
This is the case because private schools have no incentive to improve any further than the bare minimum that is required forthem to attract demand.
The quality of government schools is the benchmark for the private sector education providers, above which they have no incentive to further improve their facilities or other quality indicators.
The pre-conceived notion of private schools being always better than government schools is contradicted by the evidence from ASER 2010 facilities` statistics where other than the availability of water and toilet facilities, private schools have no edge over government schools.
In case of the number of classrooms, availability of playgrounds, boundary wall and the attendance of teachers, private schoolsare not only at similar levels but are even worse off than government schools in some provinces.
The poor quality of education and facilities is not just an issue in government schools but for the whole educational system. There is not only a need to alter the popular notion that private schools are always better than government schools but also to work on improving the quality of learning in both types of school.
Improving quality in government schools, and regulating and setting standards for the private sector is the need of the hour.
Pakistan agrees to set free Taliban leaders
SLAMABAD, Nov 13: In an unprecedented gesture of support for
Afghanistan`s struggling reconciliation process, Pakistan agreed on
Tuesday to release several Taliban leaders detained in the country`s
jails.
The development, which hasn`t been made public by either side, came on the second day of Afghan High Peace Council Chief Mr Salahuddin Rabbani`s three-day visit to Islamabad to re-start the peace process which has been in the limbo for over a year now.
It was unclear if the detainees, who are said to be numbering close to 10, have been set free on Tuesday or would be released at the conclusion of Mr Rabbani`s visit.
The group, according to a source, does not include Mullah Baradar Taliban`s second in command who was captured by Pakistani security forces in Karachi in 2010.
Talks between the peace delegation led by Mr Rabbani and Pakistani officials would continue on Wednesday when the two sides are expected to come up with a joint statement on the progress made by them.
A Pakistani official, who had been briefed on the talks, told Dawn that `significant progress has already been made`.
The release of Taliban detainees in Pakistan has been a longstanding Afghan demand for catalysing the slow moving process.
A keen follower of the negotiations, who didn`t want to be named, said the release of prisoners was a positive step, which would provide the right environment for reconciliation.
Islamabad has long said that it supportedpeace and stability in Afghanistan, but has been holding back its cards in view of lack of clarity about the peace process with Taliban both in Kabul and Washington.
However, with the drawdown deadline approaching fast and all sorts of unfavourable scenarios for Pakistan being projected (with the assumption that instability in Afghanistan would continue), the government appears to have changed its tack and decided to more proactively support the process for the sake of its success. It is more than clear to Pakistani strategists that successful reconciliation in Afghanistan is their best bet.
Dr Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan`s former envoy to US and UK, had last week told the Senate Standing Committee on Defence that absence of a political settlement in Afghanistan `could lead to disastrous consequences for the region, especially for Pakistan, which is already reeling from over three decades of turmoil and conflict in its western neighbour`.
President Asif Ali Zardari in his meeting with the Afghan peace delegation reiterated the government`s position that Pakistan would continue to extend every possible support to Afghanistan in its journey to peace and socio-economic development.
Mr Zardari noted that a peaceful, stable and economically developed Afghanistan was vital for Pakistan`s own stability and prosperity.
The delegation also called on Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani at the military headquarters in Rawalpindi. Mr Rabbani was invariably reminded by all his interlocutors in Islamabad that trust deficit remained to be addressed and that cross-border shelling by Afghanistan was adding to problems in ties.
The development, which hasn`t been made public by either side, came on the second day of Afghan High Peace Council Chief Mr Salahuddin Rabbani`s three-day visit to Islamabad to re-start the peace process which has been in the limbo for over a year now.
It was unclear if the detainees, who are said to be numbering close to 10, have been set free on Tuesday or would be released at the conclusion of Mr Rabbani`s visit.
The group, according to a source, does not include Mullah Baradar Taliban`s second in command who was captured by Pakistani security forces in Karachi in 2010.
Talks between the peace delegation led by Mr Rabbani and Pakistani officials would continue on Wednesday when the two sides are expected to come up with a joint statement on the progress made by them.
A Pakistani official, who had been briefed on the talks, told Dawn that `significant progress has already been made`.
The release of Taliban detainees in Pakistan has been a longstanding Afghan demand for catalysing the slow moving process.
A keen follower of the negotiations, who didn`t want to be named, said the release of prisoners was a positive step, which would provide the right environment for reconciliation.
Islamabad has long said that it supportedpeace and stability in Afghanistan, but has been holding back its cards in view of lack of clarity about the peace process with Taliban both in Kabul and Washington.
However, with the drawdown deadline approaching fast and all sorts of unfavourable scenarios for Pakistan being projected (with the assumption that instability in Afghanistan would continue), the government appears to have changed its tack and decided to more proactively support the process for the sake of its success. It is more than clear to Pakistani strategists that successful reconciliation in Afghanistan is their best bet.
Dr Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan`s former envoy to US and UK, had last week told the Senate Standing Committee on Defence that absence of a political settlement in Afghanistan `could lead to disastrous consequences for the region, especially for Pakistan, which is already reeling from over three decades of turmoil and conflict in its western neighbour`.
President Asif Ali Zardari in his meeting with the Afghan peace delegation reiterated the government`s position that Pakistan would continue to extend every possible support to Afghanistan in its journey to peace and socio-economic development.
Mr Zardari noted that a peaceful, stable and economically developed Afghanistan was vital for Pakistan`s own stability and prosperity.
The delegation also called on Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani at the military headquarters in Rawalpindi. Mr Rabbani was invariably reminded by all his interlocutors in Islamabad that trust deficit remained to be addressed and that cross-border shelling by Afghanistan was adding to problems in ties.
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