Business Recorder Editorial May 15, 2016

Back to the drawing board The Supreme Court (SC) has rejected the government's request to set up a commission of inquiry into the Panama leaks scandal. In its reply to the letter sent by the government to the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali shortly after Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif's address to the nation on April 22, the SC registrar has cited at least four reasons for the rejection. First, it has been argued that the Pakistan Commission of Inquiry Act 1956, under which the proposed commission would be created, is too limited in scope and any commission set up under its provisions would be toothless and an exercise in futility, attracting in the process nothing but a bad name to the commission. Second, the SC finds the government's terms of reference (ToRs) appended to the letter it received too "wide and open-ended", which may take years to complete. Third, a list of the 'accused' sought to be investigated, along with relevant particulars, is necessary before any opinion can be formed regarding the proposed commission's formation. Fourth, given the limitations of the Pakistan Commission of Inquiry Act 1956, there is a need to enact legislation that allows the creation of an effective commission for the Panama leaks scandal. The SC letter sums up the court's response thus: "Unless such information and particulars are provided and the issue of formation of (the) commission under some proper legislation is reconsidered and resolved, no final response to your letter can be furnished." The responses to the SC's rejection are also of interest. The government seems adamant, unmoved and determined to form the commission at any cost, at least if Information Minister Pervez Rashid's remarks are taken to reflect his government's thinking. As has been the case since the Panama issue broke, he shifted the blame for the SC's rejection entirely onto the opposition for politicising the issue to the point where, presumably, even the SC fears to tread to avoid the risk of being besmirched in the process. In the same breath, he revealed that the government's legal experts were examining the SC's reply and would come up with an appropriate response. He emphasised that the PM would take parliament into confidence on Monday (incidentally shifted from Friday since the PM and his family had to attend Turkish President Erdogan's daughter's wedding over the weekend) and suggest a way forward out of the impasse. The minister did leave the door ajar a crack though by asserting the government was ready to sit with the opposition to hammer out a consensus set of ToRs. The opposition seemed to be crowing over a perceived 'victory', asserting that the SC's rejection had vindicated its stance. Located somewhere between these two extremes was Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Ali Zafar's take. Zafar said the SC's response had not surprised him. He had been stressing that the government should prepare agreed ToRs in consultation with the opposition instead of sticking to its proposed terms. For this purpose, he offered the good services of the SCBA platform to act as a mediator between the two sides and utilise its legal expertise to resolve the conundrum. Any further delay, the SCBA President felt, would only be to the detriment of the government since it may give rise to the suspicion that the government indeed had something to hide, a perception that could only add to its present sense of discomfort. Now that the government's gambit to involve the superior judiciary in finding some way out of the impasse appears to have fallen flat on its face, what are the prospects ahead? The opposition's (divided) stance has extended from using the Panama leaks issue to send the government as a whole packing (PTI) to allowing the government (and therefore parliament) to serve out its term sans the PM (PPP). Neither demand seems realisable for the foreseeable future. This has forced the opposition, despite its continuing boycott of parliament until rand unless the PM deigns to put in an appearance, to go back to the drawing board to revisit its strategy. A similar 'movement' attends the government's endeavours after the SC's rejection of being dragged into the middle of a fraught and seemingly unending political row. While both protagonists spar and circle each other inside the ring, the alarm is being raised by certain quarters regarding the possibility of an extended impasse creating the conditions once again for a praetorian intervention of some sort. While just about all shades of opinion are agreed that a military coup is out of the question because of its heavy political, economic and strategic costs in today's international climate, all bets are off regarding pressure being brought to bear and incrementally being increased to find a solution in the overall interests of the country, if not the interests of the continuation of the (increasingly questioned) democratic system. As in the past, if some such development occurs, the politicians will have no one to blame but themselves, given the growing perception that they are more interested in winning partisan political advantage rather than addressing seriously the complex task of objectively investigating and rooting out corruption and misdemeanours of hiding wealth abroad through the tool of offshore tax havens and opaque ownership.

Business Recorder Editorial May 12, 2016

Panama row resolution COAS General Raheel Sharif has had a one-to-one meeting with Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif before a national security meeting held after six weeks to review the country's law and order situation and the ongoing operations against terrorism. In this exclusive interface, General Raheel advised the PM to resolve the Panama leaks controversy as soon as possible as it was having a negative effect on governance and security. The meeting and its content is being seen by most observers in the context of reported strains between the civilian government and military over the latter's decision to launch an operation in the PML-N's home base of Punjab against criminals and terrorists. Reports now speak of a better atmosphere between the two sides as cooperation and collaboration in the conduct of such operations has been agreed to. The truth of the COAS's argument is beyond question as the deleterious effects of a government and PM on the defensive against accusations and allegations of wrongdoing vis-a-vis offshore companies and wealth are taking their toll of the country's affairs. The PM's two addresses on television, seeking to recount the history of the Sharif family's businesses and how they were damaged over time, not to mention the PM's reiteration of the position that he was neither the owner nor beneficiary of the offshore companies owned by his children, have failed to put the controversy generated by the Panama leaks to rest. On the contrary, if anything, the row between the government and opposition has grown worse. The government responded to the Panama revelations and the demands of the opposition for the PM to resign and present himself for accountability before a judicial commission of inquiry by writing a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) requesting he set up such a commission, whose broad terms of reference (ToRs) were included in the letter. The opposition in turn, having consulted the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and held deliberations amongst all the opposition parties, came out with its own ToRs. In the view of the government, these ToRs are unacceptable on two counts. One, they focus narrowly if not exclusively on the PM and his family, and two, they presume the guilt of the Sharifs and shift the onus of proving their innocence onto their shoulders. These objections have received some support from the SCBA's President Syed Ali Zafar, who was part of the original consultations with the opposition and who helped frame the SCBA's own ToRs that were forwarded to the opposition. Mr Zafar argues that the opposition's ToRs are flawed and need correction. He rightly underlines the need for a consensus between the government and opposition if the desired response in terms of setting up the commission is to be hoped for from the CJP. However, in the same breath Mr Zafar thinks given the fraught state of affairs in the political sphere currently, even a consensus may not be sufficient to persuade the CJP to respond positively. This should be understood as pointing towards the manner in which the government and opposition have been going at each other hammer and tongs since the controversy broke. While better sense and signs of a mature approach are emerging in the sense of both sides expressing their openness to talks, there are no marks for guessing what is likely to emerge all too soon. The opposition has been staging walkouts from both houses of parliament in recent days to pressurise the PM to appear before both houses and clarify his position. This is the added demand of the opposition now. At one level one can have sympathy with this demand since the political style of the Sharifs has tended not to give parliament its due, arguably thereby weakening the aspiration to establish and consolidate parliament's sovereignty in our still fledgling democratic system. When Information Minister Pervez Rashid committed the other day that the PM would indeed appear before the house on Friday (tomorrow), the response of the opposition said it all. The Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Syed Khursheed Shah, gave the announcement a guarded welcome while keeping his powder dry by saying they would come running into the Assembly as soon as the PM arrived. The Senate Opposition Leader, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, greeted the announcement with the plea that the PM should also put in an appearance in the upper house. Some commentators are convinced that despite his appearance and clarifications in parliament, the PM will not be let off the hook by an opposition that smells blood and seeks to take maximum political advantage of the PM's present difficulties. However, unlike the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) of Imran Khan, the PPP does not want to twist the knife so far as to destabilise the whole edifice of democracy. This delicate balancing act will be on show over the next few days, with the PTI's expected fire and brimstone against the government also on display. This scenario does not provide hope for a reasonable resolution of the row, and therefore the uncertainties and imponderables appear to grow with each passing day.

Business Recorder editorial written May 10, 2016

Civil society under threat The assassination of civil society activist Khurram Zaki in Karachi the other day underlines the growing threat to dissident opinion, particularly civil society. Pakistan has been drifting incrementally over the last four decades into intolerance, extremism and terrorism, a direct fallout of our intervention in Afghanistan. Whereas no part of the country can be considered safe from this deadly affliction, Karachi in particular has seen a spate of the murders of civil society activists, including women. Readers may recall in this long and tragic list the names of Perween Rahman and Sabin Mahmud, both cut down in their prime for no other reason than that they were in their own way attempting to address the problems of our society with the means within their grasp. Perween Rahman's killer has recently been caught and has reportedly said he killed the Orangi Town social worker because she did not give him permission to set up a martial arts centre in the area. And no one can claim, especially the authorities, that the apprehension of the killer has not taken years, during which Ms Rahman's family, friends and colleagues have been put through an emotional wringer while waiting for justice. In the case of Sabin Mahmud, the story is somewhat different. She was the moving spirit behind T2, a cultural centre that offered Karachiites cultural and literary fare to brighten their lives blighted by the gloom and doom that had overtaken the metropolis for many years. It is in those darkest times that Sabin Mahmud and her collaborators at T2 shone out like a bright beacon inviting weary Karachiites tossed hither and thither on the storms the metropolis was subjected to, storms that left little security of life or limb and even less in the way of food to nourish the spirit and soul. For these 'crimes', and in particular her 'temerity' in seeking a discussion on the vexed question of Balochistan, her existence was snuffed out. Khurram Zaki, widely known for his activism against intolerance, extremism and terrorism, is only the latest addition to this heroes' pantheon. Given the trend of this growing threat to those who speak truth to power, Khurram Zaki is unlikely to be the last of such martyrs in the cause of peace, liberty and progress. And it is unlikely to comfort those who mourn him throughout our society that the authorities are once again seen going through the motions of investigation and making ritual assuring noises that the perpetrators will be brought to justice. A claim of responsibility for Khurram Zaki's murder has come from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. However, the FIR registered names Maulana Abdul Aziz of Lal Masjid fame, and the Karachi chief of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, Aurangzeb Farooqui. Whether any nexus exists between the claimants of responsibility and those named in the FIR cannot be stated with certainty, but given the track record of collaboration between extremist and terrorist groups, cannot be altogether ruled out either. Even less comforting if not worrying is the thought that civil society activists like the three named above are now considered fair game by the tribe of fanatics and extremists who have nestled within the very bosom of our society. Unfortunately, there appears no sign that the powers that be recognise the threat to civil society or are taking any steps to protect this valuable human resource of clear thinking enlightened souls. Civil society is defined as all that political society is not. The latter evokes dismay if not mirth if it is suggested that our political class will one day wake up to the sword of extremism dangling over the head of our society, a sword whose cutting edge appears to cleave sharper with each blow it strikes at those who should be considered the conscience of our society. Before more of this precious human resource is lost or intimidated into silence, a silence that can only presage the silence of the graveyard of truth, the authorities must wake up to their responsibility to protect these bold, outspoken and courageous members of civil society, ensure deterrent punishment to their tormentors and murderers, and nudge Pakistan back from the brink of falling over the precipice into a dark pit of fanaticism and its concomitant bloodshed, a fate not to be wished for even an enemy.

Business Recorder editorial (as published) May 10, 2016

A Muslim London mayor Sadiq Khan, the 45-year-old son of a Pakistani immigrant bus driver, defeated his rival Zac Goldsmith, the billionaire younger brother of Jemima Khan, for the post of London's mayor in an election marred by the latter's campaign tactics of smearing his opponent for his religious and ethnic background and allegations of Khan being close to, if not himself, an extremist. These tactics backfired however, and London's diverse electorate handed Sadiq Khan a clear victory with 44 percent of the vote against Goldsmith's 37 percent. This victory cleared the path for Sadiq Khan to become the first Muslim mayor of London. Perhaps we should not be surprised by this outcome if we glance at the trajectory of Sadiq Khan's life and political career. The fifth child of seven brothers and a sister of Pakistani immigrant working class parents, Sadiq Khan studied law, rose in his profession with his human rights work, and earned the start of his political spurs as a local councillor from Tooting, London, where he still lives. From those early beginnings, Sadiq Khan never looked back, becoming an MP from the area in 2005 and being elevated to communities' minister in 2008 by the then Labour prime minister, Gordon Brown. He later served as transport minister. Sadiq Khan has the distinction of being the first Muslim to attend British cabinet meetings. Known as a moderate, Khan nevertheless regretted during the campaign defending 'unsavoury' characters and sharing public platforms with Muslim extremists. That legacy emanated from his work as a human rights lawyer and did not seem to have materially affected his electoral prospects despite a smear campaign launched by his rival with, surprisingly, support from Prime Minister David Cameron. The 'dirty tricks' campaign attempted to divide London's electorate on religious and ethnic lines, but only succeeded in dividing the Conservative ranks, with many prominent leaders of the party expressing disquiet at the nature of the negative campaigning. But the last word on this Conservative debacle in the capital's mayoral contest belongs to Sadiq Khan, who said it was the victory of "hope against fear and unison against division". Khan now has his work cut out in fulfilling his campaign pledges of affordable housing and transport, reduction of pollution and encouraging better paid jobs for all Londoners, in whose name he has promised to govern. Sadiq Khan's story of from rags to riches points to a significant fact of British society, and in fact of most developed countries. The education system, while retaining elite schools affordable only by the rich, boasts an excellent state education system that opens the door to those from humble origins, thereby fulfilling the potential of education as a great social leveller. It also indicates that Britain is a merit-based society, hangovers from its aristocratic and imperial past notwithstanding. Pakistan could learn a lesson or two from this saga of triumph over origins of disadvantage. Unfortunately, we in Pakistan have by now earned the dubious distinction of not only being unable to sustain institutions inherited from the past, but also incompetent in creating new or better ones. Take the case of the education system here. The state education system has been systematically over the years reduced to a joke, if not a monumental tragedy. Ghost schools, ghost teachers, unimaginative curricula and uninspiring if not incompetent teachers litter the state educational landscape. The advent in recent years of the elite private schools may have resolved to some extent the angst of a privileged minority, but has also served to put the spotlight on the glaring gulf between elite private and state education for the masses. In fact it could be argued that the mushroom growth of elite public schools has brought in its wake complacency amongst the ruling elite vis-a-vis fixing the woes of the state education sector. Reproducing if not expanding illiteracy and at best turning out certified illiterates is hardly going to serve Pakistan's interests in catching up and competing with today's world. The present course militates not only against this desirable goal but it also serves to shut firmly the door on the possibility of evolving into a merit-based society through access to quality education for all. Copyright Business Recorder, 2016

Business Recorder editorial May 7, 2016

A Muslim London mayor Sadiq Khan, the 45 year old son of a Pakistani immigrant bus driver, defeated his rival Zac Goldsmith, the younger brother of Jemima Khan, for the post of London's mayor in an election marred by the latter's campaign tactics of smearing his opponent for his religious and ethnic background and allegations of Khan being close to, if not himself, an extremist. These tactics backfired however, and London's diverse electorate handed Sadiq Khan a clear victory with 44 percent of the vote against Goldsmith's 37 percent. This victory has cleared the path for Sadiq Khan to become the first Muslim mayor of London. Perhaps we should not be surprised by this outcome if we glance at the trajectory of Sadiq Khan's life and political career. The fifth child of seven brothers and a sister of Pakistani immigrant working class parents, Sadiq Khan studied law, rose in his profession with his human rights work, and earned the start of his political spurs as a local councillor from Tooting, London, where he still lives. From those early beginnings, Sadiq Khan never looked back, becoming an MP from the area in 2005 and being elevated to communities' minister in 2008 by then Labour prime minister Gordon Brown. He later served as transport minister. Sadiq Khan has the distinction of being the first Muslim to attend British cabinet meetings. Known as a moderate, Khan nevertheless regretted during the campaign defending 'unsavoury' characters and sharing public platforms with Muslim extremists. That legacy emanated from his work as a human rights lawyer and did not seem to have materially affected his electoral prospects despite the smear campaign launched by his rival with, surprisingly, support from Prime Minister David Cameron. The 'dirty tricks' campaign attempted to divide London's electorate on religious and ethnic lines, but only succeeded in dividing the Conservative ranks, with many prominent leaders of the party expressing disquiet at the nature of the negative campaigning. But the last word on this Conservative debacle in the capital's mayoral contest belongs to Sadiq Khan, who said it was the victory of "hope against fear and division". Khan now has his work cut out in fulfilling his campaign pledges of affordable housing and transport, reduction of pollution and encouraging better paid jobs for all Londoners, in whose name he has promised to rule. Sadiq Khan's story of from rags to riches points to a significant fact of British society, and in fact of most developed countries. The education system, while retaining elite schools affordable only by the rich, boasts an excellent state education system that opens the door to those from humble origins, thereby fulfilling the potential of education as a great social leveller. It also indicates that Britain is a merit-based society, hangovers from its aristocratic and imperial past notwithstanding. Pakistan could learn a lesson or two from this saga of triumph over origins of disadvantage. Unfortunately, we in Pakistan have by now earned the dubious distinction of not only not being unable to sustain institutions inherited from the past, but also incompetent in creating new or better ones. Take the case of the education system here. The state education system has been systematically over the years reduced to a joke, if not a monumental tragedy. Ghost schools, ghost teachers, unimaginative curricula and uninspiring if not incompetent teachers litter the state educational landscape. The advent in recent years of the elite private schools may have resolved to some extent the angst of a privileged minority, but has also served to put the spotlight on the glaring gulf between elite private and state education for the masses. In fact it could be argued that the mushroom growth of elite public schools has brought in its wake complacency amongst the ruling elite vis-a-vis fixing the woes of the state education sector. Reproducing if not expanding illiteracy and at best turning out educated illiterates is hardly going to serve Pakistan's interests in catching up and competing with today's world. The present course militates not only against this desirable goal, it also serves to shut firmly the door on the possibility of evolving into a merit-based society through access to quality education for all.

Business Recorder editorial (as published) May 7, 2016

PTI's 'prudence' Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan has announced the postponement of his party's planned rally in Faisalabad on May 8th till May 20th after viewing video footage of the harassment of women participants of his party's Lahore rally on May 1st. Imran was reportedly incensed by the treatment meted out to his women supporters towards the end of the rally. He has expressed his 'mistrust' of the Punjab police, whom the PTI accuses of conveniently 'disappearing' just before a group of troublemakers pounced on women, a case of unwanted attention from which the victims only managed to escape with extreme difficulty. He has set up an investigation committee of the party to ascertain the facts and try to identify the perpetrators. Two FIRs have also been reportedly lodged against unnamed persons. While the deplorable incident occurred in the wake of similar harassment of the PTI's women supporters in rallies in Multan and Islamabad, and notwithstanding the PTI's allegation that all three were instances of the ruling PML-N unleashing its 'goons' on the women, there are reports that the real reason for the postponement may be infighting in the party in Faisalabad. That roadblock appears to have been surmounted by jealous local rivals inside the party being accommodated in the May 20 organisational cooking pot. Intriguingly, while there are no words strong enough to condemn the mistreatment and harassment of women who are already discouraged by conservative elements in our society from participating in politics, there seems no other logical explanation for Imran's postponement of the Faisalabad rally by a mere 12 days except internal party exigencies. It cannot be, surely, that Imran's expressed 'mistrust' of the Punjab police will see a miraculous turnaround by May 20. And in any case, the PTI would be well advised in future not to rely too much on the police for protection of their women supporters but to make stewardship and security arrangements themselves to ensure there is no repetition of such unfortunate happenings. Political parties in Pakistan tend to be dynastic and therefore fail to practice inner party democracy. The Jamaat-i-Islami is perhaps one of those rare exceptions that has seen consistent insofar as factors such as intra-party elections and democratic changes of leadership are concerned. If proof of the general run of things, in most, if not all other parties were needed, one need only glance at the PTI's intra-party elections debacle. Ideally, party leaders and office holders should not seek, and should be excluded from, elective office, whether at the local or national level. However, this may prove to be whistling in the wind since the PTI's and all other parties' leaders' insecurity, ambition and desire for control militates against any such principled distancing of party and elective office.

Business Recorder Editorial May 5, 2016

PTI's rally postponement Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Imran Khan has announced the postponement of his party's planned rally in Faisalabad on May 8th till May 20th after viewing video footage of the incident of the harassment of women participants in the PTI's Lahore rally on May 1st. Imran Khan was reportedly incensed by the treatment meted out to the PTI's women supporters towards the end of the rally. He has expressed his 'mistrust' of the Punjab police, whom the PTI accuses of conveniently 'disappearing' just before a group of troublemakers pounced on the women, a case of unwanted attention from which the victims only managed to escape with extreme difficulty. The PTI Chairman has set up an investigation committee of the party to ascertain the facts and try to identify the perpetrators. Two FIRs have also been reportedly lodged against unnamed persons. PTI women supporters have protested against the incident in Lahore. While the deplorable incident occurred in the wake of similar harassment of the PTI's women supporters in rallies in Multan and Islamabad, and notwithstanding the PTI's allegation that all three were instances of the ruling PML-N unleashing its 'goons' on the women, there are reports that the real reason for the postponement may be infighting in the party in Faisalabad. That roadblock appears to have been surmounted by jealous local rivals inside the party being accommodated in the May 20 organisational cooking pot. Intriguingly, while there are no words strong enough to condemn the mistreatment and harassment of women who are already discouraged by conservative elements in our society from participating in politics, there seems no other logical explanation for Imran Khan's postponement of the Faisalabad rally by a mere 12 days except internal party exigencies. It cannot be, surely, that Imran's expressed 'mistrust' of the Punjab police will see a miraculous turnaround by May 20. And in any case, the PTI would be well advised in future not to rely too much on the police for protection of their women supporters but to make stewardship and security arrangements themselves to ensure there is no repetition of such grisly happenings. Meanwhile Imran Khan has announced rallies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where he says the police is trustworthy, not the least because the PTI is in power in the province. That nevertheless enjoins the continuing duty on the PTI leadership to protect their women supporters in the public space. Political parties in Pakistan tend to be dynastic and fail therefore to practice inner party democracy. The Jamaat-i-Islami is perhaps one of those rare exceptions that has seen consistent intra-party elections and democratic changes of leadership since its founder Maulana Maudoodi's passing away. If proof of the general run of things in most if not all other parties were needed, one need only glance at the PTI's intra-party elections debacle. Ideally, party leaders and office holders should not seek, and should be excluded from, elective office, whether at the local or national level. However, this may prove to be whistling in the wind since the PTI's and all other parties' leaders' insecurity, ambition and desire for control militates against any such principled distancing of party and elective office. To put the PTI's current agitational drive in perspective, it is necessary to remind ourselves of the storm unleashed on the national political firmament by the Panama leaks. First and foremost, one must resist, and wherever possible oppose, the knee-jerk conspiracy theory that the Panama leaks are directed at Pakistan and its political class' good name and image. That would be absurd and unsustainable flattery of ourselves. Where 11.5 million documents released show the widespread nature of offshore tax havens and obfuscation of the ownership of offshore companies, the names of prominent Pakistani political leaders or their families are a relatively thin slice of this cake. However, notwithstanding subsequent clarifications, statements, interviews and name calling between protagonists on either side of the political divide between the ruling party and the opposition, focus in Pakistan has zeroed in on the incumbent prime minister, Nawaz Sharif. The attempted 'technical' defence that the children of the prime minister and not he himself own offshore companies and wealth has failed to cut much ice in a society where family bonds remain strong and children as beneficiaries of wealth that excludes living parents is rare. The moral argument therefore has been hitched to the legal propriety of the head of an elected government being seemingly wedded to apparently legal but morally questionable practices. That having been said, the PTI and the rest of the opposition's purpose has been highlighted in the terms of reference (ToRs) for the commission to be set up to look into the affair. These ToRs are overwhelmingly tilted against the prime minister, thus revealing the opposition's thrust and its antipodal distance from the ToRs framed by the government. While both sides have initially rejected each other's ToRs, there is a glimmer of hope that they are willing to sit down and attempt a consensus. That is the best way to ensure the proposed commission enjoys the confidence of all sides and avoids suspicions of serving either as a shield for the rulers or a weapon in the hands of the opposition. Arriving at the truth in a transparent manner is all the people want and deserve.