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AGREAT many people are up in arms over the ‘Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Bill’ adopted by US Congress and popularly known as the Kerry-Lugar Bill. The military has expressed reservations on some of the monitoring provisions. The opposition is gaining political mileage out of the rhetoric of national sovereignty. Columnists and analysts are weighing in with their opinions and are generally critical of the new legislation. Far from strengthening the civilian government that the bill was supposed to do, it has landed yet another crippling blow upon the government’s statesmanship and credibility. Now an explanatory note has been attached to the bill to allay the concerns voiced by the military and the opposition but the bill itself remains unchanged. The actual text of the Kerry-Lugar Bill is for the most part devoid of intellectual substance and reflects poorly on those who drafted it. It begins by reaffirming that Pakistan is “a valuable partner” and that its efforts to contain the Taliban and Al Qaeda militants has resulted in deaths of thousands of Pakistani civilian and military personnel. It recognises that the recent global economic crisis has severely damaged Pakistan’s economy while recent military operations in Swat have displaced millions. From there it waxes eloquent about “the people of Pakistan”, the need to “consolidate democracy”, promote judicial independence and the rule of law, provide modern education, madressah reform, “public-private partnerships” and “people-to-people” contact. Improving Pakistan’s anti-nuclear proliferation, counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency capabilities are also listed as key priorities. In fact, there is really nothing new in all this and much of the rhetoric about democracy and development has been standard fare for over half a century. Moving right along to the authorisation of assistance for democracy and development, the president of the United States is empowered to help Pakistan democratise, capacity-build, spread economic freedom and take care of internally displaced persons. Somewhat amusingly, given the present Pakistani government’s reputation, the US will support Pakistan to establish “frameworks that promote government transparency.” Support is also to be provided for “police professionalisation”, a free media, “strengthening civil society and non-governmental organisations” and facilitating an independent judiciary. Such ‘pious’ talk is rubbish. Pakistan now has a remarkably independent judiciary in spite of the support given by the United States to the former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf. Pakistan’s media, which Musharraf tried to muzzle during the November 2007 Emergency, is mostly anti-American. On the other hand, Musharraf’s successor, Asif Ali Zardari is widely perceived to be pro-American. The Kerry-Lugar Bill also details the various economic and social sectors it will try to uplift. These include rural development, sustainable development, vocational training for youth, microfinance, improving health services, investing in higher education, providing humanitarian assistance to refugees and “building capacity” for NGOs and civil society. Two points emerge from this section. One, our benefactors have little idea of the kind of state and society they are dealing with; second, the scope of US assistance is so broad that the allocation of $1.5 billion per year looks too small. On the security front, the purpose of the Kerry-Lugar Bill is to “help prevent any Pakistani territory from being used as a base or conduit for terrorist attacks in Pakistan, or elsewhere.” Another objective is “to help strengthen the institutions of democratic governance and promote control of military institutions by a democratically elected civilian government.” One can easily see how the former provision could be interpreted as an example of Indian influence in the legislation while the latter can be construed as a fairly clumsy attempt to interfere in Pakistan’s delicate civil-military relations. The Secretary of State is further empowered to launch an exchange programme for Pakistani civilian and military personnel “in order to foster mutual respect for and understanding of the principle of civilian rule of the military.” More to the point, for Fiscal Years 2010-2014 “any direct cash security-related assistance or non-assistance payments by the United States to the Government of Pakistan may only be provided or made to civilian authorities of a civilian government of Pakistan.” Waivers are also attached so that the US can continue to make payments to Pakistan if the Secretary of Defence “certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that the waiver is important to the national security interests of the United States.” It is the monitoring and reporting aspect of the Kerry-Lugar Bill that merits serious attention. The list of reporting areas for which non-military assistance is to be provided literally goes from A to Q and includes civil liberties, political rights, accountability, rule of law, control of corruption, immunisation rates, etc. The resources committed are grossly inadequate given the scope of the programme. It would have been better for the US if the resources were used to improve administration and accountability or building physical infrastructure. Pakistan is also required to “prevent attacks into neighbouring countries”, shut down alleged terrorist training camps and eliminate “safe havens.” The United States will also have to certify that the assistance provided to Pakistan is not in any way helping the recipient improve its nuclear arsenal and assess “the extent to which the Government of Pakistan exercises effective civilian control on the military.” The extent covers civilian leaders’ oversight and approval of military budgets, the process of promotion for senior military leaders, etc. The basic problem with the Kerry-Lugar Bill is that it provides too little financial assistance but spreads out that assistance over too many programmes to be effective on any particular front and delivers moral judgments about Pakistan’s domestic power structure. The bill practically ignores the general deterioration in the quality of Pakistan’s civilian bureaucracy that must be arrested if the state is to be rehabilitated and organised to do away with terrorism and extremism or if in the long run overall civilian control of the state is to be restored. It shows that even at this stage the American leadership lacks the rational will to try and comprehend the structural imperatives of societies whose cooperation it needs to prevail in its campaign in Afghanistan. At the same time it must be said that the Kerry-Lugar Bill is not a nightmarish Freddie Krueger sort of deal that some quarters are making it out to be. It may not be advisable, for instance, to take the monitoring provisions too seriously. After all, during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, President Ronald Reagan certified that Pakistan was not building nuclear weapons when it very clearly was. Similarly, in the 1950s and 1960s US military assistance to Pakistan meant for containing communism was being openly used to deter India. More recently, under Musharraf, the United States waived democracy and nuclear-related sanctions and used its clout to help Pakistan reschedule its foreign debt while providing billions in military and economic assistance. The fact that Pakistani governments never made wise or effective use of the aid and the breathing space it provided and that the state apparatus has reached a point of decay where it is incapable of meaningfully benefiting from further assistance is another major consideration that any aid package needs to countenance. Without proper investment in the law and order administration and taxation and auditing machinery further assistance is likely to be stolen or wasted with a substantial chunk finding its way into the pockets of American contractors and consultants. Indeed, the Americans could learn a great deal from the Chinese about how to go about providing assistance. The Chinese provide Pakistan with less assistance than the United States but the fruits of that assistance are visible — nuclear power plants, ports, mines, highways, fighter jets, battle tanks, frigates etc. The assistance is provided with little fanfare. After all, the Chinese seek to build relationships with states, not transient regimes or governments, while Americans seem to cultivate regimes or leaders — strongmen like the Shah of Iran. The Kerry-Lugar Bill is, its proponents say, an attempt by the United States to establish a long-term partnership with Pakistan. But given the level of assistance, its wide dispersal and intrusive conditions, the effects seem likely to be negligible on the ground and politically and publicly counterproductive. The writer is a faculty member of the Department of History at the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.
ABU DHABI: Pakistan left out middle-order batsman Shoaib Malik as they won the toss and opted to bat in the first of three one-day internationals against New Zealand at Abu Dhabi Stadium here on Tuesday.Malik, who scored a hundred against Ind... more
WANA: Operation Rah-e-Nijat continues in Southern Waziristan and security forces have killed five extremists destroying two of their hideouts on Tuesday. According to sources, security forces targeted extremists in various areas of Southern Waziristan including Kani Gurum and Makeen killing five extremists and wounding eight others. Meanwhile, two hideout of extremists have also been destroyed, sources added.
LONDON: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to conduct major changes if he is returned to office.Gordon Brown, British Prime Minister, said, "Once a decision is made about the second round elections, President Karzai or whoever is president, will want to unify the country. And they will have to have a manifesto that is capable of that unity. That means tackling corruption, getting the best people into government and not just getting friends or cronies, at the same time it means building up the local government - because local government is most important to most of the Afghan people and bringing in those elements who have been against the government but who might now be prepared to work with it."
KARACHI: The lawyers and civil society observing black day today against former President Pervez Musharraf’s unconstitutional measures taken on November 3, 2007.Newly elected President of Supreme Court Bar Association Qazi Muhammad Anwer announced to observe black day. Black flags will be hoisted at the offices of Bar Councils and Bar Associations. Lawyer will wear black bands and will not appear in the courts. Protest gatherings will be organized in Bar Associations and protest rallies will be taken out. In Karachi, a meeting of general body of Bar Association will be held followed by sit-in protest at MA Jinnah Road.
KABUL: The Taliban say the canceled runoff election in Afghanistan proves that their efforts to derail the vote with threats and attacks were successful.
The Islamist militant group issued a statement Tuesday ahead of a speech by President Hamid Karzai on his recently declared victory. A first round was marred by fraud and Karzai won a runoff vote by default after his only challenger dropped out saying that the election could not be free or fair.
According to a statement posted on the Taliban Web site, `` Our brave mujahidin were able to disrupt the entire process.'' The Taliban said their recent attack on a guest house filled with U.N. election workers showed that ``even they are not safe in Kabul.
KARACHI: On local level Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) prices may likely go up by Rs5-6/kilogram as the price of the fuel have risen upto $69/ton in the International Market. LPG Distribution Association Chairman Abdul Hadi Khan told Geo News Monday according to the LPG prices on international level producers would announce the new prices for a period of one month on November 3rd. ‘LPG prices on international level are expected to go upto Rs5,700/ton increasing the local prices by Rs5-6/kg. As per the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), local producer are not permitted to set local prices more than international rates, however producers continue to increase prices using illegal means and in various areas of the country LPG consumers are overcharged comparing the international rates.
KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Tuesday obtained Rs8 billion from banks for two days at a mark-up of 11.50 percent for absorbing additional money from the banking system.Today, the central bank conducted an open market operation (OMO) for absorbing additional liquidity from banks.Banks offered Rs10.50 billion for the purchase of treasury bills; however, the central bank sold treasury bills worth Rs8 billion for two days at a mark-up rate of 11.50 percent.
SYDNEY: Want to be James Bond? Well, you can imitate him to a certain level thanks to a newly developed iPhone "app" that allows a driver to control a full-fledged passenger car just via his or her smartphone.
Created by German university researchers to take part in an American military driverless car challenge, the amazing automotive app can let a user drive a vehicle remotely via one of the clever phones.
Although the iPhone controlled car has been under development for some time, it is only now that the researchers have released a YouTube video featuring the remarkable app in full action.
The clip shows an iPhone screen featuring a steering wheel and brake and accelerator buttons, report sources.
To move the car forward, the user presses the accelerator button and to stop the vehicle, the operator pushes the brake button.
To move and steer the car, the operator tilts the iPhone.
BERLIN: German tennis player Tommy Haas has gone down with swine flu, Bild newspaper reported on Tuesday on its website."I started feeling unwell last week during the tournament in Stockholm," the 31-year-old former world top tenner said. "My throat felt rough, I had shivers during the night and a fever."For three days I really felt bad and I couldn't even manage to get out of my hotel room."Haas said that he made it back to Munich where tests confirmed that he had contracted the virus.Despite that, the German is hopeful of being back in action soon.
DUBAI: The Gulf emirate of Dubai plans to appoint female muftis by the end of next year in an unprecedented step that could trigger opposition from Muslim conservatives, The National newspaper reported on Tuesday. Six Emirati women are being selected for a training programme that starts early next year, the newspaper quoted the emirate's grand mufti Ahmed al-Haddad as saying. Haddad issued a religious edict or fatwa in February authorising women to become muftis and in May he called on qualified candidates to apply for a training programme that includes instruction in sharia law and legal thought. "A woman who is learned and trained in issuing fatwas is not limited to her role of issuing fatwas that relate to women only, but rather she is qualified to issue on matters of worship, jurisprudence, morality and behaviour," the paper quoted him as saying. Haddad played down the prospect of a major backlash from religious conservatives. "The controversy over female muftis is not necessarily over this point, but about whether or not a woman should be appointed as the grand mufti of a state," he said. "And this is not what we're trying to do at this point."
KARACHI: The train accident, occurred near Jumma Goath in Landhi locality, was caused by negligence of driver, preliminary report into accident said.According to DS Railway Aftab Memon, the driver of passenger train Allama Iqbal Express was very late to respond to red signal, resulting in head-on collision with pre-standing goods’ train on track.
ABU DHABI: Pakistan left out middle-order batsman Shoaib Malik as they won the toss and opted to bat in the first of three one-day internationals against New Zealand at Abu Dhabi Stadium here on Tuesday.
Malik, who scored a hundred against India in the Champions Trophy last month, was dropped to adjust a regular opener in Khalid Latif, while allrounder Abdul Razzaq also returned to the side after a two years gap.
New Zealand decided to leave out paceman Kyle Mills, who is nursing a shoulder injury.
The second and third matches will be played here on Friday and Monday.
Pakistan: Younus Khan (capt), Salman Butt, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Yousuf, Umer Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamir
New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (capt), Brendon McCullum, Aaron Redmond, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Jacob Oram, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Shane Bond, Ian Butler
Umpires: Bruce Oxenford (AUS), Asad Rauf (PAK)
Tv Umpire: Zameer Haider (PAK)
Match Referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)
LAHORE: Punjab Assembly has passed a resolution against November 3, 2007 emergency and unconstitutional acts of former President Pervez Musharraf.Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah tabled the resolution whereas opposition staged walk out in protest of presenting the resolution in the assembly. Semal Khan of PML-Q said those passed the resolution are the product of these unconstitutional measures. Deputy Speaker Punjab Assembly congratulated the members for passing the resolution. The House also passed another resolution for ending wedding functions till 10:00 pm.
WASHINGTON (Sami Abraham): Expressing the hope that Pakistan's current domestic political situation would not get parallel to March 16 crisis when top US officials had to make phone calls to Pakistani leadership to sort out the issue of restoration of judiciary, Special US Presidential Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan , ambassador Holbrook has said that United States never chooses sides but only supports the leadership of constitutionally elected Governments. Giving an exclusive interview to the Geo News at the State Department here on Monday evening ambassador Holbrook said though during the recent trip of secretary Clinton to Pakistan ,this issue of NRO was not much discussed but the US officials were fully aware of it." Pakistanis are very sensitive to the issue of their sovereignty that’s why I don’t want to say any thing about it “he added Ambassador Holbrook when asked does he believe that the unfolding events, due to NRO issue, would lead to the point where Washington would have to make the phone calls to scale back the situation, ambassador Holbrook said " I hope not. But let's see what happened. We are interested in stability, democracy and active leadership and people working in the system in an orderly way". He further said “We got involved in March because the issue had potential to spiral out of control into the streets and secondly all sides had thought that if we made some phone calls it would help so we did it .But we never supported any cause. We only asked all sides to show restraint" he added. Holbrook when asked to comment on the reports in which top US officials had said that Pakistani security forces were not going after Alqaeda the way they should have been, he said that Pakistani Government was very serious about routing out the miscreants and militants at highest levels. Now does this mean that every person in the Pakistan army is equally committed to this cause the answer is “probably not" he added. Ambassador Holbrook said that Gen Ashfaq Kayani and Gen Pasha had said to Secretary Clinton, in a meeting in Islamabad that “we are as committed as you are to this cause " and I believe in them, ambassador Holbrook added. He further said that security operation in Waziristan was going very well and he was not saying this because Pak army was telling him this thing. Independent residents of the area have told him that this time the security forces are coming on these militants very heavily, he added. To a question about Pakistan’s complaints that India was supporting militants in tribal area and insurgents in Balochistan , he said Pakistani leadership did raise this issue in the meeting and US officials fully understands these concerns.Ambassador Holbrook said that the trip of Secretary Clinton was, perhaps, one of the most remarkable trip he ever had with any Secretary of state. He said Secretary Clinton, during the trip spent most of the time with public besides fielding the toughest questions imaginable. And she also had very useful private meetings with President Zardari, Nawaz Sharif, leaders of JUI and military leaders. He also mentioned how Secretary Clinton got emotional during the reception at the Presidential palace when she threw away her speech for the toast, went up to the podium and leaned into the podium, talked about Benazir Bhutto in a very emotional way how much she admired her and what she meant to her. When asked does he believe that opponents of Kerry Lugar bill were, now convinced, that it was not a compromise on Pakistan's sovereignty, ambassador Holbrook said that he does not know whether they were able to convince any body but he said it was explained fully. He said those who attacked the Kerry Lugar bill did not understand it. It did not have any set of condition for Pakistan. It has set of reporting requirement on US Government which was a standard practice in the case of all such legislation's. He said enemies of relationship between India and Pakistan portrayed Kerry Lugar bill as an attack on Pakistan’s sovereignty which was “ridiculous" He said those who oppose the Kerry Lugar Bill are the ones who either oppose the present Pakistani Government or supporting the Taliban Ambassador Holbrook said as Secretary Clinton mentioned in one of her conversation that there should never have been any issues with Kerry Lugar Bill because these kinds of reporting requirements had been attached with every aid bill to Pakistan and any other country. But there was a communication failure on the part of US officials for not explain it properly to the people of Pakistan He said that there should have been more money allocated for people of Pakistan in Kerry Lugar bill but it was upto the Congress to take a decision in this regard. He said strategic dialogue will be resumed between the United states and Pakistan, next year , and US secretary of State Hillary Clinton will lead the US delegation whereas previously deputy secretary of state used to lead such dialogue. He said now under the Kerry Lugar bill US administration will move for the full appropriation of the money besides making efforts to get the ROZ's legislation done in the US Congress.
KARACHI: Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Parliamentary leader of the MQM Dr Farooq Sattar Tuesday welcomed the government’s decision not to table the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in the Parliament.Addressing a press conference here, he said the legal experts of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) hold meetings for several days to mull over the legal aspects of NRO, adding the party proposed to National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Law that tabling the NRO in the National Assembly would be a futile practice, which should be avoided and if the NRO was presented before the House, the MQM would be forced to oppose it.Farooq Sattar said the government decided not to bring NRO in the House in the light of proposal put up by the MQM, and the party welcomes this step and deems it a well-meaning step for the democracy.
ABU DHABI: Pakistan left out middle-order batsman Shoaib Malik as they won the toss and opted to bat in the first of three one-day internationals against New Zealand at Abu Dhabi Stadium here on Tuesday.Malik, who scored a hundred against India in the Champions Trophy last month, was dropped to adjust a regular opener in Khalid Latif, while allrounder Abdul Razzaq also returned to the side after a two years gap.New Zealand decided to leave out pa .... Full Story
KARACHI: Pakistani stocks ended up on Tuesday after falling more than 3 percent the previous day but turnover was low as investors stayed on the sidelines because of worry about security and political uncertainty, dealers said.The Karachi Stock Exchange's benchmark 100-share index ended 0.75 percent, or 66.59 points higher, at 8,938.99 on turnover of 105.86 million shares."Volumes were on the lower side mainly on the back of political uncertainty .... Full Story
GAZA: Israel has released six members of the Palestinian parliament affiliated to the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) who were jailed after resistance fighters seized Gilad Shalit in a 2006 cross-border raid. The freed lawmakers were identified as Ahmad Attoun and Wael Al-Husseini from Jerusalem Al-Quds, Khalil Ar-Rabai, Samir Al-Qadi, and Mahir Badr from Hebron (al-Khalil), and Mahmoud Al-Khatib from Bethlehem (Beit Lahm). “The d .... Full Storya
ISLAMABAD: A proposal regarding two weekly holidays in the government offices and the industrial sector has been hammered out in the meeting of a Committee to recommend austerity measures.The federal cabinet will grant final approval for these measures in tomorrow’s session. Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin presided over the meeting of the Austerity Committee.NWFP province and Punjab also gave their consent to the propos ... Full Story
