Editorial: DAWN - 24 June 2013

Blood-soaked reality: Killing of foreigners

EVENTUALLY, the illogic of conspiracy will have to give way to reality. Waliur Rehman, a TTP leader mind-bogglingly referred to by Imran Khan as ‘pro-peace’, was killed by an American drone, so now the TTP has killed nine foreigners in remote Gilgit-Baltistan in revenge. And instead of the focus being on how to prevent Pakistan from slipping further towards international isolation and internal instability, the question that will likely be asked most frequently, in the media, by the political class, by large chunks of civil society, is what can be done to stop drones strikes. The problem with the drone debate is not that it is unimportant but that it tends to obscure a more fundamental and important question: what to do about the TTP? And that more important and fundamental question is itself wrapped up in another set of distractions, namely whether or not to negotiate over what is not negotiable.

Unhappily, the newly elected government appears to already be falling into the trap of rhetoric as a substitute for action. Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan has set an admirable new tone by speaking plainly and bluntly about all that ails Pakistan on the security front. That is good. But all the straight talk in the world will not substitute for a meaningful policy against militancy — and the necessary corollary of wresting national security policy from the army leadership. It is here that the PML-N already seems to be falling into the old trap of inaction through summits and all-party conferences and the like. Already, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appears aloof and disconnected, allowing his ministers to speak for his government instead of leading from the front himself.

For the army’s part, a pattern now seems obvious: everything but North Waziristan can be tackled. The reasons for that can only be guessed at, but could it have something to do with the impending transition in Afghanistan, after which the much-loved Haqqani network may be encouraged to move its operations to the other side of the Durand line and then the TTP will be taken on? If Pakistan’s internal security is in fact linked to an external agenda, then perhaps the TTP is only a symptom of the disease. Bringing about change, particularly in powerful, entrenched institutions, is always a difficult undertaking. But if the Pakistani state doesn’t change its approach, the TTP will change Pakistan for all of us.

Sold into slavery: Report on human trafficking

IT’S no secret that rights abuses are rife in Pakistan. How serious a problem this is, though, and how deep its roots permeate into the fabric of society, becomes apparent only when different sorts of abuses are considered separately. We know, for example, that women are forced by circumstances or by criminal gangs into prostitution. Delve into the issue a little deeper and it gets worse: boys and girls as young as five are bought, sold, ‘rented’ or kidnapped. Not only are they forced into the sex trade, they are also placed in organised begging rings and sold into slavery in domestic or workplace settings. There exists a structured system for forcing females, adult and minor, into prostitution, and there are physical markets where victims are bought and sold. Women are trafficked for prostitution into Iran and Afghanistan, and Pakistan is a trafficking destination for persons from Iran, Afghanistan and to a lesser extent Bangladesh. There are reports of child sex trafficking between Iran and Pakistan. Domestically, the largest human trafficking problem is bonded labour. These appalling facts are the findings of the US State Department’s 2013 report on Trafficking in Persons, the US government’s principle diplomatic tool in engaging foreign governments on the issue. Sadly, Pakistan is hardly alone in this dismal picture. Secretary of State John Kerry, whilst releasing the report, referred to the global trafficking problem as “modern-day slavery”.

Pakistan may not be alone, but it can certainly do more to curb human trafficking. The report acknowledged that this state is making significant efforts, but even so we do not comply with the minimal standards for the elimination of the problem. Government officials’ complicity is a serious obstacle, and there is insufficient political will and capacity to address the situation. Yet, both will and capacity have to be found. The country is gaining a reputation for trafficking, with such gangs being caught in both the US and the UK; this is a reputation we could well do without.

Degraded ecosystem: Mangrove planting

PAKISTANIS have set world records in some rather odd events. For instance, last year, Guinness World Records recognised their feat in fast chappati-making and the swiftness shown by a young girl in setting up a chessboard in 15 seconds flat. But Saturday’s ADB-sponsored feat could well see recognition by Guinness of a far worthier cause: the planting of more than 750,000 mangrove saplings in the deltaic region of Thatta district. Mangroves, an integral part of our ecosystem, are being destroyed in their millions. However, even this Herculean effort to resurrect a dying natural heritage leaves many questions unanswered. For instance, what happened to the last record-setting batch of over 540,000 mangrove saplings planted in Keti Bander in 2009? Most of them are believed not to have survived. We must also ask how scientific the present exercise was and how much thought went into factors like high tide, soil quality, etc. It was a mammoth effort and one hopes that it will bear fruit. It would be a pity if all the enthusiasm and hard work went to waste, even if doubts linger about what measures will now be taken to conserve the new mangroves.

Unfortunately, the spirit behind the mangrove-planting exercise is not evident in Karachi where land grabbers and developers go unchallenged as they lay to waste vast swathes of one of nature’s most protective hatcheries for marine life, specifically crustaceans and small fish. The benefits of mangroves are well known: they are natural wind barriers and useful air filters given the level of pollution in urban areas, and they guard against tsunamis and floods. Not least, they are also a crucial source of livelihood for our coastal community. For these reasons alone, concern for the environment has to be shown at the highest level of policymaking.