Consensus on Kashmir

Dawn, 15 May 2010,

The India-Pakistan peace process must have a Kashmir settlement as its clear goal; but no settlement will work unless it is supported by a domestic consensus within each of the three parties — India, Pakistan and Kashmir.

All Kashmiris, separatists and unionists, are now agreed that the future of Kashmir cannot be decided without the concurrence of Pakistan. In India, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is sworn to oppose any initiative by the present government on any major issue, whether domestic or foreign. In 2004 L.K. Advani asserted that the Hindus would trust the BJP alone to forge an accord with Pakistan. In 2007 he and Atal Behari Vajpayee asked Pakistani visitors to wait till the BJP returned to power; it would give better terms. Both are false. The country will back Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who received a renewed mandate in 2009 which ends in 2014.

In Pakistan resentment against Gen Pervez Musharraf has in some minds rubbed off on his four-point proposal; understandably but not rationally. But, Nawaz Sharif has a formidable record of support for an entente with India and a settlement of Kashmir based on a fair compromise. While in office as prime minister, he told visiting Indian publicists: “We will all have to give up something. India will have to step back; Pakistan will have to step back; and so will the Kashmiris.” He clearly envisaged a compromise. In opposition he told an Indian correspondent on Dec 28, 1995 that he would “support to the hilt” any sincere effort by Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to improve relations with India.

He repeated his commitment at least twice during the election campaign in February 1997. “This is now a part of my election platform,” he told his colleague Sartaj Aziz. As premier he met Prime Minister I.K. Gujral in Male in May 1997. The upshot was the joint statement of June 23, 1997 on a composite dialogue.

In 1998, a BJP regime came to power in India. Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Vajpayee met in New York in September and decided to launch a back-channel. At the Lahore summit in February 1999 they decided to accelerate it. They agreed also that neither side would reiterate its extreme position — UN resolutions and Kashmir as a non-negotiable issue. Kargil flooded the channel.

What is the status of the Kashmir dispute today? Since 1990 even the US ceased to talk of the UN resolutions. In February 1958 Prime Minister Feroz Khan Noon met the US envoy to the UN, Henry Cabot Lodge, in Karachi. Ambassador James M. Langley recorded: “Noon made no mention of a plebiscite and it seemed to me that he was clearly thinking of a compromise which would provide for a territorial division between India and Pakistan.”

Noon was no traitor. A few months earlier on April 29, 1957, the UN mediator on Kashmir Gunnar Myrdal had, in his report, pronounced those resolutions as virtually obsolete: “The situation with which they were to cope has tended to change.” That was 50 years ago. On March 23, 1962 Ayub Khan was prepared to drop plebiscite if India offered an alternative. The Z.A. Bhutto–Swaran Singh talks (1962-3) centred on a partition line in Kashmir; not on plebiscite.

This is the reality which Nawaz Sharif faced in 1998 and Gen Pervez Musharraf at Agra in 2001. Any settlement of Kashmir must meet one clear test and conform to four limitations. It must be acceptable to all the three parties. The limits? First, no Indian government can accept de-accession of Kashmir and survive even for an hour. Secondly, no government in Pakistan can accept the Line of Control as an international boundary and survive, either. Thirdly, nor will the Kashmiris submit to the partition; and lastly they insist on self-rule.

All old notions of a ‘final settlement’ of the dispute come up against those four hurdles, a burden history has imposed. Four points bypass them. They are, as Manmohan Singh said, on May 2, 2008, “a non-territorial solution”; an agreed arrangement reviewable after 10 or 15 years. We no longer squabble over sovereignty; but proceed to improve the situation on the ground by concrete steps so that in actual practice the concerns of each side are met and the four limits are not violated either.

How? The first of the four points envisages that since “borders cannot be redrawn”, we can, as Manmohan Singh said on March 24, 2006, “work towards making them irrelevant — towards making them just lines on a map”. In effect the state is reunited, de facto though not de jure. Men, goods, and literature will move freely across the LoC. The Hizb leader Syed Salahuddin will return to his home in Srinagar. The entire scenario will change radically, to the benefit of Kashmiri.

Especially since this will be coupled with the three other points — demilitarisation, self-governance and a joint mechanism. Manmohan Singh described them as “institutional arrangements”. Pakistan will have a say on matters like water management. This arrangement will grow with time, and is open to improvement. For instance an All J&K Assembly, comprising legislators, can be set up as a purely consultative body on matters other than defence and politics. Precise arrangements can be stipulated to ensure free movement.

The former foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri has authoritatively established that such an accord was reached. Is it to be discarded because it bears the Musharraf tag? No responsible parent rejects a proposal for their daughter’s marriage because he or she disapproves of the boy’s father; especially if he is separated from the father, the daughter is none too young and other proposals are not in sight.

Syed Salahuddin endorsed it as a ‘first step’ on Feb 27, 2007, so did Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on March 20, 2007. Time is fast running out. Such an opportunity to clinch matters may not occur for long. As Mao advised Nixon on Feb 21, 1972, “You must seize the hour and seize the day.”

PM to address joint sitting of GBLA, council

Dawn, 15 May 2010,

GILGIT: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will address a joint sitting of Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly and Council on Monday.

He would also visit Hunza and meet the people affected by the lake’s water.

Official sources said the prime minister on the occasion would also administer oath to two members of the council. The members are advocate Amjad Hussain and Prof Ghulam Hussain Salim.

It would be the first joint sitting of the assembly and council.

Meanwhile, the provincial government has directed all the officials of Gilgit and Hunza Nagir to remain present on their duty.

They have been asked to seek permission of the respective deputy commissioner for any leave, according to a circular of the services department.

In another circular, administrative secretaries have been asked to remain present at their stations and get prior approval of the chief secretary of the region if they wanted to take any leave.

The directions have been issued to tackle any untoward situation emerging from Hunza lake, officials said.

They said all precautionary measures were being taken to save properties and lives of the people living on either sides of Hunza river.

Prying militants spread scare in Peshawar suburbs

Dawn, 15  May 2010,

PESHAWAR: A deliberate show of flag by the militants in the suburbs of the provincial capital in recent days has panicked the local residents forcing many to shift to safer places.

A source hailing from Matani told Dawn on Friday that around 80 masked men armed with light and heavy weapons riding several vehicles just made passes in Pasni, Sharikera and Yousuf Khel and returned to the Bora area in the Frontier Region of Peshawar early Friday morning.

He said at least 10 families belonging to Bora village had vacated their houses due to the fear of a possible operation in the areas where the number of militants was increasing.

The Matani police, however, did not confirm the movement of armed militants in the areas and said the situation was under control. An official said one platoon of the Frontier Constabulary had been deployed in the Adezai area to check the movement of suspected people.

About night patrol of security personnel, he said it was not possible in the prevailing situation but they had to remain alert in the area for responding quickly if needed.

When contacted, Adezai Qaumi Lashkar head Dilawar Khan said his close relatives hailing from the FR localities had vacated their houses after militants’ warning to them to support their cause or leave the areas.

“Militants have asked the people to keep the doors of their hujras open or leave the area and that is why those unwilling to do so have packed up,” he said and added that militants had re-established their base camp in the Pastawana village of the FR and brought horses for travelling in the hilly areas.

He said residents of Adezai were against the Taliban and ready to face them, but the government was not extending support to them that had created unrest among the villagers.

“Most of the people are poor who have limited sources of income and are unable to purchase weapons to fight the well-armed militants,” he said, demanding that the government should at least provide them with ammunition.

Mr Dilawar said local peace committee members at a meeting had decided to take a unified stand against militants, but it was difficult to continuously perform night duties with limited resources.

He pointed out that the presence of militants could be judged from sabotage acts occurred in different areas, like blowing up of a pylon in Baghwanan and a bomb blast in the Ormar area a few days ago.

He suggested that entry of suspected people from the Kalakhel tribal area should be checked thoroughly, otherwise peace could not be restored in Peshawar.

Some militants, he said, had come to the area from the Tirah valley and the Orakzai Agency due to the operation in those areas. He said a kidnapped schoolteacher, Chaman Gul, was also freed from the Khyber Agency, but he was so frightened that he avoided giving details.

Meanwhile, tribal elders of the FR Peshawar have been warned to expel militants from their areas, otherwise the government will take action against them as per the law.

At a meeting held at Peshawar DCO’s office on Friday, the administration directed the tribesmen to form a lashkar against militants. The meeting was attended by 35 elders from Jani Khel, Ashokhel and Hassan Khel tribes.

The DCO, who also supervises FR Peshawar areas, warned that those providing shelter and food to militants and facilitating them would be punished under the territorial responsibility clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulation.

The DCO told Dawn that the tribesmen had sought three days in order to hold meetings of the sub-tribes of the FR. He said another meeting would be held at the DCO’s office to review the situation.

He said militants were entering the Pastawana area from Darra Adamkhel.

“I recommend deployment of the Frontier Constabulary in Pastawana and other areas because it is a must to secure Peshawar and adjacent districts,” he said and added that entry points needed to be blocked completely.

Courts have no right to run govt: PML-Q

Dawn, 15 May 2010,

ISLAMABAD: An opposition member of the National Assembly said on Friday that courts had no right to interfere in the affairs of the government.

Speaking at the question-hour session, Riaz Hussain Pirzada of the PML-Q said: “I want to make it clear at this forum that courts cannot run the government. It’s the responsibility of ministers and legislators sitting on the treasury benches to run its affairs.”

He said that it was outlandish that the government had to move the Supreme Court to get a house vacated from illegal occupation, adding that there were several hundred cases in which people simply got stay orders and continued their unauthorised occupation for years.

The PML-Q said the government found itself helpless when courts took no time in establishing the admissibility of writ petitions on trivial issues. “Courts have nothing to do with illegal occupation of houses. It’s the government’s responsibility to get them vacated,” he added. The National Assembly was informed that during 2008 as many as 406 cases relating to allotment of government accommodation had been filed in civil courts of Islamabad.

Housing and Works Minister Rehmatullah Kakar said that 18,393 federal government employees were on the waiting list for allotment of official residences. About 16,734 employees have been allotted government houses.

He said that 3852 employees had been allotted plots over the past five years.

Govt earns Rs200bn on sale of petroleum products

Dawn, 15 May 2010,

ISLAMABAD: The government has earned about Rs200 billion in taxes on sale of petroleum products in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, amounting to almost half of the total sales tax collection, official figures suggest.

Of the Rs200 billion, the government collected about Rs100 billion on petroleum levy and another Rs100 billion as sales tax on major oil products.

Besides a 16 per cent variable general sales tax on all petroleum products being paid by consumers, the government also collects a fixed petroleum levy at the rate of Rs10 per litre on petrol, Rs14 on high octane blending component, Rs6 on kerosene, Rs3 on LDO and Rs8 on high speed diesel.

The government earns on average of about Rs10 billion a month as petroleum levy on five petroleum products, high speed diesel, light diesel oil, kerosene, HOBC and petrol. The GST collection on petroleum products during the 10-month period was estimated to be about Rs99 billion, sources said.

The government has set a budgetary target of about Rs122 billion for the fiscal year on account of petroleum levy that was originally introduced as carbon tax but later renamed as petroleum levy when the Supreme Court raised questions about the utilisation of carbon tax.

The government currently collects about Rs20.36 per litre on petrol, Rs26.30 on high octane blending component, Rs15.50 per litre on kerosene and Rs12.07 on light diesel oil from consumers.

In addition, about Rs8.91 a litre is paid to oil companies and dealers on petrol, Rs11.93 per litre on High Octane, Rs3.23 on kerosene and Rs4.27 on light diesel oil.

Pakistan’s total sales tax collection during the 10 months has amounted to Rs416 billion, against Rs359 billion in the same period last years showing an increase of 15.8 per cent.

That means almost one fourth of total sales tax collection came directly from oil products in addition to Rs100 billion from petroleum levy.

Pakistani Taliban say US will burn

Dawn, 15 May 2010,

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Taliban militants have warned America that it will soon “burn” while calling for Pakistan’s rulers to be overthrown for following “American agenda”.

A Pakistani Taliban spokesman, in a video message obtained by Reuters, repeated a claim of responsibility, saying: “The movement proved what America could not have even imagined … It was just an explosive-laden vehicle which did not explode.

“But it (America) will see, all imperialist forces will see that it will explode also and America will also burn,” said the spokesman, Azim Tariq, sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of a rock face and speaking in Urdu.

America’s allies would meet the same fate, he said. “They can neither eliminate the Mujahideen nor jihad, nor can they harm Islam,” he said.

“Instead, they will have to die themselves, they will be burnt themselves, they will have to dig their own graves,” said the spokesman.—Reuters

US lawmaker wants Taliban declared as terrorists

Dawn, 15 May 2010,

WASHINGTON: A senior US senator urged Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday to blacklist Pakistani Taliban and the Haqqani network fighting US forces in Afghanistan as foreign terrorist organisations.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, wrote to Mrs Clinton that the label could be affixed to groups that were foreign, engaged in terrorism, and their acts threatened US citizens and national security.

“I believe the Pakistani Taliban and the Haqqani network clearly meet all three criteria,” said Ms Feinstein.

Listing the groups as foreign terrorist organisations would empower US authorities to target their financing, forbid non-US nationals with ties to the groups from entering the United States or expel them if they were already here, and make providing material support to them a crime, she said.—AFP

ICRC cuts operations in Balochistan

Dawn, 15 May 2010,

QUETTA: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said it is scaling down its operations in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan because it has been receiving threats.

Mr Adrian Zimmermann, the Head of ICRC’s Quetta sub-delegation, told newsmen on Friday that in view of the threats, the ICRC had reduced its operations in Balochistan for the time being and staff had been asked to stay indoors until the grim law and order situation improved in the province.

However, he dispelled the impression that ICRC had completely shut down its offices in Quetta and suspended all operations in the province.

“We have received threats, but our office in Quetta is open and working,” he said in reply to a question.

About the nature of the threats, he said he could not disclose them as authorities concerned were investigating the matter.

He said the ICRC’s Quetta sub-delegation had shifted its foreign staff to safer places, adding that security had been beefed up at ICRC offices.

“We have informed authorities concerned about the situation,” the ICRC official said.

Informed sources said that an unidentified caller had hurled threats on

Tuesday by telephone, asking the ICRC to close its offices in the province or face consequences.

Sitara Jabeen, a spokesman for the ICRC, said in a statement that ICRC would continue its humanitarian operations in Quetta, adding that as everywhere in the world, the ICRC regularly adapted its security measures according to evolving situation on the ground. In some cases, the spokesman said, additional security measures were implemented and said that in Quetta the ICRC would operate with a reduced staff.

The statement said that while performing its life-saving humanitarian work, the ICRC always carefully balanced safety and security of its staff against needs of victims.

“By adapting its security measures to the situation at hand, the ICRC is not only safeguarding its staff, but also its beneficiaries who approach it for assistance,” the statement said.

The ICRC staff in Quetta have been assisting victims of man-made and natural disasters in Balochistan since the organisation resumed its operations in 2004.

In Balochistan, the ICRC orthopaedic and medical programmes and its work to restore family links would continue, the statement said, adding that the ICRC was currently developing a range of other assistance programmes meant to benefit affected population in the province.

Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani has said that foreign and hidden hands are involved in giving threats to international aid organisations in the province.

“Other UN agencies have also been given threats. It is not only the International Committee of the Red Cross,” Mr Raisani told Dawn.

He said that it was very unfortunate that some girl schools had also received threats.

The chief minister said that such threats were in his knowledge and that he had already asked quarters concerned to take all steps to ensure protection to relief agencies operating in the province.

Provinces’ share in budget Rs915bn

Dawn, 15 May 2010,

ISLAMABAD: The government informed the provinces on Friday that it would transfer up to Rs915 billion to them from the federal divisible pool (FDP) in the next budget.

According to sources, the provinces were informed at a meeting held here to discuss the implementation of 7th National Finance Commission (NFC) Award that their share would be increased by around 55 per cent in the next fiscal year.

The meeting between the centre and the provinces was informed that the revenue collection target for the next year had been set at Rs1.71 trillion.

The sources in the finance ministry said the federating units asked the government to provide additional funds in the federal divisible pool to help them prepare the next budgets and pave way for transfer of departments from the concurrent list.

The FDP for the current year was of Rs590 billion.

At the meeting presided over by federal Finance Secretary Salman Siddique, the finance secretaries of the four provinces were given copies of a new gazette of the NFC Award signed by the president on May 10.

The provincial secretaries were informed that under the new award, Rs750.3 billion would be distributed on the basis of population, Rs94.24 billion on the basis of poverty, Rs45.75 billion on revenue and Rs24.7 billion on population density.

The population of Balochistan is 9.09 per cent, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 14.62 per cent, Punjab 51.74 per cent and Sindh 24.55 per cent of the country’s total population.

The provinces had demanded higher allocations in view of increased expenditures because of a proposed hike in salaries and pension of public sector employees and the need to strengthen infrastructure to run departments being transferred to them from the federal government.

They suggested that a plan to monetise the perks and privileges of around 3.5 million government employees should not be implemented from next year.

According to the sources, they also expressed concern that the collection target was too ambitious as compared to the current year’s Rs1.38 trillion and was unlikely to be achieved.

The federal ministry officials said an improvement in local and global economic conditions, imposition of value added tax and other factors, including inflation, would lead to an increase in tax collection.

Two held in Pakistan over failed NY bomb plot

Dawn, 15 May 2010,

WASHINGTON A US military official says Pakistan now has at least two men in custody on suspicion of helping to finance the Times Square bombing attempt.

The investigation into the May 1 attempt in New York has widened as authorities in the US and Pakistan follow the money trail.

It is not clear whether the two are members of the Pakistani Taliban, which US authorities say was behind the plot.

Meanwhile, Washington Post reported on Thursday that a Pakistani man detained in Pakistan had told interrogators he was an accomplice of the man arrested over planting the bomb in Times Square.

The paper quoted US officials as saying the suspect’s arrest had not been previously disclosed and that he had provided an “independent stream” of evidence linking Pakistani Taliban to the failed attack and admitted to helping main suspect Faisal Shahzad travel to remote tribal areas for training.

A US intelligence official told the newspaper that the suspect “is believed to have a connection to the TTP”.

However, Interior Minister Rehman Malik insisted on Friday that Pakistan had made no formal arrests in connection with the plot.

“I would like to tell you that there has not been any formal arrest by us,” Malik said when asked if Pakistani authorities had detained an alleged accomplice of Shahzad.—Agencies