Hijab decision
IN yet another example of the authorities enforcing what really should be a personal decision, the education department of Azad Kashmir has decided to make the wearing of hijab mandatory for students and teachers at co-education schools. The rule will be “strictly” enforced, the AJK government maintains, and schools flouting the rules will be penalised. A picture of the notification went viral on social media, prompting many to criticise the enforcement of the hijab. It is a travesty that, instead of focusing on improving the quality of education and addressing its shortcomings, AJK authorities are more focused on telling women what to do. Regardless of how many women wear the hijab in AJK, it is no business of the government to make this law. Veil-wearing is a personal decision, one which women take after putting thought into it. For the authorities to make this decision for them clearly demonstrates their partiality to moral policing. In India, states which have banned veils are guilty of a similar transgression, whereby they are forcing their might on an issue that is purely personal. It is also ironic that in both scenarios, women are the targets. Rarely do we see restrictions and bans of a personal nature being enforced on men. For women, however, the state cites everything from religion to security to suit its purpose.
The policing of women must end, and women should be free to decide whether or not they want to wear the hijab. Taking away that agency from them will only embolden the authorities to police citizens in other aspects as well. Though AJK has far higher literacy rates than most regions (in Pakistan), the quality of education is still quite poor. One study showed that over 20pc of students in the fifth grade are unable to read a simple story in Urdu; many were not able to do basic math. The education department should put its energy into addressing these issues first.
Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2023
Oil warning
THE danger of an imminent fuel shortage in the country is low since petrol and diesel stocks are well above the mandatory 20-day supplies. But the current economic situation will create major risks for the fuel supply chain if the factors impeding POL import aren’t tackled urgently. The multiple challenges that threaten to disrupt fuel supply include the foreign exchange crunch and the inability of oil firms to open LCs — this is in addition to their difficulty in getting LC confirmation from foreign banks after Pakistan’s credit rating was downgraded. The same applies to refineries for the procurement of crude oil; it has resulted in delays in shipment and reduced throughput of refineries. Moreover, the steep currency depreciation means large exchange rate losses for oil companies due to lower product pricing. On top of that, the hike in interest rates means higher costs of financing their stocks. Hence, warnings of a major fuel supply disruption have been communicated by oil marketing companies and refineries to the government and the central bank.
There can be no dispute that the exchange rate depreciation is resulting in large losses to OMCs and refineries. Although there is a mechanism of loss recovery through pricing, the government is not implementing it, in order to keep domestic fuel prices lower than their actual rates for political reasons. It is trying to stagger this loss recovery, and the effects are now showing on the cash flow situation of the OMCs and refineries. No wonder, OMCs are reluctant to import fuel because of the anticipated losses. Likewise, the increase in the interest rate to 20pc is putting pressure on their fixed inland freight equalisation margin. According to official estimates, the domestic fuel demand is on the lower side. However, these official estimates are debatable because they don’t take into account the rampant petrol and diesel smuggling from Iran. With the wheat harvest approaching, the demand for diesel will shoot up over the next several weeks, putting pressure on the supply chain. The oil industry has been operating in dire circumstances for the last six months, with the government deluding itself that everything is under control. Such situations in countries like Pakistan don’t take long to change for the worse. Poor management and incompetence at the official level will not help prevent the eventuality of massive fuel supply disruptions in the coming weeks.
Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2023
Second thoughts?
WITH the PML-N seemingly intent on raking up controversy over due elections to the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies and, in the process, subverting the democratic process, is its silent partner starting to have second thoughts?
The complaints raised by the PPP over the past week against the government in Islamabad would not, prima facie, seem enough to be considered a deal-breaker for the two parties’ marriage of convenience at the centre. Yet, on both occasions, they have been accompanied by overt threats of divorce.
Could it be that the PPP — a party that has long positioned itself as a champion of Pakistan’s democracy, having sacrificed in blood for it — is considering breaking with the PDM coalition lest it becomes a partner in sabotaging the democratic process? Or could the reason — if there is indeed any — be a more Machiavellian one?
Consider, for example, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s warning to the federation last week that his party would quit its ministries if promises made to the victims of the 2022 floods were not made good on soon.
Surely Mr Bhutto-Zardari could not have suddenly woken up to the plight of the affected millions who have, till now, been left to suffer on their own. Was it really an epiphany of their plight that prompted him to threaten resignation, or was he laying the ground for something else?
More recently, PPP leaders once again threatened to quit the ruling coalition, this time over objections to the ongoing digital census. The census had been pending for months and had been given the go-ahead over a broad agreement that a fresh head count was needed after the controversial 2017 exercise. Little wonder that insiders are accusing the PPP of merely politicking over the issue for mileage before the Punjab elections.
The PPP has already made it clear that it will be taking part in all electoral contests regardless of what the PDM thinks. Reports suggest that it is preparing for the Punjab polls even as the PML-N’s senior vice president, Maryam Nawaz, insists on making elections contingent on her father being exonerated from all cases he has been tried and sentenced in.
It would be morally difficult for the PPP to continue supporting the PML-N’s campaign to subvert democracy, which is already under criticism from the country’s intelligentsia. On the other hand, if it acts selfishly, it might even benefit somewhat in certain areas of Punjab at the PML-N’s expense.
The PML-N’s approval ratings are abysmal right now, while the PPP has still managed to keep a respectable distance from the PDM government’s catastrophic failures on the governance and economic fronts. Can the PML-N convince the PPP to continue standing by it while it picks a confrontation with the judiciary? Beware the Ides of March, as they say.
Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2023