Dawn Editorial 13 November 2020

Iranian FM’s visit

THOUGH historical, cultural, geographic and religious bonds link Pakistan and Iran, geopolitics has prevented the bilateral relationship from reaching its full potential. This has especially been the case in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and the tectonic shifts that have shook the region thereafter.
While Pakistan has tried to strike a balance, its attempts to improve relations with Iran have been hobbled by more hawkish US administrations, as well as some of this country’s Arab ‘friends’. However, under the PTI’s watch there has been a visible attempt to enhance bilateral ties, with high-level visits by civil and military leaders from both sides occurring with some frequency. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif’s recent trip to Islamabad was the latest in this series of attempts to take ties to the next level.
The Iranian foreign minister’s exchanges with Pakistani officials centred on trade and security — two sectors that have dominated the relationship. It was agreed to open a new border point for bilateral trade, while border security issues also came under discussion. Dr Zarif met the prime minister as well as the army chief during his two-day visit.
The Iranian official’s visit, even if it was pre-planned, comes at an interesting time where global politics is concerned. In the US, an administration openly hostile to Iran is due to make way for what could be a more accommodating set-up. Moreover, with Israel’s overtures to the Arabs, the situation is quickly changing in the Gulf. Having considered all these developments, Islamabad must chart a relationship with Tehran that is mutually beneficial, and based on the interests of Pakistan first and foremost.
It must be communicated to our foreign friends — specifically in Washington and the Gulf sheikhdoms —that while this country values these relationships, Iran is a neighbour and Pakistan has every right to improve relations with it. This, of course, is easier said than done. But if the Biden administration is sincere about reopening channels with Iran, it should understand Pakistan’s position and not create any hurdles in this country’s relationship with Iran.
Along with improving trade relations, progress on the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline would also help enhance confidence. While the Iranian side has completed its share of work on the project, Pakistan has not been able to honour its commitments, primarily due to the threat of American sanctions. This issue must be included in Pakistan’s foreign policy agenda when dialogue opens with the Biden administration.
Moreover, there is the sensitive issue of kidnappings of Iranian security personnel, allegedly by militants operating in the border area. Pakistan’s security forces have cooperated to help recover a number of Iranian personnel, and such combined efforts must continue to eliminate the irritants creating mistrust between both countries. Pakistan’s policy, as stated by the prime minister, is one seeking regional peace, and with some effort relations with Iran can be improved greatly.

 

 

Silent no more

SEXUAL harassment in our educational institutions is an ugly reality that thrives on a culture of silence. On Wednesday, that silence was broken loudly and assertively, that too in a conservative part of the country. Islamia College University in Peshawar was the scene of a large protest demonstration by female students, several from other universities in the city as well, demanding action against faculty members and male students who subjected them to harassment. The students alleged that the varsity administration routinely ignored the complaints of sexual harassment that had been lodged with them. They demanded an empowered committee be set up to investigate these complaints as mandated under the Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010.
Pakistan already has an unacceptably steep dropout rate of girl students beyond the primary level. Inadequate number of educational facilities and ambivalent cultural attitudes towards higher education for girls are among the impediments to gender parity in the sector. Sexual harassment compounds what is already a situation fraught with multiple challenges. Sometimes young women have to withstand family pressure in order to attend college. They are often reluctant to push back against unwelcome advances from faculty or fellow students, fearing that if their families find out, they would compel them to leave their studies. Besides this, demands by teachers for ‘favours’ in return for grades can add intolerable stress to a young woman’s mental well-being. There have been a number of incidents in which sexual harassment and blackmail are suspected to have driven female students to committing suicide. Last year, there was the infamous scandal at the University of Balochistan in which a number of surreptitiously made videos of girl students were used to blackmail them into acquiescing to sexual advances by certain members of the administration. A subsequent investigation by this paper uncovered a pervasive culture of sexual harassment at the institution. A number of other similar scandals have emerged in recent years across the country. The Higher Education Commission must ensure that every institute has functional committees, constituted as per the law, to address complaints of sexual harassment; and that the code of conduct is displayed on the premises. It is heartening that the #MeToo movement is spreading in our educational institutions as well; rallies like that on Wednesday reassure victims that they are not alone. No longer should sexual harassers remain complacent that patriarchal notions of honour will protect them from exposure.

 

 

Legislators’ assets

POLITICIANS tend to be very careful when it comes to revealing their true wealth — as are many others. The annual statements of assets and liabilities of parliamentarians and their dependents submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan confirm how economical politicians can be with the declaration of their true net worth. The ritual started by the military regime in 2002 with the ulterior motive of keeping public representatives under its thumb was widely appreciated as it was expected to make the latter transparent and accountable to the voters. So was the practice by the Federal Board of Revenue to publish the tax details of parliamentarians. Indeed, these documents give a glimpse of their bank accounts and asset portfolios, yet neither of the two actions has produced the desired results — despite the large discrepancies between their declared wealth and actual luxurious lifestyles. It is because our tax laws are lax and allow individuals enough room to hide assets they do not wish to declare or devalue the worth of those they choose to reveal.
At the same time, they can inflate or understate the value of their holdings at whim. Take the statement of assets and liabilities submitted by Prime Minister Imran Khan. According to the details published by the media, Mr Khan, who rode to power on his anti-corruption campaign, is poorer this year compared with last year because he has chosen to declare the ‘cost value’ of his holdings rather than their present market worth. Same is the case with former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and PTI legislator Khayal Zaman Orakzai. The three gentlemen who were included in parliament’s billionaire club until a year ago are no longer part of it because of the ‘reduced’ value of their holdings. In the absence of a proper mechanism for regular scrutiny of the published assets and liabilities, and tax details of the lawmakers, the entire exercise is meaningless. At best, it will continue to provide cheap fodder for drawing-room gossip.

 

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