Mosquito mayhem
ANOTHER year, another monsoon and the menace of vector-borne diseases has many parts of the country in its grip. Despite the annual ritual of warnings issued by the Met department, we are on the cusp of a dengue and malaria outbreak. According to official figures, in August over 31,000 malaria cases emerged in Hyderabad with 474 in Karachi and the year’s dengue tally for Karachi alone is a total of 828. Our rusty health infrastructure, just like in years past, will soon be choked as numbers are already in the thousands, especially in interior Sindh and Punjab: Rawalpindi recently logged in 366 dengue cases and reportedly, an alarming 26,000 hotspots have been identified in Lahore. Each year it becomes more and more obvious that unless there is a yearly countrywide anti-dengue and malaria operation comprising awareness and coordinated safety actions, such as fumigation drives that match mosquito proliferation speed, the deluge will return.
Ideally, an ailing health system should have been jolted into action by the climate carnage seen in the last two years, with scores still grappling with the aftermath of the floods and monsoons. But, conversely, efforts were below minimal — posters and television advertisements. The question is, why do federal and provincial administrations wait for public health concerns to metastasise into devastating contagions? In the past, Punjab has shown the way by effectively tackling dengue epidemics, and deployed methods to arrest mosquito breeding as well as keep pestilential vectors away. Therefore, subsequent failure to maintain the same degree of caution is plain torpor. Pakistan has seen vector-borne diseases for too many years to feign ignorance — fumigating dengue larvae, conducting free and widespread tests, removing garbage heaps and spraying pools of stagnant water where mosquitos breed are basic steps. More importantly, health experts must now progress to updated international measures to battle dengue and malaria. Public healthcare has to be the state’s foremost priority.
Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2023
Torkham closure
THE weeklong closure of the Torkham crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan has had a detrimental effect on bilateral relations, with trade ties particularly affected, while causing considerable human misery to those wishing to cross the border. Trouble started on Sept 6 when both sides traded fire.
According to authorities here, the Afghans had started building an “unlawful structure” on Pakistani territory, while Afghan troops resorted to “indiscriminate firing” when they were confronted over the disputed construction.
Meetings between officials from both sides have failed to resolve the dispute, with the result that hundreds of vehicles remain stranded, waiting to go across the border, while people wishing to get to the other side have also been left high and dry.
The cost of the closure has reportedly resulted in losses worth hundreds of millions of rupees, with perishable items — including fruit and vegetables from Afghanistan — not getting to market and rotting in the hot weather.
Comments made by the Taliban-led regime in Kabul taking a swipe at Pakistan’s economic troubles have certainly not helped cool tempers, as the Afghan side referred to Pakistan “being heavily dependent … on exports in the current situation”. The Foreign Office has been critical of the Taliban’s ‘unsolicited advice’.
Friction has occurred at the Torkham border in the past as well; the fact is that territorial disputes between Pakistan and Afghanistan date back to the time of this country’s independence.
However, the Afghan Taliban need to be mindful of Pakistan’s sensitivities, and refrain from construction activities on disputed territory. Higher-level exchanges are required to properly demarcate disputed border regions, so that these irritants are permanently addressed.
Moreover, traders and the general public on both sides are suffering from the extended border closure, which is why officials from Islamabad and Kabul need to reopen the crossing as soon as possible.
Torkham is a key conduit in Afghan transit trade, but Pakistan’s security concerns, as well as respect for this country’s territorial sovereignty, must be addressed by Kabul’s rulers to ensure cross-border economic activities continue smoothly.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s desire to establish strong trade and energy linkages with Central Asia cannot be fulfilled unless there is a cordial relationship with and security guarantees from Kabul. Trade through official channels is a mutually beneficial proposition, but only if there is conflict-free border management.
Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2023
CJP’s legacy
IT was “bitter” constitutional litigation, the chief justice believes, that ultimately affected the court’s performance. But was it just that?
Speaking at a full court reference held to mark the start of a new judicial year, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Monday regretted that the Supreme Court had been pushed into “a trying contest”.
“We sat back and became its victim and suffered in performance,” he reflected.
Yet the Supreme Court can hardly be described as having ‘sat back’ while the country’s institutions and political parties were making a mad grab for power.
Over Justice Bandial’s tenure, the apex court found itself stumbling from one controversy to another, starting from its overturning of the National Assembly deputy speaker’s decision to throw out a no-confidence vote against then PM Imran Khan.
At the time, the decision was widely hailed for having put to rest the doctrine of necessity. However, it also set a precedent for the court to go beyond established boundaries as it attempted to do ‘justice’.
Shortly after, the apex court ‘rewrote’ the Constitution by nullifying lawmakers’ power to defy party lines. Given the political consequences of the court’s interventions in these cases, criticism and controversy followed.
It, therefore, surprised no one when, barely a year later, the court’s internal differences spilt out into the public domain. The court had overstepped once again by taking up petitions against election delays while the high courts were still hearing the matter.
As some of the judges put their foot down to protest their institution’s ‘transgressions’, matters started to unravel quickly.
While the PDM government tried to flame the divisions within the court, the chief justice failed to restore unity within his ranks. Progress on key cases quickly stalled, and justice was put on the back-burner as the change of guard loomed closer.
As Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial prepares to hang up his robes, he has started feeling the weight of this legacy he leaves behind. It is difficult not to empathise with him.
Less than two years ago, he was celebrated for being a “soft-spoken man of integrity” and a “competent judge” who was “learned and fair-minded”. But the same people who once spoke so highly of Justice Bandial later ruthlessly assailed his capabilities, with some accusing him of “fixing” benches with “like-minded judges” and running a “one-man show”.
It cannot be easy for anyone to see their reputation — achieved through an entire lifetime’s work — be ruthlessly attacked and reduced in such a manner. But such a thing is perhaps unavoidable now, given the judicialisation of our politics.
The incoming chief justice should take the experience of the incumbent and those immediately before him as a warning. A ruthless commitment to fair play could help him avoid a similar end next year.
Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2023