RECENTLY, a woman and man were shot dead in Mansehra by another man who fled the scene after reportedly confessing to the crime to the woman’s husband. Though few other details about the case are known at this point, the murder was classified as an ‘honour’ killing, in a long list of similar acts of violence.
Despite the inclusion of harsher punishments in the anti-honour killing law of 2016, such murders are pervasive in Pakistan. One only needs to scan local newspapers, filled with horrific acts of violence each day, to get a sense of the scale of the sickness. Such killings are rooted in an entitled and deeply patriarchal culture, which attempts to control women’s bodies and agency at every turn, with little accountability or access to justice for victims, as conviction rates continue to remain low.
As long as conviction rates remain low, it is unlikely any law that is passed will act as a deterrent. According to human rights organisations, around 1,000 women are killed each year under the pretext of ‘honour’, although this figure is indefinite, as many cases are never reported. This includes a 16-year-old girl who was stabbed to death by her father in August 2020; a 24-year-old woman from Jamshoro, who was pelted with stones and beaten to death by her husband and brother-in-law in June 2020; and two teenage sisters in North Waziristan, who were shot dead by their relatives in May 2020.
The home is meant to be a sanctuary, but for many women, it can start feeling like a prison. Exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns enforced in different parts of the country, domestic violence cases increased by 200pc, according to data collected by domestic violence helplines last year. Hearing a jail petition in September 2020, Justice Qazi Faez Isa remarked that the word ‘honour’ should be dropped when referring to such acts of violence, to remove justification. Unfortunately, a woman’s life is cheap in Pakistan.
Water disputes
WATER shortages for the Kharif crop are growing. So are tensions between Punjab and Sindh. The national shortages for the summer crops are now estimated to have jumped from earlier projections of 10pc to nearly 30pc with the drop in temperature in the catchment areas. This is forcing Irsa, the sole arbiter of water disputes under the 1991 Water Apportionment Accord, to release water from Mangla for Sindh’s cotton crop as the provincial government accused Irsa and Punjab of cutting its water share. Punjab is unhappy with Irsa’s move, arguing that the failure to fill the reservoir could augment water scarcity for both Kharif and Rabi crops in the province. It says Irsa should adjust water distribution among the provinces in accordance with the new estimates of shortages and available river inflows. Besides, Punjab has accused Sindh of under-reporting water availability for irrigation in that province.
This is not the first time the two provinces are bickering over how to share water. Accusations have been flying around for more than a century. The 1991 accord was expected to help bridge interprovincial tensions. But it hasn’t. Sindh stills feels aggrieved because the accord didn’t guarantee a minimum environmental flow of river water through the province into the sea. It is concerned that the construction of dams upstream would strip it of its share of water. The accord allocates water to provinces on the basis of their historical use. Its ambiguous wording also allows different people to interpret it differently. For example, the accord assumes availability of 117.35 MAF of water in the Indus Basin system for distribution. In reality, this exact quantity was never available nor will it ever be. Therefore, Irsa has been distributing water shortages for the last 30 years, with Sindh demanding its share on the basis of the assumed availability of water. Consequently, the provinces have been accusing each other of stealing water and Irsa is blaming them for misreporting. Likewise, the accord suggests that provinces with water storage capacity will have a prior right to surpluses, which is a big concern for Sindh and hence its opposition to large reservoirs.
Pakistan’s water stress is projected to increase in the next few years. Climate change resulting in prolonged droughts in some regions like Balochistan, erratic weather patterns, frequent flooding, a shrinking winter season and heatwaves in cities like Karachi is aggravating the situation. Dams may be important to trap floodwaters for future use in years of scarcity. But they are not the solution to our stressed water economy. Pakistan remains one of the top three water-intensive countries in the world. This means we can overcome water shortages significantly by conserving this depleting resource through reduction in its wasteful use, especially by farmers, who are the largest users of water. Additionally, the water accord needs to be renegotiated to secure the independent buy-in of all provinces.
PSL set to resume
THE remaining matches of the Pakistan Super League’s sixth edition are all set to begin in the first week of June. The 20 games will now be played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. PSL-6 had been abruptly postponed in March with just 14 out of 34 matches completed after seven people participating in the tournament tested positive for Covid-19 amid reports of gross violation of the bio-secure environment by players, officials and franchise owners. The Pakistan Cricket Board deserves credit for PSL’s resumption, considering the heavy odds stacked against it. The PCB had come under severe criticism from all quarters for its negligence and poor handling of the event which led to its postponement in March. Serious questions were raised by experts and former players about whether PSL would be able to sustain the shock postponement and the sort of damage it could inflict on its future if the sixth edition remains incomplete.
Though the PCB expressed its resolve to hold the remaining games and vowed to make foolproof arrangements by installing stringent protocols and showing zero tolerance towards those breaching the SOPs, it was evident that the board had a mountain to climb to make it happen. To begin with, the third wave of the pandemic lashing the country showed no signs of subsiding. There was also another massive challenge: the availability of leading players for the remaining matches was in doubt as most of them had become busy with their respective international commitments. Besides, the players were also reluctant to visit this part of the world at this time due to Covid-19. A neutral venue had thus become imperative and the PCB approached the UAE government and the Emirates Cricket Board for holding the remaining games in the UAE since they had played host to the first three editions of PSL. However, the request coincided with the imposition of visa restrictions by the UAE on Pakistanis and the resumption of PSL-6 appeared a distant prospect. Luckily, the PCB’s hectic efforts and the detailed discussion held with the UAE authorities have paid off. Defending champions Karachi Kings, with six points from five matches, will start out as favourites when the contest resumes. Having said that, the Kings will be wary of Peshawar Zalmi, Islamabad United and the Lahore Qalandars who also accumulated six points in the Karachi leg in March but lag behind due to their lower net run-rate.
