Disparaging CPEC
THERE are legitimate concerns about the impact that investments coming into Pakistan under the CPEC umbrella will have on the country’s economy, but the recent intervention of US Assistant Secretary Alice Wells in this debate only serves to muddy the waters rather than spark a helpful conversation.
As a senior American diplomat, Ms Wells has sometimes been perceived as patronising towards Pakistan. Her remarks about CPEC, in which she tried to underscore the rising debt burden that Chinese investments are bringing to this country, can hardly be expected to ensure progress in the Pakistan-US relationship which itself has undergone a long period of tension.
Should the administration in Washington D.C. decide to act on Ms Wells’ words, far from yielding any dividends, it will only create more obstacles in bilateral ties — a hint of this emerged over the weekend when government ministers said that Pakistan would go ahead with CPEC.
As such, the best advice that can be offered after her talk at the Woodrow Wilson Centre, during which she raised her concerns about the CPEC project to widespread media coverage, is to let her words lie where they fell.
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Action speaks louder than words. The concerns being voiced about the growing ties between China and Pakistan by a faction within the Trump administration need more than words before they can be considered credible.
Ms Wells should be asked what the current US administration is willing to do to help Pakistan meet its needs for infrastructure in a way that does not aggravate the country’s debt burden. If her response is not convincing, then her words will be overshadowed by the ability and willingness of Chinese capital to acquire long-term stakes in this country.
There is no doubt that a more detailed conversation is needed within Pakistan around the growing Chinese stakes in the economy. The repayment obligations are part of this debate. In addition, the direction in which these investments will take our economy in the future, particularly in vital areas such as agriculture that is the cradle of our food self-sufficiency, also needs a more sensitive discussion.
But this should first and foremost be a conversation among Pakistani stakeholders, including business leaders, political parties, the research community and the media.
The Trump administration will struggle to find a place in this debate since its input will inevitably be viewed through the prism of its escalating struggle to contain the emergence of China as a great power on the world stage — as epitomised by the ongoing trade war between the two.
It would be better if the bilateral dialogue between the US and Pakistan were to focus more on the tangible outcomes that both sides wish to see in Afghanistan, and leave out China and CPEC until such time that the US has something useful to contribute.
Prisoners’ rights
PRISON walls are meant to sequester certain individuals from society, but they must not be an impediment to their constitutionally protected rights. However, that is not the norm in a country like Pakistan, where the rights of even free citizens are often not respected, let alone those of people who are incarcerated. Inmates without means and connections are of course at a particular disadvantage. It is therefore encouraging that the Islamabad High Court last week, having converted a convict’s complaint into a petition, set up a commission — headed by Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari and including several rights activists — to ensure that the civil liberties of prisoners are duly protected. The complainant had accused executive authorities of negligence resulting in damage to his eyesight.
A retributive approach to justice, rather than a rehabilitative one, is often accompanied by a dehumanising approach to individuals behind bars. Such people tend to be seen by society as having forfeited the ‘inviolable dignity’ that is the fundamental right of every citizen. Many of these inmates are not even convicts, given that criminal trials take years to limp through Pakistan’s dysfunctional criminal justice system. Aside from the ethical considerations, there are legal obligations that govern the treatment of prisoners. According to international conventions, it is incumbent upon every government to protect civil liberties, while prison rules for each province stipulate an environment that affords access to health, vocational training, religious instruction, education, etc to all persons in custody. The reality is that no matter how comprehensive the rules, practical obstacles, such as overcrowding — which exacerbates resource constraints — prevent these rights from being fully realised. According to a report submitted to the Supreme Court a few months ago, there were a total of 80,145 inmates housed in 98 prisons in Punjab, Sindh, KP and Balochistan against a sanctioned capacity of 56,495. That works out to a shocking 42pc over the limit. Not surprisingly, living in such close proximity increases the chances of the spread of contagious diseases among the prison population, and adds to stress levels that can leave weaker/younger inmates more vulnerable to physical and sexual violence. Given these conditions, mental illness among prisoners is also on the rise. Of the 4,600 plus prisoners on death row in Pakistan, nearly 200 in Punjab alone are said to be suffering from some form of mental illness. The newly instituted committee has an important task at hand.
Suffocating space
FOR weeks now, a thick blanket of smog has been suffocating the people of Punjab, while smog-like conditions have also been reported in Peshawar and other parts of KP. On Friday, schools were closed in the cities of Lahore, Faisalabad and Gujranwala due to the poor air quality. Some residents have started taking measures to protect themselves, such as wearing surgical masks, but that is simply not enough to combat the severity of the threat to their health. The toxins in the air directly impact the heart, respiratory systems and life expectancy of citizens, and pose the greatest danger to the elderly, small children and expecting mothers. Meanwhile, poor visibility on the road leads to a greater number of accidents.
According to experts, the smog is created by a combination of factors, though most of the blame is often placed on farmers burning their rice stubble ahead of the harvesting seasons, both at home and across the border in India. Consequently, the twin cities of Lahore and Delhi have the worst air quality in the world during wintertime. Other major factors that contribute to poor air quality include the substandard fuel that drives the transport, manufacturing and agriculture sectors, while the hundreds of brick kiln industries that operate on outdated technology also contribute to the problem. Some days ago, Air Visual ranked Delhi as the most polluted city in the world, with an air quality index of 556, which was followed by Lahore ranked at 447. These figures are alarming; yet it is debatable whether the government is treating the public health crisis with the seriousness it deserves. It is time for the governments of Pakistan and India to put aside at least some of their differences and prioritise the safety of their citizenry. They must work jointly to come up with a solution to their shared climate crisis. Conditions may be murky, but the writing on the wall is clear.