Dawn Editorial 26 October 2019

Labour woes

THE ILO has launched its Better Work Programme in Pakistan for improving working conditions in the textile industry and ensuring compliance with international labour laws to help local companies compete globally. The programme will also help ensure that local textile companies provide a safe and healthy environment for their workers and allow the strengthening of labour unions and workers’ organisations within the industry. Around 4.2m people are employed in the garments, textiles and footwear sector, according to an ILO report for 2014-2015. The textile sector as a whole contributes 8.5pc to GDP and accounts for 70pc of total exports. However, according to Human Rights Watch, most workers in Pakistan’s textile industry are unregulated or are not given written contracts and are forced to work overtime in harsh conditions without being given adequate leave in case of sickness. Moreover, they are routinely denied social security, wages and other benefits.
The report also highlighted the role of private textile companies in suppressing the activities of workers’ unions that campaign for employees’ rights and the government’s negligence in allowing these companies to violate existing labour laws. Pakistan is a signatory to several international covenants on workers’ rights and has a number of laws in place for their protection. However, the gaps in the laws themselves and negligence with regard to their implementation have resulted in worsening conditions for Pakistan’s largely unregulated labour force. It has also resulted in the pulling out of international businesses, such as Walt Disney, which ceased doing business with Pakistan in 2014 on account of poor working conditions. According to the Global Slavery Index report, 2018, Pakistan ranks third out of 167 countries in terms of having the highest number of victims of ‘modern slavery’ — 3.19m. Even deadly incidents like Karachi’s Baldia factory fire have failed to result in greater protection for millions of workers. Let’s hope that the BWP convinces both government and industrialists that progress in trade cannot come without uplifting labour conditions in the country.
Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2019

 
 

Pending justice

THERE is widespread disbelief in the country over an antiterrorism court’s verdict in January’s shootout case in Sahiwal. The government has decided to challenge the ruling which acquitted all six CTD officials in the killing of four people.
While not a unique occurrence, no less than 27 of prosecution witnesses turned hostile, allowing the accused relief. These witnesses were originally there to help prove the guilt of the accused police officials in the killing of Muhammad Khalil, his wife Nabila, their teenage daughter and Zeeshan, a friend of Khalil’s who was driving the car.
The Lahore-based family was on its way to a wedding when it came under a hail of bullets. In the absence of any witnesses testifying against the accused, the ATC judge dismissed the possibility of supportive evidence reinforcing the prosecution’s case. This included the footage showing images of the car in which the victims were travelling along with three minor children who survived the attack. The footage led to outrage across the country.
This was considered an open-and-shut case of an overzealous police force going mad with their chase after a wrong tip-off. Even the prime minister and members of his cabinet promised exemplary punishment for those responsible.
ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER AD
However, there were also sceptics who warned that the proceedings in court could lead the judge to draw conclusions contrary to the general perception. Those cynics have been proved right, pending of course a government appeal against the verdict.
The Sahiwal verdict on Thursday was followed by a statement by Muhammad Khalil’s brother who accepted the ruling and asked that the case not be used for any political motives. But if that was an attempt to quickly end the matter, the government’s decision to challenge the decision, even if it had to do so without support from the heirs of the victims, has thwarted the move. The case, the debate it stirred, is still open, with its many dimensions about justice, privileges and necessities justified by emergencies.
There have always been grave concerns about how easily the police get away with the gravest of excesses but this is about a more privileged law-enforcement arm. The CTD is a force born of special needs in the wake of the war against militancy, with special cover provided to its acts. But it must still be held accountable for actions that take the life of the innocent.
Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2019

 
 

Online surveillance

A NEW report on Pakistan’s internet surveillance, published by investigative agency Coda, has once again sounded the alarm on the long-standing issue of the state spying on its citizens. This is a matter of concern even if the PTA has sought to dismiss fears of an invasion of privacy. The Coda investigation revealed that the government has acquired a “web monitoring system” from Canada-based company Sandvine. The system would allow for monitoring and analysis of all internet traffic moving into and out of the country using a method called Deep Packet Inspection, which would allow for both broad and targeted surveillance of internet activity. According to Coda, the Pakistan firm Inbox Business Technologies Ltd acted as a local partner for Sandvine in signing the agreement with multiple parties including the PTCL. The contract is reportedly worth $18.5m and dated Dec 12, 2018. While authorities have previously shared that surveillance tools are aimed to curb grey traffic (eg illegal international calls) and other unlawful activities, this reasonable argument is not grounded in reality. To begin with, Sandvine has a documented history of selling its technology to authoritarian regimes for purposes that undermine basic civil liberties. In an investigation by Canada-based Citizen Lab, its DPI equipment was found to be used in Turkey, Egypt and Syria both to censor content and to redirect users, resulting in the installation of spyware.
Secondly, the state’s track record and current trajectory with regard to internet regulation and specifically, surveillance, has been abysmal. The most commonly documented targets in the digital space have been social and political activists, members of rights groups, journalists, and more broadly, citizens who challenge or critique the state’s narrative. The fear of online surveillance and consequent harassment, detainment, job loss and other negative outcomes has peaked in the last two years; to assume the installation of a new system for online monitoring will not be used for continued or amplified targeting would be naïve.
Thirdly, the laws that govern digital surveillance are flawed. Acts like the Monitoring and Reconciliation of Telephony Traffic Regulations, 2010, and the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, provide an overbroad and ambiguous/ ill-defined legal framework for all forms of surveillance, leaving room for misuse and abuse. Unfortunately, there has been little to no debate as to how these laws comply (or conflict) with basic human rights. While the Coda report findings aren’t unexpected, they should serve to remind the government and other key players that without a reassessment and overhaul of how online surveillance and control is carried out, Pakistan will permanently enter the list of bad examples of internet governance. Such a standing will have far-reaching implications on the diplomatic front and the business front among others. Perhaps most importantly, online surveillance without proper checks and balances will leave everyone, including those in power, at great risk.
Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2019

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