Child agony
OURS is a flawed social order. Callous and classist, it is numb to the plague of child labour and abuse, which is rampant despite a surfeit of laws. Little Rizwana’s is the most recent case; mounting uproar has forced the authorities to constitute a JIT to investigate the torture perpetrated on the 13-year-old domestic worker. An Islamabad DIG Operations will lead a team of four officers from ISI, IB and the police. Moreover, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights has demanded that the law ministry begin the process to remove the judge, who had employed her, from service.
Domestic labour is classified as informal work, or as ‘invisible workers’. Even laws such as The Islamabad Capital Territory Child Protection Bill, 2017, that underlines care and protection of children from neglect, violence, abuse and exploitation, fail to secure rights or regulate checks on the provision of minimum wage, a wholesome environment and security. We must remember that child domestic work is internationally viewed as ‘modern slavery’. In 2001, Pakistan ratified the ILO’s ‘Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention’. The organisation identifies child domestic work as the basest form of labour. Admittedly, this ‘invisible’ susceptibility is in proportion with its causes — poverty, lack of education, poor rule of law and absence of social welfare mechanisms — so the lure of money forces indigent parents to send children as cheap labour. It is time the government updated data of child workers to alleviate their situation with incentivised schooling and vocational training. On the other end, the leadership’s failure to establish protection units for women and children speaks volumes for its apathy towards the young and their lost childhood. Therefore, the JIT has to ensure a failsafe end and set a firm precedent. Our human rights profile cannot be redeemed without a cultural shift: break feudal mindsets that demean so that laws are effective.
Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2023
Poor police funding
AS police forces across the country paid homage to fallen comrades on Police Martyrs Day this past Friday, the KP IGP outlined some grim realities: police personnel lay down their lives to battle terrorists, gangs and criminals, but compensation, equipment and training remain poor. Speaking about the challenges for the province’s police force, IGP Akhtar Gandapur acknowledged the government’s recent approval of a welfare package providing free education and health to the children and widows of martyred policemen. But he also highlighted that the salaries of those in the police force in KP — a province at the forefront of the war against militancy — were lower than those of officers elsewhere in the country. This statement from a senior police officer must be taken seriously by the government. Given the high cost of living and the rise of militancy, incentives for police forces across the province must be strong to attract and retain good officers and compensate them for a dangerous job.
Funding for the police force in Pakistan has historically been inadequate. Across the country, there are reports that police personnel lack modern equipment and are struggling with resources. This undoubtedly has a direct impact on their performance, as many officers are unable to effectively carry out their duties due to the lack of motivation. Low incentives do not do anything to boost the morale of officers. Some are left to explore alternative means of survival; in other cases, they indulge in practices such as accepting bribes. The combination of corruption, political interference and limited resources results in a police force that the public looks at with mistrust, even though it is a force that has been on the front line, defending citizens against major terror attacks. Earlier this year, a brazen militant attack on a mosque in Peshawar’s police compound left scores dead. Police officials escorting polio teams have been attacked multiple times. In Sindh, the upper riverine areas are plagued by criminal gangs that have outsmarted and outnumbered the area’s police force. There are many such stories in big and small cities, where crime is high and citizens are sitting ducks in the face of armed robbers. Our authorities must do more to strengthen the police monetarily and in terms of equipment. It is unconscionable to send ill-equipped, poorly paid men and women to fight under these circumstances.
Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2023
Into the unknown
WITH the Council of Common Interests unanimously approving the 2023 census on Saturday, the possibility that general elections will not be held on time has grown stronger.
There had been an air of ambiguity surrounding the electoral time frame, because until recently, state functionaries had been saying that the 2017 numbers would be used as several parties had issues with the latest results.
In fact, just a day before the CCI decision, the PPP had strongly opposed using the census issue to delay the polls. However, the prime minister appears to have pulled a rabbit out of his hat during the CCI meeting, resulting in the approval of the 2023 head account.
While the census results merit a separate discussion, a key question arises about the election time frame. With the process of dissolving the National Assembly to begin on Wednesday, the caretaker administration will have a constitutionally mandated period of 90 days in which to hold the polls.
Yet with the approval of the 2023 census, the ECP will have to conduct fresh delimitations; various quarters say this process could mean that polls will not be held until early 2024. This would clearly violate the caretaker set-up’s legal mandate. Will the caretaker administration, therefore, operate in a constitutional limbo, just as the interim Punjab and KP governments have done ever since the elected legislatures in these provinces were dissolved in January? As things stand, that appears to be the case.
This paper has consistently argued that there should be no delay in holding the polls and that constitutional limits must be respected. However, it seems that political parties are barely concerned about constitutional imperatives, and are themselves willing to bend and break the rules when they want.
Pakistan has long suffered because of a lack of adherence to constitutional norms, and this grim tradition is being upheld by the outgoing government. Provisional census results were ready by May, and if the government had started deliberations then and notified the results earlier, the polls could have been held on time once the legislature was dissolved.
But it appears that the rulers, as well as the establishment, were not keen on holding timely polls lest the PTI made a strong showing. Now that the deed is done, all efforts must be made to hold elections as soon as possible. The ECP needs to complete the delimitation process within a reasonable period, and from thereon no further obstacles should be placed in the way of holding elections.
The only democratic solution to our protracted political and economic crises is for a freely elected civilian government with a fresh mandate to take the reins. The first step in that direction is the announcement of a clear time frame for conducting the polls.
Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2023