Dawn Editorial 8 October 2020

Island controversy

BUDDOO and Bundal, two islands lying off the Karachi coastline are the subject of a heated back-and-forth between the federal and Sindh governments. The controversy is a telling example of the leadership’s misplaced priorities, lack of transparency and callous indifference towards ‘ordinary’ citizens.
A few days ago it came to light that on Aug 31 President Alvi, keeping parliament out of the loop, had promulgated the Pakistan Islands Development Authority Ordinance whose first schedule specifically mentions Buddoo and Bundal. The Sindh government reacted fiercely, asserting its ownership over the islands and describing any attempt to develop them without the provincial cabinet’s approval as unconstitutional. Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari likened the move to India’s illegal annexation of Kashmir.
On Tuesday, there was another twist to the tale when Maritime Affairs Minister Ali Zaidi posted on social media a letter from the Sindh government dated July 6, making Bundal island “available” to the federal government.
Real estate developers and their cronies among the ruling elite have long had an eye on the two islands in question. The area is an ecologically important site: it is part of the Indus delta where the mangrove forest cover is a breeding ground for shrimp and other shellfish. Thousands of fisherfolk depend on these islands for various fishing-related activities that make up their livelihood. However, for those holding the reins of power, the prospect of multibillion-rupee fortunes clearly trumps these ‘trivial’ human and ecological concerns.
In 2006, during Gen Musharraf’s government, a deal was struck between Port Qasim Authority and a Dubai-based construction company to build a model city over 12,000 acres, complete with a 1.5km long bridge — costing $50m — to connect it with DHA phase 8. The project never materialised. Then in 2013, talk of an ‘Island City’ to be developed by Bahria Town Ltd on the same site began doing the rounds, which also did not see the light of day.
Given the ecological and human cost involved, the matter is one of considerable public interest, and calls for far more transparency than thus far on display. The centre has conducted itself in an unseemly and opaque manner by bypassing parliament over an issue that was bound to invite allegations that it is usurping provincial rights. Sindh already nurses historical grievances on that score, and these events have not helped the situation — although the PPP chairman’s analogy with India-held Kashmir was uncalled for.
However, in light of Mr Zaidi’s revelation, one must ask whether the Sindh government has colluded with the centre; after all, elements within it have facilitated land grabbing of state land in a particularly ruthless manner. If so, it is a shameless surrender. The caveat that development on the islands would take place while protecting the interests of the local fishermen is an old chestnut that no one is likely to believe.

 

 

GB politics

WITH elections due in Gilgit-Baltistan next month, this would be an opportune time for those who make decisions in Pakistan to study the northern region’s political situation, particularly the legitimate demands of its people. While the region opted for Pakistan soon after the partition of the subcontinent, successive governments in Islamabad have been very slow to grant full political rights to GB. Even today, while progress has been made, GB remains outside the political mainstream, with a hybrid system in place where the area’s elected representatives compete with powerful, unelected bureaucrats sitting in the federal capital to decide its fate. Moreover, when movements for rights gather steam, these are quickly subdued with often harsh penalties imposed on political leaders. Take the case of Baba Jan. The Hunza-based activist was handed down a 71-year sentence by an antiterrorism court for raising a voice for victims of the Attabad Lake incident. Hundreds of people held a protest in Aliabad, Hunza, on Monday demanding justice for Baba Jan and 13 others who have been in jail since 2011. The protesters slammed the application of terrorism charges against the activists, and called for the release of all political prisoners.
Instead of clamping down on all those who demand their rights and terming them ‘anti-state’, the rulers need to deal with the issues that confront GB in a democratic manner. Using heavy-handed tactics will only add to the discontent that is bubbling in the region. For example, when Baba Jan contested local elections while imprisoned, he managed to bag the second-highest number of votes. Before the situation in the region deteriorates, the state must address the people’s genuine concerns with empathy and in a manner that gives them ownership of the political process. For instance, the elected Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly must have more powers. Moreover, the centre must give serious thought, though keeping possible drawbacks in mind, to the plan to give the region provisional provincial status, and thus representation in the National Assembly and Senate; waiting endlessly for the resolution of the Kashmir dispute — to which GB is historically linked — is unfair in the eyes of GB residents. GB has a young, educated population aware of its rights. Denying them the space to express their rights, and using failed methods to suppress opinions diverging from the official line should be shunned. Instead, an attitude of accommodation and dialogue must be adopted by the state in GB.

 

 

Decriminalise defamation

THE state is responsible for protecting and promoting citizens’ right to free speech. We, however, are witnessing a worrying trend towards the opposite — a chilling effect on open discussion and debate, fuelled by the use (and abuse) of outmoded and draconian legal provisions incompatible with democracy. One aspect of this phenomenon is the escalating rash of criminal defamation proceedings against individuals speaking out on matters of public interest — journalists, political activists and women breaking the silence on endemic abuse and harassment. Defamation is a criminal offence under Sections 499 and 500 of the Pakistan Penal Code, and Section 20 of the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act, 2016. It should be noted that there is still recourse against libel under civil law. But criminal libel laws are by design unreasonably punitive to individuals and harmful to society; in execution, law-enforcement agencies are often found to be capricious and coercive. Despite the fact that such laws make exceptions for true statements in the public interest, the mere initiation of criminal proceedings against those doing so is enough to stifle free speech. The potential for abuse is even graver.
None of this is surprising; it is a reflection of similar experiences in other countries where defamation remains a criminal offence. So much so that many international bodies, including the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Free Speech, have long been calling for criminal libel laws to be abolished. So have local rights groups in Pakistan. In recent years, many countries, recognising their detrimental effect, have repealed criminal libel laws. Criminal defamation is a tool that favours the might of the powerful over the voices of those who are less so. Pakistan must go the way of other rights-affirming states and move to abolish it. Time and again, we have seen how the system lets down, and in some cases contributes towards even more harm, victims who seek recourse from it.

 

About The CSS Point

The CSS Point is the Pakistan 1st Free Online platform for all CSS aspirants. We provide FREE Books, Notes and Current Affairs Magazines for all CSS Aspirants.

The CSS Point - The Best Place for All CSS Aspirants

March 2024
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
top
Template Design © The CSS Point. All rights reserved.