Lip service?
The National Constitutional Convention ought to have been a celebratory occasion, observed with solemnity and quiet reflection on the monumental effort that must have been required to convince the country’s divided leadership to accede near-unanimously to the 1973 Constitution.
Instead, our current crop of lawmakers marked its 50-year jubilee with their customary lack of decorum, vacuous speeches and an utter lack of self-awareness.
The parties present for the occasion could not resist the temptation to deliver more politically divisive speeches, and the occasion, therefore, seemed diminished in its significance and cheapened by the ‘business as usual’ environment in which it was held.
It also could not escape controversy, with the presence of the soon-to-be-chief justice taken by some to be ‘suggestive’, before he clarified that he had only come to celebrate the Constitution and had been informed there would be no political discussions.
There were reminders aplenty of the disconnect that exists today between the Pakistan as envisaged in the Constitution and the Pakistan we have today. Some of our lawmakers thundered about the ‘supremacy of parliament’ as they took turns to criticise the judiciary, pointing out the latter’s many faults while demanding that it keep within its constitutional bounds.
However, when their criticism turned to the other habitually transgressing institution of the state, those same speeches were quickly muted by television channel operators.
The message couldn’t be clearer: whatever the Constitution says and lawmakers like to believe, the establishment remains untouchable; even a parliamentarian speaking on the floor of the National Assembly cannot be heard speaking against it.
Parliament also capitalised on the occasion to seemingly intrude into the judiciary’s domain. Multiple lawmakers offered rather defiant interpretations of the constitutional provisions regarding the conduct of elections, substantiating them with arguments that no independent legal mind in the country has so far been willing to accept.
Yesterday also marked the deadline for the government to release funds so that Punjab Assembly elections can be held on May 14, in line with a recent judgement issued by the Supreme Court.
Instead, the finance minister chose to ‘bypass’ that deadline by tabling a bill in parliament seeking ‘approval’ to release those funds. It ought to be pointed out here that regardless of whether ‘4-3’ or ‘3-2’ prevails, the government has no endorsement so far from the Supreme Court for its decision to delay the pending elections till October.
The government may later excuse itself, claiming it lacked clarity on the matter, but it has been evident for some time that it has had no qualms about subverting a rather clear-cut constitutional provision because it does not align with its political goals. Clearly, Monday’s boisterous speeches about upholding the Constitution needed to be taken with a healthy pinch of salt.
Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2023
Saving energy
THE government’s new push for a significant reduction in energy consumption in residential, commercial and industrial buildings, as well as the plan to encourage gas consumers to transition to electricity for heating and other purposes in the next decade, looks good on paper. But can the Rs45bn energy efficiency and conservation project, that envisages savings of over Rs540bn a year, be implemented without considering various household income levels and the costs for businesses? According to a study, Pakistan is among those countries that have the highest share of energy consumption for residential, commercial and industrial buildings — 55pc of the total energy consumed in a year, as compared to the global average of 30pc to 40pc. Residential buildings use three-fourths of the total energy used by the entire buildings sector. However, it is estimated by architects and urban planners that energy usage in this sector can be slashed hugely if houses, offices, and malls and other buildings are designed after taking into account the country’s climate, the deployment of energy-efficient electric and gas appliances, etc. But that will require wholesale changes in building bylaws and land-use regulations, besides a drastic reduction in land and construction costs to allow owners to spend on energy-saving materials and technologies. Moreover, the government will have to make laws to stop the manufacture of low-quality and inefficient gas and electric appliances, in addition to incentivising the production of energy-saving, efficient equipment and making it available to low- and middle-income households at affordable prices.
There are no two opinions that the country should start moving in this direction soon. But in order to achieve the objectives of the project — including a reduction in fossil fuel imports and energy prices for residential and industrial consumers — the authorities will also have to design and implement a short- to medium-term plan. That plan should focus on addressing the problem of the massive wastage of electricity, due to a defective transmission and distribution system, to bring down power tariffs and encourage people to shift to electricity. The aggressive adoption of solar and wind energy will also bring down overall consumer costs. Besides, Pakistan needs to take steps to encourage rooftop solar and maximise the use of sunlight if the idea is to make energy affordable and reduce the population’s dependence on fossil fuels to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2023
Al Aqsa raids
IN what has become a shocking but unfortunately all too frequent ritual, Israeli security forces raided the Al Aqsa mosque on at least two occasions over the past few days. Footage from the incursions is disturbing, showing Israeli personnel savagely beating Palestinian worshippers, and desecrating the precincts of the revered sanctuary. According to Tel Aviv the mosque was raided because Palestinians were ‘illegally’ holed up inside. However, it is believed that the actual reason behind the brutal Israeli action was to clear the path for provocative visits by Jews to the Haram As Sharif during Passover. Jewish visits, including by ultranationalist and virulently anti-Arab settler groups, are a regular feature which violate the ‘status quo’ of the sacred precinct, also known as the Temple Mount. However, when these intrusions coincide with days of Muslim and Jewish religious observance such as Ramazan or Passover, the potential for tension is considerably higher. This is all the more true when Jewish groups openly talk of destroying the mosque, and replacing it with the ‘Third Temple’. Many in the present Israeli cabinet also subscribe to these extreme views.
The Al Aqsa intrusions were followed by an exchange of rocket fire between Gaza and Lebanon and the Jewish state, as well as violence in the occupied territories. While there has been condemnation of Israeli actions from across the world, not enough has been done to rein in Tel Aviv, and permanently stop the provocative raids and blatant desecration of occupied Jerusalem’s Muslim holy places. If, for example, Muslim extremists had stormed and desecrated the Western Wall, the din of global outrage would have been deafening. These double standards must end. Israel should be under no illusion; should the status quo — exclusive Muslim control over the Al Aqsa complex — be tinkered with, there will be a firestorm across the region that will be impossible to control, and the extremists in Tel Aviv will be entirely responsible.
Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2023