For shame
TOMORROW, and tomorrow, and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace.’ The people must continue their wait; the country’s elites are not done playing their games. Never before has it been more evident that the institutions meant to be keeping the country together have no qualms about ripping it apart from within.
As they continue to fight, a dark despondency suffocates the air. Hope for a turnaround in the country’s fortunes falters and may soon be snuffed out. After Thursday’s ruling from the Supreme Court, it is clear that there are no rules in play. Each branch of the state is defiantly operating well out of its bounds, seemingly only to spite the other.
Nothing seems to give, despite warning after warning that the country will take years to recover from the current mess if those responsible do not stop starting fires they cannot possibly contain.
It is deeply disappointing that eight justices of the Supreme Court thought it acceptable to venture so far from precedent just to beat back a provocation from the government.
As the ultimate arbiter on all disputes, the institution is bound to much higher standards of conduct than both the legislature and the executive. If eight judges felt so strongly about the ‘prima facie’ defectiveness of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill passed by parliament, they should have trusted their remaining seven colleagues to concur whenever the matter was brought to the court once it became law.
Instead, the bench not only made it seem like the judiciary was shaking its fist at the government, but also that it lacked trust in the other honourable justices of the Supreme Court.
It has been difficult for ordinary people to keep up with each sordid twist of the tiresome war in Islamabad. For many, an unshakable dread of the future and the hunger gnawing at their insides are the only ‘real’ outcomes of the institutional clashes that have dominated headlines over the past year or so.
Their frustration is not going to be tempered by drawing their attention to the nuances of the power-sharing arrangement between the branches of the state.
The crippling helplessness the majority undoubtedly feel right now will eventually give way to rage against the status quo. If the people start feeling like they have nothing left to lose, chaos and violence will follow. This is a situation that must be avoided at all costs.
Our judges, generals, politicians and bureaucrats ought to be ashamed. Their self-serving ambitions and blind pursuit of power have been a blight on this nation. Their continued bickering will wreck the country.
Pakistan cannot afford more of its citizens turning against the state. Those responsible for ensuring this country’s well-being would do well to heed that warning.
Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2023
TTP hot pursuit
ARMY chief Gen Asim Munir’s observation at yesterday’s in camera session of the National Assembly that the negotiation process with the TTP — launched under the PTI administration — had helped the banned organisation regroup was not new. Similar views had been voiced last week when the civilian and military leadership, during a meeting of the National Security Committee, linked recent acts of terrorism to a “soft corner” for and “thoughtless policy” towards the militant group. A comprehensive manner of tackling terrorism was once again emphasised. However, although there are a number of options when it comes to dealing with terrorist groups within Pakistani territory, one aspect that needs clarity is: what are Pakistan’s options when the militants have a safe haven in Afghanistan and can plan and launch their attacks from there? The choices, it seems, are limited, which is perhaps why Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, while talking to Voice of America recently, referred to the possibility of going inside Afghanistan to target the group.
This would not be an advisable course. Despite the Afghan Taliban’s intransigence and lethargy in cracking down on their ideological comrades, it would be unwise of Pakistan to unilaterally cross over into a sovereign nation to strike at the terrorists. Violating another country’s borders to go after terrorists will only complicate matters. That the suggested option apparently did not come up for discussion in yesterday’s in camera briefing, may be a sign that other avenues are being explored to weaken the militant base. However, Pakistan must be firm with Kabul’s rulers and hold them to their earlier promise of preventing terrorists from using Afghan soil to launch attacks against other countries. To build up pressure, the authorities here should work with regional states to send the same message to Kabul — after all, it is not only Pakistan that faces a threat from militant groups next door. At the same time, the state should not renege on its resolve to not hold talks with the militants, as long as they continue with their unconstitutional demands — such as rolling back Fata’s merger with KP. One hopes that lessons have been learned this time — the previous military leadership was in favour of talking to the TTP — and that the state and government show commitment to the goals set by NAP/NAP II so that terrorism can be eradicated.
Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2023
The Sepra plan
IN a major policy decision, the Sindh cabinet has approved a draft law for the creation of the first provincial electric power regulatory authority — or the provincial equivalent of Nepra. The establishment of the proposed ‘Sindh Electric Power Regulatory Authority’ is billed to change the dynamics of power-sector governance in the country and eliminate Nepra’s role in the development of generation projects and tariff determination in the province. It will also allow the Sindh government to encourage the use of the cheaper local resource of Thar coal for power generation and to exploit its renewable and cleaner energy potential of wind and solar for producing affordable electricity. Sepra’s creation, provincial ministers say, will “improve energy equity and eliminate energy poverty” in Sindh, besides ending its dependence on the centre for determining tariffs for future generation projects in the province.
Sindh’s decision to have its own electric power regulatory body is driven by Nepra’s incompetence. But the immediate stimulus has apparently come from Nepra’s decision to exclude cost-effective generation projects, including wind and solar power, from the NTDC’s Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan, 2022, in order to make room for expensive hydropower schemes in KP and elsewhere in the country. The provincial authorities had raised concern over the controversial Nepra decision at that time but the national regulator perhaps did not have the will or competence to fulfil its responsibility of rejecting expensive projects. No wonder Sindh’s energy minister told journalists after the cabinet’s approval of the proposed Sepra bill that the province was facing certain constraints in encouraging cheaper electricity and ending power shortages in the province within the national framework. Hence the province’s decision to take regulatory control of future power production, tariff determination, transmission and distribution projects into its own hands. Ideally, regulatory functions should be centralised at the national level. But when national bodies fail to function in the interest of all stakeholders, they lose their legitimacy.
Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2023