Smog misery
IF 2022 has taught us anything, it is that generations of reckless disregard for Mother Nature has accrued very steep costs for humanity. As soon as one calamity, the devastating monsoon rains of this year, receded, we have been visited by another. A pall of poisoned air is now slowly suffocating the city of Lahore, where authorities have been losing a years-long struggle to control environmental pollution. No amount of planning seems to have worked to make the city’s air at least nominally breathable for its residents, and ‘smog season’ has returned punctually with all its attendant miseries. From the very old and infirm to new-born infants and toddlers, everyone is breathing in toxic air that triggers an entire host of respiratory issues, shortens lifespans and generally makes life miserable.
The authorities have, as usual, little to offer other than the same measures they bandy every year: the announcement of an environmental emergency, ban on burning crop residue, push to shift brick kilns to zigzag technology, targeting vehicles visibly emitting smoke, and banning illegal construction activities. Meanwhile, schools have been ordered to remain shut three days a week from Friday to Sunday; private sector offices have been asked to follow suit and implement work-from-home policies. These pronouncements have done little good in the past, and it should be acknowledged that they have been a complete failure due to successive administrations’ inability to implement them. One need only consider the example of Beijing to see how far our authorities lag behind. Once a terribly polluted metropolis, the Chinese capital significantly overcame its smog problem over the last decade thanks to a concerted and wide-ranging plan to eliminate its biggest sources of pollution. Cleaner energy, relocation of pollution-causing industries, diversion of heavy traffic away from residential areas, encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles, and providing bicycles for shorter commutes formed the core of their effort. Intensive public engagement helped make those plans a reality. Such imagination and commitment are sadly lacking here at home.
Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2022
Bannu beheading
IN the brutal world of militancy, there are few rules, and the most blood-curdling of methods are applied to spread terror. The reported beheading of a Frontier Constabulary soldier in Bannu is an instant red flag for the authorities, who need to act fast to contain the terrorist threat.
According to the chilling account of the martyred soldier’s wife, Rehman Zaman and his son were gunned down while they slept when around 20 armed militants stormed their house. The widow says the terrorists then proceeded to behead Zaman, telling her the gruesome act was committed due to the victim’s “government job”.
Eyewitnesses told this paper that the martyred soldier’s head was later found hanging from a tree in a local market. This was not the only act of militant violence that has afflicted KP over the last few days.
Police claimed killing three TTP militants in Dera Ismail Khan while fighters also attacked a police convoy in the same area. A little-known group called the Ittehadul Mujahideen Khorasan has claimed responsibility for the grotesque beheading. In the past, the TTP has also employed this reprehensible tactic against security men as well as civilian hostages.
Beheadings have also been used by the Afghan Taliban — the TTP’s ideological brethren — with the former employing this gory tactic against ex-members of the Afghan army as well as IS-K fighters. The intent behind the outrage in Bannu appears clear: spread terror amongst security personnel as well as civilians so that no one dares resist the militant onslaught.
However, the state must take up the cudgels and neutralise this barbarism before it spreads. After the collapse of the TTP ceasefire last week, the terrorist group has upped its violent activities.
The new army chief, while on a tour of KP positions on Tuesday, vowed to stamp out terrorism, and in the wake of these bloody incidents, the need for an effective counterterrorism strategy targeting all violent groups cannot be overstated.
Those responsible for Rehman Zaman’s brutal killing need to be tracked down and brought to justice, while the civilian and military arms of the state must launch a relentless campaign to cleanse the affected areas of terrorism.
This can come in the form of intelligence-based operations, as well as kinetic actions. Whatever shape the actions take, under no circumstances should the militants be allowed to establish their reign of terror in KP and the rest of Pakistan.
Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2022
Worsening hunger
THAT the dollar liquidity crunch has started hurting the import of essential items such as vegetables and raw material for drugs shows how dire the situation has become. A report in this newspaper says that commodity importers continue to face problems in opening letters of credit for imports because of the shortage of dollars in the market.
Held up at various terminals of the Karachi port are 417 containers of onions, ginger and garlic, along with industrial material, as banks are refusing to release documents because of an acute scarcity of foreign exchange, increasing the cost of imported vegetables on account of terminal and shipping charges, which eventually will have to be borne by consumers already trying to cope with steep food and energy inflation.
While the State Bank cannot be faulted for restricting imports in the given situation, it must ensure that food and raw material for drug-makers do not get stuck at the port if it wants to help inflation-stricken households.
With the summer floods having severely damaged food crops on around 4.5m acres of land, the prices of vegetables and wheat in the country are touching record highs. Pakistan already ranks 99th out of 121 nations on the Global Hunger Index and has a level of hunger that is serious.
According to some estimates, around 15pc to 16pc Pakistanis are reeling from food insecurity and the situation continues to worsen after the devastating floods. Describing Pakistan’s food crisis as the worst in the country’s history, an official of the Food and Agriculture Organisation recently stated that the situation of the nation has deteriorated owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and recent floods.
Over the years, high food prices, lack of rainfall, drought and livestock diseases have all added to the food insecurity being witnessed now. The flood damage to crops is making matters worse as the country already has some of the highest levels of malnutrition in the world, which is increasing due to the high prices of basic food items; all this is especially affecting women and children.
Food insecurity is unlikely to lessen in the next several months as shortages will keep prices elevated.
Rather, the crisis may deepen further in the near term if wheat sowing is delayed and output drops due to water-logging in the areas hit by the floods. Although the government has decided to purchase 450,000 tonnes of cereal from Russia on a government-to-government basis ahead of the next wheat harvest, the soaring prices will keep the staple food out of reach for the vast majority in the country.
With the people facing hardship in an inflationary environment, it is imperative for the government to ensure that it bridges food supply gaps and takes measures to keep prices at an affordable level for the average Pakistani, especially those from flood-affected areas.
Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2022