The Express Tribune 26 October 2019

Corridor of promise

Pakistan and India have finally signed the historic agreement that allows visa-free travel for Sikhs living east of the Radcliff line to cross into Pakistan and over the River Ravi to Dera Baba Nanak in Narowal district — one of the holiest sites for Sikhs. The Sikh religion was founded in this region nearly five centuries ago by Baba Guru Nanak Dev. Most of the holiest sites for the 28 million Sikhs living across the world lie in Punjab. Then, in 1947, a border sprung up which not only divided the people but these holy sites as well. Suddenly, for people living on this side of the Ravi, going to Amritsar was going to another country. Similarly, for people living across the Chenab, travel to Nankana Sahib on the Pakistani side of Punjab was a journey into lands no longer as familiar.

Recognising this, both New Delhi and Islamabad came to a compromise — allowing hundreds of Sikh pilgrims to cross over every year to attend the key festivals at these sacred sites. But the process for embarking on one of these pilgrimages is long, tedious and expensive. However, Islamabad took the initiative of building a corridor in the Narowal to allow Sikh pilgrims to cross over and visit the sacred sites in Kartarpur. Visitors will no longer have to go through the tedious hoops to secure a visa.

But the process still retains some qualifiers. Pilgrims have to submit their names well before they embark for the border, which New Delhi has to communicate to Islamabad 10 days in advance. Passports of visitors will be scanned, though they will not be stamped. And lastly, visitors will be required to pay a fee of $20 or around 1,500 Indian rupees. One hopes this corridor will create a ground to remove further barriers that exist between the two countries and return to a time when people identifying themselves of different faiths and nations coexisted peacefully.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26th, 2019.

Fake degrees in PIA

Besides those working at lower positions and cabin crew, 10 Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) pilots have also been dismissed from service after their degrees were found fake, the Senate Standing Committee on Aviation has been informed during a recent meeting. The committee Chairman, PML-N Senator Mushahidullah Khan, has, however, claimed he knows of a dozen employees with fake degrees still working with PIA. The issue of fake degrees in PIA has been in the news for the past several years.

While discussing the issue of fake degrees and dismissal of some of those recruited on the basis of fake documents, the parliamentary committee was of the view that PIA should have maintained uniform criteria in dealing with cases of fake degrees. The committee chairman demanded action against all those officers and board members who had appointed the people with fake degrees without verifying their documents.” PIA CEO Air Vice Marshal Noor Abbas informed the committee that the cases of fake degrees had been divided into three categories. Of the 650 cases, 15 employees were called to record their statements before the committee. The committee reviewed the documents of 300 dismissed staff members. It was of the view that the dismissal of the staff after working with the organisation for long years was a bit harsh and the management should have shown leniency while taking action on the matter. The committee said the harsh action had caused distress to families of dismissed employees. The management should have been lenient with those who confessed their guilt but tough with those who refused to show even repentance.

PIA continues to be in the red for the past several years like many other public-sector entities in the country. The government, however, goes on providing them with bailout packages. This encourages employees to go on lining their own pockets without being the least bothered about the harm they are doing to the nation as a whole. Has our creed become, thou shall reap what thou hath not sown?

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26th, 2019.

Ease of doing business

There is some cause for optimism on the foreign investment front, as Pakistan jumped 28 places on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index. The index is a guide for foreign investors to learn more about a country so as to decide where to invest money and what the attached risks would be. Pakistan, according to the index report, has developed an ambitious reform strategy, setting up a national secretariat as well as a prime minister’s reform steering committee to ensure progress. The World Bank’s country director credited the federal, Sindh, and Punjab governments for the improvement. Pakistan carried out six reforms in the last year that helped improve its ranking from 136 to 108, according to the World Bank, which also ranked us among the top 10 countries with the most improved business climate. India moved up 14 spots to 63 and remains at the top of the regional list.

Experts are crediting the Board of Investment’s two most recent chairmen — Naeem Zamindar and Haroon Sharif — for the improvement. Sharif had predicted such an improvement when he resigned in May over the government “losing focus” on investment amid its negotiations with the International Monetary fund. Some of the areas where the focus was apparently lost were contract enforcement and access to credit, despite parliament having passed laws to encourage both a few years back. Some of the notable reforms mentioned included Punjab’s abolition of the Labour Department registration fee and streamlining the approval process for construction permits in Sindh and Punjab. Better electricity supply, enhanced integration of inspections at ports, and improvements in land registration were also credited. The index report also credits Pakistan for reducing the corporate income tax rate and making it easier to pay taxes by introducing online payment systems for value-added tax and corporate income tax.

Prime Minister Imran Khan optimistically tweeted about the ranking improvement and praised those whose work had helped Pakistan move up. But caution is also necessary. Ease of business does not always translate to higher investment. Much more still needs to be done to get the economy on the right track.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26th, 2019.