The Express Tribune Editorial 31 October 2019

FATF: Beijing’s backing

In what constitutes a clear official stance, Beijing has declared support for Pakistan over its efforts to break through the FATF web. A senior official of the Chinese foreign ministry has, at a recent press talk, hailed Pakistan’s progress to comply with the taskforce’s action plan, alongside declaring his country’s aversion to the “political designs” that “go beyond the purpose” of the 39-member inter-governmental organisation working to tackle the menace of money laundering and terror financing around the world. The official had no hesitation in saying that “there are some countries which want to include Pakistan in the blacklist. They have political designs which China is against” and “we made it clear to the US and India that we cannot do it.”

Beijing’s unequivocal backing over the FATF must be a source of relief for Pakistan which has been handed a four-month lifeline, till February 2020, to ensure implementation on the global watchdog’s 27-point action plan. Pakistan was put on the FATF’s grey list in June 2018 and was given 15 months to come clean, along with a warning that in case of failure, it would be added to the blacklist — which also comprises the likes of Iran and South Korea, and which means global economic sanctions.

Even though Pakistan has, in recent months, taken several major steps in line with the FATF action plan — like proscribing several militant groups and seizing their assets as well as ensuring that foreign currency transactions in the country are not left undocumented — it has been told to ‘do more’ in what does substantiate China’s contention about the US and India harbouring political designs. And that leaves little doubt that Pakistan’s FATF woes are political in nature; and that the blacklist threat is one of the several ways for the world powers to keep Pakistan under pressure in pursuit of their diplomatic goals.
It is no denying, however, that the FATF’s assessment coming up in four roughly four months from now also serves as an opportunity for the incumbent government to focus on ridding Pakistan of the nuisance of money laundering and terror financing.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2019.

Smogged air

In a recent statement, Amnesty International has said the Air Quality Index in Lahore had reached 484 on October 30 and pointed out that the threshold for “hazardous” levels of air quality was 300 when people are advised to “avoid all outdoor physical activity”. The statement based on scientific facts does not need much comment. We can only say the situation is alarming as environmental pollution is increasing by the day affecting air and water quality and overall all aspects of life. Amnesty has warned that the government’s “failure to protect people from exposure to hazardous air in Punjab risks violating their human rights to life and health. During the smog season — October to January — air quality reaches hazardous levels as recorded by multiple, independent sources including the air quality monitors installed by the United States Consulate in Lahore and crowdsourced data collated by the Pakistan Air Quality initiative.” According to a Greenpeace report, in March, Faisalabad and Lahore figured in the top 10 on a list of the world’s most polluted cities in 2018. Most prominent on the list were Indian cities, which took 22 of the top 30 spots.

According to the South Asian campaigner at Amnesty, the high level of smog is not a new problem nor is it one that came without warning. He calls upon the Government of Pakistan to do much more to adequately address such a serious public health crisis as it is endangering people’s health and their lives. Amnesty says that air pollution and climate change crisis are intricately interlinked and that there is something very wrong when people are unable to breathe without hurting themselves. It says there is no room for procrastination and the government should take effective steps against environmental pollution.

Since the smog problem and climate change are inter-connected, it can only be effectively tackled through joint efforts of all countries in the region. For this, we need peace. Don’t let our future go up in smoke.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2019.

Hariri’s resignation

A proposal to tax WhatsApp calls turned out to be the straw that broke the camel’s back in Lebanon. Prime Minister Saad Hariri tendered his resignation to President Michael Aoun after two weeks of nationwide protests over corruption, poor public services and years of economic mismanagement. The protesters have been demanding the departure of the country’s entire political elite, with Hariri — the son of a former prime minister — perhaps the most notable of them all. The Lebanese PM said that resigning was the only way to break the deadlock. But the resignation announcement only came after miscreants allegedly affiliated with Hezbollah and Amal attacked a protest camp in Beirut. The announcement certainly did not suit Hezbollah or Amal — the two members of the ruling coalition that together control 29 seats in Lebanon’s 128-seat parliament. A few days back, Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah suggested the protests were foreign-funded while claiming: “Someone is trying to pull [Lebanon] towards civil war.”

Even before the protests, Lebanon was struggling to find fresh sources of funding after financial assistance promised by Saudi Arabia and Qatar failed to arrive. Reports say the government needs to cut spending, raise taxes and introduce anti-corruption measures to release around $11 billion in international aid pledged at a donor conference in Paris in 2018. All such moves have been opposed by Hezbollah, which fears the measures would hurt low-income families that form the largest part of its support-base. But Hezbollah also has little to offer in terms of plans to fix the economy, which is one of the most indebted in the world.

Even before the additional pressure of hosting a large Syrian refugee population, Lebanon had serious priority problems. Almost 30 years after the civil war, development still largely favours the rich, and outside of the lights and glamour of Beirut, poverty is rife.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2019.