Potpourri
A Nation In Crisis
Naeem Bokhari’s open letter to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan was appalling for several reasons. Firstly, it tarnished the image of a man for whom one has great respect, Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, and secondly it came from the pen of another man for whom one has great respect. If the facts stated therein are true the letter needed to be written, it should not have been made public. “Excesses” as per Naeem’s letter are commonplace in Pakistan, bringing it to the public domain demeans an Office one should always hold sacred, as much as anything can be held sacred in Pakistan. Triggering an unfortunate sequence of events, which for a time spun out of control, the letter had a backlash of sorts. It enhanced the stature of the man which the letter sought to demean, and tarnished the image of the letter writer, bringing him down many rungs from the pedestal he rightly should be. Naeem Bokhari has class, he is no ordinary known being, the letter going public has made him look us ordinary mortals.
Just Flying?
The European Union (EU) has put “operational restriction” on all but 7 Boeing-777s of PIA from flying to any of the 27 EU member countries. Effectively 34 aircraft out of the fleet of 41 (almost 83%) of the fleet can only operate in Asia and Africa (and possibly to the Arctic and Antarctica!). About a year ago EU had given a clear warning to PIA to meet international aircraft maintenance standards, on the management’s failure to act positively EU carried out their threat. The “conspiracy theorists” believe that PIA management have been deliberately negligent so that they could purchase more Boeing-777s, rather simplistic given that newly purchased ATR-50s acquired from France are also banned. That our engineering standards have gone well below their normal average is only partly the fault of the present management. The rot really started when the Engineering Department was decimated in 1998. They have never recovered, it has been downhill since. The EU ban was a disaster waiting to happen, PIA’s once-vaunted Engineering Department now itself needs disaster management. The EU ban not only affects airlines revenues but PIA’s reputation and the morale of the entire organization. What about the major embarrassment for Pakistan as a country, who should we hold accountable?
Running A Country
Countries of the third world were beggared by the socialist wave that swept the world through the middle of the last century. In hindsight all the towering figures of the non-aligned world of the 50s were not even great politicians, the vision they had for their people was based mostly on grandiose, economically bankrupt plans. In contrast to totalitarian regimes of the communist world, the free market economies of some dictatorships were far more successful, albeit with generous economic help (US AID) from Uncle Sam, the US being the doyen of all capitalist countries. With the aspirations of the people the need for democracy grew stronger, even those leaders were found having feet of clay. One lesson should have been learnt here, in the developed world with its vast economic and industrial base the private sector with its sound management and good business practices kept services and utilities within the buying power of the masses, when free market philosophy is applied in the developing world, it puts an enormous, even back-breaking burden on the common man.
Largesse At Public Expense
Public sector performance is often associated with indolence, inefficiency corruption, wastage etc, but the public sector still has a major role in the developing economies. Even the first world cannot do without it, in developed economies their public face is disguised better. If every utility or service was left to the mercy of market conditions, a vast mass of the population could not afford it. Because the public sector cannot be entirely eliminated, the pragmatic solution has been to staff entities with successful executives from the private sector, and/or recruit them directly from Business Schools. At times private entrepreneurs also take up management slots in the public sector in trying to turn the corporate entity into economic viability. This is true not only in Pakistan but is the same all over the world, the major examples being in UK and Europe.
Bangladesh And The Army
As Bangladesh lurched from crisis to anarchy during the final days of 2006, one held one’s breath. With the two major political parties locked in a no-holds barred “winner-take-all” confrontation, the population was wary of the Army’s moving into the vacuum, its involvement in governance being always a catch-22 solution. A tiger (given that the East Bengal Regiment are known as “Tigers” that is no pun) does not become a man-eater unless it has tasted human blood. As everyone and his uncle knows, it is always very difficult for the Army to disengage once it gets involved in running the affairs of the country. Even with the sincerest of intentions, the trappings of power is a heady aphrosydiac, personal ambition can find any number of reasons for remaining in power!
Justice and Democracy
Democracy and Justice may not be Siamese Twins, in a manner of speaking they are inseparable. A democracy institutionalises accountability by the people, vitally necessary for enforcing the laws of the land. The basic responsibility of governance is integrity and impartiality, requiring a concerted effort by whoever is the ruler, whether a dictator or in the case of democracy legislators and the judiciary, to ensure implementation of the rule of law. Even a dictator with the sincerest of intentions can have his will subverted by minions with personal agendas of their own, in the purest of democracies this can be waylaid by vested interest. An independent media monitors and force-multiplies the process of transparent enforcing of the rule of law by keeping it in the public eye. The ultimate onus for ensuring implementation falls on the superior judiciary. Unless really independent, and with the courage to take decisions on merit as well as a penchant for suo moto challenges of issues of governance, justice will remain denied and an abstract fantasy for the masses that it is today.
That Davos Spell!
Even the terminally illiterate get under the spell of “the Magic Mountain” towering over Davos. As billed, DAVOS 2007 lived up to its expectations. Maybe a few less Heads of State and Government than is usual, but akin to “combat fatigue” there is “conference overkill.” The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Annual Event may have been depleted in numbers in the “leadership” category, the deficiency being made up and more by the number of top private entrepreneurs, academics, senior corporate executives, media personalities, NGO’s representatives, etc gracing the ski resort this year.
Regional Complications
One of Ariel Sharon’s last actions as PM in December 2005 before he had a stroke and slipped into coma, in which state he remains today, was to activate Unit 262 (equivalent of US Special Forces and our Special Services Group) and 69 Squadron of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), mandating it to be ready for action by end March 2006. F-15s from 69 had successfully carried out the June 7, 1981 Osirik raid to destroy Saddam Hussein’s nuclear ambitions. Israel, and thereby by default the US, have treated Iranian President Ahmednijad’s threats quite seriously, and have said so, focussing on that as “casus belli”. Iranian nuclear sites will be targeted by surgical strikes, sooner rather than later.
Migrants and Pakistan
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Geneva, Switzerland chose Islamabad for a Coordination Meeting to be participated in from Jan 17 to Jan 19, 2007 by about 10-15 members from various IOM Missions in West and Central Asia as well as from their HQs in Geneva. To give migration issues in Pakistan due exposure, as well as give reciprocal exposure to stakeholders in Pakistan to migration issues, as a member of the IOM’s Business Advisory Board (BAB) I requested IOM to take time out and use the opportunity for inter-active Seminars in Karachi and Islamabad. IOM detailed three of their Principal Officers, Ms Anne-Marie Buschman-Petit, Special Assistant to the Director General (DG) IOM, Ms Jill Helke, Executive Officer to the DG IOM, and Mr Richard Danziger, Head of Counter-trafficking IOM, to participate in two inter-active Town Hall format Seminars in Karachi and Islamabad, held on Jan 15 and 16 respectively in association with the Karachi Council of Foreign Relations, Economic Affairs and Law. One must commend the excellent work of the Secretary General, Ahsan Mukhtar Zuberi.
Iraq Beyond Saddam
The problem in being a compromise choice for leader is that unless you are an extraordinary person capable of standing your ground (given that you have the genius to sift the mundane from the important), you will be pummeled from all directions and unable to satisfy the individual and/or collective demands of all your masters (or mistresses). Or worse, you could fall back on only protecting the vital interests of your prime sponsor and thus compromise good judgment and principles. While many Iraqis hated Saddam for what he was, a brutal murderer with no qualms about human life, and a fair amount of the population looked forward to his climbing the steps of the scaffold, the timing of his execution and the manner it was carried out was atrocious. Iraq’s PM Nur Maliki managed to sacrifice the parameters of good governance on which he had advertised his ascendancy to the PM’s post, he might as well have thrown national unity to the wolves. Displaying profound bad judgment, he proclaimed his allegiance, neither to Iraq nor to muslims, but only to Moqtada al Sadr’s so-called “Mahdi” army. It will have long-term repercussions for Iraq, for the region, and as a result for the world. That the US will dump him is only a matter of time, Nur Maliki will more likely pre-empt his dismissal by resigning, sooner rather than later.