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Security environment and the economy

About a year ago, Karachi was on “The Brink of Economic Apocalypse” (the Nation, May 17, 1989) leading us to discuss the imperative need for protective steps in the form of “A Case for Federal Guards” (the Nation, May 24, 1989). Later developments, commencing less than a week thereafter, saw the dismissal of the then PM and the National Assembly, the death of the President in an unexplained aircrash, a free and fair elections, the induction of a representative Federal Cabinet by the PPP and by the IJI in the largest province of Punjab, the PPP-MQM Accord and the Baluchistan mis-step, greater events temporarily overtaking the festering urban problems, making a direct contribution to a short term period of peace and harmony. True, there was a horrific slaughter pre-elections in Hyderabad, without doubt the handiwork of RAW, an agency of our friendly neighbour India, dedicated as they are to the promotion of mayhem and terror among the smaller countries on its periphery, but even this was overshadowed by the momentous happenings on the national scene. For the industrial port city of Karachi, Pakistan’s economic lifeline, of greatest importance was the PPP-MQM Accord, keeping a tenuous peace going in Karachi for three months. As the euphoria has evaporated on all sides, the re-emergence of the SNA factor, no doubt goaded along by RAW, has ensured that the non-repatriation of stranded Pakistanis will cause the Karachi Accord to come under great strain, leading the cynics to the conclusion that it was too good to last anyway. Salman Rushdie having enlivened the interim period by his controversial claim to dubious fame, we are back to square one as far as the security environment is concerned.

An indifferent security situation creates bad vibes for the economy, already having suffered atrociously at the hands of errant geniuses. For Pakistan, maintaining law and order in Karachi ceases to be just a provincial problem, it has a force-retardation national effect on the economy. For any government in power in the Centre, it is imperative to maintain peace at all costs and the ends will justify the means. Comprehensive plans to ensure a good security environment in Karachi must be drawn up keeping in mind that patchwork arrangements seldom create any effect, sometimes even reversing a conducive process. Leaving aside a lebensraum solution along our vast coastline, we must now come to grips with the gradual Beirut-isation of the city. In the face of serious deterioration of law and order in Karachi and the rural areas of Sindh, there is need for creation of a permanent force which would free the already over-committed Sindh Police, allowing them to concentrate on their more routine daily tasks. We must remember that in the face of drug money and proliferation of weapons, the local police forces are not adequately staffed, equipped or trained to cope with the situation. In a refreshing new approach, the present Minister for Interior has chosen candour in submitting the inadequacies confronting the law enforcement agencies. Since Karachi and the roads/rail-lines to it are of vital importance, the priorities are national and there is need for induction of a Federal Force available for use by and under the operational control of the Provincial authorities on an “as required” basis. While the Army is always a last alternative, frequent use tends to distract from its primary mission — the defence of the national frontiers. Aid to Civil Power has a corrosive effect on morale, training and discipline with unnecessary wear and tear on material and equipment, better kept in shape for war. Temporary arrangements also tend to become hotch-potch logistically, with financial outlays becoming much more pronounced than for sound, long term establishments.

In “A Case for Federal Guards” we had mentioned that one of the finest creations of the last PPP regime was the Federal Security Force whose subsequent employment for political purposes was one of the worst of ideas imaginable. An excellent concept became a hydra-headed monster and, as it is now apparent, it became almost independently amok, a law unto itself, the final wrong being that it assumed orders that were never given, the assumption being that it would please the-powers-that-be and as such was right. This is an end result when politically inspired officers or ambitious, self-seeking opportunists get into positions of power, the urge to ingratiate themselves with their bosses releases their worst urges, committing the very crimes that they are supposed to be the anti-dote for. One must learn lessons here, the primary one for our young and dynamic leadership being never to allow excesses of any kind by such forces to go unnoticed or unpunished. The rule of law must never be compromised. Democracy is a sacred trust and known revenge seekers who climb into power on others coattails (or Kameezes) should never be allowed into positions of absolute authority from where they can conduct their own private vendettas, indulging in an orgy of getting their own back, in the wreaking of vengeance, sullying the name of the leader they represent, even at the risk of jeopardizing the democratic process achieved after great sacrifice. These characters, some of them whom if they had more sense in them, would be half-wits, should be consigned pell-mell into the dustbins of history, brought forward from time to time as prime examples of what/who not to emulate.

The Government must shun the tendency of the last decade to create a myriad number of internal forces, multiplying cost and confusing the primary aim, the maintenance of law and order. As it is, many of the para-military forces have overlapping tasks. The Karachi Auxiliary Force is an excellent idea but it should be a sub-unit of a Federal force called the FEDERAL GUARDS or any other name signifying the same. Similarly SINDH FORCE may be excellent for the job, given inherent shortcomings in adequate leadership, but they should also have to be part of the same unit. With common logistics and cohesive command structure, the training and marrying-up with equipment on an “as required” basis in actual operations would have been effective. All the Border forces which in any case are under the Ministry of Interior should be put under one central command responsible to the Minister of Interior. Similarly, the Federal Government must maintain Federal Forces in every province as the Imperator of Federal laws and any assistance to the Provincial Government in maintaining internal law and order, as and when the assistance is needed or in the judgement of the Federal Government, becomes necessary. True, the structure and composition of sub-units of the Border and/or Internal Forces will vary according to the task and the environment, but unity of purpose require that these forces, though positioned locally, have a central command and logistics structure. This is also true for the Airport Security Force (ASF). No country in the world has such an unwieldy organisation solely dedicated for one task, ASF’s many ills are too numerous to be enumerated here but this organisation, hobbled by ineffective leadership, needs to come under the same command structure as envisaged herein. Similarly Pakistan Coast Guards should really be part of the Maritime Security Forces or vice versa, in turn directly under the Ministry of Interior. One must reduce the number of independent units operating almost without licence or check and streamline the chain of command, adducing direct responsibility while consolidating expenditures. That is the surest bet in maintaining law and order.

While labour union activity is to be desired, the infiltration of criminal elements into the labour unions must be avoided. Lurid examples all over the world exist, notably the Teamsters in the States where union funds have been misused by leaders directly under the control of the Mafia, etc. Genuine union exercise must be encouraged so that worker rights cannot be ignored but those union leaders who resort to blackmail for their individual gain must be isolated and ostracised, never to be allowed near any labour union. One typical example is given of a leader of a union in a financial institution who among other things maintained fraudulent personal accounts in different names for lakhs of rupees, is now pushing himself as a genuine worker of a particular political party. These people give PPP an undeserved bad reputation while bringing the activities of financial institutions meant to spur economic growth to a standstill, stultifying the process of populism that the PM is pledged to accelerate. What a Catch-22 ! If Ms Benazir with all her mass popularity and support cannot exclude these bad hats from the political scene, then nobody can. Ms Benazir is a crusader, her war is against want and corruption, against all the deprivations and ills that affect society, it would be the greatest irony if she has to depend upon outright frauds and criminals for support, she has such a mass popularity, she needs no such dubious supporters. Of calculated discrimination is mature judgement born, the acid test of leadership. By keeping labour in line to militate only for genuine rights she will have created a secure environment conducive for investment, otherwise no entrepreneur is going to take up her challenge to invest in the economy, her new investment policy is far-reaching but will be still-born if the labour unions become nasty, thereby throwing the economy into a downturn. Controlled populism must become the order of the day, if such a thing is possible.

The activist President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Tariq Saeed, in his own exemplary and inimitable manner organised as excellent much-needed seminar on “Security and the Business Community” in Karachi on April 9, 1989, with Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan, the Federal Minister of Interior, as Chief Guest. Mr Aitzaz Ahsan gave an eloquent presentation of the causes of breakdown of law and order over the past decade and very encouragingly, indeed refreshing for any Minister of Interior, invited serious debate and suggestion from the business community. For the first time since 1947 we have an intelligent and incisive lawyer as the head of the Interior Ministry, more power to him. As he said, we lost sight of certain Reference Points and compromised on basic principles of justice over the past decade, fittingly he acknowledged that all human beings are susceptible to mistakes. Perhaps the most potent reference he made was what we had envisaged in “A Basis  For Coexistence”, (The Nation Feb 07, 1989) when he spoke for the need for a Grand National Reconciliation. This is what we want to hear and as Ms Benazir’s prime advocate of such a cause it seemed to come straight from his heart.

Third world countries need a lot of governing, in a world where even Super-powers like Soviet Russia are beset by severe economic problems, one can imagine the state of our economy, burdened by three million refugees. Our only recourse is to elect young, dynamic leaders par excellence capable of acting above and beyond the political spectrum to ameliorate the lot of the downtrodden masses. Where even developed countries cannot get away with indifferent leadership, the developing countries in contrast needs persons of outstanding calibre to positively command the destinies of their people. These leaders need above all to create a secure environment for the economy to flourish. While merciful bounty is GOD’s prerogative, only part of a country’s growth depends upon luck, almost all depends upon capability, sincerity of purpose and hard work in a secure economic environment.

All leaders get chances, most blow it. Whither, Ms Benazir?

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