| November 17, 2008 | Monday | Ziqa'ad 18, 1429 |
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A historic occasion
Tax on agriculture income
Oil firms demand debt payment
Parliamentary Committee on Terrorism
Russia and Muslims
Please come back
Option ‘D’
Retirement age
No time to cut interest rates
Readers are requested to restrict their comments to a maximum of 400 words. We reserve the right to edit letters for reasons of clarity and space. Letters, including those by e-mail, should carry the complete postal address of the sender. The views expressed in these columns do not necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper.—Editor
HOURS after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani addressed a broad-ranging press conference in Islamabad on Oct 26, commenting on the entire spectrum of national issues, including his visit to Beijing, US drone-fired missiles within a tribal area on the Pakistan-Afghan border killing 21 people.
In his address the prime minister had lashed out against the drone attacks, terming them a disaster as far as counter-military offensive goes. The incident exposes the inability of Pakistan to do very much about the attacks. But at the same time the prime minister has shown his commitment to the unanimous resolution by parliament on combating terror.
That resolution had sought an ‘independent’ foreign policy and during the debate that led up to its passage opposition parties had repeatedly demanded action to stop US air strikes inside Pakistan. To its credit, the Pakistan government has made what efforts it can to do so.
Prime Minister Gilani during the meeting with the visiting Chief of US Central Command (Centcom), Genl David Howell Petraeus , warned that the new US president must halt missile attacks on targets inside Pakistan or risk failure in efforts to end militancy in the country.
Mr Gilani also said the US should cooperate with his country’s military, sharing intelligence, to allow Pakistan to go after the targets itself. Gen David ‘looked convinced’ when prime minister warned him the strikes were inflaming anti-American sentiments, but that he got no guarantee that would end (Nov 5).
During the period from Jan 1 to Oct 31, at least 376 people have been killed and over 300 others injured in 34 incidents of cross-border missile strikes, Predator and ground attacks carried out by the Afghan-based American forces inside Pakistan so far this year, averaging 35 killings per month.
In all the 34 drone strikes only eight hit the target, killing 36 Al Qaeda or Taliban militants, including senior Al Qaeda leader Abu Laith al Libi. Although US military has the capability of striking any target anywhere precisely without missing an inch, it seems that most of these attacks were carried out on the basis of human intelligence provided by Pakistani and Afghan tribesmen, who have been spying for the Americans.
The remaining 26 attacks, mostly missile and drone strikes, went wrong because of faulty intelligence information, killing hundreds of innocent civilians, including women and children. Had there been mutual intelligence sharing by the US with Pakistan, Al Qaeda and Taliban militants could be captured or killed by Pakistani forces without harming the innocent civilians.
Since Sept 3, it appears the Americans have increased their attacks in the tribal areas in a bid to disrupt Al Qaeda and Taliban network, which they allege is being used to launch cross-border ambushes against the Nato forces in Afghanistan.
However, the Sept 3 US military action was unique in the sense that two CH-47 Chinook transport helicopters landed ground troops from the US Special Operation Forces in Zalowlai village in the South Waziristan Agency which killed 17 people, including five women and four sleeping children. Two jet fighters and two gunship helicopters provided the ground forces air cover for the half-an-hour operation.
In view of Pakistan protests against drone attacks, Washington Post writes, the US stepped up Predator missions in the recent weeks only after reaching an understanding with Islamabad. However, this is not believable and need to be looked into by our government.
We must prevail upon the US not to weaken Pakistan through its unilateral actions. The US must ask Pakistan to enforce its writ within Fata. However, the US should help providing capacity to Pakistan to deal with its problems. It is thus essential that the US anti-terrorism strategy should be reviewed in consultation with Pakistan. Otherwise the situation will continue to worsen.
SQN LDR ( r ) S. AUSAF HUSAIN
Karachi
THE 4th of November has truly been a historic day. An African American was elected as the next president of the US and will occupy the White House. Barack Obama has taken the US and the world by storm.
Barack Obama who was humble in victory seems honest and sincere. He is undoubtedly highly intelligent and has a beautiful speech with a steely determination. The US will lead the world again.
The victory of Barack Obama is more pronounced and the world anxiously waits for a change in US strategy and relationship with countries because of the eight disastrous years of a US administration led by George W. Bush which dragged the US into two wars, economic ruin and the height of unpopularity, both in the Muslim and Western worlds.
The Bush administration should be made answerable to the American people in particular as they elected him and to the world in general which suffered as a result of their actions and policies.
The first African slaves are stated to have landed in the US sometime in 1619 and slavery was practised in America and racial segregation continued as a practice until a presidential decree formally ended segregation in the armed forces, and the Supreme Court outlawed segregation in schools.
However racial discrimination continued until 1957 when the Congress enacted the Civil Rights Bill guaranteeing the right to vote to all US citizens and an amendment was made to the Civil Rights Act.
Martin Luther King who wished for African Americans not to be judged by the colour of their skin was assassinated in 1968 but 21 years later Colin Powell, an African American, became the head of the US armed forces and later the first secretary of state, Condoleeza Rice, followed Colin Powell as the second African American secretary of state, but what was once considered impossible was achieved by Barack Obama, undoubtedly with the support of right-thinking, freedom-loving and politically conscious American citizens who voted for ‘change’ and elected Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States of America. The dream of Martin Luther King has been achieved.
President-elect Barack Obama will have no easy task and it may be quite sometime before the world sees a change which he has promised. There are several areas of serious conflict in the world such as (i) Israeli-Palestinian conflict, (ii) Israeli-Syrian conflict, (iii) Israeli-Arab conflict and (iv) the Kashmsir conflict between India and Pakistan, all of which need a positive initiative and a push in the right direction by the world’s only superpower.
Dealing with the Iraq war, Afghanistan and the threat of terrorism and extremism will require a new approach but there is a good feeling in Pakistan that the new US administration with Barack Obama and Joe Biden at the helm of affairs while being hard on terrorists will provide Pakistan with the socio-economic support that it needs.
We can only hope and pray that Barack Obama and Joe Biden are successful in all their endeavours to make this world a safer place to live in, and hats off to all those who supported and elected them to the office of president and vice president of the United States of America.
LIAQUAT H. MERCHANT
Karachi
RECENTLY there is much talk of tax on agriculture income. Farmers are opposed to the idea and strongly feel that they are unable to bear this additional burden. The so-called backbone needs further support rather than another fleecing tactic.
• Agriculture is already being taxed by the provincial government since 1997.
• Agriculture taxation is a provincial issue and, therefore, the federal government has no constitutional right to tax agriculture.
• Keeping in view the rising costs of production, agriculture is being subsidised to some extent, e.g. Rs27 billion subsidy on fertiliser, subsidy on provision of gas to fertiliser manufacturers, reduced electricity charges for tubewells, reduced mark-up on agriculture credit through ZTBL/Punjab Bank ,etc.
These subsidies are to enhance production efficiencies and achievement of production targets set by the government for different agriculture produce.
• The plan to tax agriculture is contrary to all prevailing government policies which are production-oriented.
• Agriculture produces raw material for most of the industrial production which generate huge amounts of taxes and economic activity.
• The farming community contributes through direct taxation in the form of GST on all consumer items in addition to road cess on sugarcane and cotton cess etc.
• Tax revenues have already increased four times from Rs276 billion in 1999-2000 to over a trillion rupees in 2007-2008.
• While commodity prices remain suppressed through government policy of restricting exports, there is a net transfer of resources from the agriculture sector to other sectors.
This amount has always been over a Rs100 billion a year. Instead of stemming the rot in agriculture, this new decision would further reduce productivity, increase poverty and unemployment in rural areas.
Rural poverty percentages are higher than urban poverty. Only last year wheat price @ Rs625 per 40kg was less than half the international price. The farmer was fleeced to the tune of Rs350 billion, i.e. nearly $6 billion, and this was just in one year.
• The plan to further burden the farmer shall lead to continuing imports of agriculture products worth billions of dollars, while assisting the farmer through incentives would reduce the burgeoning trade deficit.
There is a standing offer from Saudi Arabia to buy 1.0 million tons of rice but the government chooses to stay mum over the prospect while only this could add $6 billion to the economy.
• The agriculture tax exercise has been repeated many a time and it has resulted in more disrespect for the government than any fruitful outcome. It is worth mentioning that 95 per cent of Punjab farmers own less than 12.5 acres (subsistence farmers) although this limit needs to be raised to 50 acres of irrigated land due to rising costs of inputs and living.
• In the event there is hardly 0.5 per cent of land owners left to be taxed, who are already paying the provincial agri-income tax. This plan to tax would further fragment land ownership leading to unfeasible and fragmented units of production.
• The plan to tax agriculture by the federal government is illogical, unreasonable, ill-timed, counter-productive and unconstitutional.
• Farmers outrightly oppose any such plan and refuse to succumb to the pressures of donor agencies.
CH. HAMID MALHI
President Basmati Growers Association
ACCORDING to Dawn’s first page story, ‘Oil companies urge PM to intervene on debt issue’ (Nov 7), some government departments, corporations and companies owe a hefty sum of Rs156 billion to the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and other oil marketing companies (OMCs), including the price differential which is government subsidy.
What worries me is the staggering amount which has not been paid by debtors to lenders. The lesser the amount of debt or loan the better are the chances to pay back — and also the time factor enhances the worries if repayment gets delayed. For this reason the bigwigs have said: “The one who goes borrowing goes sorrowing”.
The question is, why were the payments deferred, only to make it such a huge debt? The finance controllers of those departments, corporations or companies must be incompetent. They seem to be ignorant of ‘fund management’. Or, is this a conspiracy or some scheme to rob the public? I have to tell you about an apprehension the people have.
The other day a man was complaining on a TV channel that many government departments, semi-government corporations and NGOs owe the KESC a colossal amount of Rs100 billion. When the payments would not come through — and some Shylocks in the KESC’s mad house asked permission to raise the electricity by 70 per cent — the government obliged so that the KESC’s red figures come into black; and a few bucks of its own are saved too.
So we have to pay — even without knowing why more payment should be made for less electricity. This could happen only in Pakistan. And a piece of advice to the finance ministry. If you ask me, I will tell you point blank: “You, who are going at every door to ask for loans, would fall flat at your feet — or else the nation has to fall and pay the debts from their teeth.”
All those ‘economic managers’ who acquired foreign loans which are now close to $40 billion (soon to be 50) have gone either up there or outside the country and we the poor have to cut one meal short out of three! And what is the guarantee, if the loans were granted, they or some part of them would not be funnelled out of the country? You could not stop the siphoning of $7 billion out of the country during the last seven months!
M.K. NAQVI
Karachi
Apropos of the news report (Nov 4) about the establishment of yet another parliamentary committee — this time supposedly to monitor implementation of the resolution on terrorism passed by parliament during its in-camera sitting — one cannot help being sceptical about what this committee might achieve.
There is a penchant throughout Pakistan’s civil system, particularly in politics, for establishing such committees at every point possible, notwithstanding the fact that through Pakistan’s chequered history such bodies have rarely, if at all, accomplished any remarkable feats. To quote renowned English writer Gilbert K. Chesterton on this matter: “I’ve searched all the parks in all the cities and found no statues of committees”. Invariably these committees serve to be purely organic in nature.
Like a plant, they take root and grow, flower briefly before ultimately wilting and dying. In the process their only notable exploit is scattering the seeds from which other committees will bloom in their turn.
I will not be surprised at all if, in due time, our parliament adopts another resolution to create another all-conquering committee to evaluate the causes of the failure of this present committee, causing the vicious cycle of committees to continue.
ZAINUB RAZVI
Karachi
THIS is apropos of the discourse on the topic, started with Khalid Chaudhry’s letter, ‘McCain versus Obama’ (Oct 19), subsequently endorsed by M. P. Chisti, ‘America’s blind spot’ (Oct 28) and was under critique by Jawad Ahmed, ‘Russia and Muslims’ (Nov 1).
On going through these discussions I find certain assertions/comments by Mr Ahmed generalised in substance. In the first instance, Mr Chisti has talked about ‘western states’ and not ‘western societies’ for the misery of Afghanistan and Pakistan which started with the Soviet invasion in 1979 and in the second phase the role of the US and its allies after 9/11.
He claims that Russia is not part of the West and has never been: location wise as well as in terms of values, belief and policies. I agree that Czarist Russia and later on the United Soviet Socialist Republics, established after 1922, had different policies as any other sovereign country should have, and later on Marxism, adopted as an ideology, was in clear contrast with western economic system. The majority of Russians also do not think of themselves as European but its most developed part with seat of its power and big chunk of land mass beyond Urals is in the West, therefore it is called Eurasia.
The Napoleonic wars were not only directed against Russia but engulfed entire Europe and even Egypt in the African continent. Moreover, the Hundred-Year War (1337-1453), the Thirteen-Year War (1454 — 66), Eighty — Year-War (1568 — 1648), Thirty-Year War (1618-48) and Seven-Year War (1756 — 63) even much before Napoleon that ravaged entire Europe were not directed against Russia. Even the two Great Wars (1914-18 and 1939-45) were fought between the conglomerate of powers: Allies versus Central powers/Axis, not the ‘West’ against the Russia.
The anti-Jewish sentiments in Russia were deep-rooted, originally born of historical reasons that go back to crucifixion of Prophet Jesus (pbub). Lately Jews were suspected of assassination of Alexander II whereas in Pakistan it was not on account of any direct clash but for injustices Israel has perpetrated on Palestinians.
Similarly, putting responsibility of German invasion (during Great wars) and allowing Lenin passage to cross over to Russia that lead to revolution, to hatred they had developed against Czarina Alexandra, an overbearing queen of Germen descent, is oversimplistic a statement.
The factors leading to Bolshevik revolution (1917) and two Wars involving almost entire Europe, USA, Japan, Turkey and to lesser extent China were far from so-called Russia-German hatred.
The Cold War (the term first used by the American financier and presidential adviser Bernard Baruch during a congressional debate in 1947) was waged between the capitalist West and the Communists, the followers of two antagonist ideologies, on political, economic, and propaganda fronts and had only limited recourse to weapons.
The military/armaments support Russian provided during the Cold War period to Egypt, Syria and Palestinians, other than those Arab countries that were in the American camp, was more for the political reasons than helping the Palestinian cause.
I, however, agree with Mr Ahmed that Russia is closer and accommodating to the Third World countries, and the armed conflicts in Chechnya and tribal area of Pakistan are the local issues of the sovereign countries having no religious connotations, which are to be dealt with locally. But all said and done the fact remains that the current quagmire that overwhelmed the world in general and Muslims in particular started to a large extent with the Soviet invasion and occupation of Afghanistan in 1979.
ALTMASH M. KURESHI
Karachi
ASFANDYAR Wali, the leader of the mainstream Pukhtoon party ANP and leader of ‘Pukhtonkhwa’, states that all Pukhtoon should unite against militancy. I must also add that Mr Wali gave this statement while attending a meeting of the ANP in Sweden, where he has been currently in hiding ever since a suicide bomber tried to assassinate him in his home in Wali Bagh.
I would like to know what Mr Wali means by staying away from the country. What is he trying to prove now that he is away giving statements from abroad while commenting that Pukhtoons should unite against militancy?
It is sad to see that a leader of Pukhtoons, one of the proudest and bravest nations in the world, has opted to remain away from the country because he had an encounter with death. Every true Pukhtoon knows that life and death are in the hands of God, and that we should not be afraid of any militant who tries to terrorise us.
I just hope Asfandyar Wali realises this and return home.
A PROUD PUKHTOON
Peshawar
IT is being discussed that Pakistan has only three options — A, B and C — for survival. All the three options are dependant on support from outside the country.
I have an option ‘D’ where Pakistanis should be able to meet the requirements of Rs350 billion (around $4bn). The contribution is only Rs2,000 per person.
It is the need of the time that all Pakistanis should unite and meet the country’s financial liabilities indigenously. Of course, it is expected that the political aristocracy should contribute handsomely and go to its people and collect the rest.
It is now a question of sincerity and real representation of the people. It would also strengthen political credibility.
S. JAMEEL HUSSAIN
Karachi
THE age of retirement for government employees must not exceed 60 years. If any proposal for exceeding the age limit for government servants till 63 years is under consideration, it is unjustified.
If we follow this age limit, it would mean that we are stopping employment opportunities for our youth. A large number of our youth is passing out of colleges and universities day by day. Where would they be accommodated?
If the retirement age is to be exceeded to 63 years, our rulers and policymakers should seriously ponder over it and its far-reaching repercussions. It is unfortunate that the educated youth prefers to go to the US, Australia and Europe for a better future and employment opportunities.
We have lost youths through human smuggling, who tried to enter Europe by using illegal means via Turkey and Greece for better economic opportunities. They were brutally killed while passing the border, even by the agents.
The retired bureaucrats should render their service to institutions where they can guide the younger generation through their experience and education.
The retired bureaucrats and government employees should jointly establish a think tank to guide the government, as well as the younger generation, in various sectors for the prosperity and development of the country.
SABA GUL
Islamabad
THIS is apropos of Yousaf Nazar’s article, ‘Time to cut interest rates’ (Economic and Business Rewiew, Nov 10). The recommendation of the writer to cut interest rates is precisely the kind of ill-advised and premature policy recommendation that has repeatedly pushed the Pakistan economy to the brink. It is a classic case of too much too soon.
We are already paying the price of the consequences of such a flawed strategy by the last government, namely a premature and reckless relaxation of macroeconomic policies, led by a large fiscal expansion and monetary easing. This has now put the economy in deep trouble.
Everyone loves easy macroeconomic policies. Cut interest rates and spend more. However, while present economic trends in regards to inflation and the external current account are moving in a favourable direction, this is not the time for another round of reckless abandon and irresponsibility in the conduct of economic policy.
Let us keep a steady hand. The time for interest rate cuts to boost economic activity will come but the time is not now.
DR MEEKAL AHMED
Virginia, USA
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