2009 in broad strokes

It is tricky to judge whether this tumultuous year was a step toward redemption or a shift toward further turmoil. — File

By Qurat ul ain Siddiqui

If pressed, Pakistanis would probably give 2009 mixed reviews. Throughout the year, political problems – clashes between the government and opposition; a failure of the civilian and military establishments to see eye to eye; wrangling between the centre and the provinces – and the slow march of extremism, in the form of militant posturing and suicide attacks, have vied for headlines.

In defense of Kerry-Lugar Bill

PointWise

By Dr. Khalil Ahmad

1. The furore against the Kerry-Lugar Bill in Pakistan is politically-motivated. Among other things which include opposition to the US government and to the Pakistan Peoples Party especially its present leadership, it has its roots in the mindset that has been nurtured through the last six decades by the Pakistani establishment. One of the most important characteristics of this mindset is its concept of charismatic sovereignty of Pakistan which gets hurt just by any hint of ‘bilateral relations’ of any type with any country. It may be termed as upholding an isolated sovereignty or an all-dominant sovereignty in a world populated with a large number of sovereign countries.

2. That we are unable to see the merits of the KLB in its proper context is both cause and effect of this fuss persisting from the highest military ranks to the lower intellectual strata of our society.

What is the army’s role?

By Shandana Khan Mohmand

19 Oct, 2009

THE Kerry Lugar bill, its conditionalities and the controversy it has created have all received excellent attention in these pages over the last few days. Most of the points about the country being misled in understanding the bill by a frenzied media have also been made.

However, two key questions remain: what are the citizens of this country thinking when they give in to this media frenzy or to the army’s self-interested rhetoric? And why, after all these years, are we not able to differentiate between the army’s rightful role as defenders of Pakistanis, and its wrongful role as a political force?

No time for non-issues

By S.M. Naseem
Dawn- Saturday, 17 Oct, 2009

The National Assembly is failing in its role as a forum for serious debate. —File photo by APP

The challenges facing the Pakistani state — both domestic and external — continue to mount and periodically bring it to the brink of disaster.

Whether through an act of Providence or the delicate balance of forces which keep propping up the state, the ‘existential threat’ gets averted.

The last two years have been especially traumatic and have taken the nation on a roller-coaster ride of hope and dismay. Democracy by itself may not bring tangible rewards for the population in the short run, but it does rekindle the hope of future advancement and wellbeing for many. The February 2008 elections did raise such hopes.

Pakistan aid plan hit as ‘counterproductive’

A senior USAID economist, C. Stuart Callison, has written a formal dissent memo entitled “Dissent memo: Contradictory objectives for USAID/Pakistan program,” to the Director of the State Department Policy Palnning Office, which tells that the USAID mission in Pakistan is “receiving contradictory objectives” from Holbrook about U.S. aid for Pakistan.

[The formal dissent memo can be downloaded from Box.Net file sharing on the Blog]

Dawn- Oct 13, 2009

A senior economist at USAID has said that US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan is micromanaging financial aid to Pakistan in a 'shockingly counterproductive' way. -AFP File Photo

WASHINGTON: An economist at the US international aid agency has protested that special envoy Richard Holbrooke is micromanaging a giant package to Pakistan in a ‘shockingly counterproductive’ way, a memo showed Monday.

The dispute comes as the five-year, 7.5 billion-dollar US plan also faces intense criticism in Pakistan, where the powerful military has said that the package carries too many conditions.

Kerry Lugar Bill- Article by Riaz Ahmad Syed

Attack on GHQ, Rawalpindi

Eight terrorists attacked the General Head Quarters of Pakistan army, GHQ as it is known as, in Rawalpindi this morning at about 11:30 am. Four of terrorists were killed and two arrested.

According to the latest news a member of ”Amjad Faruqi Group” of Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in a call made to the office of a prominent news channel has claimed the responsibility of the attack on GHQ. The person has told that they demand:
1-     Halt of operation in northern areas
2-     Accountability of former President Pervez Musharraf
3-     Return of black water and,
4-     Closure of Western NGOs

The question is that are these really the motives behind the attack? Clearly even the perpetrators would have known that the attack will have no more than a symbolic value. The question is who benefits from this symbolic attack.

Is there any link between the attack on GHQ & Kerry Lugar Bill?

After the terrorist attack on the General Headquarters of Army in Rawalpindi today, people have started linking up the incident with the ongoing issue of the Kerry Lugar Bill. At Awaam, we have started a poll to know public opinion about whether there is a link between the attack and KL bill or not. Please take a moment to add your opinion as well:

Why should Pakistan not accept Kerry Lugar Bill?

Please take a moment to add your opinion

Opposing Kerry-Lugar

Dawn Editorial

Wise or unwise, the bill must not become the basis for fresh cleavages between the army and the political opposition on one side and the government on the other. —Photo by APP

The debate on the Kerry-Lugar bill’s ‘conditionalities’ is inching worryingly towards becoming a debate about ‘national security’ versus democracy. After fierce criticism from the political opposition and lukewarm support from within the governing coalition, yesterday’s meeting of the corps commanders in Rawalpindi has turbocharged opposition to the bill’s ‘intrusiveness’ in ‘domestic’ affairs. But there are two issues at stake here, and intertwining them runs the risk of undermining the transition to democracy.

One, the bill’s terms and its implications for relations between the US and Pakistan; and two, civil-military relations and the future of the democratic project in Pakistan. First, the debate about the bill itself. The Kerry-Lugar aid is not a new idea. The final bill may have only been passed recently by Congress, but its broad terms have been known for a while now and it’s various iterations easily available on the Web. So why the furore now?

Zardari asks party leaders to defend Kerry-Lugar

Dawn

ISLAMABAD, Oct 6: President Asif Ali Zardari has urged PPP leaders and ministers to vigorously respond to criticism of party and government’s policies by political adversaries.

“We have been elected by the people through a democratic and constitutional process and our legitimacy coupled with good governance should be the chief weapons to fight back the opponents,” he said while addressing top party leadership at the Presidency during a discussion on the current domestic political situation on Monday night.

Pakistan and US aid

By Shahid Javed Burki- Dawn Editorial

DIRECTLY or indirectly the United States has been involved in helping Pakistan develop its economy. It is good to acquaint ourselves with the history of this involvement in order to prepare for what is likely to come.

The strategy of growth adopted by Pakistan in the early days of independence was a reaction to some of the measures adopted by India in dealing with its new neighbour. One element of this strategy was that it forced the country to industrialise quickly by seeking to become self-sufficient in the production of basic manufactured goods.