LHR 09-11-2012_Layout 1 11/9/2012 1:30 AM Page 11
Comment 11
Four more years but policies still expected to remain the same
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our years ago, in a historic election, President Obama was elected with a much bigger margin than the narrow one which gave him victory and the trust of the American people for another four-year term. The Republican aim of making him a one-term president failed and his rival Mitt Romney conceded victory gracefully. With a four-year education behind him President Obama should know exactly what he has to do and how he should go about doing it. In his first term, he had taken over from an unpopular predecessor with the economy in shambles and the country mired in two disastrous wars — both undertaken on faulty premises. Now he takes over from his own four years of trying to put things right in a nation deeply divided and with his rivals controlling the House of Representatives. Afghanistan is not quite behind him, the war on terror against radical Islamists goes on and Iran is as unresolved as ever. Those who have voted for him did so because they think that he will do what is best for Americans in the United States — and this will be the focus of his next term. With the European Union fragmenting, China facing possible financial and political problems and Russia still looking inwards, the US remains the primary power in the world. All the talk about the limits of power, economic meltdown and a flawed foreign policy does not change the fact that the US has an enormous technological advantage, great influence over the world’s financial institutions and the resilience to do what needs to be done to fix its domestic situation to give Americans jobs and prosperity. These basic truths need to be borne in mind by those who frame foreign and economic policies. President Obama will reshape foreign policy and while
doing so he will relook at the war on terror and the US relationship with the Islamic world with the realisation that not all Islamists are radical, nor are all radical Islamists terrorists. With elections in Iran next year, President Obama will seek to move into a pragmatic policy shift moving away from ultimatums and towards negotiations. He will reassess the Afghanistan situation realistically and again move towards settlement with or without Karzai. The Middle East policy has been taking shape after Libya and the US haves been leaving it to ongoing events to determine outcomes. In fact, this may be the dominant trend — letting people in other countries determine their own future without the US getting involved in wars and other messy situations. The economic and political interaction with Russia and China will continue and the ‘pivot’ to Asia and the new Silk Road ideas may be modulated. For Pakistan it is important to understand the likely US policy trends to determine and actively pursue its own interests — and forging a good relationship with the US should be a primary goal. Unless this is done, the US policy towards Pakistan may end up as being transactional or one of indifference or it may become hard line with clearly spelt out demands, especially if our dependence on the US for an economic bailout continues and grows. The only star in the US policy towards South Asia in the last decade should not be its strategic relationship with India — Afghanistan gives Pakistan an opportunity to be significant and an improved internal security situation and realistic bilateral relationships with regional countries can change ongoing dynamics in our favour. Bipartisan consensus on the major challenges facing the country has to be the first step regardless of elections and political transitions. Spearhead Analyses are the result of a collaborative effort and not attributable to a single individual
Editor’s mail Send your letters to: Letters to Editor, Pakistan Today, 4-Shaarey Fatima Jinnah, Lahore, Pakistan. Fax: +92-42-36298302. E-mail: letters@pakistantoday.com.pk Letters should be addressed to Pakistan Today exclusively.
FbR’s faulty policies Dr Abdul Hafeez Shiekh, federal minister of finance and revenue, has in principle approved the new FBR scheme for tax defaulters. With this scheme all the people who have not paid any taxes since 1947 and who have been doing regular business in Pakistan for 50 years without paying a single tax, will now be able to pay only a one percent charge and have all their illegal and black money, cleared for their own use. With the approval of this scheme I would like to ask all the real tax payers of Pakistan (0.5 percent of the population), on whose monthly and yearly tax, the government of Pakistan has been able to provide facilities to the 190 million Pakistanis, to stop paying taxes from this day onward. They should stop being naive and should wait for a new FBR scheme to arrive in four years, at the close of the new government’s time. It is disgusting and also very sad to see how the FBR, the biggest organisation of Pakistan, is so lazy that they have found shortcuts for their jobs. In fact, I think the police should also take a cue from the FBR and stop doing any work. They can offer an "FIR day" every year where any citizen of Pakistan can register a case. Apart from that day no cases should be registered. I am sure this will help bring down the crime rate in this country, as zero case is equal to no crime rate. I would also like to take this opportunity to taunt the FBR and their so-called "3.5 million tax dodgers". FBR has been promoting for the past three years that they have 3.5 million (initially it was one, then two and then three million) tax dodgers in their list and they will recover all the taxes from these 3.5 million citizens. Unfortunately, we have been hearing this statement from FBR for the last three years now with no action. It seems that going after these 3.5 million tax dodgers is difficult business and a lot of work. Therefore, Dr Abdul Hafeez Shiekh thinks that it would be less work by simply offering an amnesty scheme and let these 3.5mMillion tax dodgers come to FBR themselves. He might be right as this surely will save a lot of fuel and travel charges for FBR, which they can then promote as a "saving" for the next four years or until the next amnesty scheme. SHAHRYAR KHAN BASEER Peshawar
malala Yousafzai Malala Yousafzai was born in 1998. She is a school student and education activist from the town of Mingora in Swat. She is known for her education and women's rights activism in Swat valley, where the Taliban have banned girls from attending schools. The New York Times filmed a documentary on her life just as the Pakistan Army intervened in the region, culminating in the second battle of Swat. She has won Pakistan's first National Youth Peace Prize. In 2009, Malala wrote against Taliban on BBC Urdu. Her father took her to Peshawar to speak at the local press club where she asked: "How dare Taliban take away my basic right to education?" On 9 October, Malala was shot in the head by Taliban but she survived and her health is improving. In my opinion, it’s all propaganda against Pakistan. The US wants to hide its terrorist activities, like drone attacks, which are happening in Waziristan and also wants to divert our attention from the blasphemous movie "Innocence of Muslims", but Americans can never get what they want because we have the power of Holy Quran. We know what is wrong and what is right. SABA SHABBIR Islamabad
opposition to kbd Reference the statement of MQM-H Chief Afaq Ahmed on Kalabagh dam, not all those opposing the dam are doing so on the directives of some forces, they are opposing because the issue of Kalabagh dam has been badly politicised. The people have been told that the dam will deplete the flow in the Indus and turn Sindh into a desert, that Punjab will steal Sindh’s water because the dam is in Punjab, that the dam will have an adverse effect on the Indus delta etc. All this propaganda is false. The dam will only store surplus flood water without affecting the normal flow of the Indus, the federal body IRSA will operate the dam and Punjab will get only its reduced 37 percent share same as Sindh's increased 37 percent share as per the Water Accord of 1991, also under the Accord engineers from the Sindh irrigation department are monitoring the flow in Punjab’s canals and have not reported any misappropriation of water to date, the flow in the Indus will increase when Sindh’s share is released into it hence there will be no adverse effect on the Indus delta. This is what the people need to be told if opposition to Kalabagh dam is to be countered. MQM-H will do a great public service if they undertake this task. ENGR KHURSHID ANWER Lahore
PPSc’s wrong policies I want to tell you about the wrong policies of Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC). PPSC advertised 122 posts of Headmasters/Deputy Headmasters on 0710-2012 in Daily Jang newspaper under advertisement No. 22/2012. According to the above mentioned advertisement, qualification for this post was MA. The last date of applying for this post was 29-102012. I applied for this post on 2410-2012 through online system of PPSC and also paid the challan of Rs 400 in account of PPSC through NBP on the same day. But the PPSC re-advertised for this post on 25-10-2012, changing the qualification of this post to MA Education instead of MA and also extended the last date up to 05-112012. I and a large number of candidates applied on the above mentioned post before re-advertisement. The PPSC has neither returned our fee of Rs 400 nor considered us eligible for the above mentioned post. We request the Chief Justice of Pakistan take suo motu action against the PPSC for its wrong policies and provide justice to us candidates according to the law. MUDASSAR HUSSAIN CHEEMA Lahore
Friday, 9 November, 2012