Government fails to arrest rising polio
MEDIA WATCH
A lost opportunity
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ATEST reports indicate the country has recorded its highest number of polio cases for 15 years, with health officials blaming the rise on attacks on immunisation teams. The number of new cases in 2014 so far is 202, exceeding the 199 cases in 2001 but short of the 558 cases in 1999. Most of the infections are in FATA and KPK where extremists are targeting health teams. A polio worker, his brother and a relative were killed in an IED explosion in Mohmand Agency on Wednesday. The rise in the incidence of polio is highly embarrassing for Pakistan in the backdrop of heavy investment in immunization. The failure of the country to curb the disease led to imposition of travel restrictions by the World Health Organization last year meaning all Pakistanis must now carry proof of vaccination before travelling abroad. DG WHO had recently told the UN General Assembly that Pakistan was the single most stumbling block in declaring the world as ‘polio free’. We believe that propaganda against Pakistan in respect of war against polio is part of the overall campaign spearheaded by some vested powers to isolate the country and damage its reputation. Those behind the propaganda overlook the reality that the areas not fully covered by immunization programme are those falling in FATA and KPK where war against terrorism is continuing for about a decade and it is next to impossible to provide the kind of security needed to reach out to each and every child in view of the perils involved. It is also to be recalled that the polio campaign was proceeding somewhat satisfactorily in troubled regions despite baseless reservations but then came the episode of Dr. Shakeel Afridi, which shook confidence of the people in the immunization campaign. However, it is also a fact that there are also reports of polio cases from other parts of the country including Karachi, which shows lack of commitment on the part of authorities concerned despite huge damage to the country in terms of overall image and social and economic interaction with other nations. We believe that there is no matching response from the Government and the campaign is being meted out cosmetic treatment with stray calls by ulema rather than seeking their sustained support in motivating people to benefit from immunization programme. There are many success stories of other countries and we can learn lesson from them as well.
Induction of FATA youths into army T
HE Army chief General Raheel Sharif who spent Eid with troops in North Waziristan Agency has announced a FATA youth package, which provides for induction of 14,000 youths from FATA in Pak Army, besides providing education facilities for 1,500 children from FATA, in Army schools and colleges. After Eid prayers with troops in Wana who are engaged in operation against militants, the COAS also visited IDPs’ camp in Bannu to assure them that Pak Army will continue to work for their relief and rehabilitation. General Raheel Sharif continued his tradition of celebrating Eid with troops and meeting the IDPs of FATA as he was in their midst during Eidul Fitr as well that gave the troops on the ground encouragement that the high command of army was fully aware of the services they were rendering for defence of the country. The announcement by the COAS about induction of FATA youths into Army and 1,000 in the first six months, is appreciable on two counts: firstly, it will give a sense of participation to the local people in the service of the motherland and secondly it will provide them job opportunities. Earlier the former COAS General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani took similar step by inducting youths from Balochistan into army and opening army run educational institutions in the Province. These steps would remove the feeling that Pakistani army is dominated by Punjab and it is a fact that now more and more people are joining the Armed forces from Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, FATA, AJK and Gilgit Baltistan. In addition, education of FATA children in institutions of Pak Army would provide them excellent facilities and break the back of the terrorist network. But we believe that these steps should not be isolated ones and the civilian government should also take similar measures to bring FATA and Balochistan into national mainstream. This could be done by initiating social welfare projects in health and education sectors and schemes that create more jobs. It is all the more necessary that while operation Zarb-e-Azb is going on, the local people should be extended more facilities so that they feel that the government and its different institutions are alive to their problems.
Dr Malik’s irresponsible statement on IS S
OMETIME our politicians and leaders churn out statements that are devoid of sanity. Such whimsical, off-the-cough and irresponsible statement cause losses to the country but the trend continues unabated. The latest is the statement of Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik, who claimed on Wednesday, that he cannot rule out the presence of Islamic State (IS) militants in the Province. Dr Malik is considered to be a serious, sober and considerate leader and therefore, one is shocked to hear such irresponsible remarks from him. He is, perhaps, unmindful of the fact that the statement amounts to lodging of FIR by the United States or United Nations against Pakistan. The US and some other Western countries are presenting IS as a phenomenon that could threaten different countries, regions and in fact, the world. Therefore, they are presenting it as a monster to further their agenda in different regions but one fails to understand what prompted Dr Malik to support the viewpoint of the Western powers. It seems he has been swayed by the fashion to talk about current issues without giving much consideration to the consequences. Already, conspiracies are being hatched by local and foreign powers to destabilize Balochistan and the statement of the chief executive of the Province would surely add to the confusion. Leaders and especially those at the helm of affairs are supposed to speak every word after careful weighing. They should, therefore, apply brakes to the tendency of speaking off the cough without any input and only on the basis of assumptions and apprehensions. We would urge Dr Malik to withdraw his statement; we also recommend to the Centre to make Provinces realize the gravity of the situation and avoid from issuing irresponsible statements.
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Putin must save Shia, Sufi & Kurd Hillary Clinton is the loudest in repeating the falsehood that President Obama missed an opportunity to remove the Assad regime by military force in M D Nalapat 2013,when the reality is that Russia had made it explicit Email: mgnalapat@gmail.com that it would intervene if NATO were to seek to do a Libya or an Iraq in Syria. S has been pointed out ear Aside from that, the regime in Damlier in these columns ,Presi ascus did not make the mistake of disdent Barack Obama is in ef- arming itself the way Triploli under fect waging a mock war on ISIS. Kaddafy had, except for some chemiwounding that organisation without cal weapons being destroyed because destroying it. The reason for such a of Moscow’s pressure. Russia has a half-hearted campaign against a powerful Europeanist lobby which deadly foe is the signing on of sees obedience to the wishes of the EU Obama and his other NATO part- as the best policy for the world’s largners in the Erdogan-Al Thani strat- est country (in land area) to follow, and egy of using that military’s alliance’s it was this lobby which insisted on diplomatic and military resources to Bashar Assad doing away with his rid the region of those regimes they chemical weapons arsenal as the price dislike.George W Bush, whose de- of Moscow’s backing for him against sire for revenge against the man the GCC-NATO move to bring down (Saddam Hussein) who sought to his government through the overt use kill his father led him into Iraq in of military force. 2003,was the same. When it became clear that this Of course,such personal preju- would not happen, Qatar and Turkey dices get masked in the most fra- (assisted by Wahabbi elements in grant of excuses, such as the “Re- Kuwait and the UAE, and given masponsibility to protect “ (in teriel help by France) sent a flow of Syria,against Bashar Assad) or the cash and weapons into Syria together “ Need to stop genocide”, the rea- with hordes of extremist recruits, son trotted out for the 2011 taking thereby creating ISIS in its modern out of Muammar Kaddafy in Libya form. That organisation took over a and the replacement of that authori- third of Iraq last year not by military tarian but stable regime with a cha- prowess but by using Saudi-Qatari otic collection of warlords, some cash to buy over commanders in the of whom would make Mullah Iraq army,who ordered their men to Omar seem like a liberal from Cali- give up their weapons “so that they fornia. Unfortunately for global se- get sent home”. Unsuspecting solcurity, regional governments within diers in their thousands boarded buses the GCC saw an opportunity to rep- that they thought would take them licate the fall of Saddam Hussein home, except that these were driven in Iraq in Sria and in Teheran, al- by ISIS volunteers, who would stop though the latter country is too big in the desert, ask the men to go and for them to directly challenge, un- relieve themselves, and then machine less of course Bashar Assad goes gun them to death. the Saddam-Kaddafy way. The commanders who made mil-
Geopolitical notes from India
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lions of dollars by selling out their soldiers are known to authorities in NATO, but are still allowed to enjoy the luxuries that money has bought them in London, Miami and elsewhere. Had there been a culture of genuine - as distinct from convenient - accountability within NATO, these rogue commanders of the Iraqi army would have been apprehended from their luxurious hideaways in the US and the EU (with some in Dubai). Instead, they have been allowed to enjoy the benefits that their acceptance of bribes in exchange for selling out their troops has given them. As for the (easily identifiable) individuals in Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere who funded the mass bribery of Iraqi army commanders which led to the collapse of that army before a ragtag group of terrorists, they remain honoured guests in Washington, London, Paris and Berlin. Of course, after months of looking the other way,a few NATO-based media outlets have begun carrying reports on the way in which Qatar and Turkey have been assisting ISIS. The Turkish government still does do, by placing troops on the frontier not to battle ISIS but to block Kurdish militia from crossing into Syria to fight against a foe that butchers fathers and brothers, rapes sisters and mothers, and indulges in unspeakable atrocities to young children. The only comparison that can be made between a 20th century military and ISIS is that Hitlerite SS, which too massacred the innocent in the name of faith and behaved in a manner entirely freed of conscience. Sadly, rather than battle this “Hitler”, NATO is following the AnkaraRiyadh-Doha strategy of first seeking to overthrow “Stalin” (aka Bashar Assad),when what is need is to combine with “Stalin” to fight Hitler”, the way Churchill and Roosevelt did in 1941. Had Obama and Cameron been
in charge of the UK those days, Hitler would have won World War II, just as ISIS is in danger of winning, by which is meant its survival and subsequent revival. The Kurds have been the ethnic group most responsive - indeed loyal - to the countries forming NATO, which has treated them as expendable. Thus far, each betrayal of the Kurds has been forgiven by that rugged people, but the deliberate impotence of Barack Obama in ensuring that Turkey join the war against ISIS rather than continue to nurture that terror group is the last straw. The Kurds, however, have company in their misery. The Shia have long been a target of NATO, which seeks to carry forward the anti-Shia agenda of its GCC partners. Now the Sufis have also joined the list, being cast aside in favour of the Wahabbis which control key levers of authority in several countries in the region. To expect NATO to defeat ISIS is futile. What is needed is for other countries to enter the war, and to carry out air and naval strikes against ISIS positions, in cooperation with foes of that organisation such as the Assad regime in Damascus and the Rouhani government in Tehran. In such a Second Front against ISIS, the lead should be taken by Vladimir Putin. It is time for him to step forward and bring Russia back to centre stage in the Middle East. The BRICS powers need to come together to form such a front against ISIS, in a context where NATO is deliberately holding its fire so as to ensure ISIS survives rather then meet the fate it deserves, doom. —The writer is Vice-Chair, Manipal Advanced Research Group, UNESCO Peace Chair & Professor of Geopolitics, Manipal University, Haryana State, India.
Keep Kashmir issue in limelight dian political, diplomatic and journalist circles. Under the Sajjad Shaukat growing frustration, a notoriously controversial journalEmail: sajjad_logic@yahoo.com ist affiliated with the Indian NDTV namely Barkha Dutt engaged Pakistan’s prime NE the one side, Indian new minister’s special advisor on Foreign government led by the fun Affairs Sartaj Aziz, and managed to damentalist party BJP’s create a controversy through aggresleader and Prime Minister Narindra sive posture to make him concede that Modi is deliberately trying to di- Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul vert attention of international com- Basit’s meeting with the Kashmiri munity from the Kashmir dispute, leadership in New Delhi was illon the other, Kashmiri leaders and timed, and affected Secretary level Pakistan have been keeping this is- engagements. Majority of Pakistani sue in limelight. In this regard, term- media also covered the remarks of ing the support and advocacy of the Sartaj Aziz in the similar fashion proright to self determination of the jected by the NDTV. No doubt, people of Jammu and Kashmi (J&K), Barkha-Aziz episode has been proas historic commitment and duty for jected by the Indian media as admitPakistan, Prime Minister Nawaz tance on the part of Pakistani official Sharif, while addressing 69th session that due to the meeting with Kashof the United Nations General As- mir leader by High Commissioner in sembly (UNGA), stressed for settle- Delhi, India was justified to cancel ment of the Kashmir issue, and of- Secretary level talks with Pakistan. fered Pakistan’s readiness to endeav- An impression is also given that our for the same through negotiations. Islamabad was not serious about enHe also reminded the interna- gagements with New Delhi. However, the created controversy tional community of its pledge and responsibility for holding “plebiscite” by Indian media is a deliberate atin the Indian-held Kashmir, and re- tempt to discredit Pakistani solves the issue in accordance with leadership’s sincere efforts to remind UN Charter. The speech generated the international community of their appreciations from the political responsibilities on Kashmir issue. circles of Pakistan and Kashmir as Moreover, Indian media created an well. It is also acknowledged that the impression that Prime Minister speech is true reflection of sentiments Nawaz Sharif by highlighting Kashof the people of Pakistan, who be- mir issue made an effort to improve lieve that peace and prosperity in relations with Military establishment south Asia is inter- linked with so- in the backdrop of the protesters of lution of core dispute of Kashmir the sit-ins led by PTI and PAT. Indian Media also generated attached between Pakistan and India. Pakistan’s attempt to sensitize controversies of gray relations bethe international community on the tween political and military echelons unresolved state of Kashmir issue at of Pakistan. It may be recalled that the UNGA seems to have irked In- on the pretext of boiling political situ-
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ation, a segment of Pakistani media had suggested the prime minister to skip attending the UNGA’s session. Nevertheless, every Indian government due to international pressure found it easy to make false pledges that it was willing to engage in peace process to resolve all issues including Kashmir dispute with Islamabad. But, New Delhi earnestly endeavored to find excuses and pretexts to cancel peace talks, while shifting the blame to Pakistan. For example, in 2002, under the pretension of terrorist attack on the Indian parliament, India postponed the dialogue process. Again, in 2008, India cancelled the ‘composite dialogue’ on the pretext of Mumbai terror attacks. It is mentionable that on May 27, 2014 Prime Minister Modi’s meeting with Prime Minister Sharif in the oath-taking ceremony proved faultless, because Modi raised baseless issues of terrorism as pre-conditions to advance the Pak-Indian dialogue to resolve various issues including Kashmir dispute. He said that slow pace of trial against the terrorists of the Mumbai 26/11 terror case; being held in Pakistan is main hurdle. While, Indian prime minister ignored the fact that on July 19, 2013 the Indian former home ministry and ex-investigating officer Satish Verma disclosed that terror-attacks in Mumbai in November 26, 2008 and assault on Indian Parliament in January 12, 2001 were carried out by the Indian government to strengthen antiterrorism laws. In fact, it is a set practice of India to engage with Kashmiri leadership prior to any high level meeting with Pakistan. Kashmiri leaders are the central representatives about whom New Delhi and
Islamabad will proceed to decide their fate through peace parleys. Notably, Modi hurriedly decided to forcibly annex disputed territory of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, uncovering its intentions to wrap up the article 370 of the Indian constitution which ensures a special status to J&K. Therefore, United Nations Military Observer Group India and Pakistan in New Delhi was asked to vacate official accommodation, claiming that its role had become irrelevant. Nonetheless, Maximum projection is required to be extended especially through Pakistan’s media to highlight that India played a mischievous role in the IndianControlled Kashmir from purported accession of Kashmiri Maharaja to neutralization of Sheikh Abdullah by Nehru, followed by increasing Army deployment there, and atrocities committed against the innocent people of an independence loving Kashmiri nation. Indian mischievous activities in the Indian-Occupied Kashmir are also narrated and confirmed by an exRAW official R K Yadu in his book “Mission RAW.” No doubt, Pakistan un-dauntingly supports self-determination struggle of Kashmiri people, and its political, military and public is in complete harmony in this respect, yet its top officials and media including the Kashmiri leaders must keep the Kashmir issue in limelight by showing to the internal community that being the usurper and occupying state, India is not sincere to engage in peaceful dialogue to resolve this issue with Pakistan. —The writer is Lahore-based political analyst.
OAZZAM Baig, a former Guantanamo de tainee, has brought to the fore an interesting argument. It concerns whether the governments should seek the help of the ‘accused’, if they are in a position to help the state on a voluntary basis. Such a gesture from Baig, who was tried in the notorious X-camp and released on the failure of the prosecution to prove charges of terrorism against him, was rejected by Britain. If London had agreed to make use of Baig’s connections with the dreaded group, the ISIS, British aid worker Alan Henning’s life could have been saved. On the persuasion of friends and associates, Baig had told the government that he wanted to intervene if given an opportunity. But apparently keeping in view the policy of “not commenting on how it handles kidnap cases”, the British Foreign Office refused. The fact that Baig had rubbed shoulders with the likes of ISIS in Afghanistan and then during his stay in Pakistan — from where he was arrested, he could have set a decent precedent of building bridges in the society where he originally belonged to before going astray. This nationalistic gesture of Baig could have gone a long way in dissuading an equal number of his contemporaries who are on the path of joining the rank and file of the ISIS. Even as per international law, there is no harm in soliciting even a condemned prisoners’ help for invaluable causes of humanity and statehood. The notion of starapprover in jurisprudence in lieu for helping the state authorities is a case in point. Britain, by exhibiting its adamant attitude, not only missed a chance to engage the ISIS bus but also lost an opportunity to save Henning’s life. — Khaleej Times
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Game plan to stop IS
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T has been more than two weeks since the US-led inter national coalition began its coordinated attacks and air strikes against IS militants across Syria and Iraq. The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan have joined this broad coalition, which includes the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Germany and Canada. Yes, there have been hiccups along the way, such as the unhelpful comments by US Vice-President Joe Biden — which he has since apologised for — but the air campaign has largely been successful, striking at IS militants as they concentrated on the ground. The latest developments on the ground, however, suggest that IS still remains a highly potent and mobile opponent, capable of mounting surprise assaults on multiple fronts — despite the total dominance of the allied coalition in the air. The fight for the Kurdish town of Kobani on the Turkish border shows that drones and attack aircraft in the sky are not enough to turn back the tide of IS advances nor to blunt the attacking prowess of the extremists. Clearly, the continued ability of IS to advance and overcome strategic outposts is a cause of worry. And it is an ability that needs to be eroded and diminished as quickly as possible — through more effective surveillance from unmanned aircraft, more accurate air strikes and through more effective use of the large arsenal of sophisticated weaponry and missiles at the disposal of the US forces. IS has shown itself capable of avoiding the worse effects of allied air power, morphing into smaller concentrations, avoiding large-scale gatherings, moving in smaller groups and countering surveillance from the skies by blending into the local populace. These tactics are effective and they also show that the US plan for attack from the air will not be enough to defeat IS on the ground. What is needed now is for the US to lay out a coordinated plan to degrade and defeat IS. Two weeks into the strikes, it is time the allies know full well what the overall game plan is. — Gulf News
The truth that makes men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear. Herbert Sebastian — US writer