Kashmir Day

EditorialPublished February 5, 2021

THE people of Pakistan and those of the liberated part of what is one of the
world’s most enchanting lands (‫ )منحرف اراضی‬are observing Kashmir Day
today. Indeed, it goes far beyond an annual ritual (‫ ;) َمراسمی‬it is aimed at
drawing the world’s attention to the worsening (‫)زيادَہ بُرا ہو جانا‬
ِ human rights
situation in the illegally occupied territory and the danger inherent ( ‫جَبلی ۔‬
‫ )پَیدائشی‬in India’s intransigence (‫)انتشار‬. As Pakistan has repeatedly pointed
out, Kashmir is not a piece of real estate about which there is an ownership
dispute (‫)لڑائی جھگڑا تکرار‬, but an issue of self-determination — the right of a
people to shape their own destiny. Unfortunately, mentioning the very word
‘Kashmir’ to India is like showing the proverbial red rag (‫ )سرخ چیتھڑا‬to the
bull, even though it was India which had taken the issue to the UN as a
complainant. Yet it is astonishing (‫ ) تعجب کرنا‬that the aggrieved party doesn’t
want justice done and blocks every move to have the issue settled. Ironically,
India is on record as having accepted various Security Council resolutions
calling for a plebiscite in Kashmir and having told the world that it would
accept the Kashmiri people’s verdict (‫)فیصلہ‬. Those who gave these solemn
pledges to the British prime minister of the day, to the UN, and to the people
of Kashmir were those who mattered, including India’s first governor general,
Lord Mountbatten, and its first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Yet,
subsequently India had no qualms (‫ )گھبراہٹ‬about repudiating (‫ )بے ضابطہ‬those
pledges and using every trick in the book to try and gobble up the disputed
territory (‫)ملک‬.
The assumption of power by Narendra Modi with his Hindutva ideology has
turned India-held Kashmir into a tinderbox that can explode () any time. His
government’s most perverse action (‫ )ٹیڑھی کارروائی‬was on Aug 5, 2019, when it
abolished (‫ )توڑنا‬the occupied territory’s special status, took a leaf out of
Israel’s book and changed the nationality law allowing non-Kashmiris to
settle in the territory in a criminal bid to alter the valley’s demographic
character. This was followed by the brutal repression (‫ )انسداد‬of protests by the
justifiably angered Kashmiri people and the gross human rights violations (
‫ )نقصان رسانی‬which have drawn world censure (‫)الزام يا دوکھ لگانا‬. India should
realise a people cannot be kept in bondage forever and that the unsolved
Kashmir issue can push South Asia into a devastating war. This day should
also make Pakistani politicians wake up to the overriding need for unity by
keeping political differences between the opposition and government within
the limits of decency (‫ )شايستگی‬and democratic ethics.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2021

Solar health units

EditorialPublished February 5, 2021

IN a laudable decision (‫)قابل تعريف فیصلے‬, the Punjab government has decided
to run all Basic Health Units on solar energy. At a signing ceremony in
Lahore, the provincial government’s health minister, Dr Yasmin Rashid, told
reporters that BHUs in Sargodha, Jhelum and Mandi Bahauddin would be
converted to solar to eventually be followed up by all other BHUs around the
province. The project will not only save money in the long run for the health
department by reducing their power bills, but also aid in providing
continuous power to the BHUs. But more importantly, it is a step in the right
direction to catalyse the solar revolution (‫ )انقالب‬in Pakistan that is still slow in
taking off compared to the rest of the world.

Government departments can play a critical role (‫ )اہم کردار‬in pushing the solar
revolution along by shifting their own consumption to renewable ( ‫نئے سرے سے‬
‫)کرنے کے الئق‬, point-of-consumption sources. This will not only create more
demand for solar technology in the country, but also provide an impetus ( ‫قوت‬
‫ )رفتار‬to others to follow. Every new solar installation, especially in a location
where it enjoys high public visibility, has a demonstration effect and plays a
role in helping to mainstream solar power in the eyes of the public. Other
government departments in Punjab, as well as the other provinces, should
follow suit and shift more and more of their premises (‫ ) َبیان کرنا‬towards solar
technology like the health department in Punjab has done. Eventually, the
provincial assemblies can also be shifted to solar, and provincial regulations
could be designed to encourage (‫ )دل بڑھانا‬fuel pumps to introduce the
technology on their premises too. These kinds of initiatives will help power the
solar revolution in critical ways. Since many of these departments work
mostly during daylight hours it makes their transition (‫ )تبديل۔ تغیر‬to solar more
viable. Commercial and government establishments have to lead the way in
pushing this revolution along in Pakistan, and the Punjab government has
shown the way forward with this initiative (‫)آغاز‬.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2021

Senate polls
EditorialPublished February 5, 2021

THE government has tabled a bill in the National Assembly to change the
voting mechanism in the Senate elections from secret to open balloting but
the opposition has blocked voting on the bill in this session. The government
on Wednesday presented the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill which also
seeks (‫ )تالش کرنا‬to give dual nationals the right to contest elections.

The bill elicited a strong reaction from the opposition benches and the
proceedings of the Assembly on Wednesday and Thursday were marred ( ‫ضرر‬
‫ )يا نقصان پہنچانا‬by fracas (‫)اُود َھم‬, sloganeering (‫ )نعرہ بازی کرنا‬and pandemonium
(‫)اندھیر نگری‬. Prime Minister Imran Khan has stated in the past also that
Senate elections should have open voting so that corruption is eliminated ( ‫نکال‬
‫ )دينا‬from the process. One example of senators voting against their parties was
witnessed in the no-confidence vote against Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani.
The vote was defeated even though the opposition had a clear majority. It is
an open secret that candidates for the upper house have to spend huge
amounts of money to buy votes from members of the provincial assemblies
who constitute (‫ )بنانا ۔ تَشکیل دينا‬their electoral college.

It is the responsibility of all political parties to bring about reforms (‫)اصالح دينا‬
that can eliminate this practice of vote buying in the Senate. However, the way
that the government has gone about doing this is unfortunate. It has launched
parallel initiatives (‫ )آغاز۔ بدايت‬in the Supreme Court as well as parliament to
change the system of voting without making a substantive effort (‫ )اہم کوشش‬to
build a consensus on this reform. The Supreme Court is hearing the case and
has yet to issue a verdict. It is strange that without waiting for the court to
announce a judgement, the government tried to get a vote in the National
Assembly. In addition, the government knew fully well that it did not have the
numbers to push through a constitutional amendment (‫) مترمی‬.

This is why this entire exercise appears geared towards gaining political
mileage by pointing out that the opposition does not want to legislate (‫)قانُون بَننا‬
on reform which, the government feels, can eliminate corruption in the Senate
electoral process. By needlessly politicising the issue, the government has
wasted an opportunity (‫ )موقع‬to bring about legislation through a detailed
process of debate, discussion and consensus. Whenever optics take the place of
genuine objectives, the outcome is always disappointing.

It would be advisable (‫شورےکے قابِل‬

َ ‫)م‬
َ for the government to abandon (‫) چھوڑنا‬
unnecessary haste, engage the opposition in a meaningful consultation for a
comprehensive set of electoral reforms, including the mode of voting for the
Senate, and forge (‫ )جعلی دستخط کرنا‬a consensus that benefits the system as a
whole. The aim should be to have this comprehensive reform legislated before
the next general elections so that all stakeholders are fully invested in it and to
ensure (‫ )اطمینان کرنا‬that the reform package does not become a victim of
political disagreements. If the government and the opposition genuinely want
to improve (‫ )بہتر ہونا‬the electoral system, they should avoid shortcuts and
choose the right way.

Published in Dawn, February 5th, 2021