Is 18th Amendment sacred?

Discussion on 18th Constitutional Amendment has stirred up once again on mainstream Pakistani media, politicians and social media. The issue came into sharp focus after the Tehreek-e-Insaf Government hinted at re-visiting the amendment.

The debates suggest that the establishment and government is of the view that amendment has weakened the center’s hold on resources causing financial crises in the country.

All major opposition political parties like PPP, PML-N, JUI-F, ANP, QWP, PKMAP etc. have shown strong reaction to the Government’s plans of bringing amendments into the 18th constitutional amendment. The opposition parties say that revisiting of the amendment is aimed to rescind the provincial autonomy and have threatened launching countrywide protests even amidst coronavirus crises.

Senator Shibli Faraz, the newly appointed Federal Minister Information, says the time is not suitable for starting debate over 18th amendment issue, however, in his opinion there are certain weaknesses in that amendment and needs to be debated at certain suitable time. Previously PTI other leaders such as President Arif Alvi, Faisal Vawda and Asad Omar have also commented on weaknesses of 18th amendment.

The amendment was unanimously adopted by parliament in 2010 and was vastly hailed as a practical step towards making Pakistan a democracy.

Awami National Party Sardar Hussain Babak says the establishment may have no issue with the entire 102 articles of 18th amendment but he believes establishment wants to eliminate few articles like new interpretation of article 6, National Finance Commission (NFC) award and provincial autonomy.

Chairman Qaumi Watan Party Aftab Khan Sherpao in a statement said that the 18th amendment has struck down the Article 58(2) (b) that gave the president power to sack an elected government; similarly, the 18th Amendment provides the provinces with strong financial autonomy and sense of equality to the smaller provinces. He warned that any effort to repeal the 18th amendment would meet strong resistance.

On the other hand, there also have been many problems of capacity, competence of the provinces and their working liaison with the center, especially in education, health and more importantly in tax collection targets, failing on which made the center suffered greatly in terms of revenue collection and huge budget deficits.

Former Prime minister Shahid Khaqqan Abbasi in his TV interview in 2018, has criticized restructuring of the NFC award under 18th Amendment saying that 58 per cent share of fiscal resources is given to the provinces and center is left with meager resources for defense expenditure and debt servicing that constitute the major pie of the budget. He stressed the need for re-visiting few articles like that of NFC award of the 18th amendment.

Various legal and constitutional experts have termed the abolishing of numerous subjects under the 18th amendment as tantamount to weakening the federation and endangering the sovereignty of the state. For example, there is a need for a single curriculum and unified education system in all provinces of the country, but it could not be implemented due to the different priorities of provincial governments besides their capacity issues. The recent Coronavirus issue has badly exposed the incompetence of almost all provincial governments in terms of health facilities and governance. The provincial governments with all financial and legislative autonomy and billions of funds available with them did not purchase ventilators for hospitals in past 10 years nor did they do any planning or preparations for emergency situations like corona pandemic. Similarly, the center and provinces are divided over the nature of lockdown; it seems there is no coordination or chain of command between federal and provincial governments.

Civil society activists and human rights organizations have also shown concerns over certain clauses of 18th Amendments including barring non-Muslims from holding the office of president, calling it a discrimination against religious minorities.

A constitution is not a lifeless or static document, it is very much a living document, a social contract between the state and its citizens, which should be amended according to the challenges of time and situation. The constitution is a sacred document and every citizen must abide by it but 18th Amendment is merely a continuation of the changes and amendments starting from the first ever constitution of 1956 to the constitution of 1962, 1973 until the latest amendments and the process would continue. All the political parties should put their political interests aside and look into the matter with the perspective of national interest.

Neglected and Forgotten – KP Commission on status of women

The surge in the violence against women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the dysfunctional KP Commission on Status of Women (KPCSW) has put a question mark on the attitude of the KP government towards the eradication of violence against women in the province.

The KPCSW was formed in 2009 through an act of law to promote women’s rights and check discrimination against women. The most basic purpose to establish the Commission was to have a regulatory monitoring body that can work with sister government organizations as well as with NGO’s towards the emancipation of women, equalization of opportunities including socio-economic condition among women and men. But due to the non-serious attitude of the KP government, the commission is dysfunctional and is yet to officially form District bodies even after 11 years of its formulation.

Despite the fact that huge grants of Rs 40 million were allocated for its activities, it has badly failed to reduce violence against women in the province.
According to Aurat Foundation, an NGO working for women rights, an increase of 20 per cent has been noted in cases of violence against women in KP; highlighting that murder, honor killing was on top followed by other domestic violence issues.

As per the details released by Aurat Foundation the decade of state impunity (2009-2019), around 778 women were killed only in 2019, showing a steady rise in violence against women. As a whole, a total of 4,504 women and girls were reportedly killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the last 11 years.

Other than addressing women issues, the Commission has a mandate to conduct research on the issues related to the women of KPK especially those living in the remote areas of the province. The step was aimed to advise and better inform government regarding women issues and help the legislators to concentrate on relevant issues including Gender Based Violence. It would have also helped NGO sector to better understand the current status of women in the light of facts provided through Research papers but unfortunately nothing has been done in this regard and no worthwhile research has been conducted so far.

While talking to us on phone, an official associated with the commission revealed that the commission was apparently formed for helping the government to reduce the domestic violence against the women in KP; but it was nothing more than a political tool; most of the appointments in commission are based on nepotism who lacks the requisite skills or knowledge and thus affecting the productivity of commission. The official without mentioning his name further said that political meddling is high in the commission which has led to its failure.

It is important to mention that the KPCSW main responsibility was to play a key role in discouraging honor killings, domestic violence against women, forced marriages of minor girls and other women related issues in the province but unfortunately it has failed to deliver.

According to another official, in a major development in December 2017, the PTI-led government in KP had decided to implement the KP Commission on Status of Women Act, 2010 about the formation of DCSWs but the government failed to notify the official District Commission.

He further claimed that the commission is of no use without its complete setup on the district level and this is the reason that the KP government is under huge criticism from the civil society and NGOs.

Keeping in view the rise in violence against women, there is a need for activating the commission to its full potential to stem the rising trend in violence against KP women. The commission is a very good initiative and government should ensure that it works up to its full potential. It can work as a guiding hand for all institutes, policy makers and NGOs to invest in right areas and approach correctly to women issues in different areas.

How to Cope with Psychological Impact of COVID-19

Since the first case of novel coronavirus disease was diagnosed in December 2019, it has swept across the world and spurred a global response. It has brought abrupt changes in our life style and behavior. The entire world is right now experiencing some degree of lockdown alongwith precautionary measures such as social distancing.

While these steps may be critical to mitigate the spread of this disease, they will undoubtedly have consequences for mental health and well-being in both short and long term. Therefore, it is very important to assess impact of the outbreak on mental health of individual and population to focus on its remedies.

In Pakistani society and culture, most of the families still live in a joint family system where people are highly socialized. Steps such as self-isolation, social-distancing and quarantine are likely to have greater emotional and psychological impacts. However, the impact can be more severe on those people who are alone and away from their families due to various compulsions.

It is already evident that there is a substantial increase in anxiety and fear among public which is leading to depression. The psychological impact of quarantine may also include post-traumatic stress disorder, confusion, and frustration. Such behavioral and psychological impact can promote harmful habits such as substance use and resorting to various degrees of domestic violence.

However, all is not dark and gloomy, we can still manage to save ourselves from these harmful effects. Focus on personal activities could become a very important and protective factor against the psychological impact of coronavirus.

Anxiety usually stemmed from the perception of uncontrollable events, thus engaging and focusing on small actions such as improving hygiene, healthy diet, exercising, introspection, meditation, painting, gardening, cooking, reading books etc can really help our mental health. Any factor that can keeps you engaged and cope with stress, anxiety, and panic should be practiced. It is also very important not to over inform yourself regarding current situation. By now you already know all the precautionary measures, try to follow that and restrict your News time. There is a difference between careful and paranoid, while we all should be careful about the situation, we should not panic or get paranoid. As per doctors, it affects the immune system, making us more vulnerable to diseases and infections.

While government and health departments are managing COVID19 pandemic, mental health experts can help in ensuring mental health well-being and treating psychological issues stemming from current situation. In this regard, mental health practitioners can offer online and onsite support through counseling and psychotherapy. A timely counselling by an expert can be very helpful and may prevent development of serious psychosocial or mental issues.

There is no doubt that these are difficult and lonely times, nonetheless it also offers us opportunity to refocus on our personal and family health. Taking care of yourself, friends and your family can help you cope with the stress enabling you to emerge stronger from the current situation.

Ehsaas Emergency Cash Program

In March 2019, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced the Ehsaas program with much fanfare terming it an important step closer to his promised ‘Riyasat of Madina’ in which the poor and downtrodden would be taken care of, in an elaborative welfare system.

Ehsaas poverty reduction strategy is articulated in four pillars which include: addressing elite capture and making the government system work to create equality, safety nets for disadvantaged segments of the population, jobs and livelihood and human capital development.

The program is for the extreme poor which include orphans, widows, homeless, disabled, those who risk medical impoverishment, jobless, poor farmers, laborers, students from low-income backgrounds and for poor elderly citizens. This plan is also about lifting under developed areas where poverty is higher.

Pakistan went into a lockdown on March 22, due to the outbreak of COVID-19. A few days later, the Prime Minister announced Ehsaas Emergency Cash Program.

Under the supervision of Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection, Dr. Sania Nishtar, the government of Pakistan’s announced Rs. 150 billion social protection plan to help 12 million families. The raison d’etre of the Ehsaas Emergency Cash Program, according to Dr. Nishtar, is “to provide social protection to more than 12 million deserving families affected by the economic downturn due to COVID-19.” An immediate cash relief of Rs. 12,000 have been extended to every family of daily wage earners. Previously, the federal government was to provide this amount in installments; Rs 3000 per month for four months.

The scrutiny of the applicants is carried out by NADRA to determine whether the applicants have any land, property or related assets registered in their names or they are genuine applicants.

When the program was initially launched, it was marked with procedural anomalies and bureaucratic hitches related to the registration which created confusion and frustration among the deserving population. However, the officials concerned claim that these shortcomings have been redressed making the procedure more automated and efficient.

Apart from Ehsaas Emergency Cash Program, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have also launched the Ehsaas Imdad Program for the assistance of deserving families.

Sufficient precautionary measures have been taken to ensure the safety and security of the Ehsaas Emergency Cash beneficiaries arriving to collect cash assistance.
Ehsaas program is a good initiative to provide a temporary relief to millions of Pakistanis’ as they lose their daily or monthly livelihoods due to the impact of ongoing pandemic and economic meltdown.

One hopes that, the government will work with all stakeholders- public, private, civil society, philanthropists and expatriate Pakistanis to ensure that they deliver on PM promise of lifting millions of people out of poverty and build a strong foundation together for a stronger, safer, and successful Pakistan.

خیبرپختونخوا کو تصادم سے بچانے کی اشد ضرورت

 اس تلخ حقیقت اور حالات کے جبر سے انکار نہیں کیا جاسکتا کہ  1978اور اس کے تسلسل میں نائن الیون کے بعد ہمارے خطے خصوصاً افغانستان، پاکستان اور ایران میں نہ صرف مسلسل جنگیں لڑی گئیں بلکہ یہ خطہ عالمی پراکسیز  کا مرکز بھی بنا رہا اس پر ستم یہ کہ اس صورتحال اور عالمی پراکسیز کے نتیجے میں سرحد کے دونوں اطراف رہائش پذیر پشتون آبادی ہی زیادہ نشانہ بنی اور متاثر ہوئے ۔ پشتون چونکہ اسلام اور وطن پرستی کے معاملے پر زیادہ حساس اور جذباتی واقع ہوئے ہیں اس لیے جتنی بھی دو طرفہ جنگیں لڑی گئیں یہ انکا حصہ بنے رہے اور نتیجے کے طور پر برسوں تک متاثر بھی ہوتے رہے۔

 متعدد بار پشتون قیادت سے غلطیاں ہوئیں تو کئی بار عوام بھی ارادتاً یا بے خبری کے عالم میں ان پراکسیز کا حصہ بنتے گئے جس کے منفی اثرات یہ لوگ چالیس برسوں سے برداشت کرتے آرہے ہیں اور یہ سلسلہ کسی نہ کسی شکل میں اب بھی جاری ہے۔ جس کو بدقسمتی کا نام بھی دیا جاسکتا ہے ۔ تاریخی شواہد تو یہ ہیں کہ جب سوویت یونین ، افغانستان میں داخل نہیں ہوا تھا اور دور دور تک مروجہ جہادی سرگرمیوں کا نام و نشان نہیں تھا تب بھی پاکستان میں وقتا ًفوقتاً دہشت گردی کے واقعات ہوتے رہے اور سرحد پار سے باز تنظیموں کو باقاعدہ سرپرستی اور مالی معاونت کی جاتی رہی ۔ اس کے ردعمل میں ستر کی دہائی میں ذوالفقار علی بھٹو نے کاؤنٹر پالیسی کا آغاز کیا۔ یہ الگ بات ہے کہ اسی عرصے کے دوران پشتون زلمےکے پلیٹ فارم سے پاکستان میں کارروائیاں ہوتی رہی اور خباب بھٹو کی پھانسی کے بعد ان کے صاحبزادوں اور ساتھیوں نے ذوالفقار کے نام سے جو گوریلا تنظیم قائم کی اس کا مرکز بھی کابل رہا ۔ اسی طرح بلوچ علیحدگی پسندوں کی سرکاری سرپرستی بھی کی جاتی رہی ۔

پاکستان کا ریاستی موقف اس تمام معاملے پر یہ رہا کہ اس نے بعض افغان گروہ کو اپنے دفاع اور مذکورہ گروہوں کا راستہ روکنے کے لئے باہمی مفادات کے فارمولے کے تحت سپورٹ کیا۔  تاہم ایسے حلقوں کی کوئی کمی نہیں جن کا خیال ہے کہ پاکستان بوجوہ افغانستان میں مداخلت کرتا رہا ہے۔

 پس منظر اور اسباب جو بھی ہو زمینی حقائق کی روشنی میں بجا طور پر کہا جاسکتا ہے کہ پشتون میں سنجیدہ اور باعمل قیادت کے فقدان اور خطے میں لاتعداد پراکسیز اور عالمی مفادات کے ٹکراؤ نے افغانستان اور پاکستان کے پشتون بیلٹ کو میدان جنگ میں تبدیل کیا اور بہت سے لوگ نہ صرف جنگ لڑتے رہے بلکہ بعض نے جنگ اور اس کے بعد امن کو اپنے ذاتی اور سیاسی مقاصد کے لیے بھی استعمال کیا۔  امریکہ کا کردار ہدف تنقید بنا رہا اور پاکستان کی طرح سعودی عرب کو بھی صورتحال کا ذمہ دار قرار دیا جاتا رہا مگر سوویت یونین ، ایران اور بھارت کو بعض حلقے ان کے کردار کے حوالے سے نظر انداز کرکے سپورٹ کرتے رہے۔

 نائن الیون کے بعد لاتعداد جنگجو امریکا اور نیٹو کی غلط حکمت عملی کے باعث پاکستان کے قبائلی علاقوں میں گھس آئے چونکہ اس علاقے میں بعض انتظامی نقائص موجود تھے اور پاکستان عالمی دباؤ کی لپیٹ میں تھا اس لئے صورت حال ابتر ہوتی گئی۔  اس کے باوجود پاکستان المیزان سے لے کر آپریشن ضرب عضب سمیت ان علاقوں میں ایک درجن سے زائد آپریشن کئے ہیں اور آخری آپریشن کے نتیجہ میں جہاں شمالی اور جنوبی وزیرستان سے جنگجوؤں کا خاتمہ کیا وہاں فاٹا کو پختونخواہ میں شامل کیا گیا اور نصف درجن گروہوں نے  افغانستان جا کر پناہ لے لی جہاں ان کو بعض دوسری قوتوں نے پاکستان کے خلاف استعمال کرنا شروع کیا۔

 یہ شکایت یا تصور بجا ہے کہ آپریشن کے باوجود خیبرپختونخواہ خصوصاً شمالی اور جنوبی وزیرستان میں گاہے بگاہے حملوں کا سلسلہ جاری رہا اور حکومتی اداروں نے غالباً بعد از آپریشن درکار اقدامات پر زیادہ توجہ نہیں دی۔  تاہم اس حقیقت سے بھی انکار نہیں کیا جاسکتا کہ سرحد پار دہشتگردی  بڑا مسئلہ بنا رہا اور اس کے باوجود ماضی کے مقابلے میں حالات تیزی کے ساتھ اتنے بہتر ہونا شروع ہوگئے کہ ان دو اضلاع میں سیاسی سرگرمیاں شروع ہوگئیں۔  ان حلقوں نے بھی الیکشن لڑ کر کامیابی حاصل کی جو کہ پاکستان کے بعض اداروں پر مختلف نوعیت کے الزامات لگاتے رہے ، ساتھ میں بعض ناراض افراد کے ساتھ مذاکراتی سیشن کئے گئے تاکہ وہاں ہونے والی دو طرفہ زیادتیوں کا ازالہ کیا جاسکے ۔

سال 2020 کے اول میں جب افغانستان کے حالات پھر سے خراب ہونے لگے اور حملوں کی تعداد بڑھتی گئی تو فطری طور پر اس کا اثر اِن علاقوں پر بھی پڑھنے لگا اور شمالی جنوبی وزیرستان کے علاوہ مہمند ، باجوڑ، کرم اور بعض دیگر علاقوں میں حملے کرائے گئے۔

ریکارڈ کے مطابق اس عرصے کے دوران اب تک کے حملوں کے نتیجے میں سب سے زیادہ جانی نقصان پاک فوج کو اٹھانا پڑا ہے اور اب تک 4 افسران سمیت تقریباً 30 جو ان حملوں کا نشانہ بنے ہیں۔  بعض حملوں کے دوران ایک صوبائی وزیر سمیت حکومت کے حمایت یافتہ تقریباً ایک درجن افراد کو نشانہ بنایا گیا۔  یہ صورتحال ریاست کے لئے ایک چیلنج ہے اور اسی کا نتیجہ ہے کہ فورسز نے محدود آپریشن کے دوران درجنوں حملہ آوروں کو بھی نشانہ بنایا ۔ اس صورتحال میں ضرورت اس امر کی ہے کہ بدلتے علاقائی حالات کا غیر جانبدارانہ تجزیہ کرکے حکومت کے ساتھ تعاون کیا جائے اور عوام کو خوفذدہ اور بدگمان کرنے کے بجائے اعتماد میں لے کر کسی تصادم سے بچانے کی حکمت عملی اپنائی جائے کیونکہ اس خطے کے عام لوگ ان جنگوں اور نفرت کے کھیل سے تنگ آ چکے ہیں اور وہ تعلیم ،صحت اور ترقی کا نہ صرف تقاضا اور مطالبہ کر رہے ہیں بلکہ وقت آگیا ہے کہ نفرتوں کا کھیل ختم کرکے ان کے بنیادی حقوق،  انصاف اور تیز رفتار ترقی کو یقینی بنایا جائے۔

 ماضی کے تلخ واقعات کا ماتم کرنے اور الزامات در الزامات کے روایتی سلسلہ کے بجائے اگر فریقین اعتماد سازی کو فروغ دیکر ماضی کی غلطیوں سے گریز کا راستہ اپنا کر آگے بڑھے اور درپیش چلینجز اور متوقع خطرات کے پیش نظر صف بندی کریں تو اس کے انتہائی مثبت اثرات مرتب ہوں گے۔  بعض واقعات کی آڑ میں ان علاقوں کے عوام کو غصہ دلانے یا ان میں نفرت پھیلانے کا رویہ کسی بھی فریق کے مفاد میں نہیں ہے۔  ایس میں ضرورت اس بات کی ہے کہ منفی پروپیگنڈے ، الزامات دوطرفہ استقلال اور دوسروں کے مقاصد کے حصول کے لیے ان کے اعلیٰ کار بننے کا روایتی رویہ اور سلسلہ فوری طور پر بند کرکے مسائل اور بداعتمادی کے حل اور خاتمے پر توجہ دی جائے تاکہ جنگ زدہ عوام کے زخموں پر مرہم پٹی رکھ کر خطے کو مزید تصادم کشیدگی اور بد اعتمادی سے بچایا جا سکے۔

First ever Women Police Reporting Centre in Tribal Districts

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has fulfilled another promise in term of empowering women in KP and especially in tribal districts after it has established the first women police reporting Centre in Kurram district of KP in the history of tribal regions.

This important initiative of KP government has been admired by the local leaders, women activists, journalists and other members of the society. The initiative will not only help in addressing women issues in the region but also portray a positive and moderate image of the Pashtun society.

Before FATA merger, considerable strength of national politicians was skeptical about its true realization, however, such initiatives have proved that the provincial government so far is doing well and utilizing all its resources to facilitate and empower the people hailing from tribal districts.

On the occasion of inauguration, District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Quraish said that the Centre will help in empowering women and resolving their domestic issues with no constrains and delays. He elaborated that the government was planning to recruit a total of 50 women constables in the districts which will greatly help in improving the status of women in the district.

Local women activists hailing from Kurram district also praised the initiative terming it a positive move towards empowerment of women in the region.

While talking to us on phone, Naila Altaf a social and women rights activist said that it was a good move as it will provide a sense of protection to the women in district. She stated that in tribal districts, women are usually reluctant to share their issues with men but now they will be able to report their domestic issues with more ease.

Another social rights activist and ANP leader Naheed Afridi hailing from Khyber district said that despite her party-political differences with the ruling party, she will praise this move of the provincial government as it will ensure protection of women rights in tribal areas and help them report domestic abuse more conveniently.
She stated that government should also establish such centers in other tribal districts as it will greatly help women of tribal regions encouraging them to report domestic abuse and violence. She elaborated that now it was the time to move forward and show the world that the Pashtun society believes on women empowerment in every aspect of life.

It is pertinent to mention that Naheed Afridi was the first ever woman of Khyber district who contested elections on general seat in previous KP-FATA merger elections.
According to the DPO, the women police constable deployed in the newly formed Centre have been trained for their duties in term of how to tackle the issues women normally reports.

Besides, women activists, male social activists in the district also admired the move of the KP government, while talking to us Muhammad a social activist said that this move of the government was also admired by the local masses on social media; adding that after the merger and full extension of constitution to tribal areas, it was the need of the hour to establish such centers as it will ensure a more liberated and confident tribal women.

He stated that tribal women are highly oppressed and face regular domestic violence; however, such move will ensure that women are able to report such abuses more freely and create the requisite deterrence for the abusers.

The initiative is a positive step and provincial government should establish such centers in rest of the newly formed tribal districts as it will help in reducing violence against women and ensure a more equal society. Moreover, it is also very important that these centers maintain a very efficient and cooperative culture, only then it will be able to win over the confidence of tribal women and truly help them.