Individual Counts

When the Chief of the Army Staff was sacked, Mushraff and his military friends rose to protest army ishtyle
When the Chief Justice was sacked, the judges and lawyers rose to protest kala coat ishtyle
When the Pakistan Tehreek -i-Insaaf party members were targetted in Karachi by the MQM Imran Khan rose to protest waliyati istyle
When his house was demolished only then did Senator Nasir Khan rise and resign in protest, parliamentary istyle

Before this, there wasn’t a whimper out of Senator Sahab over the drone attacks or on any other issue related to his Province.

Every man/woman for himself/herself in Pakistan.

Reminds us of the following :

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

Over the years, there has been growing demands, the world over for freedom of information laws. FOI laws actually empower the citizen to determine how his/her money i.e. the public money is being spent. An information request can be about anything. It can be about how much public money is spent on purchasing cookies at the Mayor’s office for staff meetings in the UK or it can be about getting expenditure details of public hospitals.

Pakistan also has an FOI Ordinance which has been taken up by Sherry Rehman for revision and improvement. However, according to FOI Pakistani experts like the CPDI , the proposed FOI 2008 has major loopholes . Some of them are :

The bill proposes to repeal FOI Ordinance 2002 but makes no mention of the Balochistan Freedom of Information Act2005 and the Sindh Freedom of Information Act 2006. This is likely to create legal confusion

The time limit for disclosing information has been reduced from 21 to 14 days, which although may seem a benefit, may not actually provide enough time for efficiency regarding correct and full details being disclosed.

There is no provision for speedy disposal of information requests pertaining to urgent matters.

Interestingly, Sherry Rehman introduced a private member bill on FOI in 2004 when she was in the opposition. However, according to experts there is a huge difference leading some to remark, “ Either Sherry Rehman has changed her stance on FOI or the baboos have got the better of her.”

Perhaps one needs to work for freedom from the baboos before one calls for Freedom of information.

We’ve received a number of comments and e-mails from people asking us as to why have’nt we blogged since October. That’s a good question, actually, with a number of potential answers.

One potential answer could be lack of time. However, not a totally correct one because for us time has always been a luxury but we’ve always found time to blog. Another could be extensive travelling of the blogging team members. Again not a totally correct answer because online access is available everywhere. So what is the truth? Perhaps frustration. Or is it ?

We don’t have the writer’s block….. We are flooded with ideas on what to blog about. But we keep asking ourselves is anyone listening? What are the windows of opportunity that can be used to bring about changes … changes in attitude, changes in mindset and changes in action? What are they and most importantly WHERE are they? What can we as a small team do to identify and use those windows of opportunity? We seem to putting out material in physical and virtual world but where is the impact?

But then is it fair to even ask as to what is the impact? Can we expect any impact… any results of decades old mess in a few months or years? Why are we even asking this question because isn’t the process of questioning and of keep a watch as important? Amartya Sen once said,“ A people of sheep beget a government of wolves” So isn’t the challenge not to become sheep ?

Are we getting burnt out? Or are we missing the point? What is the point? The judicial movement…. the media freedom…. the online opportunities etc etc. There are a multitude of opportunities. But how do we knit them together for impact?

We realize its rambling but thought would share it with people out there in the hope of some suggestions. Alternatively, perhaps we should as a friend said, “ snap out of it”

Some scenes that are truly Pakistani….

Was engaged in a discussion with some thirty working print and electronic journalists over the state of insecurity in the country. Journalists were sharing as to how they ‘ve interviewed people who on record have stated that they are avoiding places like well known hotels etc because of bomb threats. Just last week the Holiday Inn hotel Islamabad ( now known as the Islamabad Hotel) was cleared mid day because of a bomb hoax. The conversation then turned to war on terror, its reasons and the whole clash of religions and civilizations debate. One of the IL blogging team members shared how this Eid she had offered Eid prayers in a Jewish synagogue in Virginia,USA along with other Muslims . The Muslims of Virginia used to rent a Church hall for Eid prayers but this year the Church was being renovated so the Muslims had to find another space. The Jewish synagogue was an ideal place and the Jewish community of Virginia extended full support.
This “confession” meant as an example of peaceful religious co-existence caused almost an uproar. Journalists demanded to know as to how (a) firstly a woman could have offered Eid prayers and (b) how could Eid prayers be offered in a synagogue?

We cited the Faisal Mosque, Islamabad example where women do offer prayers but in separate halls. However, the journalists were enraged that men and women had offered prayers in one hall simultaneously. …. and of course that too in a synagogue. One journalist termed this as `distasteful and outrageous” and wondered what the Virginia Muslim community was thinking?

The discussion left us wondering …… why even the educated among us are so religiously confused and scared? The conversation had started with political insecurities and fear. It ended with us wondering why we are so scared of our own religion that we seek solace in ritualistic thinking?

Nando’s in Lahore wraps up the debate over the Zardari-Palin meeting beautifully:

Keep hearing the term. Have been using it ourselves too. Today, for some odd reason feel like confessing our confusion. We really don’t know what the term means. Need help.

What does the term “civil society” actually mean? When is this civil society “active?” How does it become “active?” How do you know if you have an “active civil society” in your country?

To err is human, as they say. However, to err and then be defiant is certainly foolish. Chief Minister Hoti was caught on camera showing his vote publicly to let his own party the ANP and their coalition partner PPP know that he had voted for Asif Ali Zardari. This was the agreed norm between the two parties to ensure that no votes go “missing” A clear violation of the sanctity of the vote but what is even more foolish is that the ANP has defended this practice on the grounds that it was “fun”
What perhaps is not “fun” is the need to address the trust deficit that exists between the ANP and the PPP in NWFP as the two parties have been squabbling over cabinet positions and other dole outs. It was the result of this trust deficit that they required both party members to show their votes to ensure that they vote for Zardari.

The political managers of the ANP certainly have to work overtime on this one!

We don’t know whether to laugh or cry. During a discussion on the Baluchistan women burning issue, a member of the Sindh Assembly declared that the Assembly should legislate on a “Freedom to marry” bill. This bill according to the honorable member would be to check practices like dishonorable killings.
The thinking behind this proposal is of course very sound. We still have cases, as exampled by the Balochistan case, of women not allowed to marry men of their choice.
However, is the Honorable Member of the Parliament aware that the issue is not about new legislation but about its implementation? The Constitution of Pakistan already guarantees all citizens freedom of choice, movement and religion. Thus, in an already heavily legislated but poorly implemented country like Pakistan we certainly don’t need more legislation.
Or do we?

These are some of things that are allegedly keeping him busy: