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Reality bites in Pakistan
This refers to ‘Only respect for Pakistanis and Afghans can
win the wider war’ (AWSJ exclusive, Oct 12). Mr Hugo Restall
recounts the recent history of Afghanistan and Pakistan. His
understanding tone and plea to respect the two countries are
both, intriguing and enlightening. Seemingly, there’s a fair
degree of sympathy for the “idealistic Talibs” as opposed to
the “fundamentalist Burhanuddin Rabbani” as well as a certain
justification of Pakistan’s motives to change the geopolitical
situation in its favor “as Rabbani was drifting closer to India”.
However Mr Restall fails to distinguish between the degree of
India’s involvement with Rabbani and Pakistan’s support to the
Taliban. What the Taliban’s “idealism” gradually turned into
has been well documented. The editor has no comment to offer
on the subject.
The article provides an interesting idea — govern Afghanistan
by an international mandate as the country qualifies as a failed
state. While Pakistan is also adjudged to be in the same category,
the same dose is not prescribed for it. May be because the General
in command is bound to offer stiff resistance, or is it that
this task is too difficult for the international community.
While a sympathetic understanding and provision of financial
help to the new Afghanistan, and to a thoroughly corrupted army
and polity of Pakistan, is a laudable aim, will the end results
be as intended? Pakistan needs monthly doles from its creditors
to stay afloat, yet it wishes to impose an Islamic financial
system upon itself; it ignores trade with India which would
benefit it greatly; it allows madrassas to flourish and as the
US has now discovered, has made no mean contribution toward
the Sept 11 attacks.
The world clearly needs more than ‘sympathetic understanding’.
It needs a crash course in the hard realities of what the true
state of Pakistan is: a Molotov cocktail of lawlessness, corruption
and bigotry. Does the international community have the will
to force countries like Pakistan to restore its institutions
and inculcate liberal democratic thinking? There are moves to
tie international aid to the removal of corruption, but not
the corrupt. Tackling bigotry in an Islamic state where the
religious education system produces more graduates than technology
and business schools will be difficult. Who will bell this cat?
— K Yogi, on e-mail
Green corporates
This refers to the interview with Teri’s R K Pachauri (Oct 12).
The attempt to introduce green corporate practices is laudable.
The winners of the corporate awards can be put through the scanner
via a regular follow-up on their environment related practices.
The benchmark in deciding the award winners should be an optimal
usage of limited natural resources. Planting of trees in the
area of operation and other such activities (these could be
termed as lip service to the cause of the environment) should
not form the sole criterion.
The media also has a definite role to play. It has to set the
agenda to initiate a change in culture so that a polluter is
discouraged from polluting. The media ought not to relegate
its role — because of its propensity to grab sound bites as
also box columns — to focusing only on the lowest common denominator.
The dazzle of emotive, visually striking issues makes good copy
but is not able to serve the cause of environment in its totality.
By virtue of its vantage position, the media has a great responsibility
and indeed, the ability, to create synergies between all concerned
elements, transferring their knowledge and processes from one
to another and thus facilitating the cause.
— Nalin Rai, on e-mail |
