Tortures of
the Daily Grind
By Dr Shireen M. Mazari
At
the macro level we are inundated with fast-paced
developments at the national and international level
and every week there is something disturbing to
comment upon. Whether it is Mr. Blair's aggressive
state of self-denial on the fallout of Iraq on the
British citizenry; or Mr. Bush's instant wrecking
of a painstakingly-devised and US-spearheaded non-proliferation
regime as a result of his Administration's nuclear
agreement with India; or the US Administration's
pathetic efforts to quell Pakistan's legitimate
and serious concerns over the Indo-US nuclear deal
with the supply of two old albeit refurbished F-16s
at supposedly nominal cost; one is compelled to
comment and critique these developments that impact
Pakistan's national interests. In fact, some developments
go beyond simply undermining our national interest
and actually mock at our sensibilities. The F-16
decision falls in this category.
These "refurbished" F-16s, were probably
out-of-use planes that will now be given a new lease
on life! At the end of the day, no matter how “refurbished"
the fighter plane, it is not a state-of-the-art
machine and in the case of the F-16s, one can be
sure that what we get in terms of weapon systems
on the plane will be at least a degree less than
the capability the US builds into the Indian forces.
As for the quantity, this truly ridicules Pakistan,
coming as it does in the face of the massive defense
and nuclear deals the US has signed with India.
Finally, the declaration that these two planes are
coming to us at "nominal costs". We really
do have short memories otherwise we would remember
that we have paid an enormous amount of money for
F-16s which we never received. This money was never
returned to us because we were compensated for the
financial loss with the supply of wheat and soya
beans! So it was not just the F-16 manufacturers
that benefited but also the hard-pressed US farmers.
Therefore, let us not have any absurd talk of "nominal
cost".
To get back to the point made at the beginning,
all these developments cannot go without a comment.
However, there is another issue that also requires
urgent comment and that is the micro level daily
grind for even the middleclass citizens in this
country. There is a tortuous labyrinth of bureaucratic
hurdles and corrupt practices that have to be overcome
in order to complete the most mundane tasks.
Take the case of the district courts at the lowest
level of litigation. It is not a question of adverse
decisions as much as one of getting no decision
at all. One can go on for years with judges not
showing up when they are due to give a decision,
or with new dates being given because one party
consistently fails to show up. I realized the despair
and frustration felt by those with no connections
in the right places when I came across a widow and
her daughter who have been trying for the last six
years to get part of their duplex vacated. This
time round, the judge was to finally deliver a verdict
but, to no one's surprise, he simply failed to show
up. Yet this is a case which really requires no
great deliberation. The tenant not only proved difficult
in terms of rent payment but destroyed the structure
of the property by unapproved alterations in order
to use the residential premises for commercial purposes.
This is none other than a swanky furniture showroom
which attracts many influential clients.
Perhaps it is time the civil society, especially
the influential clients, take stock of the harassment
being perpetrated by this business on a helpless
family and boycott it. Clearly, the district courts
are not going to give any justice. Why CDA has failed
to take any action is equally incomprehensible since
they have issued summons to the business many times.
In some fields we are told that we have moved into
the high-tech twenty-first century. For instance,
we now have machine readable passports. But anyone
who has tried to get this passport will tell you
it is sheer hell - especially in the summer. In
Islamabad, the Aabpara passport office is congested
and suffocating, and since children also have to
be present in person, families have to go through
hours of torment to get a basic document. The minimum
time, if one is lucky, is a wait of over two hours.
Of course, since VIPs, including senior bureaucrats,
do not have to go through this torture - they have
another office especially for their convenience
- who is bothered about the plight of the ordinary
citizen?
As for dealing with the police - this is a torture
that few would wish to go through unless they have
very strong connections. In the latter case, you
can literally get away with murder. In this connection,
the boorish behavior of the traffic police has been
inflicted on almost all of us at one time or another.
For instance, just the other day, a traffic cop
practically broke the windscreen of a new car simply
to inform the driver that a car could not be on
the road with an "Applied For" placard
instead of a number plate. How is one to drive the
car from the showroom to one's home then? Surely
the cop should have first checked whether the car
had been driven past the mileage allowed for this
sticker.
Which brings me to the whole issue of the registration
of new cars. In Islamabad getting a license plate
is a major ordeal since computerization. First,
the man taking the money for registration and number
plates charges Rs 200 for a Rs 100 Red Crescent
ticket. Given the easy leasing facilities now available,
imagine the money being raked in simply on this
one scam. Then there is no certainty when one will
get the number plate because someone in AJK seems
to have been given the contract and he is in no
hurry to deliver. As for the registration book,
without influence it can take anything from over
one month to maybe four - and since the books also
seem to be in short supply, only the lucky ones
eventually get the book. Others have to make do
with a slip of paper and I know some folk who have
been carrying this for the last three years!
These travails are just the tip of the iceberg of
the torment Pakistanis have to endure in their own
country, as part of their daily routine. And I have
not mentioned the harassment to be undergone in
a futile attempt to rectify over-billing of utility
charges. Of course, all these are not problems for
those who can afford passports, cars and utilities.
For those who are unable to get even clean water,
life is merely a struggle for basic survival. We
are looking at the problems created by religious
extremism in response to perceived injustices across
the globe. But for our society, it is the growing
polarization between the privileged and underprivileged
and the increasing juxtaposition not just of wealth
and poverty but influence and the blatant use and
abuse of it.
(The writer is Director General of the Institute
of Strategic Studies, Islamabad. Courtesy The News)
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