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Vol - II Edition - VI
August, 2007
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Gender

Women & Politics

Women’s Representation to be Increased in Elections

More than 120 women activists from four major political parties have decided to work to increase the number of women candidates in the next General Elections and in key party positions. Women activists from PPP, PML-Q, PML-N and ANP participated in four separate one-day workshops arranged by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Islamabad and Peshawar. Around 25 to 35 participants from the women’s wing of each party at the district, divisional, provincial and national level participated in a workshop conducted as a part of the NDI’s programme to support political parties through enhanced women’s representation.

According to the participants, women already played a vital role in supporting their parties election efforts through their connection with the people at the grassroots level and by actively reaching out to communities day to day and during the election campaign. Following are the key points of workshops:

They argued that increasing women’s representation in party decision making bodies and the number of tickets to women for general seats would further strengthen the party’s electoral chances by appealing directly to women voters.

They also recommended that reserved seats for women should be awarded on the basis of merit to be determined by a consensus of women in each party.

They also urged their parties to develop concrete policies in the election manifesto for the social and political uplift of the more than 50 percent women population in the country.

Participants also chalked out action plans to achieve these objectives through further strengthen their organizational capacity within women’s participation in the mother party election.

Women from each party group also committed to work together as a team in their parties before and after the coming General Elections.

EC Told to Ensure Women’s Registration

On 16 August, the Supreme Court ordered the Election Commission of Pakistan to ensure that the enrolment of eligible women voters left out in the tribal belts and rural areas during the last updating of computerized electoral rolls and the registration of 20 million missing voters are completed within 30 days. A five-member Supreme Court bench, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokhar, Justice M. Javed Buttar and Justice Sardar Raza Khan, took up a challenge by PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto against alleged irregularities in the draft electoral rolls.

The attention of the apex court towards a good number of missing votes of women from FATA and tribal areas of the NWFP and Balochistan was drawn by Advocate Shahid Hamid, representing the Pakistan Institute for Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) , a Non-Governmental Organization. He said the new electoral rolls had shown a sharp decline of 85 per cent in female voters in the frontier region as compared to the previous electoral rolls, adding that a similar decline had also been observed in other rural areas of Sindh and Balochistan.

The Chief Justice agreed that their names should be registered leaving away the concerns whether or not they caste their votes in the elections.

Women Councillors Want their Pay Doubled

Women members of the City District Assembly have urged the Government to enhance their honorarium, which they claimed was quite low. Presently, women councillors are paid Rs 1,500 as honorarium each month. Women councilors told that both Federal and District Governments had promised that their honorarium would be increased, but the promises were not honoured. Rayla Saleem, a councillor and a lawyer by profession, said that in the budget session, District Nazim Raja Javed Ikhlas had informed the members that from July, women councillors would get Rs 3,000 as honorarium. She said that President General Pervez Musharraf, while addressing women councillors from across the country at the Convention Centre in Islamabad, had announced that their honorarium would be doubled.

Women councillors have also complained that the Government is not doing enough for their welfare. Tahira Shaukat, a councillor, said the Women Development Ministry provided Rs 2.2 million to each District Government for the welfare of its women members, but the Rawalpindi District Government gave only Rs 1.1 million to the social welfare department. She said women had to visit various departments of the local government several times for approval of a project, adding that women councillors should not have troubles for the approval of their projects. She said there is no separate room for women councillors at the District Nazim’s Camp Office. She said the local government had also failed to establish a crisis centre for women in the district.

Women members of the District Council Multan have also urged the Government to enhance their honorarium, which they claimed was quite low. presently, women councillors are paid Rs1,500 as honorarium per month.

Women & Laws

Family Laws Silent on Divorced Women’s Rights

National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) report launched on August 9 says that the family laws in Pakistan are silent on the rights of divorced women and most of the women do not have the freedom to select spouse and a profession.

Following are the findings by the report:

The report says that the denial of rights to women is highest in Balochistan, as restriction on selection of profession is 66 percent, selection of spouse 77.1 percent, freedom of traveling 66.13 percent, problem in keeping contacts with others 64.97 percent and the denial of the right to inheritance 100 percent. The research carried out by the NCSW under United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) revealed that the concept of inheritance was evolved centuries ago as a deviation from the custom of burying wealth, widows, and slaves along with the deceased and continued to persist strictly under the patriarchal domain.

The report says that the implementation of inheritance laws as to immoveable property is regulated under the West Pakistan Land Revenue Act 1967 but due to the multiplicity of laws involved therein and lack of close coordination between the relevant institutions the women are being denied right to inheritance.

While highlighting the role of family laws it says that though there is no dearth of laws addressing the family issues unfortunately the prevailing policies and their implementations in Pakistan are not very clear about the rights of the divorced women.

It said that in the case of Muslims Personal Laws, the criteria for analysis was the primary sources of laws besides the constitutional guarantees, international commitments of Pakistan by virtue of being signatory to Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Convention on the Rights of Child (CRC) and the recommendations of the previous commissions and committees on the status of women, which hold valid for non-Muslim citizens of Pakistan as well.

The report says that the family laws have not been extended to Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA), as a result there are no family courts; the number of female judicial officers and lawyers is also negligible hence difficult for women to have access to justice.

The report says that the number of honour killing cases during 1997 to May 31 2007 in NWFP was 239 in which 141 cases were disposed of, in Balochistan was 57 in which 39 cases were disposed of, in Sindh 910 in which 293 cases were disposed of, in Punjab was 1,707 in which 1,142 cases were disposed of. The reported cases of acid throwing on women during 2001 were 0 in Sindh, 11 in Punjab, 38 in NWFP and 0 in Islamabad while during 2003 the cases increased as to two in Sindh, seven in Punjab, 0 in Balochistan and 68 in NWFP.

Women & HR

Women Reluctant to seek Marital Redress through the Courts in War Ravaged Afghanistan

In many parts of war-ravaged and underdeveloped Afghanistan, where most people are illiterate, conservative traditions and customs take precedence over Afghan law when it comes to personal and family disputes. Many Afghans believe that wedding their daughters to Afghans - often older men - who live in Western countries will ease their economic plight, but more often than not these turn out to be short-lived affairs. Some of these men spend a month or two with their young brides and then leave for good.

Suraya Subhrang, the women's rights commissioner at the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), said that the abandoned women suffer because the law is compromised by customs and traditions which go against Islamic principles and Afghanistan's civil codes

Qazi Mohammad Akbar who is the head of Faryab Province's secondary court said in this regard that women are legally entitled to get a divorce should their husbands stay away for over four years, but the stigma attached means that in practice this virtually never happens except in rare instances in the big cities. Men have the weight of prevailing traditions on their side and, especially in rural areas, exploit these to get what they want: An Islamic tradition, according to which a man can renounce his marriage simply by uttering the word `talaq', is still common. In Afghanistan's patriarchal society absent husbands also affect the children of such marriages, who are disadvantaged and stigmatized.

Officials at Afghanistan's Ministry of Women's Affairs (MoWA) say hundreds of women with absent husbands, or who have experienced domestic violence, have received legal counselling and advice. MoWA also assists women who apply for divorce. However, the women usually face resistance from their husbands or in-laws. Fawzia Siddiqui who is the member of Parliament is of the view that the number of women who dare to file for divorce and separation is very limited, and restricted only to Kabul and a few major cities.

According to AIHRC, in most areas, where tradition takes precedence over the law and where justice is thus restricted, women often take drastic action: In the last six months alone, over 250 women have committed suicide in the country. In the absence of their husbands, women experience violence and abuse from their in-laws. Some become desperate and see no option but self-immolation.

Women & Economics

Women are Paid Less than Minimum Wage

A draft report - Decent Work for All - prepared by the Federal Ministry for Labour and Manpower’s policy planning cell reveals that women are in an extremely disadvantageous position in terms of employment. As Government brainstorms its plan to provide decent employment to all, conditions on the ground are going from bad to worse, especially for women, in public as well as private sectors. Following are some of women related findings mentioned in the report:

More than three-fourths of women have monthly income that is less than the minimum wage as compared to half of their male counterparts.

A graver matter is the plight of almost half of the females whose monthly earning is even less than Rs1,500. More than a quarter of males and two-thirds of females have monthly income of less than Rs2,500.

The regional analysis shows that a higher proportion of women earn less than minimum wage in both urban and rural areas as compared to men.

The earnings are substantially low in rural areas as a higher proportion of both males and females earn less than Rs4,000 a month. In urban areas, the proportion of such workers is almost 40 per cent.

The main reason to work is to have enough earnings to support different household activities for a decent and comfortable living. But in Pakistan jobs are neither decent nor they carry salary package sufficient to fulfil even the basic requirements let alone all needs. The result is that workers especially low-grade employees mostly live hand to mouth. The problem is more serious for women because, apart from them being employed on meager wages, they also reportedly face discrimination and, sometimes, harassment at workplaces.

Books/Articles/Reports on Gender

Title: Getting it Right, Doing it Right: Gender and Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration

Author United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)

Publication Date October 2004

Publisher United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM),

Short Summary How can international assistance operations address the specific needs of women and girls in a practical way when planning in post-conflict situations? Disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) interventions often focus primarily on goals of disarming men rather than acknowledging there are women combatants or women supporters of armed groups. This guide aims to facilitate the implementation of the sections on DDR within Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. It contains lessons learned and recommendations from consultation, field visits, desk research and case studies on each of the following areas: frameworks and definitions; participation and decision-making; resources; weapons collection; cantonment (temporary troop housing); and demobilisation and reintegration. Two detailed case studies are provided on Liberia and Papua New Guinea. The guide concludes by providing a model standard operating procedure for those planning and executing DDR. Specific areas of work include: how to promote women's political participation; assessing plans; establishing institutional arrangements; planning benefits and incentives; bringing women into the process; and disarmament, resettlement and reintegration into communities.

Complete Document http://www.womenwarpeace.org/issues/ddr/gettingitright.pdf

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Democracy Watch

Presidential Elections

Issue of the Dual Offices

PML-Q on Re-Election

PML CEC Backs President’s Re-Election in Uniform: The Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) on August 4 formally approved the re-election of President General Pervez Musharraf in uniform from the current assemblies, but some senior office-bearers asked the Government to analyze all legal aspects before going for the move. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Chaudhry Shujaat proposed the president’s re-election in the month of Ramazan, but SM Zafar said this would invite the Supreme Court’s intervention. Zafar told the CEC members that they should evaluate the SC’s mood before finalizing the plan.

Federal Information Secretary Syed Anwar Mahmood said that President General Pervez Musharraf would shed his uniform in December after his Presidential Election. The Secretary’s remarks confirmed that President Musharraf not only plans to have the current assemblies elect him, while uniformed, but he will not appoint his successor as Army Chief until the end of the year.

Minister of State for Information Technology Ishaq Khakwani resigned from the cabinet on August 27 in protest against General Pervez Musharraf’s intentions of seeking re-election in uniform. Addressing a news conference at his residence, he said that he had taken the decision on his own as he had been expressing for quite some time that the President should quit the post of army chief and go for re-election on the basis of his performance. He said he is still in the party, but had not applied for ticket for the polls.

PML-Q President Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain has confirmed to President Pervez Musharraf that at least 12 treasury MNAs will not vote in his favour if he would seek election from the present assemblies with or without uniform. According to a report submitted to Musharraf by the PML-Q Chief, 10 out of 12 MNAs will not vote for the President while two are abroad and have no intentions to travel to Pakistan on the day of Presidential Election. The name of MNAs submitted to Musharraf are, Makhdoom Ahmed Alam Anwer, Muhammad Akhtar Kanjoo, Tasneem Nawaz Gardezi, Riaz Hussain Pirzada, Farooq Azam, Makhdoom Syed Ali Hasan Gilani, Sardar Bahadar Ahmed Seehar, Saima Akhtar Bharwana, Chaudhary Ejaz Ahmed, Umar Ahmed Ghumman, Gyan Chand Singh and Engineer Shahid Jameel.

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said in an interview with New York Times that President Pervez Musharraf ‘would not risk resigning his military post before his re-election to another Presidential term is assured. In the interview with the New York Times, he said ‘the driving factor behind the General’s decision to resign was the newly independent Supreme Court and the likelihood that the Chief Justice would declare his continued military rule unconstitutional’.

President’s Statements on Re-Election

President General Pervez Musharraf on August 5 flew down to Karachi to brief his staunch ally, the Muttahida Quami Movement, on the ruling coalition’s secretly planned move towards his re-election from the existing assemblies on Sept 15.The President is believed to have told the MQM delegation at the Governor’s House that no article or clause of the constitution bars his re-election as President. Analysts closely observing the ruling coalition’s statements on the President’s re-election, pointed out that the situation will become clear only after the announcement of the polling schedule by the Election Commission.

President General Pervez Musharraf said on August 6 that he would remain in uniform for the Presidential Election , which would be held before General Elections. The President, addressing PML MPAs, MNAs, Senators and District Nazims as well as PPP Patriots legislators, said a decision on his uniform would be made after the Presidential Election. General Musharraf said that it is a constitutional requirement that the Presidential Election be held one month before the end of his five-year term ending in November, so the election would be held between September 15 and October 15.

Talking to Federal and Provincial Ministers, Senators, Members of the National and Punjab Assembly, and District Nazims from Gujranwala, Kasur, Okara, Sialkot, Hafizabad, Sheikhupura, Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Narowal and Lahore at Chief Minister’s Secretariat on August 17, President Musharraf said that he wants to complete the mega projects and reforms introduced by him in the next Presidential term. President Musharraf told the public representatives that he had decided to get himself re-elected after consulting the Constitution. President Pervez Musharraf finally spoke out his heart on the military uniform when he told the treasury MPs that he is under no legal obligation to put it off. He quoted a Supreme Court judgment to endorse his point of view and said the incumbent Chief Justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was part of that five-member bench that had allowed him to stay in power as COAS-President. But he did not mention as to how long he could hold the dual office.

Legal Views

The CGEP formed by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) compiled a policy paper titled "Presidential Election 2007 and Constitutional, Political and Ethical Aspects for General Pervez Musharraf Seeking Election for Another Term." "According to the paper Musharraf can contest the presidential election only after two years of leaving his job as Chief of the Army Staff (COAS).

Commenting on the Government's view that the presidential term expires on November 15, and the election should be held within 30 to 60 days, the CGEP said that the presidential term has to be counted from the date of the vote of confidence on January 1, 2004. The paper cites Constitutional experts as saying that the presidential term, therefore, began with the referred oath taking, and Musharraf has already taken two consecutive oaths - one on June 20, 2001, and the other on November 16, 2002. About Musharraf's re-election by the present assemblies, the paper quoted experts as saying that the Constitution does not allow it.

Barrister Zafarulah Khan said on August 23 rd that President General Pervez Musharraf is not qualified to take part in the Presidential Electionsnow because he is holding dual offices of Chief of Army Staff as well as President of Pakistan.

Barrister Zafarullah Khan who is the aspiring candidate for the upcoming elections of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) said that any act or the hold another office Act 2004, is presently in conflict with various constitutional provisions such as 63 (i) (d) and Article 43 becomes redundant and void. He said that Article 63 (i) (d) has become operative on December 31, 2004 (The President will not hold an office of profit that is President who is in the service of Pakistan). A proviso was added under Article 41 (7) (b) under section 2 (1) or the constitution (Seventeen Amendment Act) Act 2003, to allow President to contest election previously. He further said that Article 43 is still applicable (The President shall not hold an office of profit) was never amended and it is already there and it is applicable now. Barrister Zafarullah Khan said that since the Constitutional provision become operative on December 31, 2004. Similarly the life of this Act of 2004 will come to end as well and is not operative any more. He said that the Oath of President under Article 42, was never amended, he is to act in accordance with the Constitution. Similarly, he said that under Article 244, Oath of member of the Armed forces, the article says on as it, any member of armed forces will not engage in any political activities.

On August 20, Senate sent the bills restricting powers of the Presidentto promulgate Ordinances, the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Bill 2007, along with six other bills, without opposition from the government benches to the concerned committees. The Eighteenth Amendment Bill, if enacted, would restrict the President to promulgate Ordinances during the on-going session of either the National Assembly or the Senate. Currently, the President is not empowered to promulgate Ordinances only when the National Assembly session is taking place.

Date for Re-Election

Sources in the Government said that the Presidential Election would most likely be held before General Musharraf’s visit to the United States next month. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session will start from the third 18 th of September and the President would address the UNGA on September 19 or 20. Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sher Afgan Niazi said that the President’s election can be held any time on or after September 15 but before October 15. The PPP has indicated that it will abstain from the electoral process if the president contests the election in uniform and Nawaz Sharif has announced that his party’s parliamentarians will resign in that case. Dr. Niazi said that the resignation of any member or members from the assemblies will not affect the presidential election.

Constitutional Petitions and the Presidential Elections

It is most likely that the constitutional petitions related to President's re-election will be decided before the announcement of election schedule.

These petitions include:

the holding of two offices by the President

the re-election of uniformed President

re-election of President by the same assemblies

the completion of Army Chief's tenure

These petitions raise a constitutional issue that have to be resolved before the re-election of President.

Law experts opine that the Supreme Court believes in an absolute sovereignty of constitution. A few anonymous dignitaries associated with the SC have told that the above mentioned cases will be decided before the President's re-election.

At present, there are more than 5 constitutional petitions and review appeals related to President's re-election. These include Qazi Hussain's petition regarding the tenure of Army Chief. The President of Communist Party, Engineer Jamil has also filed a petition to stop the election of uniformed President, while Jamat-e-Islami and Imran Khan have filed writ petitions against the unlawful election of the President in uniform. Moreover there is an appeal filed by the Lawyer's Forum to declare the holding of two offices unlawful and to review the decision on the 17th Amendment.

General Elections 2007/08?

Electoral Rolls/Election Commission of Pakistan

SC wants Updated List in 30 Days: Petition on Missing Voters

The Supreme Court on August 10 gave the Election Commission 30 days to complete the enrolment of eligible voters not included in the computerized electoral rolls. A Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and Justice M. Javed Buttar was hearing a challenge by PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto against the draft electoral rolls over alleged irregularities. In her petition, Ms Bhutto has accused the government of committing ‘institutionalized fraud’ with the nation by deleting over 22 million voters from the rolls.

The Election Commission sought 140 days to complete the exercise of registering over 20 million voters. But the court observed that no pretext could be provided for postponement of the General Election. The court ordered the commission to submit a formula for enrolling the voters during the stipulated period and also asked the legal counsel of the petitioner, Sardar Latif Khosa, to meet the Chief Election Commissioner for evolving a mechanism for the purpose. The case will again be taken up on Aug 16.

ECP’s Strategy to Register Missing Voters

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has worked out a strategy to include names of missing voters in the updated electoral rolls. A meeting of the Election Commission was held on August 17 with its Secretary Kunwar Dilshad in the chair. The meeting decided to update the rolls by incorporating the names of all eligible voters present in the voters list of 2002 but missing from the draft electoral rolls. According to Mr Dilshad, the additional lists will be prepared by the verifying officials, under the supervision of the registration officers, including the assistant election commissioners and deputy election commissioners, within 30 days.

FAFEN Rejects New ECP Drive for Missing Voters

The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has expressed reservations about the Election Commission of Pakistan's decision to reinitiate the door-to-door voters' registration campaign, saying that the drive may be used as a tool to postpone the elections and may result in bogus entries. FAFEN says that the new registration criteria that allows documents without photo identity involves serious risks and needs reviews to be made foolproof. "The condition of matriculation certificate would be helpful to increase the number of registered voters, but it may be manipulated as it does not include any photo identity and more importantly the address. The condition of a certificate by the union council nazims is even more risky, as such certificates can be easily obtained in a fraudulent manner or as a result of partisan considerations. Regarding ECP's decision to re-launch the door-to-door campaign to register missing voters, FAFEN asked how it is possible that the ECP staff will reach only missing voters.

‘Draft Electoral Roll 2007: Flawed but Fixable’ – Report by FAFEN

A report ‘Draft Electoral Roll 2007: Flawed but Fixable’ released by Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) was released on August 23.

FAFEN previously has made recommendations to “fix” the 2007 electoral roll by reconciling it with the existing NADRA database, which would be the fastest, least expensive, and most efficient way to add the most names to the list. However, the ECP, following instructions from the Supreme Court, is now comparing the 2002 electoral roll with the 2007 roll. FAFEN has concerns about the authenticity of the 2002 list; and has reservations about the ability of the ECP to correctly verify the names on that list for the purpose of adding eligible missing voters to the draft computerized roll. The ECP needs to take prompt and effective steps to address such concerns.

The FAFEN report is based on a statistically valid audit of the 2007 draft electoral roll conducted between June 13 and July 18, 2007, to verify its accuracy and completeness. FAFEN conducted a List-to-People and People-to-List audit in electoral areas covered by 506 randomly selected Display Centres in 102 districts throughout the country. Unlike previous voters’ lists, including the one used in 2002, the 2007 draft electoral roll contains very few errors of names, addresses and national identity card numbers.

According to the report:

Around 27 percent households in electoral areas covered by Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) have not been registered in the electoral rolls countrywide.

The highest number of unregistered households was found in NWFP at 45.53 percent followed by Balochistan 41.22 percent, Islamabad 37.5 percent, Punjab 23.36 percent and Sindh 16.73 percent.

It said that around 5.3 million households remained unregistered on the 2007 computerized draft electoral rolls, which otherwise is largely free of entry errors.

The report said that 7,094 households were checked during the audit, of which only 54.62 percent were found to have the exact number of males as were on the list, while 40.13 percent had the exact number of females.

Out of 7,094 households checked during the audit, only 54.62 percent of households were found to have the exact number of males as were on the list, while 40.13 percent had the exact number of females. Approximately 4 percent of names on the list were duplicate or, potentially, “fake” registered voters, of which the ECP is aware.

FAFEN also observed the quality of processes implemented 20,994 Display Centres by the ECP Display Centre Information Officers (DCIOs) in order to analyze their fairness, neutrality, and transparency, based on the ECP’s Manual of Instruction. Additionally, 3,226 DCIOs and 25,434 people visiting the Centres were interviewed, and FAFEN studied the activities of political parties and NGOs at 5,558 locations.

FAFEN fully supports the objective of enrolling all eligible voters and is ready to extend any advice and assistance. Based on the findings of its audit and additional analysis, FAFEN reiterates its recommendations for how to “fix” to 2007 electoral roll:

1. The ECP should ensure that the accuracy of the 2007 voters’ list is maintained. FAFEN believes that the ECP had better options to register more voters, for instance, by reconciling the draft roll with the NADRA database. However, as the ECP has now decided to compare the 2002 roll with the draft roll, it is extremely important that only fully verified names on the 2002 list should be added to the new computerized roll.

2. ECP and NADRA can still reconcile their databases so that all individuals currently holding CNICs in areas where elections will be held are automatically added to the 2007 electoral roll. NADRA had issued about 56 million CNICs by March 2007, but only 39-40 million of these individuals are listed on the draft electoral roll. Reconciling the NADRA and ECP databases would add approximately 16-17 million voters to the 55 million currently listed, resulting in a voters’ list with approximately 71-72 million names.

3. NADRA should produce and distribute as many CNICs as possible between now and the election day free of charge, and all of those individuals should be automatically enrolled or at least asked if they want to be added to the electoral roll. NADRA should cooperate with ECP and neutral volunteers to distribute the CNICs in a timely manner so that registered voters can vote on election day.

In addition,

4. Special attention should be given to increasing the registration of eligible women voters nationwide, as instructed by the Supreme Court.

5. The ECP must improve its coordination with its district offices and its operational planning in order to ensure timely flow of instructions and materials through the various tiers of the election administration.

FAFEN will continue observing the ECP’s preparation for the upcoming general elections and is ready to offer any assistance to register as many voters as possible.

Amendments Proposed in Electoral Rolls Act

While more than 30-million voters yet to be registered before next General Election, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has proposed amendments in the Electoral Rolls Act 1974, following the directions of Supreme Court. Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sher Afgan Niazi after detailed consultation with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) anticipated two amendments in the Act:

The document made available, revealed that first amendment is in sub-section I of section 18 is allow voters to bring along with a Photostat copy of the identity card issued or deemed to have been issued to him or her under the National Database and Registration Authority Ordinance 2000 shall be omitted.

The second one is about amendment in sub-section 1 of section 33 in the Act is that any other proof of identity shall be inserted during polling in forthcoming general election. While describing objects and reasons, it said that in the Constitutional Petition No 45/2007 (PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto against ECP and others, the computerized Electoral Rolls 2006-07 prepared by ECP has been challenged.

Major Reasons for Flaws in the Electoral Rolls

Herald in August 2007 issue published its observations on the flaws in electoral rolls which resulted in huge number of missing voters.

Deliberate Human Error

Poll trainers recorded a large-scale repetition of names in the electoral lists. Because the data entry operators were paid per entry they were tempted to copy and paste some names several times to claim more cash.

In many instances, the lists carry only the first name of an eligible voter. For example Mohammad Ali is abbreviated to Mohammad and Allah Bakhsh becomes Bakhsh.

Ghastly Omissions

Voters’ names are missing even though their identity card numbers and other details are mentioned.

Parents’ names are unlisted.

Relationship details of women are absent. For example the electoral list in Larkana district does not identify women as the wife or daughter of a particular family.

No mailing address is listed for scores of voters – not a single voter appears to have a postal address in a village of Kambar Shahdadkot district.

Election trainers speculate that there might be errors in identity card details but admit they cannot verify this due to lack of staff.

Incorrect Entries

Traditional Sindhi or Baloch names have been made to conform to the standard Urdu name. For instance, a woman by the name of Zahidan is rechristened Zahida. At times these names twist can be ludicrously derogatory.

Male voters’ names and their parents’ are misspelled.

Male voters’ have been included in the female voters’ lists in some cases in Larkana and Jacobabad districts and cities such as Lahore.

Sometimes electoral roll cover carries the name of one union council or revenue estate but the voters listed actually belong to another union council or revenue estate.

The name of electoral areas in many revenue estates have been written incorrectly.

Trouble with Blocks

The newly computerized rolls do not appear to be block wise (or equivalent to 1,000 voters or more depending on the size of an area/part of a constituency) since many of them are lumped together haphazardly.

In some instances in Shikarpur district even five blocks of different numbers are banded together in one book. Between 200 and 300 voters appear to be missing from a block in some cases.

Upto 100 names are missing in some other cases.

Poor Mobilization Efforts by All Stakeholders

Election Commission staff and poll trainers representing its partner organizations could not coordinate as planned on their voter mobilization initiatives.

Awareness campaigns were not conducted by skilled or even trained individuals.

Most of the country’s political parties did not bother to send their representatives to the constituencies where voter training and registration was undertaken.

No clear guidelines were provided by the Election Commission about the legal aspects of the voting process.

Voter Exclusion

Human-rights activists have voiced concern about the exclusion of Ahmedi voters from the single voters’ list which covers Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and Parsis. Such overt forms of discrimination are making rights activists very uncomfortable.

66 Parties Submit Statement of Accounts with EC

A total of 66 political parties, including all the major ones, have submitted statement of their accounts with the Election Commission of Pakistan. Thus no major political party has floated the provision of the Political Parties Order 2002.

Previously election symbols were allotted to as many as 77 parties, but this time, only 66 parties would be issued the same. Hence, Hence 11 parties did not evince interest in complying with the PPO provisions., which would have enabled them to take part in upcoming elections.

Nominations

PML-Q Tickets:

Chief Minister (CM) Pervaiz Elahi on August 4 declared Foreign Minister Khurshid MehmoodKasuri as the Pakistan Muslim League’s (PML) candidate from NA-140, Kasur. This was decided in a meeting of PML leaders belonging to Kasur district at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.

For NA-48, Ms. Aasya Azeem and for NA-49 Islamabad, the son of Former Deputy Speaker Haji Nawaz Kokhar, Mustafa Nawaz Kokhar have been awarded tickets by the party.

Punjab Parliamentary Secretary for Law Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan would contest from PP-179 and Public Health Engineering Minister Sardar Hassan Akhtar would be a party candidate from PP-180.

PPP Tickets:

Malik Shaukat Hayat Awan and Mohammad Umar Tarar have been awarded tickets by the PPP Chairperson to contest elections from PP-105 and PP-106 respectively. Meanwhile, Ishaq Azhar, PP ex-district President Malik Maqsood Awan and PPP Students Federation District President Malik Arbab Akram Khan have thanked the PPP Chairperson for awarding tickets to sincere workers of the party.

The expected candidates for NA-51 Gujar Khan are Raja Pervez Asharaf (PPP), Raja Tariq Kiyani (PP-4 Gujar Khan) and Brig (R) Hassan (PP-3 Gujar Khan).

Ticket Awarding – Relatives instead of Merit

There are various nominations which indicate that the tickets have been awarded on the basis of relationship and not on merit. Following are few examples:

From NA-49 Islamabad, PML-N Chairman Raja Zafar ul Haq would be contesting while his son would be the candidate from PP-3 Kahuta.

General Secretary of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) Raja Pervez Asharaf will contest from NA-51 Gujar Khan, while his son is the candidate from the same constituency at the provincial level.

Rawalpindi District Nazim’s younger son Raja Qalam Javed will be the candidate for PML-Q from NA-51 Gujar Khan.

Former Deputy Speaker Nawaz Kokhar’s son Mustafa Kokhar will be PML-Q’s candidate from NA-49. He himself is not eligible to contest polls.

Maulana Abdul Majeed Hazarvi, son of MNA Maulana Abdul Hakeem Hazarvi will contest from PP-11 Rawalpindi as a candidate of MMA.

Union Nazim Badshah Mir Khan Afridi was MPA on the ticket of PML-Q. Now he has been able to get ticket by PML-Q for his son Zohaib Khan Afridi who is Graduate and will contest from PP-12.

Qari Saeed ur Rehman (former Advisor to Punjab Provincial Minister)’s son Qari Attiq ur Rehman would be contesting elections on MMA ticket from Attock’s District Hazro.

From Chakwal two sisters, Fauzia Behram and Palwasha Behram would be the candidates of PPP.

From NA-52 and NA-54 Rawalpindi, two brothers, Raja Basharat and Raja Nasir would be the candidates for PML-Q.

Wife of Chaudhary Azeem (PM-Q) would be contesting polls from the NA-48

Chaudhary Sarfraz Afzal who is the son of Chaudhry Afzal (Former Chairman of the Rawalpindi District Council) would be the candidate on PML-N from PP-13 for the first time.

PPP’s leader Mushtaq Chaudhry’s son Omer Mushtaq Chaudhary will contest polls from PP-12.

UC Nazim Anjum Paracha got PPP ticket for his younger brother Aamir Paracha for NA-66.

PML-N, MMA Counter Grim Prospects in Jhang:

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), the two major opposition parties, have just about no candidate to field in any of the six constituencies of the district. Both these parties face the ominous and embarrassing prospect of waiting for the rejected stuff after the display of the final list of candidates by the ruling PML and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). Office-bearers of both PML-N and MMA at the district level and their provincial and central leaders have been persuading political stalwarts and potential candidates to contest elections from their parties. As of now only a couple of candidates have consented to contest the provincial assembly election while nobody has accepted their offer to contest elections from any of the NA seats.

Strong candidates have their own priorities and they prefer to contest election on the ticket of a political party, whose chances to win the elections and form the government is bright. Since the ruling PML has made it clear to award tickets mostly to the incumbent MNAs and MPAs, the remaining lot of strong candidates are giving preference to the PPP, firstly due to the presence of a large PPP vote bank in all constituencies and secondly due to the impression that PPP is the most likely party to form the government, either on its own or in coalition with the ruling PML.

The NA-86 consists of Chiniot municipality and its rural areas and the ruling PML will certainly award the ticket to its MNA from Sargodha, Muhammad Tahir Shah. The PPP had received six applications from this constituency, including one from former MNA Amir Hussain Syed, but the ticket has been awarded to Syed Anayat Ali Shah, on the recommendation of their district President Qazi Ali Hassan. The MMA has no potential aspirant despite the presence of a sizable vote bank in the city. The PML-N, too, will either have to make a request to Qaiser A Sheikh to accept its ticket or to look for any of the PPP-rejected applicant.

The NA-87, comprising Bhowana town and Mochiwala rural constituency, has three PPP ticket aspirants - Abida Hussain’s MPA daughter Sughra Imam, Faisal Saleh’s former MNA brother Asad Hayat and former PML MNA Maulana Rehmatullah to challenge the ascendancy of Minister of State Ghulam Bibi Bharwana. Maulana Rehmatullah could opt either for the PML-N or MMA if refused a PPP ticket. Presently, both parties are without a single applicant.

The NA-88, consisting of Shahjewna, Lialian and Chenabnagar constituency, is all set to witness a clash of titans, involving two stalwarts of the national politics - Abida Hussain and Faisal Saleh Hayat on PPP and PML tickets, respectively. No other political party has any candidate from this constituency.

In NA-89, comprising Jhang city and Saddar areas, the PPP will award the ticket to its only applicant Dr Abul Hassan to contest elections against PML’s parliamentary secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram. Another strong candidate from this constituency is Maulana Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi of the Millat-i-Islamia Party. Both PML-N and MMA have no potential candidate from this constituency as well.

The NA-90 consists of Shorkot tehsil and some parts of Jhang tehsil. A tug of war is going on between Sahibzada Nazir Sultan and Saima Akhtar Bharwana (MNA) to grab the PML ticket. Tehsil Nazim Madhu Lal Hussain has applied for a PPP ticket. If Nazir Sultan gets the ruling party ticket, Saima will likely to switch over to the PPP.

The NA-91 comprises Ahmedpur Sial tehsil and 18 Hazari area of Jhang tehsil. Sahibzada Mehboob Sultan and Rana Ataullah have been awarded the PML and PPP tickets, respectively. The PML-N and MMA are still looking for an applicant from both NA-90 and NA-91 constituencies.

PML-Q receives 552 Applications for 342 NA Seats

PML-Q till August 23 has received about 550 applications for the 342 seats of the National Assembly. Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi has already selected strong candidates from Punjab to contest elections on the PML-Q ticket. The same criteria has been adopted in Sindh where Chief Minister Dr. Arbab Gulham Rahim also wanted similar powers. Majority of party legislators from Seraiki belt are not showing much interest for party tickets and are looking forward to switch either to PML-N or the Pakistan People’s Party.

Next Candidate for PM

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on August 20 said that he would “always be a candidate” for Prime Minister’s office and indicated that both Presidential Election and general polls would be held on time. He told a group of editors and columnists during a visit to the provincial metropolis that the constituency from where he would contest the election was yet to be decided and hinted that he might be a candidate for more than one National Assembly seat.

While Pakistan Muslim League (PML) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain on August 22 rejected reports that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz would be the party’s candidate for the premiership if the PML won the elections. Addressing a press conference at Punjab House, Hussain said that President Pervez Musharraf and the party would decide who would be the next Prime Minister.

Enforcement of Emergency and the Upcoming Elections

Media citing official sources reported that emergency was likely to be imposed in the country after midnight of August 8 or on August 9. There were reports that emergency could likely to be imposed in the country owing to worsening security situation in the tribal belt and possible US air strike on Al-Qaeda hideouts in Pakistan’s territory. Parliamentarian Sher Afghan Niazi said that current security situation could lead to the imposition of emergency. However, the deputy information minister rejected such report. There were also reports that Chauhdary Shujjat Hussain, President of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML)-Q faction, hosted dinner for his party parliamentarians and informed about the prevailing situation and imposition of emergency in this regard.

Aitzaz Ahsan, opposition party member, in his guarded comments confirmed such reports. However, he said the decision has been taken due to the petition of former exiled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Then the people learnt that Condoleezza Rice had her 17 minute phone chat with President Musharraf at two in the morning, Islamabad time, and the clouds of ambiguity began to subside. While the world knows what the Americans had to say to Musharraf, only the Americans know what the general's response was.

The Supreme Court is to hear his petition of return to the country on Thursday. He was sent into exile to Saudi Arab after President Musharraf ousted his government in a bloodless coup.

Local channels also reported that initially the emergency will be imposed for a month and then later will be extended for three more months.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on August 9 ruled out the imposition of emergency in the country for the time being. He said that I have sent no advice to the President for proclamation of emergency in the country and the rumors in this regard are being spread by those who believe in politics of agitation and confrontation. He further said that the constitutional provisions of emergency were only activated in certain circumstances and there is no need for such an action at present.

Meanwhile, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Muhammad Ali Durrani claimed that President General Pervez Musharraf had rejected proposals to impose emergency in the country. He said some proposals were made to the President to impose emergency in view of the emerging challenges of terrorism and extremism.

According to the Constitutional experts the proclamation of emergency in the country would usurp the rights of judiciary to take cognizance of any action defying the fundamental rights conferred by the constitution. Articles 232 to 235, of the constitution deal with the state of emergency in the country. They further said that the constitutional experts of the government were constantly studying the relevant laws and prose and cones of such proclamation.

US played Role in decision reversal: The United States played a key role in steering President Pervez Musharraf away from declaring a state of emergency in Pakistan and the acknowledgement of this role came from no less a person than President George W. Bush himself who urged the Pakistani leader to focus on free and fair elections in his country. Diplomatic sources told that Ms Rice made two telephone calls; the first at 5 p.m. Washington time on August 8 and the second on the morning of August 9. Her conversation with President Musharraf focused on the possible declaration of a state of emergency in Pakistan and the General’s refusal to attend a tribal jirga in Kabul, the sources said.

Chaudhry Shujat Hussain admitted that he also suggested to President Musharraf for imposition of a partial emergency in the country after suicide attack on Sherpao. He said that after suicide attack on Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao, he suggested President Musharraf to impose a partial emergency in the country as terrorist and suicide attacks were escalating at that time, emphasizing partial emergency was the need of hour. He further said that if emergency was imposed in the country then Lal Masjid Operation could have never occurred nor suicide attacks in Waziristan. Shujat brushed aside the rumor that US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice called President Musharraf to stop him from imposition of emergency stressing who is US to interfere in our internal matters. Regarding President uniform issue, he said that the President said that he would decide according to the Constitution.

BB – Musharraf Deal .

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on September 1 sthile addressing a press conference in London said that she had not yet reached a power-sharing deal with President General Pervez Musharraf, but planning to return to the country soon. She added that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) would announce the precise date of her return on September 14 in Pakistan. She said that negotiations with Musharraf had stalled but added they had been “80 percent successful”. She believed that a “core” within the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) had “created a fuss” over the negotiations.

Conditions Set by Benazir for Cooperation with Regime

Ms Bhutto has put forward some conditions to the Government camp during the talks in London.

It said Ms Bhutto wanted Musahrraf to:

Announce to doff his uniform and name his successor too

All the politicians should be given indemnity across the board without any discrimination before they return to Pakistan

Selection of members of caretaker set-up

Balance between the powers of the President and the Prime Minister

Fair and free elections

Doing away with Constitutional clause which bars Ms Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif from holding office of Prime Minister for the third time

In return, the Government camp was seeking support of the PPP in the National Assembly to bring about a law to stop the Supreme Court of Pakistan from banning Musharraf from contesting elections in uniform and striking down of the clause that stops any Government servant from taking part in politics for two years.

US Concern Over Delay in Musharraf-BB Deal

With no immediate breakthrough in sight for Musharraf-Benazir deal, the United States, which is fully backing the efforts in this regard, has conveyed its profound displeasure to the two sides with a warning that delay in the formation of ‘moderate forces government’ could destabilize Pakistan.

The senior officials of Bush administration are in constant touch with Musharraf Government and Benazir-led People’s Party, and they have been urging the two sides to clinch a deal before it’s too late and Pakistan falls into the hands of extremists. However, the inability of two sides to agree on a deal to their mutual liking had perturbed the Bush administration and it had demanded afresh of the two camps to accelerate efforts for an early agreement, he said.

Analysis on Musharrf-BB Talks

Simon Robinson analyzes that what are the chances of Musharraf-BB deal and how far is the possibility that this deal could result in the betterment of Pakistan.

It is far from certain that Musharraf and Benazir can come to working agreement. Even if they can set aside their mutual antagonism and some early sticking points – like her insistence that he give up his military uniform – they face massive legal obstacles. For instance, it is up to the Supreme Court to decide whether the charges against Bhutto can be dropped, and whatever influence Musharraf may have had with the court has faded badly since his botched attempt this year to fire a top Judge. It is entirely possible that court could disqualify him from seeking re-election by citing a law that bars active military officers from holding political offices. For al these reasons, the General has not yet given up for his Plan A for survival: imposing martial law. He came within a whisker of invoking emergency powers on August 9; it took two phone calls from US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to talk him down.

There's little reason to believe that a Musharraf-Bhutto union would bring about the systemic change that Pakistan so desperately needs. Both leaders represent Pakistan's failed past, a history defined by close ties between the ruling élite and the military, recurrent corruption and the creeping Islamization of a country whose original vision was a more secular Muslim state. Partly for this reason, there's no guarantee that Musharraf and Bhutto would win enough votes to control the next Parliament. Eight years of military rule have left Pakistanis frustrated and angry. Many now see Musharraf as little more than a U.S. stooge. Meanwhile, support for Bhutto's party, the Pakistan People's Party, has been weakened by the revelation that she is contemplating a deal. "We are all exasperated. She was a symbol of democratic values, of decent values, of political and religious moderation," says Iftikhar Gilani, a Law Minister under Bhutto. "Benazir has lost credibility because of this deal with a dictator." So a pairing could end up weakening both sides rather than strengthening them.

Washington is hopeful that a deal can be worked out. But it knows that Musharraf has a history of getting out of a mess by taking out his weapons. As an Administration official puts it, "The question still becomes, At what point does his tendency as a commando to, you know, blow his way out of the situation, take over?"

Will the Exile Leaders would be Able to come Back Before Elections?

President General Pervez Musharraf has said that the next General Elections will be held under the supervision of an interim set-up and the three exiled leaders should not return to the country before elections because political stability is needed to hold elections on time. He said the agreement with former Premier Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif would be produced in the court at a proper time. The president was talking to All Pakistan Newspapers Society's office-bearers and Executive Body members at the Presidency on August 11.

Supreme Court’s Verdict on the Return of Sharif Family

A seven-member larger bench of the Supreme Court on August 23 unanimously ruled that former Premier Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif could come return to Pakistan at any time. Headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the bench accepted the constitutional petitions of the Sharif brothers in which they had asked the court to instruct the Government not to hinder their return.

Mian Nawaz Sharif on August 30 th announced while addressing a press conference that he along with Shahbaz Sharif would return home on September 10 following the recommendations of his Party and the APDM.

The Government established contacts with the authorities in Saudi Arabia in the wake of the announcement made by Nawaz Sharif to return to Pakistan on September 10, disregarding the ‘undertaking’ with international guarantors. The Government is confident that the Sharif brothers would not be able to make their return to Pakistan as a result of the interference by the Saudi elders. An envoy of the Saudi leadership is expected to contact the Sharif brothers in a day or two to remind them of the understanding pertaining to their exile from the country till December 2010. Visibly upset over the Sharif brothers’ announcement, the Presidency is exploring a number of steps to deal with the development including diverting the Sharif brothers plane to Jeddah, boarding them on arrival here, to yet another Jeddah-bound flight and declaring Islamabad airport as a ‘no go area’ on the D-day. Resorting to some extraordinary legal measures is also being studied as a last resort on the political side to deal with the upcoming situation.

Pakistan People's Party Chairperson and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto will be announcing the date of her return to the country on September 14.

Other News

Release of Jawed Hashmi

On August 3, the Supreme Court ordered immediate release of PML-N leader Makhdoom Javed Hashmi who was jailed in 2004 on treason charges. Javed Hashmi released from the Kot Lakhpat Jail, Lahore, on August 4.

Javed Hashmi, who is also Parliamentary Leader of the PML-N, was sentenced to a consolidated jail term of 23 years in April 12, 2004, on sedition charges by Islamabad District and Sessions Judge Chaudhry Asad Raza. The sentence was to run concurrently requiring the convict to serve seven years. However, the SC short order said his sentence stood suspended till the pendency of his appeal before the LHC, adding that the detailed reasons would be recorded later.

Political leaders belonging to the opposition and the ruling party have welcomed the release of Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, acting president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

No Allotment of Motivational Symbols

In a major development, the government has decided that no election symbol carrying motivational attachment of the masses would be awarded to any political party. The decision was taken at the highest level as Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has been advised to avoid awarding such symbols, which exploit the emotions of voters.

Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) would be the first to be effected by this decision as they are no more getting the symbol of book in next elections. MMA in 2002 elections depicted their symbol of book as Holy Quran and exploited the voters on religious grounds. The entire list of election symbols was revised at the highest level and all such signs were removed from the catalog.

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Governance at Large

Governance Issues and Provinces

Punjab Assembly Passed 76 Laws in Five Years

The Punjab Assembly has passed a total of 76 laws since its commencement on November 25. 2002.

Year

Total Bills

Name of Bill

First

(Nov 25, 2002 - Nov 3, 2003)

14

The Punjab Removal from Services (Special Powers) Amendment Act 2003

The Bank of Punjab (First Amendment) Act 2003

The Punjab Office of the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2003, The Punjab Local Government (First Amendment) Act 2003, The Punjab Marriage Functions (Prohibition of Ostentatious Displays and Wasteful Expenses) Act 2003

The Lahore Arts Council (First Amendment) Act 2003

The Punjab Juvenile Smoking (Amendment) Act 2003

The Punjab Agriculture Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2003

The Punjab Medical and Health Institutions Act 2003

The Punjab Provincial Assembly (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges of Members (Amendment) Act 2003

The Punjab Finance Act 2003

The Institute of South Asia, Lahore, Act 2003

The Punjab Supervision and Control of Children Homes (Amendment) Act 2003

Private Members Act by Shaheena Asad

The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab Privileges (Amendment) Act 2003

Second

(Dec 29, 2003 - Sep 27, 2004)

23

The New Murree Development Authority Act 2004

The Govt College University, Lahore (Amendment) Act 2004, The Lahore College for Women University Lahore (Amendment) Act 2004

The University of Education Lahore (Amendment) Act 2004

The Govt College University Faisalabad (Amendment) Act 2004, The University of Sargodha (Amendment) Act 2004

The University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila (Amendment) Act 2004

The Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi (Amendment) Act 2004

The University of Gujrat Act 2004

The Punjab Government Servants Housing Foundation Act 2004

The Punjab Journalists Housing Foundation Act 2004

The Punjab Education Foundation Act 2004

The Punjab Private Security Companies (Regulation and Control) (Amendment) Act 2004

The GIFT University , Gujranwala Act 2004

The University of Management and Technology, Lahore Act

2004

The Superior College, Lahore Act 2004

The New Murree Development Authority (Amendment) Act 2004

The Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act 2004

The Punjab Finance Act 2004

The Provincial Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2004

The Punjab Institute of Languages, Art and Culture Act 2004, The Punjab Social Services Board (Amendment) Act 2004

The Forman Christian College, Lahore Act 2004.

Third

(Jan 6, 2005 - Nov 24, 2005)

14

The Punjab Heritage Foundation Act 2005

The Punjab Consumer Protection Act 2005

The Punjab Civil Servants (Amendment) Act 2005

The Punjab Urban Immoveable Property Tax (Amendment) Act 2005

The King Edward Medical University Act 2005

The Provincial Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2005

The Punjab Finance Act 2005

The Beaconhouse National University Lahore Act 2005

The University of South Asia, Lahore Act 2005

The Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2005

The Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (Amendment) Act 2005

The Minhaj University, Lahore Act 2005

The Societies Registration (Amendment) Act 2005

The Bank of Punjab (Amendment) Act 2005.

Fourth

(Mar 4, 2006 - Nov 21, 2006)

17

The Punjab Marriage Functions (Prohibition of Ostentatious Displays and Wasteful Expenses (Repeal) Act 2006

The Provincial Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2006

The Punjab Criminal Prosecution Service (Constitution, Functions and Powers) Act 2006

The Punjab Emergency Service Act 2006

The Punjab Finance Act 2006

The Cooperatives Societies (Amendment) Act 2006

The Societies Registration (Amendment) Act 2006

The Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2006

The Punjab Revision of Emoluments of Public Representatives Act 2006

The Punjab Civil Servants (Amendment) Act 2006

The Punjab Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2006

The Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act 2006

The Punjab Local Government (Amendment) Act 2006

The University of Agriculture Facilities of Public Representatives Act 2006

The Punjab Revision of Medical Facilities of Public Representatives Bill 2006

The Punjab Development of Cities

The Punjab Revision of Medical Facilities of Public Representatives Bill 2006

The Punjab Development of Cities (Amendment) Act 2006

The Canal and Drainage (Amendment) Bill 2006.

Fifth

08

The Punjab Pension Fund Act 2007

The Punjab Land Revenue (Amendment) Act 2007

The University of Education, Lahore (Amendment) Act 2007

The Punjab Border Military Police (Amendment) Act 2007

The Punjab Prohibition of Private Money Lending Act 2007

The Punjab Finance Act 2007, The Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children (First Amendment) Act 2007

The University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi (Amendment) Act 2007.

NWFP Government Proposes Changes in the Constitution

A high-powered constitutional reforms committee formed by the NWFP Government has proposed a number of amendments to the 1973 Constitution, seeking political, financial and social autonomy for the four federating units.

The committee has suggested that

The Governor should be bound to sign a bill within seven days instead of giving his assent to the document in 30 days.

It has been recommended that a bona fide resident of the Province should be appointed Governor rather than inducting a non-local in the same office.

The committee, headed by provincial education minister Fazl Ali Haqqani, has convened a meeting here on Saturday to seek consent of the parliamentary party leaders of different political parties for the proposed constitutional reforms package.

The committee has suggested amendments to 25 articles of the 1973 Constitution, including transferring some of the concurrent list’s subjects to the federating units.

It also suggested financial and administrative autonomy to be vested with the provinces.

The reforms committee had suggested, convening meeting of the Council of Common Interests twice in a year to discuss issues related with the provinces.

President’s Live and Let Live Policy towards Judiciary

Lt-Gen (Retd) Hamid Javaid, Chief of Staff to the President, has met the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry at the latter’s official residence. A senior Presidency source told that the unscheduled visit of the presidential top aide was a goodwill gesture aimed at assuring the country’s top Judge that the President had wholeheartedly accepted the restoration of the Chief Justice.

This has been the first-ever, high-level contact between the Presidency and Justice Iftikhar after the latter’s historic return as the chief justice of Pakistan. Within days of the chief justice’s restoration, President General Pervez Musharraf had desired to re-discover his past family ties with Justice Iftikhar. About the rationale behind the Presidency’s initiative, the source said that Musharraf just wanted to convey to the Chief Justice that he had accepted the Supreme Court’s July 20 decision. When asked as to what was the response of the chief justice, the source said that Justice Iftikhar was of the view that he too had no hard feelings against anyone. The Chief Justice, according to the source, maintained that he held no grudge against anyone and assured that all his decisions would be strictly in line with the law and the Constitution without any bias.

The top Judge of the country, however, made it clear that he would now avoid meeting the key members of the Executive and also ignore dinning with them to uphold the judiciary’s old principles that expect from the Judges to be extra cautious, while socializing with other members of the society, particularly, the Rulers.

On August 16, President Pervez Mushararf unveiled his “live and let live policy” towards the judiciary, urging both the Judiciary and the Executive to remain within their limits and not to interfere in each other’s work. On the first leg of the Presidential Election campaign in Faisalabad, Musharraf told the treasury MPs about his efforts to broker a patch-up with the Chief Justice of Pakistan in the post-July 20 scenario. MNAs, MPAs and senators of Sargodha and Faisalabad divisions constituted the audience of General Musharraf. Majority of them extended full-fledged support to him but expressed concerns about the not-so-good relations with the judiciary and rising extremism. Their apprehensions about the likely decision in the Nawaz Sharif case and upon his being in uniform, prompted Musharraf to speak his mind as to how the sour relations with the judiciary could be normalised.

The President further said: “The Judiciary and the Executive have different jobs and they should mind their respective businesses. They should not interfere in each other’s work.”

What People Think – Survey

Herald published a Survey to judge the opinion of masses on various issues varying from political situation to women rights, foreign policy, media and other governance issues. Following are some of the responses divided according to issues:

Pakistan :

Few questions were asked about theory and future of Pakistan. Like people’s opinion was sought about survival of Pakistan within next 15 years. 86% responded in yes while 13% said that they don’t think that Pakistan will survive the next 15 years. About the situation of Muslims after the creation of Pakistan, 66% said that now they are better off than before the Partition in comparison to 34% who responded by saying no. 43% of the respondents were of the opinion that Jinnah intended Pakistan to be a religious state but 44% said that Jinnah intended Pakistan to be a modern democracy while 12% responded by saying that they don’t know. Another question was asked about Martial Law. 66% admitted that Martial Law has harmed Pakistan. 34% were of the opinion that Martial Law has benefited Pakistan and 1% didn’t answer.

Corruption:

There were different questions to judge people’s opinion about corruption in different departments and institutes. When asked about corruption among politicians, 82% said that yes politicians are most corrupt and 9% answered in no. 71% thought bureaucrats as most corrupt while 10% didn’t agree in this regard. When asked that are Judges most corrupt, 57% responded in yes while 43%’s answer was in no. Another interesting question was about corruption among Generals, 47% of the respondents viewed Generals more corrupt than before while 28% opined them less corrupt than before. 25% didn’t answer to the question. Police topped in corruption level with 59% when asked about corruption in different government departments. WAPDA with 19% was on second in corruption. Education was viewed as most corrupt department by 8% respondents while Health Department by 7% respondents.

Governance:

62% respondents were of the view that military spending should be cut in comparison to 38% who said no it shouldn’t be. People were asked about their opinion that should religion and politics be kept separate. 73% responded replied in yes while 27% said no. 61% respondents opposed the Presidential system of Government, however 38% approved this system of Government. People were also asked about the rights of minorities in Pakistan. 67% opined that the rights of the minorities are effectively protected in Pakistan. Those who didn’t agree were 32% of the total respondents.

Democracy:

78% respondents opined democracy as the right political system in Pakistan but 21% said that no its not the right political system in Pakistan. Respondents who viewed Musharraf as a better ruler than Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif comprised 48% in comparison to 52% who said no he is not a better ruler than Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.

International Relations:

The survey put forth few international politics related questions as well. One question was about Pakistan’s taking side with the United States in the war on terror. 66% opposed while 34% approved Pakistan’s stance in this regard.

Women’s Rights:

A question about women’s rights solicited people’s opinion about kind of restrictions the Taliban had imposed on the women in Pakistan. 73% opposed such restrictions on women in conflict to 27% who were in favour. About the right of divorce, 66% opposed that women can’t have equal right to divorce as men have. 34% said that women should be having the same right to divorce as that of men. 46% respondents were of the view that they will allow their daughter or sister to marry of her own free will but ironically 54% said that they wouldn’t allow their daughter or sister to marry of her own free will.

Inflation Rate – Figures by the FBS

Official figures released by the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) on August 13 showed that inflation measured through consumer price index (CPI) declined by 1.01pc in July 2007 over the previous month (June 2007). This showed that the tight monetary policy had resulted into bringing down the core inflation — non-food, non-energy — which pushed down overall inflation during the first month of the current fiscal year.

Consumer price inflation rose modestly by 6.37 per cent in July over the same month last year owing to tight monetary policy. This would be the lowest increase in inflation, so far, recorded in any month of the last fiscal year because of falling prices, particularly freezing of oil prices which helped control non-food inflation. The government has projected 6.5pc annual inflation to be achieved during the year 2007-08. The annual inflation in 2006-07 was 7.77 per cent as against the projected target of 7 per cent.

However, the challenging issue of food supply and overcoming shortage of food items still remains the same as the food inflation is still on the higher side, which recorded a growth of 8.47pc during July 2007 over the last year’s figures in July. This means that the scaling down of overall inflation will not bear any fruits as food prices, which were mostly consumed by the poor people, are still on the higher side. Though the Government recently constituted a ministerial committee on core food inflationfor working out short-and long-term policy measures, it is yet to come up with some solution for arresting prices of some essential commodities. Analysts said food inflation would further rise as supply of essential commodities, like potatoes, onions etc., in the market might decrease, coupled by increase in the price of sugar, wheat, meat and some vegetables.

Apart from the increase in food items, the medicare charges and education went up by 13.99pc and 6.22pc, respectively, in July 2007 over the same months of last year. This indicates that charges of basic facilities, like life-saving drugs and education fee, sky-rocketed, thus affecting the monthly budget of the poor people.

The house rent recorded a growth of 6.91pc in July 2007, textile products 7.41pc, household furniture 6.15pc, fuel and light 2.56pc and laundry 4.96pc over the same month of last year.

The only area where some decrease was witnessed was transport and communications which recorded a negative growth of 3.07pc and recreation charges 0.01pc during the month under review over last year.

The wholesale prices of commodities increased by 7.60pc in the month of July 2007 over the same month last year. Official figures released by the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) showed that on a monthly basis, the wholesale price of commodities witnessed an upward trend, indicating that prices of products would increase at retail stage.

The WPI measures changes in average ex-factory and wholesale prices of 425 items grouped into five broad categories. The categories include food items, raw material, fuel, lighting and lubricants, manufacturing and building material. The main commodities, which showed an increase in their prices during July 2007 over June 2007, are as under:

Food: Vegetables (15.22pc), eggs (12.69pc), basEn (10.98pc), onions (9.89pc), gram split (8.57pc), potatoes (8.50pc), wheat flour (6.09pc), maida (6.04pc), masoor (6.01pc), bajra (5.86pc), wheat (5.46pc), cotton-seed oil (5.43pc), chicken (5.27pc), sugar refined (4.02pc), mustard and rapeseed oil (3.25pc), powdered milk (3.21pc), rice (2.54pc) and salt (1.50pc). Cotton (6.84pc), mustard/rapeseeds (5.21pc), tobacco (1.28pc), coke (13.64pc), furnace oil (7.38pc), chemicals (3.81pc), fertilisers (2.23pc), soaps (1.69pc), iron bars and sheets (3.25pc) and bricks (1.63pc).

The main commodities which showed a decrease in their prices in July 2007 over June 2007 are in food: tomatoes (39.86pc), moong (4.03pc), maize (2.75pc), jowar (2.48pc), gram whole (2.44pc), fresh fruits (1.79pc), gur (1.67pc), fish (1.63pc), pig iron (5.89pc), skins (3.30pc) and paper (1.12pc).

Human Development in South Asia – Mehbub ul Haq Human Development Report in South Asia

Mehbub ul Haq Human Development Center Report 2006 on Human Development in South Asia reveals that about one third of Pakistanis still live below the national poverty line. The report projects the fact that though the Pakistani poverty experiences have been cyclical in trends — poverty increasing in 1960s, declining in 70s and 80s and again showing an upward trend in the 90s. The report confirms the government claim that poverty has decreased during the last six years, and the overall poverty headcount decreased in the year 2005 as compared with 2000-01.

In the context of Pakistan, the report has drawn interesting conclusion vis- -a-vis incidence of poverty at the provincial levels. According to the report, the incidence of poverty is at its highest in NWFP with headcount ratio jumping from 33 per cent in 1992 to 41 per cent in 2001. Likewise the headcount ratio percentage has shown sharp rising trends in Balochistan and Sindh due to drought like situation in both the provinces. The report concludes that poverty is more pronounced in South Punjab i.e 53 per cent, while it is the lowest in North Punjab where the estimates are close to 26 per cent. The report links to poverty incidence in rural areas with the land ownership patterns and points out that about 40 per cent of the rural poor draw their poverty impact from the fact that they are landless. The report states that the poverty reduction pace has been rather slow in Pakistan and is much slower than the pace of economic growth in the country.

The report advises the Government to empower the poor by giving them access to financial capital and the provision of land. It further points out that in the absence of any participatory mode, the poverty reduction interventions may not produce any result.

Vision 2030 – Draft Report

President General Pervez Musharraf on August 21 approved the draft document for the Vision 2030 plan, which aims to increase the size of the economy from $141 billion currently to $1 trillion, raise per-capita income from the current $925 to $4,000, completely eliminate poverty, reduce the population growth rate from 1.9 percent to 1 percent, and raise the literacy and primary enrolment rate to 100 percent. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the Chief Ministers of the four Provinces also attended the meeting at Aiwan-e-Sadar where the plan was launched.

The prime objective of Vision 2030 is to transform an economy characterised by low savings, low investment, low growth, low taxes, low productivity and low technology into an economy of high saving-cum-investment, high technology-cum-productivity, and high and sustained growth rates, but without sacrificing considerations of compassion, equity and justice, according to the draft documents.

The Prime Minister in the National Economic Council’s (NEC) meeting on May 2005 had approved the vision statement for the plan and authorized the Planning Commission to prepare a long-term planning document highlighting the strategic directions which need to be followed to achieve this vision.

Vision 2030 envisages “a developed, industrialized, just and prosperous Pakistan through rapid and sustainable development in a resource constrained economy by deploying knowledge inputs”. To achieve this:

The Government will have to overcome the binding constraint of limited resources - financial, scientific, technical, technological and human.

All the stakeholders in the country have to meet the pre-requisites of sustainable development, which includes consistency and continuity of economic policies, transparency in governance, development of physical, technological and intellectual infrastructure, well-defined linkages between wage structure, productivity and taxation, an educated and enlightened working class, and continuous coordination between universities, research and development institutes, and industry.

Under Vision 2030, the Government must develop a system of delivery of quality education at all levels and a completely new system of quality technical education of international standard.

The availability of a safe and secure environment with easy access to justice and institutions for provisions of security and efficient and timely dispensation of justice is also a target of the plan.

Availability of good, affordable healthcare and an effective regulatory regime for the provision of quality healthcare is also a goal.

The programme also aims to strengthen capacity in management of projects, institutions and organisations.

The Vision 2030 exercise is ultimately about changing the mindset of the people so that the nation aspires to become a core nation of the 21st century.

The Government will carry out a systematic analysis and foresight exercise into possible long-term global transformations, and its linkages with science, technology, economy, environment, and society, with a view to understanding the nature of the state of Pakistan and its people in 2030, and outlining the strategic directions to provide a concrete reality to Vision 2030 in both its physical and intangible forms.

Chilling Surge in Child Sexual Abuse – Report by Sahil

A country-wide surge in child sexual abuse has been witnessed during the last three months with the daily toll of cases now standing at 7 over the first quarter’s 5. According to Sahil, an Islamabad-based Civil Society Organization working against child sex abuse, the national rate recorded an increase of 24 per cent during this period.

Number of Reported Cases: The Sahil report is based on data collected from 56 local and national newspapers. It shows that 815 cases of child sexual abuse were reported during April-June compared to 500 during January-March — an increase of 315 cases in just 90 days. Among the abused children the number of girls was more than double of the boys. In all 1,315 children were reportedly abused. Of them the number of girls was 891 (68 per cent) against 424 boys (32 per cent). The nature of abuse ranged from abduction, rape and sodomy to gang rape and gang sodomy.

Province-wise Breakup: More than half of the cases, 56.5 percent, were reported from Punjab followed by Sindh 32.7 percent, Islamabad 6.15 percent, NWFP 3.5 percent and Balochistan 1.1 percent.

Rural-Urban Divide: The rural-urban divide in abuse cases is also reflective of the social conditions. Rural children seem to be more vulnerable to abuse as some 66 per cent (875) cases were reported from rural areas and 34 per cent (440) from the urban.

Place of Abuse: The report says that the place of abuse is not mentioned in almost half of the cases. But estimates figure around one-fifth occurring at the abusers’ place, 15.5 per cent in the victim’s place in the absence of other family members or by force. Five children out of each hundred were abused in the streets and just a little less in fields. One out of every ten children was either abused in a nearby woods or mosque, some deserted place, hotel or workshop, jail, inside a car, graveyard, internet cafe, under-construction house, highway, stream, school, hospital, office, shelter home, brothel and shrine. For the vulnerable children no place was safe indeed.

Registered Cases: Of the cases reported in the media, 78 per cent were registered with the police, 10 per cent were unregistered. The status of 11.5 per cent cases is not stated in these reports.

New CJCSC, VCOAS after Presidential Poll

The new Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) and Vice Chief of the Army Staff (VCOAS) will be appointed immediately after the election of the President next month. This will facilitate the promotion of two Lieutenant Generals to the rank of four-star Generals while seven major Generals will also be elevated to the rank of the Lieutenant General in the process. The new CJCSC and VCOAS will be installed on October 8th. In case, President General Pervez Musharraf quits army rank, the COAS will be appointed instead of the VCOAS next month. The appointments will have significant importance with regard to the future planning and welfare of the armed forces.

The incumbent CJCSC General Ehsan-ul-Haq and VCOAS General Ehsan Salim Hayat are not interested in seeking extension in their terms. They have already initiated plans for the process for relinquishing their respective assignments through farewell meetings at various formations. Three senior most three-star Generals are being discussed for the promotion if seniority becomes the consideration for the elevation. They are Lt. General Khalid Ahmad Kidwai, Director General Strategic Plans Division (SPD), Lt. General Ashfaq Pervez Kiani, Director General Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), and Lt. General Tariq Majeed, Commander 10-Corps. General Kidwai is looking after a sensitive assignment and he is senior by virtue of his two extensions. If he is considered for any of the two slots, it would be a departure from the traditions.

The President has not ruled our the principle of seniority so far in the case of service appointments and if he goes by the book, the choice would be Lt. General Ashfaq Pervez Kiani as the Chairman and Lt. General Tariq Majeed as the VCOAS. Yet another discussion is also under way that the sitting CJSC is the fourth chairman in row from the Army. Previously, it was picked on the basis of rotation from the three services i.e. Army, Navy and the Air Force. The rotation system may be revived and the current Naval Chief Admiral Afzal Tahir may be considered for the slot because Air Chief Marshal Farooq Feroze Khan enjoyed the two terms as the chairman on behalf of the Air Force in the 90s.

General Shamim Alam Khan, General Pervez Musharraf, General Aziz Khan and now General Ehsan-ul-Haq, all the four consecutive Chairmen, were from the Army. Lt. General Ashfaq Pervez Kiani and Lt. General Tariq Majeed both are known as hard-line professional soldiers who do not believe in diverting from the book. They are from Baluch Regiment and had earlier headed the Military Intelligence (MI) in different times one after the other. In case a new tradition is established and the President opts to depart from the tradition, Lt. General Muhammad Sabir, currently Military Secretary (MS) to the GHQ, could be considered for the rank of the Chairman and Lt. General Salahuddin Satti, the Chief of the Staff, could be the choice for the slot of VCOAS, the sources hinted. Lt. General Satti played a vital role in the events of October 12, 1999 as the Commander of 111 Brigade. Lt. General Sabir hails from Artillery like President General Pervez Musharraf. Major General Nadeem Taj, Major General Javed Zia, Major General Nusrat Naeem, Major General Muhammad Saleem, Major General Khalid Ameer Jaffery, Major General Mohsin Kamal and Major General Muhammad Asghar are among the probables to get the promotion as three-star generals towards the end of the next month.

It has also been speculated that General Nadeem Taj, who is the commandant Military Academy Kakul these days, and previously head of the Military Intelligence and he was Military Secretary (MS) of President General Pervez Musharraf will be considered to become Corps Commander 10-Corps. He was MS to General Musharraf as the Army Chief and was also travelling in the plane on October 12, 1999 that was bringing them to Pakistan from Sri Lanka. General Nadeem Taj was Brigadier then.

Lt. General Shafaatullah Shah, Corps Commander, Lahore, is being tipped as the DG, ISI, and a newly promoted three-star General would be made Corps Commander Lahore in his place. The sources pointed out that three Army Corps will have new commanders during the last quarter of the year. The new commanders will also be announced with the change in CJCSC and VCOAS.

Expectations from Judiciary – Analysis

Mr. Asad Jamal in his write up,”Fall and Rise” says that the expectations from the judiciary are unusually high especially because of the renewed vigour after the restoration of the CJP.

At the start of his article, Mr. Asad quotes Justice (Retd) Qazi Muhammad Jamil:

"The judiciary cannot fight dictators. We require strong political institutions which are lacking in the country."

He comments that “among the three pillars of the state, judiciary has a particularly difficult and, according to many, an unenviable task to perform: it is part of the state, yet it is expected to watch and guard against the excesses of the other two -- the executive and the legislature.”

He mentions the cases in the history of Pakistan when judiciary was under influence of some dictator. He says that such cases will haunt the judiciary for a long time to come, including the ones which do not have the news value to become the main stories in the national media. He further says in this regard that “the courts face testing times when they are faced with an executive whose democratic credentials become questionable and the judiciary is pressed into service for the oppressive acts of the state. In such situations the judiciary offers the sole safeguard.”

While referring to the July 20 th judgment of the Supreme Court, the writer points out that only time will tell if the decision in the Chief Justice case (2007) is an aberration or a trend setting example. Many cases of constitutional import are pending before the superior courts and many more are expected to come up in coming months. In the past, judges have been reported to have taken shield against criticism with the argument that a few judges should not be expected to fight dictatorships when the political foundations of the country are weak. Mr. Asad is of the view that the judges of the present Supreme Court must have felt the heat out in the streets during the hearing of the case. Though the support provided to the court by the sustained agitation of the lawyers for four months cannot be over-emphasized, it would be unjust for the courts to expect the same kind of reaction every time an issue comes up.

Finally he analyzes that “today, expectations from Pakistan's judiciary are unusually high because, firstly, it is one of the most influential institutions and, secondly, because of the renewed vigour it seems to enjoy after the restoration of the Chief Justice of Pakistan. But, will the judiciary help realize the dreams of the citizenry? To know the answer we have to wait and stay ready to come out in the streets if need be”.

Detailed article was published in The News (August 12, 2007):

http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/aug2007-weekly/nos-12-08-2007/spr.htm#3

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Geo-Political Dynamics

South Asia

Indo-Pak Relations – Survey

A survey, sponsored by Dawn News, CNN-IBN, Dawn and Indian Express in the last week of July and the first week of this August, was carried out by AC Neilsen in the top 10 cities of Pakistan and by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in India’s top 20 cities. The opinion poll carried a number of questions ranging from political issues and bilateral relations to show business and sports. The pollsters sought the opinion of 1,011 people in urban Pakistan and 2,030 in urban India. The CSDS conducted a special poll in Srinagar and Jammu city by interviewing 226 and 255 persons respectively.

KASHMIR : The findings of the survey showed:

87% of the respondents in Srinagar want that Kashmir should be an independent country.

47% of the respondents in Pakistan and only 15 per cent in India had the same opinion.

95% of the respondents living in Hindu-dominated Jammu favored the accession of entire Kashmir to India.

67% of urban Indians want that Kashmir should be a part of India.

PAKISTAN-INDIA RELATIONS: The respondents were also put several questions relating to the ongoing confidence-building measures (CBMs) and future relationship between Pakistan and India. The response showed that:

57% people in India wanted continuation of the CBMs without resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

On the other hand, 55% of Pakistanis believe that Pakistan-India friendship is not possible without the resolution of the issue.

While more people in Pakistan (80.7%) than in India (78.4%) said that the two countries should resolve their issues through negotiations, almost twice the number of people in India (16%) than in Pakistan (9%) felt that war is the only solution to the problems between the two states.

Indians are more optimistic than Pakistanis regarding the relationship between the two countries in the coming years. As many as 46.4% Indians are hopeful of an improvement while the figure for Pakistan is 28.3%.

A whopping 67% of Indian respondents said the two countries should forget their past and work towards a friendly future. The view was shared by only 44.2% in Pakistan.

On the issue of trade, almost half of Pakistanis and 64% of Indians feel that the two countries should promote greater bilateral trade.

Surprisingly, despite having a yearning for good relations, a majority of Indians and Pakistanis do not want to visit the other country. As many as 60% of the Indians do not want to visit Pakistan and 61% Pakistanis say that they do not have a desire to go to India.

US ROLE: About US Role in the two countries, the findings are like this:

50% Indians and 35% Pakistanis are of the opinion that the US is not a real friend of either country.

Less than 10% people in both countries feel the US is more friendly to Pakistan, whereas almost one-third of Pakistanis feel the US is friendlier to India. Only 8% Pakistanis and 11.2% Indians feel that the US is equally friendly to both countries.

In Pakistan, 35% of the respondents “fully agree”, and 33.3% “somewhat agree”, that the government acts on the instructions of the US, whereas in India only 15.4% “fully agree” and 24.9% “somewhat agree” that their government works under Washington’s influence.

In response to a question regarding future relationship with the US, 11.5% Pakistanis “fully agree”, and 22% “somewhat agree” that it is in the interest of the country to have friendship with the US.

India seems to be equally divided between those who take a positive view of their government’s efforts to forge a strategic partnership with the United States. 23% of the respondents supported while 25% opposed the relationship.

Over half of the Indians and 41% Pakistanis are of the opinion that the `war against terrorism’ is nothing but an excuse to exercise power over other countries.

TRUST IN INSTITUTIONS: The survey revealed that Indians had more faith in their Government than Pakistanis. The majority of Indians and Pakistanis have no faith at all in their police service, but there is a big disparity between Indians’ and Pakistanis’ trust in the army.

A staggering 64.6% Indians said they had trust in the army, compared with just 38.6% in Pakistan. The number of people in Pakistan who do not trust the army at all is twice that in India.

Almost 50% of Pakistanis said they did not have `very much’ or `no trust’ at all in their Parliament, whereas in India, 20% more people than in Pakistan trust their Parliament.

33% in India and 36% in Pakistan are having no faith at all in the parties.

A most marked mismatch and, crucially for Pakistan with elections looming, a mere 6%said they had faith in the election commission while the figure for India w