ChatDD Blog

Its capacity to feed its people adequately is under severe strain given the
long-term neglect of essential elements of the agricultural sector

A s Pakistan confronts a major humanitarian catastrophe in the wake of large-scale floods that have hit the country’s southern province of Sindh, its diverse groups of politicians appear increasingly busy with a futile venture – settling scores.
Nawaz Sharif, the opposition leader and former prime minister, has chosen to target the ruling regime led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for its handling of flood relief work while members of the PPP have questioned Sharif’s sincerity in dealing with what he considers a national cause.
As rivals on Pakistan’s political scene choose to argue and counter-argue about exactly who is more sincere than the other, the people of Pakistan are suffering. For the moment, the crisis left behind by floods in Sindh continues to absorb the attention of most Pakistanis.
But eventually, once the immediate crisis begins to subside, a pressing need for long-term rehabilitation of the flood victims will come around to haunt Pakistan. Faced with an already daunting task of managing a country with a multitude of challenges, Pakistan’s rulers clearly have a monumental task.
There are many crisis-stricken elements of the challenge which faces Pakistan. Among the more obvious predicaments, Pakistan’s capacity to feed its people adequately is already under severe strain given the long-term neglect of the agricultural sector.
From basic inputs like seeds and fertilisers to water for irrigation, Pakistan has been confronting tough realities on every front. There are no easy solutions to any of these predicaments which affect the country’s ability to ensure even the basic level of food security.
Breakdown of governance
The challenges for Pakistan’s physical security are unending. For the past decade since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 were quickly reciprocated by a US-led (unending) campaign against terror, Pakistan’s army and security services have battled militants eager to wage war in the country. Along with this continuing conflict has come a breakdown of Pakistan’s internal governance structures, in part due to the choice made by former president Pervez Musharraf to dismantle a tried and tested administrative order. Musharraf’s decision to oversee the introduction of a system of elected representatives at the grassroots level, to prop up his otherwise questionable democratic credentials, has only added the proverbial fuel to the fire.
More than three years after Musharraf stepped down unceremoniously to avoid an impeachment by Pakistan’s parliament, his political credentials are nowhere near staging a recovery. Nor is the system of grassroots government that he left behind about to do any good for Pakistan.
Last but not the least, Pakistan’s economy faces a deepening crisis. In the past three years since the PPP-led coalition government came to power, stories of corruption in high places have been unending. While some of these claims may well be exaggerated, the government’s failure lies in its inability to respond adequately to its critics.
Failure of ruling elite
Ultimately, the conventional wisdom which sees Pakistan increasingly manipulated by its ruling elite, is making inroads into popular thinking. Other elements of the economic crisis have much to do with the failure of Pakistan’s ruling elite to get their arithmetic right. This essentially means that there is no obvious ability to begin addressing an ever-growing hole in the country’s coffers. The word budget deficit – the gap between revenue and expenditure, though already in an alarmingly increasing crisis mode, fails to be taken seriously by the country’s top leaders.
Surrounded by this all-too-obvious crisis, what are the choices? To begin with, a democratic government and its democratic opposition ought to start behaving like good democrats. This would not only involve acceptance of the crisis but indeed the initiation of credible steps to begin dealing with that crisis. At the earliest, a comprehensive parliamentary debate is long overdue which will help lay down the cards as they should be laid down. The authorities must not only concede the extent of the crisis but accept responsibility for their failure to address the challenges much earlier. The opposition must end targeting the ruling structure for the sake of it and resolve to join hands with politicians in seeking the best possible solutions.
An end to the continuing political wrangling, squabbling and bickering will be the first step, perhaps a very modest one before getting down to tackling a set of monumental challenges. But given the dire outlook, that first step could begin turning the corner for a country where an increasing number of people have lost hope in their future.
Farhan Bokhari is a Pakistan-based commentator who writes on political and economic matters.

Once Again Japan under the shock!!!

A major earthquake shook the northeast of Japan late Thursday night (April 7), and a tsunami warning was issued for a part of the coast already devastated by last month’s massive quake and tsunami that crippled a nuclear power plant.

More than 30 people were injured, according to Japan’s National Police Agency.

The 7.4-magnitude quake struck at 11:32pm Japan time and halted operations at some thermal power plants in Aomori and Akita prefectures, news reports said.

No damage was detected at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi plant and workers had been evacuated without reports of any injuries, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) said.

“After the earthquake and the tsunami warning, all the workers evacuated to a safe area. The company confirmed all the workers have cleared the plant safely,” a spokesman said.

“We have no information immediately indicating any abnormality at Fukushima Daiichi plant,” a spokesman told a news conference.

Japan is struggling to bring the crippled Fukushima plant under control after the 9-magnitude quake on March 11 and the tsunami that followed, which killed an estimated 28,000 people.

Neighbouring countries have sounded increasingly alarmed over the risk of radiation from the plant, while tourists are staying away in what should be the peak season, and the country seeks ways to cut power use.

Announcers on Japan’s public broadcaster NHK told coastal residents to run to higher ground and away from the shore after the quake hit on Thursday.

The Japan meteorological agency had issued a tsunami warning for a wave of up to 2 metres, but was lifted later.

The strong aftershock hit 25km under the sea and off the coast of Miyagi prefecture. Buildings as far away as Tokyo shook for about a minute.

DERA GHAZI KHAN

Forty-six devotees were killed and over 90 injured in two suicide blasts at Darbar Sakhi Sarwar, some 35 kilometres from here, on Sunday. The Urs celebrations at the Darbar are in progress these days. The rescue teams faced difficulties due to narrow passages and congested localities.

The dead included four children and eight women, while the locals also arrested a suspected suicide bomber, who was attempting to explode his jacket. According to sources, the suspect was arrested with a suicide jacket in his possession. He was handed over to the local police. The police shifted the arrested young suicide bomber to an undisclosed location for interrogation. Eyewitnesses and the police told this scribe that the officials of the border military police shot at the suicide bomber and rendered him unable to blow himself up.

As per the local residents and eyewitnesses, no strict security measures were in place, and no security personnel were among the killed or injured. The suicide bomber blew himself up at the main gate of Darbar Hazrat Sakhi Sarwar, followed by another blast within three minutes, when thousands of devotees were present at the Darbar.

Rescue 1122 official Dr Natiq Hayat said the death toll was over 30. Ambulances from Multan, Muzaffargarh, Layyah and Rajanpur were shifting the dead and injured to the emergency wards of the District Headquarters Hospital, DG Khan.

Angry protesters attacked the police officials as they reached late at the blast site and shouted slogans against the authorities for poor security arrangements. The devotees also attacked the SHO Sakhi Sarwar police station, Zahid Hussain, on his failure to make foolproof security arrangements.

Sources said the unknown assailants had warned the Darbar administration of dire consequences if the traditional dhamaal was not stopped at the Darbar during the annual Urs.

The DG Khan DPO told The News that strict security measures were taken and walkthrough gates were installed, as per the security plan. He said it was a suicide blast while the attempt for the second suicide blast was foiled and the accused had been arrested.

Agencies add: The blasts took place outside the shrine of the 13th Century Sufi saint Ahmed Sultan, popularly known as Sakhi Sarwar.

“We have recovered 41 bodies so far,” said an officer, Zahid Hussain Shah, adding that more than 70 were wounded. “Both were suicide attackers, they came on foot and blew themselves up when police on duty stopped them,” he said.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attacks, a militant spokesman said. “Our men carried out these attacks and we will carry out more in retaliation for government operations against our people in the northwest,” Ehsanullah Ehsan told Reuters by telephone from undisclosed location.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and President Asif Zardari have strongly condemned the bomb blast and loss of life. Zardari asked the officials concerned to take care of the injured. He expressed condolences with the affected families.

Some times nuclear become worst enemy for the humankind…..!!!
See In Japan……!

Japan’s nuclear crisis escalated Tuesday as two more blasts and a fire rocked a quake-stricken atomic power plant, sending radiation up to dangerous levels.

Radiation around the Fukushima No.1 plant on the eastern coast had “risen considerably”,