Of the blurring line between the rulers and the ruled

Delawar Jan

PESHAWAR: The line between the masses, their representatives and rulers is blurring. People stage rallies on the streets and block roads to protest over problems and demand their resolution, but now their representatives, who are elected to solve their problems and who are in power corridors, also block roads.

The people have streets as the forum to protest and their representatives have assemblies where they seek and suggest solutions to people’s problems. And if the representatives belong to the ruling party, they have more options than just raising the issues in the assembly.

However, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members of the provincial assembly seem to be unaware about the forum they are supposed to use. On Thursday, three MPAs along with their supporters blocked the Sher Shah Suri Road to protest against power and gas loadshedding and alleged ban on flour supply to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the government of the Punjab. Arif Yousaf, Fazl Elahi and Arbab Jahandad Khan encouraged young PTI workers to launch sit-in outside Peshawar Press Club on the busy road.

Strangely, police did not try to dislodge the MPAs and their supporters from the road that remained blocked for at least one and a half hour. Instead, they facilitated them in halting the flow of traffic by placing stones and bricks on the road at the square near the State Bank. The police also stretched barbed wires across the road in front of the press club building to abet the protesters.

“We used no force to disperse the protesters,” said a two-star police official, Muhammad Wali. “We negotiated with them with the help of journalists and other people to persuade them to open the road,” he said, standing on the blocked road. The officer argued police were there to provide security to the MPAs and protesters. “You know terror attacks are a threat,” he added.

Sher Shah Suri is a narrow but major road for private and public transport in the city. The Khyber Road that runs in front of the Corps Commander residence has already been banned for public transport. The traffic was diverted to the crowded Shooba Bazaar that caused traffic jams.

MPA Arif Yousaf said they had been protesting for the sake of people. Their action, though, caused problems to people. The PTI MPA said the protest was against the federal government against excessive power and gas load-shedding and ban on flour supply to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from the Punjab. “We don’t want to create problems for the people by blocking the road. Though it remained blocked for an hour, we reopened it,” he said.

Are roads a forum for you to highlight your demands? The MPA first stonewalled the question. However, when the question was repeated, he said they had raised the issue in the provincial assembly and would continue to bring it up. “We have decided to start every session of the provincial assembly by taking up the issue of load-shedding,” he added.

The MPAs and the disruptive protesters had full backing of their government, according to Arif Yousaf. The PTI chief minister will join future protests. “We will besiege the Wapda House to pressure them to end excessive load-shedding,” said MPA Fazl Elahi. “There seems to be no other way,” he said in a threatening tone.

The people who suffered had many questions. Why did they not protest outside the Chief Minister Secretariat? Why did they not block road leading to the Chief Minister Secretariat? Why did they not launch their protest in front of the Wapda House?

Senior lawyer Latif Afridi said while they had the right to protest and assembly, the law did not allow them to block the road. “It does not make sense to launch protest against the federal government on a road in Peshawar,” he said. “If they really want to protest against Nawaz Sharif, they should do it in Punjab,” he added.

People in Peshawar, he said, were already in trouble and this protest added to it. He said it was not the way to vent disapproval over load-shedding and suggested the provincial government to take up the issue at the right forum. “Talk to the federal government or launch protest in the National Assembly where the PTI has representation,” he said. “Roads are not the forum the rulers should use,” he suggested.

How dual offices, poor election campaign stripped PTI of NA-1?

PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) surrendered the keenly-watched NA-1 seat before the polling day primarily due to the chaos in the party.

The PTI didn’t appear making efforts to win election against Awami National Party (ANP) heavyweight Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, who had been all-time favourite on the seat until he was humbled by the PTI chairman Imran Khan.

One reason that the party failed to run an effective election campaign was its leaders’ dual offices. Almost all the PTI leaders hold offices both in the party and the government. Hardly any leader had remained in the party who could spearhead the election campaign as all enjoy key positions in the government that legally disallows them to participate in election campaign.

PTI Secretary General Pervez Khattak is the chief minister of the province. The provincial president of the party, Asad Qaiser, holds the office of the speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. The provincial general secretary, Shaukat Yousafzai, and president of Peshawar region are both cabinet members.

The legal predicament caused by dual offices badly affected the campaign for Gul Badshah as these leaders were unable to give it an impetus and there were no other office-bearers who could take on the responsibility. “Had the party office-bearers not been part of the government, the situation would have been different,” said a PTI leader, Zahid Hussain. “A seat won with such a huge margin would not have been lost in this manner,” he added.

After the May 11 general election, the party debated the dual offices of the chief minister, speaker and ministers and suggested them to quit one office, preferably the party office. However, Pervez Khattak and others showed unwillingness to leave party positions to other leaders and Imran Khan appeared reluctant to force them. That has dented the party’s support in the by-election and might cause problems for the PTI in future.

Ishtiaq Urmar, the PTI information secretary, didn’t receive calls from this correspondent to explain the party’s stance on its weak election campaign and dual offices. He also didn’t respond to a text message. Yaseen Khalil, the PTI district Peshawar president and adviser to chief minister was “in a meeting.” MPA Arif Yousaf also avoided calls.

Except Imran Khan, who delivered a curt address at a rally in Peshawar on August 18, no other leader was able to hold public meeting to drum up support for the weak candidate, thanks to dual offices. If there was any interest of Pervez Khattak and Asad Qaiser, it was in their native districts where their close relatives were contesting election. And the party won those two National Assembly seats.

An effective election drive would have compensated for the wrong decision to award ticket to a controversial and unknown person. The award of ticket pushed the party into irreversible chaos. “The estranged real workers who were so dejected by the party decision that they didn’t come out of homes,” Zahid Hussain said. He urged Imran Khan to give respect to the ideological workers and engage them in party affairs.

The provincial leaders allowed divisions within the party to develop over the nomination instead of rectifying the decision. And worse, these leaders further estranged the competitors for ticket by heaping scorn on them instead of winning them over. The PTI provincial leaders ignored the dissidents, many of whom were old party leaders.

Once the unchangeable decision of awarding ticket to Gul Badshah was made, his election campaign was the next important stage. But the party leadership appeared to have surrendered in advance. The PTI failed to run an effective campaign for the by-election the way it did in the May 11 general election.

The party appeared complacent, probably because of the record votes Imran Khan had bagged in this constituency on May 11. The PTI created a wave in the general election through an aggressive campaign as election vans drove in streets playing party songs, ‘tabdeeli razakar’ intruded people at homes, in shops, streets and all other places to persuade them to vote for Imran Khan.

Spirited young workers took out boisterous processions to catch people’s attention and to create an environment of victory before election. Youngsters, irrespective of party affiliations, were impressed so much that they exhibited unswerving passion that pushed them to start unsolicited and unplanned electioneering.But all this was missing in the PTI’s election for by-polls. It was surprising to see that the PTI had no camp offices outside many polling stations in the by-election.

Of the keenly observed polls and people's disinterest

Delawar Jan

PESHAWAR: On May 11, just three and a half months ago, voters formed long snaking queues to participate in election, but that sight was missing on Thursday during by-election on NA-1.

The inflow of voters, both male and female, was consistently thin. At polling stations visited, not a single line of even two or three voters was witnessed till 1pm, an indication of low turnout. On May 11, people waited in lines for a long time for their turn but on August 22 it was the polling staff that waited for the voters. “In general election, I had to wait for 45 minutes to cast vote. Today, it took me only five minutes,” said a voter in Faqirabad.

“The polling staff inside is swatting flies,” said a police official manning gate of a polling station in Quaidabad locality of the city. “That shows voters have no interest in the process,” he added.

Inside the polling station, the booths were in place. The polling staff sat with papers in their hands, but there was no voter to cast vote. The staff had no work to do and gazed at each other faces. “Individuals come intermittently,” Presiding Officer Najma Shafiq said about voters’ inflow. The situation was: registered voters 927, polled 49, time12:01pm.

At another polling station in Bhanamari, 108 had polled out of 1,300 registered votes till 12:25pm. In the adjacent polling station number 224, only 68 votes had polled out 1,070 till12:28pm.

Election camps did not see rush. Enthusiasm for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, seen on May 11, was nowhere. Even at some polling stations, they had no camps. Spirited young voters who had created a wave in the general election did not figure in support of Imran Khan’s PTI, an apparent disillusion with the party.

“I voted for the candidate who would not forsake us, who is from this area and who can solve our problems,” said an ageing woman, draped in black burqa. PTI’s Gul Bacha was said to be an Afghan national, an allegation that came from members of his own party.

Voters and polling staff mostly expressed satisfaction over the process of election. All presiding officers interviewed at different polling stations had faced no security problem. “The process is smooth and peaceful so far,” said a presiding officer at a polling station in Wazirbagh.

No major terror incident occurred in the city during the polling in Peshawar, a city that has been the target of relentless attacks of militants. General election in May saw bloodshed in Peshawar as militants targetted election campaign, including a suicide attack on Ghulam Bilour.

Strict security measures were taken to protect polling stations. The buildings housing polling stations were corralled and streets leading to them closed to stop entry of irrelevant people. Police officials and troops were deployed in all polling stations to ensure full security to the staff and voters. Officials said seven to 10 troops were deployed in every polling station who patrolled streets near polling stations, manned entrances and watched polling staff and voters.

“We are satisfied with the security arrangements,” said Arif, an ANP activist, at Government High School No.3 city.

There were reports that troops disallowed journalists, particularly photographers and cameramen, to enter polling stations at some localities. “We have no issue with you but have orders from the senior officers,” a soldier explained at a polling station in Quaidabad. A senior photographer went from polling station to polling station in the hope to take a shot of a voter casting vote.

He was not allowed and got frustrated. No officer was at polling stations to explain why media was being stopped from covering the process as ECP said journalists could visit polling stations. “I was stopped from entering the polling station in Mohalla Khudadad. A soldier told me ‘you can talk to people outside’,” said a reporter. However, some photojournalists managed to take snaps inside the polling stations.

A woman voter railed against the Election Commission of Pakistan for providing wrong information about vote. “In four polling stations, I failed to locate my vote,” said Anbareen Gul in Bhanamari.

PTI govt moves to allow citizens right to information

Delawar Jan

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is planning to run a campaign for raising awareness among the people about the recently-promulgated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Ordinance 2013, touted to be ranked 3rd best in the world.  

The Ordinance makes its obligatory for 32 provincial government departments to provide information to a requester, who could be any citizen, and hands punishments to officials obstructing right to records or destroying information.

The Ordinance that requires to be passed from the provincial assembly within 90 days of its promulgation does not ask requesters to justify request for the information.

“The Ordinance makes the request easier. The requester does not need to fill out a prescribed form and only needs to demand information on a simple paper,” said Secretary Information, Azmat Hanif Orakzai, who was author of the draft at the first workshop on the Right to Information (RTI) at Peshawar Press Club after its promulgation on August 13. “If a person is illiterate, a designated public information officer is required to write the application for the requester,” he said, adding the World Bank had given 143 points to the law out of 150 that ranked it 3rd best in the world.

It is free of cost, under the Ordinance, to seek information from any of the government department. “The request would also be entertained through phone, email and mail,” Hanif Orakzai said.

Clause 2 of the 32-clause Ordinance says that the law would cover secretariats of the chief minister and governor, secretariat of the provincial assembly, members of the assembly and the assembly itself, any office, board, commission, council or any other body established under the law and any department or attached department of the government.

Subordinate judiciary, tribunals, any body which is owned, controlled or substantially funded by one of the above, including enterprises owned by the province and any other body which undertakes public functions would be subject to RTI.

However, the RTI excludes Peshawar High Court from the ambit of this law, which concerns civil society members working on RTI.

“The government will launch an awareness campaign to ensure people in Dir, D.I. Khan, Hazara division and other remote districts make use of it. We will translate the draft of the Ordinance into Urdu, hold seminars and publish supplements in newspapers and involve media to propagate it,” Hanif Orakzai said.

Under the Ordinance, any public body would be bound to provide information in 10 days that could be extended to a maximum 20 days. However, information that could protect the life or liberty of any individual should be provided within two days.

Requester could appeal to the four-member ‘Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Commission’ if public body failed or refused to provide information. A retired senior government official appointed by the government would head the commission while a lawyer nominated by the Bar Council, a retired judge appointed by the Chief Justice of PHC and a representative of the civil society with nomination coming from Human Rights Commission would be its members, known as commissioners.

The commission would dispose of the request within 60 days, with the proof of burden on public body. The commission enjoys the powers of civil court and would be authorised to summon and enforce attendance of witnesses and compel them to give oral or written evidence under oath. The only commission based in Peshawar could ask public bodies to produce documents and could examine information.

Importantly, if the decision of the Information Commission is not obeyed, it would constitute contempt of court. The commission could also impose a daily fine of up to Rs.250 to a maximum of Rs.25,000 on any official who willfully prevents or delays the disclosure of information to a requester.

The chief information commissioner and commissioners would be entitled to remuneration and other benefits equivalent to a judge of the high court.

Clause 28 makes it an offense if access to information is obstructed, information commission’s work interfered or record without lawful authority is destroyed. The Ordinance also provides protection to whistleblower, which many appreciate as extraordinary.

Aftab Alam, executive director of Institute for Research, Advocacy and Development (IRADA), hailed the law as ‘a right step in the right direction’ but said they had some concerns. As a matter of principle, he said, RTI should not have been introduced through an ordinance but enacted in the provincial assembly, where PTI had majority.    

“Peshawar High Court should be brought under the RTI, along with all other constitutional bodies. I think the definition of ‘public body’ needs to be broadened,” said Aftab Alam. “What about the discretionary funds of the governor who is all and all of Fata?” he asked.

Aftab Alam pointed out the definition of the ‘requester’ was also flawed as a requester was only a citizen, excluding companies and organisations. 

He suggested the members of the Information Commission should be appointed by a bi-partisan committee of the assembly, not by other bodies and individuals. He said the fine on disobeying official should be made proportionate to the officials’ salaries as value of the rupee would decrease in coming years.

He appreciated that exemptions were specific but crticised the “provided that” portion that contains six sub-section. “It could be misused. I think the first para of clause 14 was sufficient,” he added. However, Aftab Alam lauded protection to ‘whistleblower’ and said such protection was rare in the world.

---------

Imran promises 'change' to take place in KP

Delawar Jan 

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said on Sunday that his party had started the process of change from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where PTI is spearheading the provincial government and resolved to show the countrymen the promised change.

He said he would expand the “change” to the whole country once his party had succeeded in KP. Imran Khan visited Peshawar to address an election rally to muster support for the party candidate on NA-1, the seat vacated by Imran Khan himself. PTI has fielded Gul Bacha on NA-1 to face the Awami National Party stalwart Ghulam Ahmad Bilour in the by-election scheduled to be held on August 22.

Imran Khan’s party has been feeling extreme pressure regarding its promised change from people, politicians and the media. The party has come under public scrutiny as people have been demanding of the party to act on the change agenda and honour its promises it had claimed would take only three months in power. Apparently, the cricketer-turned-politician and his inexperience team in KP government are finding it difficult to impress the people with its performance. KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had promised the people would notice ‘change’ by August 30.

Imran Khan is also confident. He said God had succeeded him every time in his endeavours and had faith that he would succeed this time, too.  

“Future holds good luck for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and PTI,” he added. He said the change agenda had been started in the province and people would soon feel it. He said PTI government in KP was working on an independent Ehtisaab Commission that would hold everyone to account. He said all those who had looted the nation would be made to cough up the looted wealth. With an apparent reference to Maulana Fazlur Rahman, he said neither diesel permits would be issued nor jobs would be sold now.

He boasted the PTI government would show others by example how to deliver good governance.  He added that his government would tap all natural resources in favour of the province and produce low-cost electricity to light the whole of the country. The PTI chief said his party had been working to bring reforms in health and education sectors in the province.

He said right to information law would enable people to have access to information. In this regard, Imran Khan attended a ceremony to launch policy on it. He asserted that the PTI government would follow conflict of interest principle in an effort to bring transparency in governance. However, his words were inconsistent with his action. In Ramazan, he ignored calls for an inquiry in a contract allegedly awarded to an advisor’s brother for supplying free iftari to patients and their attendants at hospitals.

Once again he reiterated his promise to discourage politics of inheritance. However, his party leaders managed to get tickets for their relatives on seats they had vacated. Imran Khan was undisturbed and unmoved to stop violation of his own principle. Instead, he justified. Chief minister has already been accused of electing three women relatives on reserved seats for women.

Imran Khan asked people to vote for Gul Bacha, the PTI candidate on NA-1. He urged people to come out in great numbers from homes the way they did on May 11 for him. He said the youth should turn up at the polling stations by 7 in the morning to cast vote. PTI has been divided over the award of ticket on NA-1 and one of the dissidents is contesting against Gul Bacha.

------------