A family saga
By Ali Sultan
The little girl in the pink frock is adamant. "I want these two colouring books mama," she says to her mother. "But beta these books are of such bad quality, why don’t you buy something else?" she replies. The little girl starts tugging at her mother’s green sweater, "Please mama I want them, please mama," she starts pleading. "How much for them?" the mother asks angrily. Mushtaq, 10, (starkly opposite in appearance with his well-worn out black shirt and jeans that have seen better days), smiles and says "forty rupees".

Rent-a-power
By Shahzada Irfan Ahmed
Electricity crisis is one of the most pressing challenges facing the government. It has badly affected every sector of the economy as well as the routine life of citizens. The government has announced different plans to address this problem, also revising them from time to time. One such plan, according to the government, could address the issue in a short period of time was to introduce rental power projects (RPPs) in the country.

The News on Sunday (TNS): How could we have saved Shazia and other children who have met similar fate?

Anees Jillani (AJ): Pakistan has done little for its children since independence. This becomes more obvious if one compares it with the steps taken by some of the neighbouring countries like India, Nepal and Bangladesh in this field.

There has hardly been any legislation on the subject of child rights. Interest of the governments in this subject can be discerned from the fact that a law on child rights in Punjab was enacted in 1952, and then in 1983, but both the laws were never notified to come into force. In Sindh, the Children Act 1955 was notified to come into force only in 1974. NWFP and Balochistan till date remain with specific child rights laws.

Child labour in the formal sector is mostly covered up to the age of 14 years. But the bulk of child labour in Pakistan falls in the informal category: domestic child labour; children employed in agriculture in the rural areas (where 65 percent of the population lives) and self-employed children. There are no laws to cover this sector.

Tragically thus, children like Shazia can be legally employed in homes. They all can only be saved through protective and preventive laws.

Many criticise enactment of laws without realising that laws on a subject are always the first step in fighting a menace. For instance, what may we do if employment of children like Shazia is legal? We can only help Shazias of this country when their employment is illegal and unlawful.

TNS: What is the magnitude of child labour in the country?

AJ: No one in Pakistan has accurate figures about the magnitude of child labour. There are about 70 million children in the country. Out of this, around 50 million are of schoolgoing age (5 to 18 years) and almost 50 percent of them are not going to school. Accordingly, 25 million children who are not going to school are potential child labourers. Majority of them are girls. Many work at homes like girls helping their mothers with cooking and other household chores, but they cannot be useful citizens if they fail to get proper education.

Pakistan must universalise education up to the 10th grade if it has to progress. The country has the resources. It is only a question of diverting them to the right course.

TNS: How has the situation changed, for the better or worse, in the recent past?

AJ: Pakistan remains one of the few countries in the world where the situation of child labour is worsening. Otherwise, the rate of child labour is declining in most of the countries. This is partly due to phenomenal population growth rate and due to increasing rate of poverty.

The government is not taking even minor steps to help the poor children. It only makes speeches when the issue is raised internationally and then forgets about it. A few projects that we see around us are all supported by foreign donors. These are projects confined to a few areas for a limited time and supposedly to act as models. They can never be expected to make a positive impact on the lives of more than 70 percent of the children living in acute poverty in the country.

TNS: According to one Amnesty International report, Pakistan is one of the few countries that have put child rights offenders to death. Yet, the state of child rights is dismal. Why?

AJ: Pakistan banned death penalty for children under the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance (JJSO) in 2000 and take pride in this law. No children have been sentenced to death since then. Controversies sometimes arise when the age of a child coming into conflict with law is in question, and it is unclear as to whether the accused was below or above 18 years of age at the time of commission of the offense. Such cases are, however, few.

Pakistan signed an international treaty, ‘Convention on the Rights of the Child’, in 1990 that requires it to develop a comprehensive policy for juvenile justice reform. Such a policy should address the prevention of children coming into conflict with the law. Pakistan still needs to address the issues relating to diversion and alternatives to deprivations of liberty, and this culture of putting every guilty person regardless of age into jail must change when it comes to children.

TNS: Your comment on the implementation of child rights laws?

AJ: The implementation of the child labour laws is weak. Not a single person has ever been imprisoned under the Employment of Children Act 1991; and nobody has ever been asked to pay even the maximum penalty under it (Rs20,000). The fines under the other child labour-related laws, like the Factories Act, Mines Act and the Shops & Establishments Ordinance are so meager that they hardly have any deterrent value.

TNS: What is the delay in acting on the Charter of Child Rights Bill and the Child Protection (Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill?

AJ: This question can best be answered by the government. The Charter of Child Rights Bill is an attempt to define child rights for the children of Pakistan for the first time and is an attempt to enforce the provisions of Convention on the Rights of the Child in the country which otherwise lacks legal force of law.

Basically, the authorities concerned with implementing child rights in Pakistan are weak and fail to carry weight. Resultantly, the other ministries fail to respond to their pressure. Most of the parliamentarians also lack interest in the subject of child rights.

TNS: How can Pakistan improve its child labour rights track record?

AJ: It is not impossible to improve the state of child rights in Pakistan. The country has resources that can be appreciated by the way the rich spend money and by simply looking at the growing number of cars in the country. It is just the fact that the rich fail to take interest in the plight of the poor.

This country is basically for the rich and upper classes, and the poor hardly have a stake and a say in the system. Pakistan will only become a viable and a prosperous state when the poor have a stake in its survival.

The situation of child rights can be improved by introducing universal and uniform system of education for all up to the 10th grade; child labour under the age of 16 years should be banned in all sectors, without exception; social security networks including the system of zakat and baitulmaal can be expanded to help the families that are dependent on the labour of under-16 children; massive awareness campaigns should be initiated in the media on this question; Convention on the Rights of the Child should be made part of domestic law; laws in all the provinces, including the tribal areas and Kashmir, should be introduced that cover all facets of child rights; maximum efforts should be introduced to divert children away from prisons who come into conflict with law; and children should be encouraged to lead the child rights movement.

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— Anees Jillani, advocate and child rights activist— Anees Jillani, advocate and child rights activist

The police, in collaboration with other security agencies, captured Khalilullah and two other accomplices on December 30, almost a month after the tragic Moon Market twin blasts in Lahore on Dec 7, 2009. Moon Market blasts were believed to be carried out by two suicide bombers, both under 20 years. Khalilullah is the alleged mastermind of tragic Moon Market twin blasts in Lahore on December 7, 2009. The blast killed at least 100 people including many women and children.

Police also found explosives and sensitive documents at the places where he was living in Lahore and Bahawalpur. The accomplices were arrested from the house of Malik Nazir in a Manawan locality.

An investigator requesting anonymity told TNS Khalil is a native of Chak 67 Tajewala near Jalalpur, Multan. He served as a private teacher in local schools and seminaries for 20 years during the 1980s and 90s. Later, he shifted to Bahawalpur and later to Karachi — to join Aloom-e-Arabia course of famous Jamia Binori in Karachi. He came back from the Karachi seminary in 2000 and joined Azam Tariq’s Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan. Meanwhile, he also started his Matab (alternate medicine clinic) and became a Hakim in Bahawalpur.

After joining this hardcore sectarian and militant outfit, he became financially well-off. Within a few years, he set up two housing societies – Cheema Town phase-II and Canal View near famous Sadiq Public School of Bahawalpur – and also established some agricultural farms in Ahmadpur Sharqia. He also owned two luxurious Land Cruisers vehicles.

After the death of his father some years later, Khalilullah set up a local seminary and a mosque named after his father in his native village. From there he emerged as a "social activist" and "reformer". He also remained associated with banned Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) but was ousted from the organisation for unknown reasons.

This was the time when he developed links with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He started recruiting militants from Bahawalpur and Multan for "Jihad" against infidels.

Khalilullah apparently planned the Moon Market attack to avenge the killing of innocent people in the tribal areas in drone attacks. According to investigations, he also got foreign aid, presumably from some Arab countries.

Salman Abid, researcher and regional chief of the Strengthening Participatory Approach (SPA), thinks that ideological leanings help militants find local facilitators’ support. "Local seminaries inject anti-Indian, anti-US and pro-Taliban ideology in the minds of students," he said, adding, "They develop a mindset that starts supporting them at local level." He further said there could be three major reasons behind the support of these local facilitators – they are either sympathisers, or they get money or they are forced to help militants. "This phenomenon can be stopped if the state plays its role effectively," he emphasised.

"The state has given no facilities, social infrastructure, educational system and economic options to the people of backwards areas of South Punjab. Civil society also needs to get up and initiate a debate that can counter the arguments of these militants," he added.

Moreover, he thinks, "There is reactionary support for militancy in the political parties as well, and that is why no political party has openly supported the ongoing war on terror. Many sections of media also justify the acts of these militants."

Capital City Police Officer Pervez Rathore told TNS police have arrested many suspects on the information provided by Khalil - including eight terror suspects, three of them from Tandlianwala in Faisalabad district, a few days back. "Khalil is involved in many terror acts in Punjab," the CCPO disclosed, adding police have so far apprehended more than 16 suspects on the information provided by Khalil.

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Lahore: Moon Market devastation.

The little girl in the pink frock is adamant. "I want these two colouring books mama," she says to her mother. "But beta these books are of such bad quality, why don’t you buy something else?" she replies. The little girl starts tugging at her mother’s green sweater, "Please mama I want them, please mama," she starts pleading. "How much for them?" the mother asks angrily. Mushtaq, 10, (starkly opposite in appearance with his well-worn out black shirt and jeans that have seen better days), smiles and says "forty rupees".

The mother flips through one of them and says, "Forty rupees is too much, I will give you thirty, ok?" The mother hands the books to the little girl who is now very happy. The mother hands Mushtaq thirty rupees. And as the mother ignites the engine of their big white car and her little daughter excitedly shows her one of the colouring books, the headlights reflect on Mushtaq’s dark, oval face, where there is no smile as he puts the crumpled currency notes in his pocket.

According to the National Child Labour survey, conducted in 1996 by the Federal Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis and International Labour Organization (ILO), 3.3 million of the 40 million children (in the 5-14 years age group) work as child labourers.

"It’s very hard. I sell five or six books in a day and sometimes I don’t sell any," says Mushtaq. "But I never beg for money and I never will," he says with a certain pride.

Mushtaq’s father suffered from mental health problems and disappeared two years ago, while his mother Nasreen works as a maid. His elder brother Imran, 15, works as a brick-maker, while his younger sister, six-year-old Ruqaya, helps her mother doing domestic chores. They live in a rented room in Chakayan on Ferozepur Road. Mushtaq and Ruqaya both attend school.

"Our father never had a stable job. He was a drifter; sometimes he would do an odd job or two but nothing more. Most of the time, he would just live in his own world, which was usually made up of his gambling buddies and drugs. He used to hit our mother and take money from her," says Imran who is lean and muscular, his eyes and body worn out and dead from working all day. "It’s good that he is gone, one less mouth to feed," there is no sign of emotion in Imran’s voice as he says this, it’s just a matter of fact.

Imran started working in the kilns at the age of seven. He gets up at 4am and makes bricks eleven hours a day, six days a week. He works all day long outside in the hot sun and earns 600 rupees a week for making about 1,000 bricks.

"Brick-making is tough work. I sit on my heels all day and it hurts like hell," says Imran. He also does not like his bosses, who abuse and humiliate him and the other workers by calling them names and beating them when they make mistakes. When he is sick, Imran does not get paid. "I didn’t want to do this. I wanted to study and become a pilot. But, now I am the man of the house and I am responsible for my family. I want Mushtaq and Ruqaya to have better lives."

Nasreen, her face weathered by numerous lines, works in three houses in Askari apartments behind Ferozepur Road. She comes back home at 2pm to have lunch with Mushtaq and Ruqaya after they come back from school and then Nasreen and little Ruqaya head for work at the last house. "I don’t think our lives will change, they only seem to get harder," says Nasreen. "I don’t understand why people make such a fuss out of our children working. My children study and they work. How will we survive if we don’t work?" she asks.

Mushtaq finds it hard to both work and go to school. "I go to school in the morning. Then I come home and eat and go out with my books at 4pm, which my brother gets from Urdu Bazaar for ten rupees each." Mushtaq then spends his time hustling and cajoling anyone to buy his colouring books till 11pm. "I feel sad sometimes because if I have to continue working, it will be hard for me to study. I don’t get much time to study because I am too tired when I come back home."

Mushtaq takes out a passport size photograph. "You want to see my father?" he asks excitedly. The photograph is black and white, just like his colouring books, just like his face, devoid of any colour or life.

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At work 11 hours a day, six days a week.

Electricity crisis is one of the most pressing challenges facing the government. It has badly affected every sector of the economy as well as the routine life of citizens. The government has announced different plans to address this problem, also revising them from time to time. One such plan, according to the government, could address the issue in a short period of time was to introduce rental power projects (RPPs) in the country.

Unlike the IPPs which are long-term projects spanning over 30 years or so, the RPPs are installed for three to five years and meant to meet the immediate energy needs of buyers.

The government materialised this plan and entered into agreements with different parties for setting up of RPPs in the country. It once again gave people the hope that loadshedding would soon be a thing of the past.

This project suffered a severe blow when the Asian Development Bank (ADB) issued its audit report on the RPPs in the last week of January. The report raised major objections regarding the viability of the projects and tariff structure and doubted transparency in the deals which, it said, seemed to have been made in haste.

The report also pointed out that there were post-bid changes in the agreements that benefited the owners of RPPs and NEPRA rules were also violated in these deals. The report added the implementation of these rental power projects would result in a raise of up to 43 percent in the prices of electricity for consumers. Other objections included the failure of the government to go for the most economical solution and fully utilise the already existing capacity.

The ADB was engaged by the government of Pakistan, through the Federal Ministry for Finance in September 2009, to conduct third party audit of the RPP agreements.

In total, there were 19 projects that came under the ADB scanner. Of these 19, the government had signed deals in the case of 14 to produce 2250 MW energy. The remaining five projects had only been proposed and there had been no signing of agreements. Of the 14 RPPs that had been initiated, eight were at an advanced stage of implementation whereas the remaining six had been signed, but the contractual commitments had not been completed.

The government is cautious in its response to the report and has reportedly decided to review six rental power projects with the help of an experts’ committee and present them afresh in the federal cabinet for approval. Water and Power Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has announced that he is ready to clarify the government’s stance on the issue and remove the objectionable clauses from the agreements. However, the critics of this whole scheme demand stricter action against those who approved these deals.

Dr Salman Shah, an economist and former adviser on finance to ex-PM Shaukat Aziz, tells TNS the objections raised in the ADB report call for a much stricter action. He says the government is trying to cover-up the whole issue and save the skins of those who made big money in these dubious deals. Shah says there should not be any excuse for the people who approved unsolicited deals and allowed additional capacities after the final signing of the deals. "If conditions are changed, the bidding process needs to be done again," he adds.

Shah says RPPs are no more needed now as Independent Power Producers (IPPs) with a capacity to produce 3000MW energy are about to start production. "The best time for these RPPs to produce electricity was early 2009 but they could not deliver at that time." Shah says the government must go for hydel electricity as it costs as low as Rs 1.75 per unit as compared to Rs 18 and above in case of these RPPs.

Shah contests the government claim that hydel projects take a long time to complete. "They have already wasted two years. Had we won the elections and formed our government, we would have immediately started work on Kalabagh Dam, and completed it within 5 years."

The Transparency International (TI), Pakistan, also suspects transparency in RPPs deals. Talking to TNS, Syed Adil Gilani, Chairman Transparency International Pakistan, says his organisation had raised the issue of corruption in these deals much before the release of the ADB report. He says he had written a letter to the Ministry of Water and Power in July 2009 and pointed out that these deals were being struck in gross violation of Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules.

Gilani added the rules prescribe recovery of 10 times the money received as bribe, commission or kickbacks in such a project — "all the parties involved in these deals should be grilled and money to the tune of Rs200 billion (according to the PPRA formula) be recovered from them immediately".

Gilani said the 14 percent down payment made by the government to some RPPs is more than the total cost of setting them up, so "they may abandon the project and run away any time. The judiciary should take notice of this issue as it will be the tax payers who will pay for the wrongdoings".

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Water and Power, induction of eight RPPs in high demand scenario will result in tariff increase of just 6.1 percent, while the possible induction of 14 RPPs would increase the tariff by 9.99 percent. The ADB calculations, as per the ministry clarification, have been made after keeping in view the possible increase in power tariff on account of withdrawal of some subsidies and adjustments of international fuel prices.

The statement added the Pakistani laws, including Import Policy Order 2009, govern the rental contracts. It said the government’s financial difficulties prevented it from providing guarantee and higher down payment to the parties. The deals as per the statement are safe; in case the project is abandoned the buyer has the right to terminate the contract and recover outstanding dues from the sale of plant and machinery.

Though the statement contended the objections raised in the ADB report, people simply want to know the real scenario. "Will they have to pay for the alleged wrongdoings of some people or will they get sufficient electricity at affordable rates"? is the question that continues to haunt them.

The outcome of the recent by-election in NWFP especially those of NA-21 Mansehra have shown the multiplicity in Pakistani politics. In a fascinating contest — where almost all major political parties fielded their candidates and campaigned actively — JUI-F scored a remarkable win in the constituency. The seat fell vacant after the death of PML-N MNA Faiz Mohammad Khan. The Hazara region in NWFP after north Punjab is considered the stronghold of PML-N.

However, the results of this constituency are a major setback for the PML-N as its candidate was even unable to occupy the second slot. The PPP’s performance is disappointing as well. Both the ruling parties have failed to influence the voters. The party that seems to have gained the most in these elections is PML-Q. It has belied all predictions as the PML-Q candidate ended up as a runner-up. The result showed that the "PML-Q might not have grassroots support but it has strong candidates capable of pulling off victories on their own".

Many believe that the results of Mansehra by-election will have impact on the results of the by-elections in two important constituencies of Punjab — NA-55 Rawalpindi and NA-123 Lahore. "The outcome has broken the myth that Mian Nawaz Sharif is the most popular leader of Pakistan and even if he gives ticket to a khamba (electric pole), it will win the election by a huge margin," Sheikh Rashid, president Awami Muslim League and a candidate from NA-55 tells TNS. He thinks the mood of the people has changed and winds of change are blowing across Pakistan.

He criticised the surveys and polls, conducted by different national and international organisations — which always showed Nawaz Sharif at the peak of his popularity. "One cannot influence common people with such political stunts. Political leadership must deliver if it wants to get the votes," he says. Analysts believe the situation in Lahore is also tricky for PML-N this time as Nawaz Sharif has refused to contest the by-election and ticket has been given to Pervaiz Malik.

According to sources in PML-N, the outcome of NA-21 has jolted the PML-N leadership. Nawaz Sharif has taken notice of the defeat and has formed a committee under the leadership of Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Abbasi, Chief Organiser PML-N NWFP. The committee will look into the reasons of the defeat and submit a report at the earliest. "The PML-N leadership has also directed the party to work on the Rawalpindi seat to avoid another defeat. The election campaign in NA-123 has gained momentum and Hamza Shahbaz and Pervaiz Malik are holding daily corner meetings in the constituency. We don’t think there will be any more upsets for our party in Punjab and we will easily win both seats. It is true that some party leaders have been held responsible for awarding ticket to the brother of Captain (retd) Safdar, son-in-law of Nawaz Sharif for defeat," the sources say.

Mushahid Hussain Syed, general secretary PML-Q, considers the outcome of NA-21 important. "This seat and the area is traditionally considered the stronghold of PML-N but the result has busted the popularity saga. There is no khamba vote in Pakistan anymore. The result is disappointing for PML-N as a close relative of Nawaz Sharif was contesting the election and Shahbaz Sharif had also visited the constituency. It speaks volumes about the support-base of PML-Q at grassroots. We have already shown our worth in Gilgit-Baltistan elections — where we stood second after PPP in terms of votes and winning seats as well. It is also important to note that PML was the only party contesting in the by-elections of both constituencies of NWFP i.e. Swat and Mansehra."

According to Syed, the people of Pakistan keep a close eye on the ruling parties. "They have failed to deliver during the last two years. PML-N government in Punjab was not even ready to contest elections; the Supreme Court of Pakistan had to intervene to force them for these elections. They are also not serious in conducting the local bodies’ elections. On the other hand, Nawaz Sharif has refused to contest the election without giving any solid reason. This shows their credibility as a political party," he concludes.

Islamabad-based senior analyst and journalist Nusrat Javed believes the political situation is changing rapidly. "The result of Mansehra seat is a wake-up call for PML-N leadership that it shouldn’t take people for granted. Things do not remain static in politics," he says. He thinks PML-N has failed to make itself a strong political force outside North Punjab, after 2008 elections. It has had a golden opportunity to establish itself throughout the country but its leadership failed to respond to the situation for various reasons.

"Secondly, it was considered that PML-Q will disperse and fail to leave an impression politically after Musharraf but it has proved this assumption wrong as well. It is true that PML-Q still has the best candidates in most of the constituencies; wherever PML-N will give ticket to a weaker candidate, PML-Q will have an edge over it, especially in rural areas," says Javed.

The third and very important factor is that the local notables in most of the constituencies are not with PML-N mainly because of its leadership’s arrogant behaviour. "Instead of being popular, you need people in different constituencies who can motivate the voters and, unfortunately, PML-N does not have such people," says Javed.

The result of NA-55 will be the real indicator of PML-N’s popularity. "Sheikh Rashid is working very hard, it will be tough fight but the question is: can he win? In NA-123, though, PML-N will win easily but I think Nawaz Sharif’s refusal to contest election will badly hurt the voter turnout. It will be very poor which means PML-N may not be able to win the seat with a thumping majority," says Javed.