د وطن جاله

زۀ شاعر خو نۀ يم 

خو قلم لاس کښې لرم

زۀ د بارودو په لوګو کښې

په تتو سترګو

پلوشې لټوم

او د ازغو په کروندو کښې

د ګل تخم کرم

زما دا ټکي د رباب د ټنګ محتاجه نه دي

نۀ د بنګړو په شړنګ ټوپونه وهي

لکه توتنکي په وزرو کښې وږمې پټوم

چې د وطن جاله پرې جوړه کړمه

(محمد عارف)

Decentralization and Development: A perspective

Introduction

The need to evolve indigenous thinking: Before Local Bodies Elections the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should devise a mechanism for smooth and effective decentralization. Rather than importing ready-made solutions and ideas the indigenous population should use the indigenous wisdom and local perceptions in scientific manner through first-hand observations.

The problem areas

The overarching problems of Pakhtunkhwa need to be enlisted before developing any developmental framework. Some examples are:

1.       Overpopulation

2.       Disasters

3.       Internal displacement and migration

4.       Lack of infrastructure like roads, bridges, communication channels etc.

5.       The use of agricultural land for housing, housing for commercial purposes

6.       Threats to biodiversity and cultural diversity

Legislation

1.       Property Estimations, fixation of price for property to discourage any further investment in property

2.       Standardization of land distribution—

District wise: How much percentage of land is to be required for 

 a) Housings 

                     b) Commercial purposes 

c) Industry 

d) Forestry 

      e) Recreations

3.       Strategic guidelines for communication channels and bridges for administration and security purposes

4.       Protection of food chain, water channels, forestry, biodiversity, cultural heritage and cultural diversity

Establishment of Commission

A Commission in the name of Rural  Development and Urban Planning  should be established comprised of renowned experts from diverse fields such us Engineers, Architect, Environmentalists, Cultural experts, Doctors, Educationist etc. The Commission will research and devise a comprehensive mapping in line with local needs and requirements. 

Our values, our own secularism

Naeem Saib has pointed towards a very important issue—perhaps the core issue—of secularism in our society. We have our own Sufi traditions of music, love ceremonies, festivals and carnivals. Unfortunately we are fast loosing these traditions in the name of so-called imported and imitative Western secular life-style (Western secularism) which has resulted into spiritual emptiness and decay of all moral virtues, lack of association with the indigenous soil and people and more importantly lack of originality. 

An important facet of this decay and imitation is social and political activism which is devoid of any commitment to public service and philanthropy. To quote Naeem Saib, “these despicable secularists are themselves very intolerant and an extension of the West that borrow from the West the hedonist ideas without internalizing West's values of charity, philanthropy, liberty, self-sacrifice, commitment to their societies, etc.”

According to him our liberal inspiration should come from the norm and values of our own ancient culture and the lives and thoughts of our leaders and heroes. He further says that secularism needs redefinition based on the objective conditions of our society. “Keep the pace slow and work towards the improvement of the lives of common people, create strong economies, establish rule of law, etc.”

He further says that We don't need these NGOs and the so-called secular political lot and the British Raj associated feudal lot and their heirs who beat the drum of secularism to maintain their hedonist life-style and fulfill their hedonist wishes (and ensure salaries and perks in case of NGOs) without truly devoted to the empowerment of our people.

It is true that the so-called secular lot is suffering from the same cognitive dissonance which we associate with our directionless youth—the product of flawed education system. They apparently talk about a higher morality by preaching secularism (in fact they are more obsessed with their personal character and its greatness) while at the same time they have multiple standards which they justify in the name of expediency and in most cases they are far far away from the indigenous roots and the people.

Media: With great powers come great responsibly

Muhammad Arif Tangi

The vote for PTI in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was an expression of idealism and over-ambitions on the part of the voters. Nawaz Sharif who has been showing much maturity in the changing political landscape has already hinted towards it as an “emotional” decision. This brings us to the important aspect of understanding the political psyche of Pakhtuns voters who do not judge or understand processes but are mostly whimsical, sentimental and self-conceited—a fact somehow very true about Imran Khan as a leader.

Political processes are reflective of diverse social and cultural patterns which are shaping, reshaping and changing. In recent times militancy and terrorism have been instrumental to influence these patterns both positively and negatively.The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has remained the target of terrorists’ activities. The province  is also acting like the front-line force against the very terrorism. The shift from a pro-militants and anti-militants stance can easily be interpreted in the last three elections.

The MMA came to power because  the Defa-e-Afghanistan and Pakistan Council at that time launched a full-fledged campaign against US attacks in Afghanistan. During the 2002 elections Musharaf only gave one month to all other political parties (including ANP) to campaign but the said council which later turned into MMA had been campaigning for almost a year. MMA campaign may be termed as an ant-war campaign.

In 2008 elections ANP was able to consolidate its position by remaining vocal throughout the MMA government and there was extreme focus on all its constituencies. The resultant victory for ANP was no surprise. ANP campaign was all about peace.

Elections 2013 is a whimsical and sentimental jump from the political process and shows deformity and de-shaping of the social and cultural patterns. Firstly ANP was barred from launching a campaign through direct targets and the democrats remained silent. Secondly, the media which were mostly concentrated on Punjab  gave most of its converge to the so-called fight between the Lion and Hunter of the Lion. The voters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa largely looked towards Punjab and voted for PTI without paying attention to the internal processes.

Thus the role of mainstream Pakistani media was extremely discouraging in the elections. Media has the power and it has to exhibit patience, restrain and responsibility so that it remains unbiased. Media in Pakistan failed to perform this sacred responsibility and its result could be very devastating not only for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but also for the region.