EDITORIAL : THE DAWN, PAKISTAN

Damaged tourism

THE tourism chief put it very mildly when he said that terrorism has “damaged” Pakistan’s tourist industry. Talking to reporters at Taxila some days ago, the managing director of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation estimated losses from the decline in tourism at Rs550bn, though the period these statistics covered was not specified. While it is true that terrorism has done incalculable harm to all sectors of Pakistan’s economy, the tourism industry has never been anywhere near its potential in terms of the breathtaking beauty of the country’s north. The first blow to tourism came from the cataclysmic events of the late 1970s. Until then, western tourists used to take the land route, crossing from Europe into Turkey, enjoying sites in Iran and entering Pakistan through the Khyber Pass, going on to Lahore and then sailing along the Grand Trunk Road en route to India. The revolution in Iran and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan cut off this route to middle-class western tourists, who formed the bulk of foreign visitors. Tourists still came, but in a trickle — by air. The 9/11 trauma, the kidnapping and murder of foreigners, and the vicious rise in terrorism dealt a death blow to tourism. Even domestic tourism suffered when the rebels occupied Swat. The army later evicted the terrorists, but home tourists still keep away from it.

The hotels and motels destroyed in last year’s floods and the consequent damage to roads and bridges will take time to rebuild and rectify. But the hurdles in the way of a flourishing tourist industry are of a political nature, and there is little the tourism officials can do. What the PTDC can, however, do is to prepare itself for that good day when terrorism disappears and normality returns and focus on planning, with an emphasis on low-cost transport and lodgings.

Attack on Libya

THE Tomahawks, accompanied by warplanes, struck Libya on Saturday. The military operation, led by Europe and the US, did not come as a surprise. A UN Security Council resolution adopted last week called for “all necessary measures” to establish a no-fly zone and protect civilians in the North African country. This was the green signal needed to pave the way for foreign armed intervention in the Libyan crisis. However, the military action seems to be more along the lines of ‘no-fly zone plus’. The allies must realise that if the intervention means putting boots on the ground — as some western leaders have hinted at — there will be a negative reaction in the Muslim world, as the Afghan and Iraqi experiences have shown.

Col Muammar Qadhafi has decided to dig in his heels, proclaiming on Sunday that his forces were prepared for a “long war”. The Libyan state’s propaganda machine has also claimed that there have been civilian causalities caused by the western strikes. We think the use of force against the Qadhafi regime at this point is not a good idea. The sooner it ends the better as western firepower may take a significant civilian toll. The world community is also divided on the use of force, as both Russia and China have opposed military intervention. The African Union also wants a mediated solution. What is more, nobody really knows who the rebels fightingCol Qadhafi’s government are. Are they tribesmen, the political opposition or some other entity? It will complicate matters if a worse alternative to the Libyan dictator is installed because of the one-point western agenda of getting rid of him.

Interestingly, the world’s urgency — perhaps for reasons of realpolitik — seems to be limited to Libya, forgetting other parts of the Arab world where strongmen are also crushing peaceful dissent. In Yemen, pro-government forces shot over 40 protesters at a demonstration in Sana’a on Friday. The Yemeni regime is seen as a bulwark against Al Qaeda, which is believed to have a strong presence in the impoverished country. Hence the use of kid gloves while dealing with Yemen’s autocratic government. In Bahrain, resistance against the Al Khalifa monarchy is hardening, with growing calls for the royal family’s overthrow. The ruling family’s suppression of protests, aided by Saudi military help, is largely responsible for this. With the creation of ‘no-protest zones’ in the Gulf, a greater debate is needed in the West and the UN about how to respond to calls for change in the Arab world, and to decide whether it is ethical to be selective when it comes to supporting or ignoring pro-democracy movements.

Food crisis

HUNGER stalks the land. Earlier during the year, the rates of malnutrition in northern Sindh were likened to those prevailing in Chad and Niger. Now, the World Bank has released a report pointing out that inflation in food prices is such that the country’s poorest families spend 70 per cent or more of their total income on food alone. In all provinces, says the report, increases in wages have been considerably below those witnessed in the price of wheat. These facts merit serious attention. Such a massive chunk of the household income going on procuring food would have a disastrous domino effect on family welfare. Even among households that do not count among the country’s poorest, families have been forced to divert funds previously spent on education andhealthcare towards grocery budgets. Meanwhile, increasing numbers of people continue to fall below the poverty line.
Consider the long-term effects on a population that is spending virtually all it has to keep body and soul together. Nutritional deficiencies — since prices limit food intake — and consequent ill health will become a reality for millions — perhaps for an entire generation, given how heavily the country’s population demographic is skewed towards the young. This will increase costs incurred by the state in the already strained public health sector. Then, an uneducated and ailing workforce is not a productive workforce. In the future, Pakistan could witness falling levels of income generation in terms of individuals and the state itself, with direct links to the current situation of hunger and malnutrition. Pakistan needs to do all it can to turn away from this grim trajectory. First, it is vital that food inflation be brought under control and social safety nets put in place. Second, as theWorld Bank suggests, Pakistan needs to increase its agricultural policymaking capacity — our spending on agricultural research is currently 30 per cent below that of Bangladesh. Finally, the state can launch a public awareness campaign exhorting and teaching citizens to grow their own produce wherever possible, perhaps providing seeds at subsidised rates. Concerted efforts and political will could achieve significant results.