EDITORIAL : THE DAWN, PAKISTAN

Timely reminder

GEN Kayani`s speech to cadets at the Pakistan Military Academy on Saturday has at least had the salutary effect of once again focusing attention on the main threat to the country`s security: militancy. In recent months, since the Raymond Davis affair exploded in the most extraordinary of ways, it has seemed at times that all the US government and the Pakistani security establishment have been interested in doing is to hurl accusations at one another. At certain points, the fight against militancy has almost seemed beside the point. But by using strong language to describe the state`s successes so far in the `war against terrorism` — “(The) terrorists` backbone has been broken,” Gen Kayani told the graduating cadets at the PMA — the army chief has underlined what is really at stake. Whether the terrorists` backbone has indeed been broken or not is unclear. Indeed, in the nebulous world of insurgencies, the enemy may not even have a `backbone` that can be broken. But the fact remains that militancy is the greatest threat to the security of Pakistan and barring a multi-pronged strategy to fight it, the country will not be able to look forward to a stable and prosperous future. The army chief has issued a timely reminder about what is at stake.

Gen Kayani`s words also give hope that the security establishment, recognising what is at stake, will not allow matters to spiral out of control with the Americans. A pragmatic understanding of the threat militants pose inside this country can be matched with pragmatism on both the American and Pakistani sides about what can be achieved in Afghanistan. Neither the Americans nor the Pakistanis would want Afghanistan to descend into chaos again. And both the American and Pakistani side have some understanding of the threat that militancy can pose. Taken together, those two facts create space for working towards some resolution of the differences in the strategic perspectives of the US and Pakistan. And, at the very least, the facts would suggest that both sides are aware that a permanent rupture is not possible.

However, if Pak-US relations are not to desultorily roam the space between total breakdown and positive engagement, the US administration and the security establishment here will need to at least ease some of the immediate tensions in the relationship. Does the recent flurry of meetings between senior officials of both sides indicate that both sides understand the need to lower tensions in order to work on thornier strategic differences? Or does the public back-and-forth suggest moods are yet to soften? Looking in from the outside, it is hard to say.

A charity questioned

GREG Mortenson, the author of Three Cups of Tea and the man who turned girls` education in Afghanistan and Pakistan into a pet cause for the West, is now being accused of fabricating elements of his story about his time in Pakistan and misusing funds belonging to his charity, which sets up schools in the two countries. Rarely does an independent humanitarian receive the attention Mr Mortenson has; he has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, top US military commanders have sought his advice about interacting with Afghans, and his book is required reading for American soldiers deployed in Afghanistan. Donations to his charity include $100,000 from President Obama`s Nobel Peace Prize grant. For so many people to have potentially misjudged the man is cause for concern. For one, it points to the difficulty of channelling aid effectively. The claim that more than half his charity`s budget does not end up being used to build schools is reminiscent of concerns about development work sponsored by NGOs, foreign governments and multilateral organisations. Allegations that many schools he claims to have built are not functioning or not supported by him points to the importance of verifying the progress of such efforts. The tale also cautions against the way that media hype can result in enormous focus being lavished on certain causes without enough examination of their impact. The Pakistani media, for its part, took for granted the publicity created in the US about Mr Mortenson, who has received the Sitara-i-Pakistan. Ironically, it took another American to unearth potential fraud taking place in our own country.

That said, it would be unfortunate if the bursting of the Mortenson bubble affects education as a cause, especially for girls, in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It would also be a shame if his downfall discourages donations to humanitarian and civilian interventions. A military solution is not enough to address the conflict across the border and in parts of our own country, and the Mortenson story should serve as a warning to hold development work to stringent standards rather than a reason to abandon the cause itself.

Damaged art

DAWN`S news story on Lahore`s Permanent Art Gallery reads like an epitaph for some precious masterpieces. Allah Bakhsh, Colin David, Sadequain, Anna Molka Ahmed, Shamza, Ahmed Pervaiz, Saeed Akhtar etc make the catalogue for the wrong reasons. They are among the unfortunate artists whose works have been damaged for want of care, which in turn is said to be the result of the lack of funding. In total some 76 of 170-odd treasure pieces in the gallery are damaged “20 per cent” to “90 per cent”. The older canvases appear to be fighting their last battle for survival. These include Sohni Mahiwal and Mahabharata by Ustad Allah Bakhsh which officials in the overseeing Lahore Arts Council say are more or less completely damaged. With “50 per cent damage”, pieces by Anna Molka Ahmed and Colin David are for now breathing relatively more freely, but they are as defenceless from further ravages.

The news story unveils the apathy that is reflected in these pictures and it identifies for whom the gallery was set up in 1996: “…students, researchers, tourists and art lovers”. The sad state the exhibits are in today is indicative that not enough tourists and lovers of art have turned up for the administration to give any thought to generating funds through an entrance fee. This leaves those running the gallery with the option of a government grant. It`s been 20 months since a preservation scheme was approved which required a mere Rs4m for execution. Even that turned out to be too high a demand and as yet there is no funding as a heartless government stumbles through a crash course in the art of running public affairs. Perhaps the shock reminder will convince it that an attempt to rescue the Permanent Art Gallery can still earn it some popular marks.