EDITORIAL : THE DAWN, PAKISTAN

Reassessing reality

THE dual messages being sent out by both the Pakistani and American camps on the US operation that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden look set to continue for some time. The Pakistan Army high command on Thursday played a softer hand, promising to investigate how Osama bin Laden ended up in a garrison town and how US special forces were able to enter and exit Pakistani airspace and operate on the ground without being interdicted. Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir took the harder line, rejecting the allegations of a colossal failure on the part of the military and intelligence network and pushing back against American pressure coming from its national security, as opposed to its political leadership. The American political leadership, perhaps mindful of continuing security challenges in this part of the world, has tread a careful line. And, notably, even American officials taking a hard line on Pakistan have stopped short of accusing the Pakistani state of complicity. For now, it seems that a total breakdown in relations has been avoided. But for that to hold, and the Pakistan-US relationship to perhaps even improve, both sides will have to take a hard look at their demands of one another and reassess what is achievable.

In some ways, a decade since 9/11 Pakistan has found itself back to square one. In September 2001, Pakistan was a pariah state, shunned by the outside world, one of the few countries to recognise the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and on the verge of economic collapse. Then 9/11 occurred and Pakistan had a choice to make: hitch its wagon to the American war on terror or risk being trampled underfoot. But while circumstances forced Pakistan to make that choice quickly, the country`s own strategic interests demanded decoupling from the `non-state actors` and pushing the outside world to embrace it. Now, with Osama bin Laden, the 9/11 mastermind, dead, there is a second chance for Pakistan: look inwards, tackle the internal security threat with resolve, reset the strategic priorities of the state and engage the outside world as a responsible member of the international community. Anything less than that, and it is hard to see anything but further pain for Pakistan.

As for the US, in its approach to Pakistan it needs to understand that mistakes are very different from core national interests. Pakistan does need a stable Afghanistan. Pakistan will feel threatened by an increasingly powerful India that is courted and wooed by the international powers. But a less anxious Pakistan may be willing to engage the outside world more positively.

Extra-judicial killing?

FAR from being a chaotic and intense gun battle as described earlier, it now seems that the operation in which Osama bin Laden was killed was a precise venture with elimination — not arrest — as the sole target. On Thursday, a senior US defence official stated that only one of the five people killed in the assault had been armed; he managed to fire a single shot before being killed along with a woman who was nearby. This sole exchange of fire occurred in the first few minutes of the operation, after which reportedly the Navy Seal team met no resistance, armed or otherwise. Indeed, the defence official said that the raid should be described as a floor-by-floor operation to hunt down Bin Laden. Days before, on Tuesday, US officials had already retracted earlier claims that Bin Laden had been armed when killed and that he had attempted to use one of his wives as a human shield.

These revelations have raised reservations about the legality and ethicality of the raid, particularly in Europe which has also been targeted by Al Qaeda. UN human rights chief, Navi Pillay, has responded to worries about whether the team that carried out the raid had been prepared to take Bin Laden alive, calling upon the US for a full disclosure of the facts. It is important for the US to comply. There is little dispute about Bin Laden`s culpability in crimes of immense magnitude. However, the basic tenet of justice is that of due legal process, which delineates it from vigilante action. The US has earlier been accused of carrying out covert killings on foreign soil. The Abbottabad raid, however, seems to be the first time that an overt operation has been carried out to kill in cold blood. The US regularly issues human rights reports in the context of other countries, including Pakistan, expressing reservations about extra-judicial killings among other abuses. But if the killing of an unarmed man, even if a criminal, who puts up no resistance can be justified, what is to stop any despot anywhere from justifying extra-judicial killings in the context of his own country`s situation?

Renewable energy

ALTERNATIVE energy, even in small doses, can make a significant difference in a power-starved country like Pakistan. In a welcome development, street lights lining the Hawkesbay road in Karachi have been hooked up to solar panels and there is no reason why this initiative should not be replicated elsewhere in the city or indeed the country as a whole. There will, admittedly, be the initial burden of buying and installing the hardware. Over time, however, the investment ought to pay for itself if the panels are kept in good repair. And besides saving money, shifting to solar power for street lights from oil- and gas-fired electricity could have a positive environmental impact in a country that can do with a great deal of conservation. At the same time, it might raise awareness of the fact that alternatives to fossil fuels do indeed exist and should be tapped at the earliest. That is the way forward, especially for a country that is largely dependent on oil imports in an age of fluctuating prices.

Solar power technology is still expensive and cannot reasonably be expected to run factories, mills and houses that consume vast amounts of electricity. That said, it is a viable option for homes, especially in rural areas, where people would see a working fan and a couple of lights as a huge advancement in their way of life. Pakistan`s wind-power potential in Sindh`s coastal belt must also be exploited to the fullest. Wind power, which is far more cost-efficient than solar energy on a macro level, can first and foremost reinvigorate a national grid that is currently teetering on the brink of collapse. Then there is another advantage: remote areas are not always easy to hook up to the grid and alternative energy provides an option for stand-alone projects. We need to look forward and act in a timely manner.