Monday, August 24, 2015
Critiquing U.S. Spending in Afghanistan, to Dramatic Effect
By Even as United States spending and military involvement dwindle in Afghanistan, some members of Congress and outside groups say it is as important as ever to have an independent watchdog like the special inspector general. Congress created the unusual cross-agency office in 2008 to determine what exactly the government has bought with the more than $100 billion it has spent on reconstruction, and although Congress has reduced annual appropriations for reconstruction in Afghanistan, there is still a little over $15 billion left to be spent.“You could make the argument that we need even more oversight than we have in the past,” said Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri and a former state auditor who has been a leading supporter of the special inspector general. “Bad things happen when no one is looking.” The reports by the special inspector general underscore the inherently chaotic nature of development that relies on private contractors and local agencies. Records disappear, agencies do not measure progress accurately and outright corruption drains government funds, especially in war zones. It is a problem long recognized by government auditors. Since 1992, the Government Accountability Office has repeatedly listed the Defense Department’s oversight of private contractors as highly vulnerable to fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement. “So the problem is not unique to Afghanistan; it’s contracting in general,” the special inspector general, John F. Sopko, said in an interview. “The contracting officer’s job is to get the money out the door. But the question, then, is what have we and the Afghans really gotten for our 14-year-long, $110 billion investment?” To be sure, the United States has made substantial progress in rebuilding Afghanistan. There are more schools. Deaths from childbirth and infant mortality are down. People are living longer. And numerous roads, clinics and irrigation facilities have been built. Still, Afghanistan remains one of the world’s poorest and least developed nations. Corruption is rampant, abetted by weak ministries in a central government whose presence and support in rural areas is often minimal. Mr. Sopko, 63, works from an office tower in Northern Virginia, a few blocks from the Pentagon, and makes occasional trips to Afghanistan to assess conditions. Equal parts showman and investigator, he has drawn substantial support and criticism. Government watchdog reports typically have a dry, understated tone. But Mr. Sopko has been blunt in his assessment of waste and fraud, naming individuals in his reports, which other inspector generals rarely do. His office “is an example of how an inspector general is supposed to operate,” said Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, a watchdog group in Washington. Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, agreed. “This office gives the Defense Department classic case after case of blatant waste, served up on a silver platter. The audits are plainly written and cut to the heart of wastefulness,” Mr. Grassley said. “It’s unfortunate that the Defense Department usually can’t see through the bureaucratic fog and act on the waste.” He added that the legacy of Mr. Sopko and his office “will be helping to shift the perception that wasting taxpayer money doesn’t matter.” “The change is slow-going,” the senator continued, “and we need every bit of it.” Critics of Mr. Sopko and his work in Afghanistan say that while he does raise legitimate points, his conclusions are not always supported by his facts, and that he too often seems focused on drawing attention to his office. Michael E. O’Hanlon, a co-director of the Brookings Institution’s Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence, said the special inspector general’s office was often “belaboring the obvious.” “There are problems inherent in development in a war zone,” he said. “His reports and his testimony before Congress and in the media don’t always convey an appreciation for that situation, holding people to pristine standards.” Mr. O’Hanlon added: “He’s probably right, but he should offer something more constructive rather than just piling on.” Officials like Larry Sampler, a senior official at the United States Agency for International Development, which oversees projects in Afghanistan including health facilities and power plants, agree that development can be messy, and that the special inspector general’s reports have been accurate. “I just disagree with the conclusions,” he said. For example, Mr. Sampler agrees that the data about the health clinics, which he said the Afghan government had provided to U.S.A.I.D., was flawed. But he said his agency’s staff had verified that the vast majority of clinics were where they were supposed to be. He said his agency had provided updated information to the special inspector general documenting the existence of the clinics. Mr. Sampler said the $335 million power plant was never meant to be the primary source for Kabul. Rather, it was built to provide power on a temporary basis, until his agency could find a cheaper source. The plant is powered by diesel fuel and is expensive to run. Kabul now gets most of its power from nearby Uzbekistan. The power plant, Mr. Sampler said, is used as a backup or for emergency power such as when power lines from Uzbekistan go down, which has happened at least once. The special inspector general said audits had concluded that the “plant was originally intended to serve as a base load plant, providing electrical power to Kabul on a continuous basis,” not as a backup. Nevertheless, Mr. Sampler said the plant had been a bright spot, helping businesses to grow and drawing Afghans abroad back to Kabul. “You don’t get that from reading a dry report,” he said. Critics of Mr. Sopko and his office say other inspectors general at the Defense Department, the State Department and U.S.A.I.D. had overseen programs in Afghanistan without generating the public attention that he had. Money spent by the United States on future operations will not be overseen by a special inspector general. A new inspector general for the United States military mission in Afghanistan, led by the Defense Department, has been created. The new inspector general was named because once combat operations ceased last year the mission became a “new and separate overseas contingency operation,” the military said. Mr. Sopko’s office will continue to oversee the more than $100 billion spent so far on the reconstruction. The chairman of the Council of the Inspectors General said the two offices would “cooperate and closely coordinate their current oversight missions.” But Ms. Brian of the Project on Government Oversight and Senator McCaskill say they regard the appointment of a new inspector general as an attempt to replace Mr. Sopko. Because of a change by Congress, oversight of missions for future overseas contingency operations will be headed by a lead inspector general who can come only from the Defense Department, State Department or U.S.A.I.D. “Unfortunately, waste, fraud and abuse have too often been the result when it comes to the billions we’ve spent in Afghanistan,” Ms. McCaskill said. The special inspector general “is needed to ensure that there is independent oversight of the D.O.D., State Department and U.S.A.I.D. contracts so we don’t end up with more planes that can’t fly or $335 million power plants that are little more than generators.”
Pakistan’s failure to stem terror funding
A few months ago, media reports in Pakistan reported seizure of Rs 10.2 billion in cash from some individuals who were charged with money laundering and terror financing. The news reports also talked about another seizure of Rs 101.7 million from clerics and workers of banned terrorist groups. Not surprisingly there has been no official confirmation about these seizures, and the identity of the individuals arrested and the groups involved. But the large sum seized from a ``few`` individuals gives an idea of the kind of money involved in terror financing. These would easily run into several billion dollars in a year if Pakistan government were to shut down even partially the terror funding pipeline.
But there is no sign of any crackdown. During the recent Ramzan, terrorist and extremist groups openly collected ``donations`` and animal hides. Most of these donations and hides are cornered by big groups like LeT and JeM. Investigating agencies in Pakistan have found a close link between these ``Ramzan`` donations and money laundering. Terrorist groups use religious cover to launder money from different sources from abroad.
It is well known in Pakistan that terrorist groups get money through three means—zakat collection during Ramzan, collection of animal hides on Eid and foreign donations. About 70 to 80 per cent of funding for these groups come from local donations. There are sizeable number of individuals, business houses and establishments which contribute regularly for the cause of ``jihad``. These donations generally come during religious festivities and occasions. Terrorist groups publicise widely their bank account numbers and addresses in their publications and on the social media. In fact, groups like LeT have been exploiting social media for raising funds within Pakistan as well as outside. By all accounts, these groups have been successful in collecting large sums through these media sources while managing to hoodwink the system.
It is also not a secret that almost all the terrorist groups in Pakistan today have a charity face. LeT was the first one to take this route in 2001. When the group came under scrutiny following the December 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament, it split into two—one to carry out jihad against India and another to do charity work. Thus was born Jamat-ud Dawa (JuD). This was a clever ploy—it helped the group, its patrons in Pakistan Army, to dodge any possible international action or sanction and gave it a public legitimacy. More importantly, it also gave it the much-needed and potent deniability excuse. So whenever LeT carried out an attack in India, Pakistan said it had been banned long ago and that JuD was not LeT. For years, the international community accepted the argument and refused to accept Indian protests about JuD being a front for LeT. It was the Mumbai attacks and subsequent investigations which made the world accept the simple fact that JuD was just another name for LeT.
The group by then had created a vast network of schools, charities, hospitals, ambulance services, rescue and relief teams. This rapid expansion of ``services`` could not have happened without the generous support of its patrons in Pakistan Army and political elite. This ``charity cover`` gave a cloak of respectability to the terrorist group and gave an excuse to Pakistan to protect the group. Even today, JuD, directly involved in the Mumbai attacks and several other terrorist activities, is merely on the ``watch list`` in Pakistan while it is banned world-wide. The LeT has thus set an example for others to follow—JeM has similar charity fronts, although on a much limited scale. Other groups have also followed suit, making it easier for them to get money and respectability, as well as immunity from any action. These are known tactics of terrorist groups and Pakistan could have easily nipped it in the bud if it had the intention to do so.
A major source of funding for these terrorist groups is from charities in the Middle East. Big religious charities in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries keep aside a large sum for charity purposes. This sum runs into several billion dollars a year and a substantial part of it comes to South Asia, notably Pakistan and Bangladesh. A large part of this charity funding lands into the accounts of terrorist groups through various means. Terrorist groups like LeT have had close links with the clergy and religious leaders in these countries and these contacts work like liaison agents between the charity organisations and terrorist-run charity fronts. Millions of dollars thus pour into terrorist and extremist outfits. Some time back, this issue was raised in the National Assembly after it was found by Pakistani agencies that terrorist groups targeting Pakistan received funds from charities in Saudi Arabia. In fact, several political leaders issued statements against such funding in public. The protests, however, were quickly doused after the Saudi rulers warned Pakistan of the consequences of such statements. The incident exposed the fact that the so-called charities funded terrorist groups and that it was a widely known secret.
There is no doubt that this failure to choke terrorist funding is damaging Pakistan more than any other country in the neighbourhood. What is no less distressing is that it is also keeping region unstable and violent. The international community must bring pressure on Pakistani leadership to take visible and strong action against terrorist funding. Pakistan’s claim that such crackdowns will cause massive law and order problem is hog wash. This can begin by keeping a check on hide collection and sales, donations accepted by terrorist groups through their bank accounts and assessing the annual incomes of the so-called charities run by these groups. These are purely administrative actions and will cause no mass unrest as Pakistan claims. - See more at: http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/detail.php?reportid=80#sthash.SNPL67Md.dpuf
Pakistani Christians have to face various forms of persecution: It is not only about the blasphemy law
Christians have customarily faced persecution in times past up till now. Even today, there are some countries where being a Christian bears an elevated risk of harsh forms of persecution; despite this majority still cling to their faith.
The Gospel Herald reports about a Pakistani Christian Saba Imtiaz who talked with a Pakistani priest about the worst forms of persecution Christians are going through in Pakistan.
In keeping with what Saba told, Anthony Ibraz, a 31-year-old, Pakistani priest of Karachi, is actively preaching tolerance to his congregation. Despite the fact that Anthony’s own family had to face religion-based persecution including extortion, beatings and facing discriminatory attitudes at school and the shops, he still airs the message of love, peace and tolerance from the pulpit.
“Persecution is not only about the blasphemy law,” he said adding, “There are different kinds of persecutions. There is discrimination, when we go out, in education and jobs … sometimes slavery in Sindh and Punjab. There are people who come to us who say they are educated and capable but they don’t get jobs. The reason is religion.”
“We do stand for our rights, and we raise our voice,” Anthony Ibraz said. “The Christian community or the minorities are more aware now about blasphemy cases and persecution. They are more aware now of sending messages, or to appear in the media. They know what the result could be.”
In the face of the ostensibly never-ending persecution, Anthony Ibraz has clung to his message of patience and tolerance. “Maybe something good will have to come out at some point,” Ibraz said. “At the same time we tell them that this persecution becomes a reason to unite. If we are together, you can do something.”
- See more at: http://www.christiansinpakistan.com/pakistani-christians-have-to-face-various-forms-of-persecution-it-is-not-only-about-the-blasphemy-law/#sthash.6g9XARLQ.dpuf
Pakistan - Paedophilia: an obfuscated reality
By Zainab Sohail
How the society should deal with it
Outrage against paedophilia is not new. In the hierarchical society of classical Greece, sexual relations between an adult man and a boy were seen as contributing to the boy’s education. However, many didn’t like it even then.
Between the years of 1830 and 1890, two-thirds of all documented sexual offences in London had children as victims. Social stigma upon its discussion vanished for the first time in 1885 when sexual abuse of children was made a topic of public discussion by British newspaper “Pall Mall gazette”.
New moral panic was raised around the globe in 1970s to 1990s when revelations of existence of child pornography i.e., child sex abuse imagery, as well as paedophilic chat groups on internet ashamed the world. The international community joined hands and drafted laws to stop this horrendous act.
United Nation Convention on the Rights of Child (CRC) is an international treaty that legally binds nations to protect children’s rights. Pakistan along with 195 nations ratified this convention on 12 November, 1990, but no proper legislation has been implemented to curb this evil so far.
Article 34 of the Convention deals with sexual exploitation and states that “Government should protect children from all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse.”
Article 36 of the Convention deals with other forms of exploitation and states that “Children should be protected from any activity that takes advantages of them or could harm their welfare.” Article 2 of ‘optional protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography’ prohibits sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
To uproot this cruelty UK rewrote its criminal code in the ‘Sexual Offence Act 2003’. This Act includes definitions and penalties for child sexual abuse. Even our neighbouring country India had passed an act in 2012 called ‘Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act, 2012” related to child sexual abuse.
Local laws which deal with this issue are not applied in letter and spirit. They are highlighted in Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). Section 367 A of PPC states that for kidnapping or abducting in order to subject a person to unnatural lust, the punishment is death or rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to 25 years and shall also be liable to fine. Section 377 of PPC states that whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life or imprisonment not less than 2 years but not more than 10 years and shall be liable to fine. An act named “Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act 2004” is weak on the regulation of sexual abuse and deals only with the ‘risk’ of seduction, sodomy, prostitution and other immoral conditions, and the offence is punishable by imprisonment of three years only.
According to Anti-Terrorism Act child-molestation is a terrorist act but the scope and extent of the offence is undefined.
One and a half year ago in February Marvi Memon, Laila Khan, Members of National Assembly tabled a bill to criminalise child pornography but this issue failed to grasp the attention. Again on 25th of April, 2015, the same bill was tabled. This time not by any private person but by our Law Minister Pervaiz Rasheed and to the dismay of many, the issue again was not considered as important. There is no legislation in Pakistan against child pornography specifically, so it’s not a crime. This makes our lawmakers culprit of the said offence. How can courts take action against the said perpetrators as their inhumane action is not a crime in the eyes of law?
Child abuse in Pakistan takes place in various locations such as in houses, schools, mosques. According to an Islamabad based NGO, 2303, 3861, 3002, 2508 incidents of child abuse took place in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 respectively. In Pakistan children less than 18 years of age are falling prey to child sexual abuse at the ratio of 8 children per day. Age group (11-15) years are most vulnerable, next (6-10) years, and then (1-5) years.
We are familiar with the term extortion which means the crime of obtaining money or illegal exaction by use of one’s office or authority. Extortion is also related to sex-related crimes which is sextortion. Sextortion is a serious crime that occurs when someone threatens to distribute your private and sensitive material if you don’t provide them images of sexual nature, or we can say it’s blackmailing for sexual favours. The culprits of the recent incident of Kasur were charged under extortion as well.
Psychological effects on children who fall prey to the sexual abuse in childhood vary a lot. According to medical studies, survivors of childhood abuse might experience uncharacteristic feelings of stress, fear, depression, anxiety, disorder, suicidal behaviour, powerlessness, shame, betrayal and distrustfulness to the adults.
Paedophilia can be attributed to both biological and environmental factors. There are certain structural abnormalities in the brains of paedophiles. Abnormalities occur when the brain is developing and can be on-set through certain experience such as sexual abuse as a child. Researches on the brains of paedophiles revealed that paedophiles exhibit decreased volume of grey brain matter in the central straitum, as a result certain areas of the brain which play an important role in addictive behaviour are affected. So, the paedophiles tend to act inappropriately and exhibit poor judgment because they lack the ability to control their impulses. Psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy are required to uproot this disorder as well.
Beside protests and condemnations against this act, the most important thing is to eradicate this evil from the society. Can sexual education contribute to eradicate it? According to WHO sex education should be imparted to the children who are 12 years and above, so that individuals are well informed about sex, sexual practices, child sexual abuse and sexually transmitted diseases ete. Advantages of sex education are that sex education dispels myths related to sex and broadens their horizons; children can easily understand bodily changes at the age of puberty. Sex education will curb sexual abuse as children will be better able to distinguish between predatory sexual practices.
Along with sex education social acceptability of the victim is also required. According to an NGO report from 2007-2011, 10,700 cases of child sexual abuse were reported excluding the unreported cases. Most children and families do not report cases of abuse and exploitation because of stigma, fear and lack of trust in the authorities but this silence will amount to the acceptance of this grave crime.
It’s the need of the hour to come out of this societal pressure. Prevention begins at home. Parents and guardians should make their children aware of what is sexual abuse, molestation etc. Being a victim of child sexual abuse should not be a matter of social stigma.
Controversial: Doctors in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa say measles not epidemic
New cases of measles that are surfacing across the province have panicked officials concerned who, however, refuse to call it the infection an epidemic.
“The children who contract measles recently are either those who missed out on vaccination or the ones who have been living in IDP camps,” a health department official told The Express Tribune.
Around 1,400 cases have been reported at various health institutions across the province. However, experts are of the opinion that measles is not an epidemic and could have been caused by the influx of displaced people into various parts of the province.
“It happens during disasters like floods and earthquake but it does not mean the disease is carried by the floodwater,” said the official. “Such an outbreak is usually reported from areas where a large group of people live together, like in camps etc.”
Double check
Even though immunisation drives have taken place across K-P, inoculating children against such infections is not enough. Another official said even after a child receives doses against measles, there are chances that the infection may takeover. “A second dose can completely protect the child.”
The cases may be reported amongst children who have been vaccinated only once, added the official. “One should also keep in mind that a successful campaign against measles does not mean the infection has been rooted out.” He added there are chances that the outbreak was caused by those who missed the first dose as well.
When contacted, acting deputy director of the Expanded Programme on Immunization Dr Tahir confirmed the number of cases but maintained it is not an epidemic.
“There are children who missed the vaccination campaign but let me tell you that even if a campaign is going on, it does not mean things are okay.”
He added cases are reported on a routine basis. Tahir informed that around 60 to 70% of the children have been immunised and the rise in the number of cases suggests the remaining children missed the vaccination.
Youngest Nobel peace prize winner Malala celebrates exam success
Malala Yousafzai, the youngest person ever to win the Nobel peace prize, has another reason to celebrate after posting a string of top grades in her GCSEs, a set of important exams faced by British teenagers.
Her father Ziauddin Yousafzai said on Twitter on Friday his 18-year-old daughter had achieved six A*s and four As, placing her in the top tier of school kids to take the exam.
After rising to global fame as an education activist after she was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman in Pakistan in 2012, her family resettled in Birmingham in Britain.
Last year she became the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Yousafzai, whose own education was disrupted when she was attacked and moved to Britain for rehabilitation, sat her exams two years after most British teenagers take them.
Pakistani media praised her good results.
“Nothing that Malala Yousafzai achieves seems startling any more but she continues to make Pakistan proud," said the Express Tribune, an English-language Pakistani newspaper.
Salim-Sulaiman's 'Khalipan' dedicated to Peshawar massacre released
Imagine a world without kids... empty gardens, vacant swings and see-saws! This is exactly the sentiment, which resonates in Salim-Sulaiman’s new single ‘Khalipan.’
Penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya, the soul stirring single was composed by the music composer duo post the Peshawar school massacre, which claimed the lives of nearly 141 children. Sung by Salim, the song is a tribute to the innocent lives who never returned home from school.
“We all remember the horrific incident at Army Public School, Peshawar where the victims were the tiny kids who actually hid under benches to avoid bullets. This was something that trigged the thought in Sulaiman and me that what if our kids do not come home someday? And that’s the reason why we as artists made the single in memory of the kids who lost their lives to terrorism,” said Salim.
With this, the duo hopes to reach out to the sponsors of such a “heinous” act. “If this single reaches out to even one person who supports this act, we will be successful,” he added.
The song begins with mind boggling statistics stating that more than 200 million children till date have lost their lives to terrorism. The video features both Salim- Sulaiman and ends with the heart breaking line - “The smallest coffins are the heaviest.”
When asked about their expectations from this track, Salim said, “I do not make music for expectations. I do it because I am an artist and I feel about the cause.”
The duo finished composing the song in January 2015 and went to Poland to shoot the same. “We shot the song in April because in the months of February and March, Poland is very cold. Also it was not possible to have an empty town in India so we had to go to Poland,” he explained.
Happy and satisfied with the way in which the song has been shot, Salim is of the opinion that doing an independent project is a little difficult as one requires a lot of funding to shoot the song with grandeur.
Prior to this the duo had released their single ‘Astagfirullah’ on the occasion of Eid. Additionally, Salim also rendered his vocals for a couple of songs in the film ‘Wedding Pulao’ recently.