THE Opposition parties unfortunately stayed away from the International Donors’ Conference. President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan succeeded in stirring the conscience of the world community which realized the magnitude of the widespread disaster caused by the monumental earthquake of 8th October and responded to the need for assistance required to rebuild the shattered lives of some 5.7 million .The Opposition stance from the very beginning has been to involve the Parliament in the relief and rehabilitation operations. No civilian apparatus exists in our system to handle the gigantic task of disaster management. An executive authority trained to do this kind of job could alone cope with the nature and scale of the disaster. The troops did an excellent job in rescue operations and in restoring communication facilities. Day by day inaccessible areas were reached. Relief goods were delivered by the Army in far-flung and remote villages in otherwise difficult terrain.
Things are beginning to settle down. Thousands of injured persons have been airlifted from quack zone for treatment in camp dispensaries, field hospitals and in major towns. Food, clothes and tents have been distributed amongst the traumatized people. Foreign Governments, NGOs and local volunteers have joined hands with the troops in providing immediate relief to millions of people. Gradually, Army is associating the local elected representatives with the relief operations. Cash is being distributed amongst survivors with the help of local representatives to repair their damaged houses. Cash compensation has been paid for those killed or injured in the great tragedy. Here, the local representatives have been involved with this job which requires to be carefully done. We as a nation have shown total unity and concern for mitigating the sufferings of the survivors. However, black sheep are always there. There have been reports of hoarding of relief goods by some influential politicians and political workers. It is just as well that Army is overseeing the operations to ensure that the funds and relief goods generously donated by the people of Pakistan and the international community are not siphoned off.
The relief operations are continuing, some seventy-five delegations from foreign Governments, international agencies and NGOs had gathered at Islamabad on 19th November to announce their assistance for the real and time-consuming task of providing permanent home to the shelter less and reconstructing the seriously damaged infrastructure. Their sole concern was humanitarian. They had not come to play politics. It is indeed disgusting that Opposition parties were not at hand to thank them. They had instead decided to politicize the monumental tragedy. The authorities responsible for continuing relief operations and reconstruction phase are civilian. The entire effort of every one should be directed to ensure that absolute transparency is being observed in the utilization of huge funds and relief articles given by the world community and the people of Pakistan. To cry foul at this stage is not helpful or constructive. No specific charges have been spelt out. The Opposition has given wrong signals to the outside world. It is no service to Pakistan.

Breaking new ground

Egyptians went to the polls again yesterday in Round 2 of the country’s parliamentary elections. No one doubts that the ruling National Democratic Party will be returned, possibly with a reduced majority. The NDP won 68 percent of the seats in the first round. What is just as significant, however, is the question of whether politics is truly becoming more open in the Arab world’s most populous country. The elections so far are testimony that the modernizing democratic face of Egypt is developing. The country had its first contested presidential election in September; it opened an unprecedented national debate on political reform and civil liberties. Such openness has now extended to parliamentary elections. Outright criticism of the government is being permitted. The government is also allowing civil society groups to monitor the vote and for the first time, ballot boxes are transparent.
Perhaps the biggest proof positive that the elections are free and fair is the unexpected gains by the Muslim Brotherhood. Officially banned, they have been allowed to campaign openly, fielding 150 technically independent candidates nationwide. These candidates have been allowed to hold campaign rallies, hang banners and distribute their platforms. As a consequence, they have reaped the dividends. Independents standing on the Brotherhood’s behalf have now more than doubled their seats in the People’s Assembly. In the outgoing Parliament, the Brotherhood had only 17 seats; now they have 34 before voting has taken place in two-thirds of the country. If the group maintains the same success rate, it could control a fifth of the seats in Parliament.
Galvanized by the government’s willingness to allow greater participation, other opposition parties, which are still small and lack grass-root support, have buried their differences and formed a coalition. They hope this will give them a better chance of reducing the NDP’s majority. What will most likely transpire is the NDP will maintain its dominant position, but with a larger and livelier opposition in the People’s Assembly. At the very least, the mere fact that they are competing shows how far the poll has gone in re-engaging ordinary Egyptians in the political life of their country.
The Egyptian Parliament carries significant weight. Its new members will consider a rewrite of the Emergency Law in place since 1981, plus a continued transition to a free-market economy. It may also oversee a presidential transition. The Parliament also holds a fair amount of power over day-to-day affairs and can override government policies and summon ministers for questioning. Mubarak surprised the nation in February by calling for the first multicandidate presidential elections. The ensuing presidential election in September received international attention. This month’s parliamentary elections are also being closely watched, both in Egypt and abroad, for indications of long-term political changes in the country. What they see is a bold new grass roots movement breaking new ground.

—Arab News