Stopgap measures: Pakistan fighting climate change with ad-hocism

Climatechangereuterscopy

ISLAMABAD: At a time when nations have agreed to set a new path to low carbon emissions and climate resilient futures for their countries, Pakistan’s seriousness in tackling climate change can be gauged from the fact that many environment-related departments have been without permanent heads for years.

Some crucial climate tasks of the Ministry of Climate Change (MOCC) are being dealt on ad-hoc basis, as many senior posts in its allied departments are either vacant or being held by officials from unrelated fields. Environmentalists link the poor performance and unplanned participation of MOCC in Paris climate conference with ad-hoc policies.

After Mushahidullah Khan’s unceremonious departure from the ministry in August this year, Zahid Hamid rejoined the cabinet as minister for climate change after being cleared of the stigma of being a collaborator of Pervez Musharraf by a special court trying the former military dictator for treason early in November.

Hamid was science and technology minister of the PM Nawaz Sharif cabinet, but was sidelined when the charge arose during the trial as he had held the same portfolio under Musharraf.

“At a time when major wings of the ministry are non functional, expertise of Zahid Hamid are useless,” an MOCC official told The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity.

Currently, at least four attached departments of the ministry are working without regular heads.

Post of director general of Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) has been vacant for over six months after the former DG, Dr Khurshid Khan, was appointed head of the South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP) in Sri Lanka.

“This is not only affecting the day-to-day affairs of the agency but also giving a free hand to violators to further degrade the environment in the capital city. The headless agency is unable to take any pre-emptive or proactive measures for protection of environment,” said EPA Environment Director Ziauddin Khattak.

The Zoological Survey of Pakistan (ZSP), another MOCC department, has also been operating without a permanent head since 2007-2008. From 2008 to 2013, it has been headed either by officers on deputation from other departments or as an additional charge.

As of today, ZSP has no chief after Assistant Inspector-General Forests Aurangzeb Awan, who held the additional charge of heading ZSP, retired on December 17.

Moreover, the Global Climate Impact Study Centre (GCISC), the research arm of the ministry, has been run as an additional or acting charge ever since the retirement of its executive director Dr Ishfaq Ahmed several years ago. The centre helps in capacity building, policy analysis and information dissemination on issues related to past and projected future climatic changes in Pakistan.

The centre also assesses the likely impact of climate change on key socio-economic sectors such as water, food, agriculture, energy, forestry, health, and ecology and recommends adaptation and mitigation measures.

Pakistan Environmental Planning and Architectural Consultants (PEPAC) was set up by the government in 1974 as a consultancy firm for planning and designing urban infrastructure, architectural design of buildings, and structural and environmental engineering. This department has also been without a permanent head for two years.

Express Tribune

Pemra again puts off bidding process for DTH services

DTH Licence

ISLAMABAD: The bidding process for the Direct to Home (DTH) services has been further delayed because the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has decided to initiate “legal due diligence” for the exercise.

The legal due diligence is an investigation of a business or person prior to signing of a contract. The DTH is a digital service that provides television viewing services directly to subscribers through satellite transmission anywhere in the country.

In this service a “dish” is placed outside a house which helps in receiving the signals and broadcasting them onto a television. The signals are digital by nature and are received directly from the satellite.

A meeting held on Friday in the head office of the authority also decided that recommendations and findings formulated after due diligence would be presented at the next meeting of the Pemra board for consideration.

“The next meeting of the authority is likely in January next year,” a senior Pemra official said, adding that if the process continued smoothly then the bidding might take place in February.

Talking to Dawn on condition of anonymity, a Pemra board member said the delay was helping those active in the illegal DTH business.

“I cannot comment on the issue openly as it will give a political angle to the situation, but we must understand that there is someone who is benefiting from the delay,” the board member claimed, adding that the estimated volume of the illegal DTH business was between $2 billion and $3bn annually.

Pemra has estimated that there are around five million illegal DTH businesses operating in the country and a majority of them are Indian followed by those from Afghanistan.

A statement released by the authority said that Pemra Chairman Absar Alam had directed his legal department to conclude the matter as soon as possible in order to give potential investors confidence and to dispel wrong impression being created in this regard.

The statement quoted Mr Alam as saying that the DTH licensing process would resume after all legal aspects were looked into because any decision taken in haste could have legal complications in future.

Mr Alam decided to defer the bidding process on Dec 4 while presiding over his first Pemra meeting on the grounds that he needed reasonable time to fully understand the project, its criteria, procedure, guidelines and other important legal aspects.

Pakistan is offering three DTH licences to be made operational across the country and eight applicant companies had been shortlisted by Pemra for participation in the process.

They are Sardar Builders (Pvt) Limited, Parus Media & Broadcast (Pvt) Limited, Mastro Media Distribution (Pvt) Limited, HB DTH (Pvt) Limited, IQ Communications (Pvt) Limited, Nayatel (Pvt) Limited, Shahzad CGG (Pvt) Limited and Sharif Feed Mills (Pvt) Limited.

Dawn

Musadiq Sanwal’s poetic verses and music CD launched

KARACHI: Despite the distracting ear-splitting sounds coming from outside of the Karachi Press Club, friends and admirers of journalist, poet and musician Musadiq Sanwal gathered and shared their memories of the late Sanwal at the launch of his poetic verses Yeh Natamaam Si Ik Zindagi Jo Guzri Hai and a music CD at the club on Saturday.

Musadiq Sanwal, former editor of Dawn.com, died after a long battle with cancer in Jan 2014.

Poet Harris Khalique first recited Sanwal’s poem ‘Koi Gham Nahin’, after which he briefly spoke on his life and work. He called him ‘Renaissance Man’. He said the fact that he was familiar with many languages enriched his expression as a creative person. He said that apart from tenderness and compassion, his poems carried an element of irony.

Writer Asif Farrukhi read out a paper titled ‘Natamam Zindagi Mukammal Kitab’. He said he and Sanwal had common friends. He first got to know of him when Sanwal was involved with a theatre group. He was a deep thinker and man of action (amal ka dildada), he said. He pointed out that his poetry had two streams: one was influenced by Faiz Ahmed Faiz and the other by N. M. Rashed.

He rounded off his speech by reciting Sanwal’s poem ‘Janab-i-Wajdan’.

Sheema Kermani said she met Sanwal in 1991 for the first time when both were doing stage plays. On his singing ability, she said he had a voice which did not need a microphone.

Zaheer Kidvai reminisced about the days when Sanwal used to visit him in his office and sing songs in his distinct style. In that regard he mentioned his rendition of Mirza Sahiban which, he said, brought tears to a couple of listeners’ eyes.

Writer Mohammed Hanif began his speech by referring to the voices emanating from outside of the club’s premises unsettling the launch’s proceedings. He said had Sanwal been alive he’d have asked what those people wanted. Tinged with sarcasm, he remarked that there was no one in the audience whose voice could drown out the voices of those who were holding a rally.

Mr Hanif said he had known Sanwal since the time when both were not married. Sanwal was of the view that every person should be familiar with art (any of its genres), and if that were possible, the world would have been a better place to live in, he said. He told that attendees that Sanwal’s music was available on Soundcloud.

Arshad Mahmud said music was the common interest between him and Sanwal. He’s in love with it, so was the late poet and musician. Mahmud also presented, through students of the National Academy of Performing Arts, a musical composition of his that he set to one of Sanwal’s poems.

CEO of the Dawn Group of Newspapers Hameed Haroon said it was both a celebration and commemorative meeting for which Sanwal’s friends had gathered. He said Sanwal’s life should be celebrated for his ideals, music, verse and singular clarity of thought for the propagation of culture in this country. He recalled the time when Sanwal had spoken on Madame Noor Jehan on City FM 89. He said the late artist belonged to that passionate young generation of Punjab of the 1980s and ‘90s which was influenced by Noor Jehan. Calling him a man of integrity, he also touched upon his career as a journalist where he was able to “inspire his team”. He lauded Sanwal’s wife, Shehla, for keeping her husband’s sacred flame alive”.

Shehla said the occasion was a celebration. She said apart from his published work, there were many other works, including pieces for theatre, that he had written. She generously offered that whoever wanted to use them could do that. She said Sanwal never talked about his illness or death. He was busy editing his material even the night he was admitted to hospital for the last time.

Wusutullah Khan conducted the programme which was interspersed with Sanwal’s poems and songs in his own voice.

Dawn

Anusha lauds US initiative on internet connectivity

anusha rehman

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication Anusha Rahman Khan appreciated on Saturday the Global Connect Initiative being launched by the US to support growth of internet access and connectivity across the globe.

The initiative will provide internet access to more than 1.5 billion unconnected citizens by 2020.

Ms Khan made these remarks during her meeting at the US Mission to the UN, said a message received here from New York on Saturday.

At an event organised by Catherine Novelli, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the minister praised the programme and the role it was expected to play towards achieving targets set by the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN.

She highlighted the initiatives being pursued in Pakistan for connecting the underserved and unserved. The meeting was also attended by senior officials from global corporate like Google and Microsoft.

She stressed the need for addressing all the components of the value chain in order for the initiatives like these to bridge the digital divide within and between nations.

Under Secretary Novelli laid down the future engagement roadmap for the initiative.

Dawn