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Reforming assessments
Faisal Bari

Public boards for intermediate and secondary education still have a poor reputation in terms of the quality of their assessments and what they measure. Despite decades of reform efforts, board examinations are still too dependent on memory and rote learning, past papers and predictable patterns for the kind of questions that are asked. This has led to parents and students opting for other boards, such as Cambridge 'O'/'A' Level examinations, high school diplomas and International Baccalaureate. However, 28 of these boards are geographically defined and have monopolies in the regions they work in. Despite all the talk, progress on reforming our examination systems and boards has been slow.

Twenty-eight boards setting examinations in Pakistan is asking for poor quality exams. There is no justification for having a board in each division across the country, and examination-making and grading should be centralised for better control, quality and quality assurance. To address this, the government should allow domestic boards to compete with each other beyond their geographical boundaries, and allow public and private schools to register with the board of their choice. This competition could provide the needed vigour to the boards. Encourage more private boards to provide quality Matriculation and Intermediate-level assessments in Pakistan.

Federal and provincial governments should encourage universities to set up boards of their own. These boards should have no subsidy, should not be given any monopoly rights and should not have any state funding. They should be provided with a level playing field where there is no advantage to the government boards in terms of having school and/or individual student registrations of either private or public sector schools. It is time to carry out structural reforms to allow more competition in and between boards, public and private, and encourage more private players to set up examination boards.

Lahore’s sick lungs
Zofeen T. Ebrahim

Ahmad Rafay Alam started Critical Mass Lahore 14 years ago to promote sustainable urban transport and women's right to be in public spaces, but he gave up cycling due to the traffic. The 2022 World Air Quality Report, published earlier this month, ranked Lahore as the most polluted city in the world and Peshawar as the fifth worst in the Central and South Asia region. This is due to the very tiny but extremely hazardous particulate matter (PM), found in the air in solid or droplet form, which can be 10 micrometres, 2.5 micrometres or even less in diameter. PM2.5 is one-thirtieth the width of a human hair and can travel deep into our lungs and enter our bloodstream, causing serious lung and heart diseases. This has reduced the average life expectancy across Pakistan by up to 2.7 years.

The WHO global air quality guidelines have recommended an annual PM2.5 guideline level of 5 µg/m³ and a daily PM2. 5 guideline level. A report by IQAir has listed the top five polluted (ie air pollution) countries in 2022 based on the WHO guidelines. The data collected from 7,323 cities across 131 countries, regions, and territories was based on over 30,000 regulatory air quality monitoring stations and low-cost air quality sensors operated variously by governmental bodies, research institutions, non-profit NGOs, universities and educational facilities, private companies and citizen scientists. More than half of the world's air quality data was generated by grassroots community efforts.

A study released this month in Lancet found that 99% of the global population was exposed to PM 2.5. The results underscore the urgency with which policymakers, public health officials and academia must come together to find ways to curb emissions from the usual culprits. The Ministry of Climate Change has approved the National Clean Air Policy, 2023, which aims to reduce PM2.5 emissions by 38pc by 2030. The policy has identified one priority intervention each in five sectors: implementation of Euro-5 and Euro-6 fuel quality standards in the transport sector, enforcement of emission standards in the industry, a ban on burning crop residue in agriculture, preventing the burning of municipal waste, and promoting the use of low-emission cooking technologies in households. To achieve success, provinces must be on board and cities must have an Ultra Low Emission Zone, 15-minute cities, and electric bikes.

Appointment of imams
Saif Ali Khan Babakhel

Extremism and intolerance are straining the social fabric of societies, and when a state fails to regulate its religious affairs and institutions, radical elements within some of these institutions may undermine its authority. In Muslim countries, religious misconstruction is the foundation of extremism, while in non-Muslim countries, Islamophobia is the common denominator. The menace of extremism can be curbed if mosques and religious leaders are regulated by the government. In Turkiye, the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) is tasked with the appointment and supervision of imams, while in Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance oversee religious affairs. In Iran, the Friday Prayer Council is responsible for distributing pamphlets to around 900 Iranian cities weekly.

The National Action Plan (NAP) called for the registration and regulation of religious seminaries, divided into two domains: kinetic and non-kinetic. In Pakistan, all madrassahs must be registered and licensed by the government, but many operate illegally. The Directorate General of Religious Education (DGRE) was established in 2019 to register and mainstream madrassahs and the National Counter-Terrorism Authority was tasked with revising the curriculum. Two committees were formed to overlook the revision of the religious curriculum, but no significant progress has been made. To ensure the systematic appointment of imams, proper education and training must be ensured, screening and selection processes should be followed, and an institution under the MFEPT should be established to assess aspiring imams and set a benchmark.

Periodic evaluation should be conducted, and accountability of imams must be ensured. An umbrella organisation should be created to regulate Friday sermons, with cooperation between the centre and provinces.

A riotous future?
Aasim Sajjad Akhtar

The teeming masses are increasingly restive due to economic hardship, which has led to su***de murders and decreased charitable donations. Irsa has warned of "massive water shortages" in the months ahead, and the projected scarcity of water as the heat returns portends acute tension between Punjab and Sindh. Shortages of food, water and other basic needs primarily affect the toiling classes, and the mass of working people have not yet come out in spontaneous reaction to the decline in basic living standards due to relentless inflation. This could signal an emergent trend in the nooks and crannies of society, leading to a riotous future.
Commentary on mainstream politics has noted that the polarisations around Imran Khan's person are only like to intensify. This is due to Pakistan's major structural crises, such as youth, economy, ecology, demography and identity. Hateful and violent political vehicles have mobilised significant numbers of working people due to structural conflicts and destructive state policies, such as militant groups like the Taliban/TLP and ethnicised parties like the MQM. Riots can be harbingers of progressive social transformation, but they are more likely to be reactionary and hateful. If things continue as they are, the Pakistan of the future will feature a ruling class living in gated communities with energy and other supplies, while the majority of people will be living on the ecological ruins of capitalism, rioting regularly for basic needs. This dystopic imagination will only be prevented from coming to fruition if enough people pay attention to the warning signs.

Saving Pakistan
Ashraf Jehangir Qazi

PAKISTAN is imploding, with the president and prime minister at war, the judiciary divided and the military considering its options. The Supreme Court will protect the Constitution and ensure the victory of the rule of law over the law of the jungle. The politics of the country has been reduced to whether we support or oppose Imran Khan, and the climate catastrophe is barely mentioned in our political discourse. We must find common ground on which to move forward, and support for Imran Khan provides it. Despite his polarising figure, the relatively young of Pakistan still repose their hopes in him.

The younger and poorer of Pakistan contrast the alleged human frailties and foibles of Imran Khan with their perception of the cynicism and incorrigible corruption of his opponents. This renders him electorally unbeatable, and an interim consensus of support for Imran Khan may be the most practical way forward. Those who believe in him should hold him accountable to his promises and expectations, while those who have less faith in him should acknowledge the fact that he has brought about an unprecedented awareness of elite betrayal. Imran now has to demonstrate he is a true leader and will never again be a dependent partner of the 'establishment'. To be more than a mountebank, he will have to reinvent himself to join the ranks of true leaders, nation builders and servants of the people.

Political leadership must share in the national sacrifices that national transformation policies require of the people, as demonstrated by Moshe Dayan and Mao's Long March. Manifestos, action programmes, budgetary priorities and resource mobilisation strategies are accessible through reports, studies, analyses and expert advice. An informed public opinion is essential for radical national reconstruction, which requires a comprehensive sociopolitical and economic revolution. Imran Khan has compromised with the establishment before, but he seems willing to be co-opted again. Unprincipled compromise will sink Imran and Pakistan.

Israel flounders
Rafia Zakaria

The world is in a state of ferment due to increasing chaos caused by disease, climate change, war, and financial challenges. People are protesting their governments for back-breaking inflation, unjust and repressive tactics, and taking to the streets in large public events. In Israel, protesters are demonstrating against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's efforts to 'reform' the judicial system and take away its independence. This is unprecedented, as it affects more than just the Arab population. Prime Minister Netanyahu has capitulated and delayed his 'reform' plans due to the growing number of protesters.

His firing of his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, is further proof that his goal is to only have those people around him who agree with his plans and marvel at his brilliance. The Palestinians, whose protests have been trampled upon by bulldozers and bullets, continue to witness the unfolding saga. The real reason behind Netanyahu's declining popularity and imminent downfall may be that the agenda of his far-right party is becoming redundant in the eyes of the people. The biggest challenge that the world faces today is not the repercussions of the terrible events of 9/11 but the rapidly boiling earth's surface. The protests in Israel reflect similar discontent in other countries, and the thaw between Iran and Saudi Arabia could signal the end of the cash pipeline between the US and Israel. This is a precarious time for Israel, as internal dissent and geopolitical alliances are changing fast, and it may soon find itself without recourse to a solution.

Faulty vision
F.S. Aijazuddin

The Central Ruet-i-Hilal Committee is responsible for the sighting of the moon that signals both the beginning and the end of the holy month of Ramazan. It relies on 150 observatories of the Pakistan Meteorological Department spread across the country, and uses powerful telescopes as aids. Despite this network of watchful trained observers and artificial devices, the Ramazan moon has remained elusive, leading to controversies on the commencement of the first fast or the celebration of Eid. The present chairman is Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad, who was appointed as chairman on Dec 30, 2020, succeeding M***i Muneebur Rehman. Maulana Azad, the khateeb of the historic Badshahi mosque, had the opportunity to es**rt VIPs on tours around it, including the visits of Diana, Princess of Wales, and her son, Prince William, and his wife, Catherine, in 1991 and 2019.

He endeared himself to the prince by showing him a photo of his late mother with himself. However, one royal visit he may not wish to recall was that of Prince Charles and his second wife, Camilla, in 2006, when an official from the protocol department attacked him for not clearing the prayer in advance. Maulana Azad has been entrusted by the government to spot the Ramazan moon, and the Saudi government announced the date of the first fast well in time to enable the public to make preparations. However, Pakistanis still choose to observe common religious festivals on days different to the Saudis and other Muslim brethren. It has taken the Christian Church more than 500 years for its various churches to recognise the need for unity. Hopefully, by the time this holy month of Ramazan is over, Muslims will be able to observe the new moon at the same time and celebrate Eidul Fitr on the same day.

Kidney-punched
Shahzad Sharjeel

NATURE has gone on the offensive against us, and we have been jabbing away at the climate for far too long. Poets often romanticise harsh realities, but the heat is enough to drive ordinary beings out of their 'cotton-pickin' minds'. A 2012 World Bank report warns of rising global temperatures and determines a rise of four degrees Celsius as the redline beyond which the oceans boil over and Earth becomes uninhabitable. Overexploitation of groundwater around Quetta and global warming have destroyed fruit orchards around the valley, and rampaging forest fires caused mainly by rising temperatures have wreaked havoc on pine nut forests in the rest of Balochistan. Rising temperatures and melting glaciers can submerge Karachi by 2060.

Shahida Raza of Quetta, an international athlete, resorted to illegal immigration across continents due to economic hardship and ethnic discrimination. This is not considered the height of state callousness because she belonged to the persecuted Shia Hazara community. The economic and political crises caused by poor leadership over the decades have had a devastating impact on many regions, with the entire Maldives and large swathes of Bangladesh at severe risk of going under water before the end of the century. Elfatih Eltahir, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at MIT, has warned that if temperatures continue to rise unchecked, most of South Asia will become uninhabitable by 2100 due to the unbearable heat and crop failures caused by it. South Asia depends on its overseas labour for a large chunk of its foreign remittances, but the physical and emotional price paid in return is not captured in any index. Lack of economic opportunity at home, worsened by the climatic conditions, deprives migrant workers of any negotiating power for better work conditions abroad.

A wake-up call
Zahid Hussain

The most important details in this text are the remarks made by Justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail in their detailed dissenting note on the court's ruling on elections for the KP and Punjab assemblies. They have challenged the validity of the ruling and questioned the chief justice's discretion to reconstitute the bench. The dissenting note also brings into question the exercise of absolute power by the CJ, as Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Athar Minallah were not included in the reconstituted bench following their objections over the notice. This has created doubts in the minds of many over the impartiality of the top judge and his decision not to go for a full court on critical constitutional issues. The remarks of Justices Shah and Mandokhail show a breakdown in institutional working, with concerns that there is a deliberate move to keep out senior-most judges and that critical constitutional cases are assigned to a particular set of judges.

The dissenting note also brings into question the exercise of absolute power by the chief justice, which has created distortions and raised doubts about the fairness of the judicial system. Recent suo motu actions taken by the Chief Justice have also pushed the apex court into political controversy, leading to questions about institutional impartiality and an attempt to rewrite the Constitution. It is then not surprising to see the judges become targets of criticism by those who disagree with their verdict. The growing divisions within the court are alarming and there is an urgent need to reform the system and establish a collective decision-making process, particularly when it comes to suo motu actions and taking up cases that should be decided in political forums. This has tarnished the image of the apex judiciary and affected public trust and confidence in the judicial process. The dissenting note from two judges should be taken seriously to restore confidence in the legal system.




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Offences against religion
Asfand Yar Warraich

A study conducted by CRSS reveals that from 1947 to 2021, 89 people were killed in blasphemy-related vigilantism, an increase of 2,866 per cent. This is a sign that our brutalisation as a society is nearing completion, as the number of criminal complaints being processed has increased from 20 cases to 701. This should be a cause for deep unease for anyone who cares for the sanity of this polity. The 1990s saw a sudden explosion of fiery allegations and fanatical murders due to the Zia regime and its politically coloured Islamisation project. The most drastic alterations occurred in criminal law, where an attempt was made to implant an ultraorthodox understanding of the Islamic concept of 'hudood'.

Blasphemy laws as we know them today are a collection of crimes found in a specific chapter of the Penal Code devoted to 'offences against religion'. Section 295A was strengthened with 10 years imprisonment, and additional crimes were introduced, such as desecrating the Quran and insulting the Prophet (PBUH). This is a sign that our brutalisation as a society is nearing completion. Islamisation of some form or the other is the logical conclusion of a theologically constrained Constitution that demands the application of "the Injunctions of Islam". 30 years have passed since, and blasphemy laws have acquired an implicit democratic character, making them 'untouchable'.

This attitude, in an age where information is being cross-pollinated across cyberspace at hyperspeed, foreshadows disaster. Laws enacted through legislative assemblies are human products and must be kept under supervision. To suggest otherwise is to compel ourselves to stagnation, and with polarization and radicalisation ascending with such velocity, we risk sinking further and further into this abyss.

Root of the issue
Tasneem Noorani

The most important details in this text are the similarities between the countries in the region that were colonised by the British and allowed self-governance 75 years ago and the role of the generals in the country's history. These similarities include the per capita GDP of Singapore, Malaysia, Burma, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and the fact that Pakistan and Burma are at the bottom of the list. The role of the military has been more pervasive and prolonged in Myanmar than in any other country in the region, making it one notch below Pakistan in the well-being index. Elections were held in 1990, but power was not transferred. In 1992, Saw Maung was replaced by Gen Than Shwe, who relaxed some curbs on the popular leader Aung San Suu Kyi, but insisted on a major role for the military and suspended the National Convention.

In 2005, the government reconvened the National Convention for the first time since 1993 in an attempt to rewrite the constitution but only allowed for some handpicked parties. In 2007, protests against the military started but were crushed ruthlessly. In 2008, a referendum was announced for a new constitution, with elections to be held in 2010. In 2011-12, the military-backed government introduced many democratic reforms, and in 2015, the country was made chairman of ASEAN and Hillary Cli­nton visited the country. In 2020, Suu Kyaw Soe Oo's NLD won 396 seats in a parliament of 476, while the military-sponsored USDP won only 33.

In 2021, the military detained and handed over power to its chief, Gen Min Aung Hlaing, leading to a disobedience movement by healthcare workers and civil servants. Despite their peaceful methods of protest, human rights agencies report that over 2,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands were displaced due to armed insurgencies and turmoil.

Bulldozer democracy
Mahir Ali

Rachel Corrie wrote to her mother from Rafah in the Gaza Strip on February 20, 2003, expressing her hope for a Palestinian state or democratic Israeli-Palestinian state. On March 16, 2003, she was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer for standing in the way of a house demolition. Last May, Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead while covering a raid by Israeli Defence Forces on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. In both cases, the repercussions from Israel's chief sponsor added up to zilch. The recent angst among the usual fans of this project is unlikely to halt Israel's drift towards fascism.

Benjamin Netanyahu's dismissal of his Likud defence minister led to some of the biggest demonstrations Israel has seen in recent weeks, and the likelihood of a general strike. The legislative changes are predicated on the assumption that the Israeli judiciary is too activist and secular, and would make it harder for courts to challenge any legislation. An impressive proportion of Israelis have rebelled against this diminution of their rights, waving the national flag to demand democracy. It is likely that the reprieve will be brief. Netanyahu has a personal stake in controlling the courts, and the Kohelet Policy Forum, a US billionaire-sponsored think tank, is behind the current judicial agenda and the 2018 Nation-State Law, which entrenched Israel as an apartheid state.

Despite this, Israeli bulldozers remain in place, and when will they learn? Not in my lifetime.