What has the president been up to these 10 days?

In his longest stay in Karachi in a while, three days went to friends and family

KARACHI: This visit has perhaps been the longest that the president has stayed in Karachi at least so far this year. And, it is noteworthy that no delegation from any of the coalition partners met him separately during this time. So what has he been up to since he arrived 10 days ago?

After presiding over a ceremony for the Benazir Bhutto Income Support Programme in Badin, President Asif Ali Zardari reached Karachi on October 1. But for anyone expecting an audience, the next three days were quiet. He did not hold any official meetings and just spent time with friends and family members. After this hiatus, officials of the National Highway Authority came directly in the line of fire when an angry president asked them, “If a link road for Raiwind can be built at a cost of Rs8 billion then why have you people still not made a Benazirababd Link Road?”

In a quieter mood, the president met and politely chatted with a delegation from the electronic media that called on him at the president camp office (Bilawal House). He told them that former military ruler Pervez Musharraf had a right to take part in politics, which needed sacrifices. President Zardari cleverly parried repeated questions on the Kalabagh Dam, saying: “I will not give you a lead story on this issue”.

Thereafter much of the focus for this visit was the post-flood situation. The agriculture, irrigation and flood surcharge tax stayed at the top of his list of priorities.

He convened the first meeting on October 4 with members of the Sindh Cabinet when ministers of irrigation, health, education, roads and communication, agriculture, finance, planning and development and food briefed him about the losses. They also floated their rehabilitation plans. During this meeting, the president was informed that Sindh has suffered a loss of Rs450 billion and crops standing on 2.2 million acres have been damaged. Zardari once again raised the flood surcharge tax, which was the prime agenda of the meeting. “It is necessary to impose a tax on agriculture, property, houses, the registration of new vehicles and security companies as well as the purchase of weapons etc.,” he is reported to have said. “We want to show the international community that Pakistanis are generous and can support their people in this hour of need. Only well-to-do people have to contribute by giving a one-time tax.”

However, during this meeting coalition partner the Muttahida Qaumi Movement objected to the flood surcharge tax saying, “Since the government has not taken us into confidence, we will not support the imposition of the tax in Sindh only”. The president directed the chief minister to involve all coalition partners as well as the cabinet on the issue. He also directed the government to make arrangements to immediately drain the stagnant water from agricultural land in order to make it feasible for the Rabi crop.

The president went to Governor House later on for an awards ceremony organised by the business community. He also held meeting on the progress of different development schemes. During one, officials from the Sindh government complained that the federal government was not giving them the money.

Federal Communications Minister Arbab Alamgir, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Water Kamal Majeedullah, the chief minister, the chairman of the National Highway Authority, officials from the planning and development departments attended this meeting.

The president ordered the federal ministers and other officials to release the funds for the most important programmes. “The ongoing schemes should be given top priority,” he is reported to have said. These officials were told that in additon to the National Highway projects, around 1,900 kilometres of roads and around 30 bridges had been damaged in Sindh and the government needs about Rs14 billion to rebuild them. The president has suggested the Sindh government divert half of its money for development schemes to rehabilitation.

Different ministers, including Manzoor Wasan, Jam Saifullah Dharejo, Shazia Marri, Nadir Magsi and Dr Zulfiqar Mirza met the president during this trip. He was also called upon by federal interior minister Rehman Malik, defence minister Chaudhary Ahmed Mukhtar, federal agriculture minister Nazar Muhammad Gondal among others at Bilawal House. There was also a farewell visit with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Tariq Majid.

On October 6, the president gave his assent to the Competition Bill, 2010 on anti-competition behaviour and other unethical business practices. The bill is aimed at ensuring free competition for commercial and economic activities and protecting consumers from monopolies and other bad marketing practices. The bill had already been passed by National Assembly and Senate. The president also issued orders for the appointment of National Accountability Bureau chairman Deedar Ali Shah, from his camp office.

The chief of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Maulana Fazalur Rehman, is one political figure who called on the president. Representatives from businesses and banks also called upon the president to ask for an end to the Saturday holiday for banks. A programme for the Pakistan Peoples Party core committee was postponed.

In meetings with the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture and Sindh Abadgar Board, the president stressed that landlords needed to write off loans to farmers. Food minister Nadir Magsi, who is also a big landlord, announced he was forgiving loans worth 20 million rupees. Nadeem Qamar, president of the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture, followed suit. The president also suggested we end our dependence on imported edible oil and grow sunflower. “The current import bill of edible oil is over 1.5 billion dollars,” he said. “Start growing it and the government is ready to give you incentives.”

Though the president had planned to go to the UAE, there was no official confirmation. Sources told The Express Tribune that the president is scheduled to arrive today (Monday) in his hometown of Benazirabad where he will inaugurate projects, including roads worth four billion rupees.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2010.