Outlook English - Print Subscribers Copy Outlook English, 19 March 2018 | Page 13

BAN ON THE SINDH DUMPS
T
HE dumping of trash
in open spaces in cities
is a huge problem in the
subcontinent. Fed up with
this menace of mindless
dumping of trash by homes,
hospitals and industry, the
Sindh home department has
imposed a province-wide
ban on the practice. A ban
has also been
imposed on the
burning of gar­
bage heaps by
the department.
Under the latest
ban, SHOs are authorised
to register criminal cases
against violators. Soon after
the order was imposed, two
men who were throwing
garbage out on the road in
Karachi’s old city area were
arrested by the Sindh police.
They were booked under
the Pakistan Penal Code’s
Section 188,
which punishes
disobedience
to an order
promulgated by
a public servant.
MILITARY AS LAND MAFIA IN SRI LANKA
T
HE words “Security Force Headquarters,
Mullaitivu” embossed on the arch leading
to Keppapilavu village in Sri Lanka’s north­
ern Mullaitivu district make it official—the
land bel­ongs to the military. But a protest site
adjacent to it speaks of the fate of thousands
displaced by military occupation. In the last
two years, Colombo claims to have handed over
8,500 acres of military-occupied land to its
rightful owners, but there is still a long way to
go. In Keppapilavu, civilians have been protest­
ing for a year. They have been cooking, wash­
ing, sleeping...literally living on the street.
HASINA, THE BEAUTIFUL ORCHID
A
MONG the most
innovative ways to pay
tribute to a public figure,
perhaps, is to cultivate
a flower and name it
after them. Last year it
was ‘President Pranab’,
a bright yellow rose in
the Mughal Gardens of
Rashtrapati Bhavan. This
can also be employed as
effective foreign policy.
And it helps if you can
choose from the bound­
less variety of Singapore’s
famous botanical garden.
‘Orchid Hasina’, ‘Hasina
Orchid’...the exact name
is yet to be decided, but
observers concur that it
is one beautiful flower. It
is to be named in honour
of Bangladesh PM Sheikh
Hasina, who will soon visit
Singapore. The decision
was announced by Singa­
pore foreign minister Abul
Hassan Mahmood Ali.
Moscow’s New Friends
I
T is a budding relationship that Pakistan cannot help but
crow about. Yes, it is the growing Moscow-Islamabad ties.
Though it is not yet clear how enduring ties will finally
turn out to be, for the time being it serves both sides to
send out signals to those intended—the US and India.
As US influence in Islamabad wanes, former adversary
Moscow is building military, diplomatic and economic ties
that could upend historic alliances in the region and open
up a fast growing gas market for Russia’s energy compa-
nies, says a report in the English daily, Dawn.
Russia’s initial diplomatic foray into Pakistan in recent
years began with Afghanistan in mind. Worried about
drugs coming into the country through the Afghan route
and the country playing host to militants launching attacks
into Russia, the leadership in Moscow thought a relation-
ship with Islamabad could help address some problems.
But, as traditional ally and the
main market for Russia’s military
With waning
hardware, India, started looking
US influence
elsewhere, especially towards
in Pakistan,
the US, Moscow started using
Moscow builds
Pakistan to give out a signal to
military,
friends in New Delhi.
According to the report, the
diplomatic and
Moscow-Islamabad relationship is
economic ties.
in its infancy, and it is China that
It can open up
is filling the growing void left by
a huge gas
the United States in Pakistan,
market for
But a slew of energy deals and
Russian firms.
growing military cooperation
promise to spark life into a Rus-
sia-Pakistan relationship that was inert for many decades.
“It is an opening,” Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir
Khan said in an interview. “Both countries have to work
through the past to open the door to the future.”
The two sides have agreed to continue annual military
training exercises that began in 2016 and followed the
sale of four Russian attack helicopters to Pakistan, as well
as the purchase of Russian engines for the Pakistan Air
Force’s JF-17 fighter jets that Pakistan assembles.
Predictably, a budding relationship between once of its tra-
ditional allies and ‘historic’ adversary has made India suspi-
cious. But Moscow has always assured leaders in New Delhi
that its ties with Pakistan can never be at the cost of India.
The fact that India continues to be one of the biggest arms
market for Russia, keeps the countries tied to each other.
Additionally, the level of comfort Indian leaders still
enjoy with Russia is unlikely to be matched with its
growing ties with the US, which, despite being the world’s
greatest power, lacks the credibility of being a consistent
and reliable ally.
19 March 2018 OUTLOOK 13