The world’s displaced
AN end-of-year UN report has revealed a dismal picture of refugees around the world. A staggering 100m people were forced to leave their home in 2022 alone, up from 90m the previous year. The report points to factors such as violence including long conflicts as the major reasons behind the forced migration in many countries, among them Ukraine, Afghanistan and Syria. Shocking as it may sound, the number does not include those displaced by natural disasters, such as the hundreds of thousands that found themselves homeless in this year’s catastrophic floods in Pakistan. That number is a depressing 30m. The report also states how those fleeing their homes for security reasons then become more vulnerable to traffickers. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi is right in saying that this figure should serve as a wake-up call to resolve conflict and prevent circumstances that force people to leave their homes. The report makes an important point about the disproportionate media coverage given to asylum seekers and refugees arriving in the US and Europe, as compared to other developing nations that host 85pc of the world’s refugees.
The international community must pause and reflect not only on the causes of these conflicts and how they can be resolved, but also how this global humanitarian crisis can be addressed. Developed nations must do more to support refugees and displaced persons, not just in their own country but also in developing states that lack the resources and infrastructure to support an influx of refugees. The Western media too must look beyond just what is happening in their neighbourhood and observe the sheer numbers of displaced persons outside their territory. The global refugee crisis is already at a level that is unacceptable and untenable. It is at a point where those who have been forced to abandon their homes are now fighting for food and survival in alien countries. The situation must compel world leaders to find solutions fast, before the lack of resources, shelter and safety results in greater violence.
Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2022
Digital sharks
WITH the evolution of e-commerce in Pakistan, more and more people have started opting for digital solutions for their personal finance needs. Such solutions include the relatively well-known online payment apps operated by the major telecommunications companies, but also newer concepts like buy now, pay later (BNPL) and digital lending services. While several legitimate companies licensed by the SECP have been providing these services, the demand has also lured loan sharks looking to trap gullible people. They are offering ‘easy’ loans to all and sundry through various mobile apps, often without paperwork or any due diligence. The interest charged on these loans is usually obscenely high and is often hidden or misrepresented to the borrowers. Once these apps are installed, the lending companies easily gain access to the phone numbers in their victims’ phones, along with other sensitive data like personal pictures, etc. If their ‘customers’ fail to keep up with their loan’s difficult repayment conditions, as they invariably do, these companies either start threatening them or calling their contacts to create social pressure on them to pay up. As mobile phone adoption is considerably high in Pakistan while financial literacy remains low, these digital loan sharks have made quite a killing and put numerous people in great misery. Hopefully, that is about to change.
With Circular No 15, issued on Wednesday by the SECP, all digital lending platforms operating have been forbidden from making recoveries from their ‘customers’ through coercive measures or shifting their personal information to any place outside Pakistan’s legal jurisdiction. The regulator has also notified digital lending standards, which include measures to ensure that all lending companies make the terms of their loans explicit and accessible for potential borrowers, including the “loan amount approved, annual percentage rates, the tenor of the loan, instalments/lump sum payment amounts with date, and all charges”. It has further barred lenders from accessing borrowers’ phone books or photo galleries or calling their contacts, even if they have permission to do so. The SECP has also specified a comprehensive grievance redressal mechanism to protect consumers’ interests. It is good to see the regulator waking up to the risk unchecked growth in digital finance can pose. While the evolving digital ecosystem should continue to be encouraged and given space to grow, it cannot do so unregulated. The SECP should continue tightening its oversight of this space to block any exploitative practices from taking root.
Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2022
Army on terrorism
A FRESH tide of terrorism across the country has prompted the military leadership to deliberate on this critical security issue. Heading his first corps commanders’ conference on Wednesday, the new army chief, along with his top generals, vowed to crack down on terrorism “without any distinction”.
This decision comes in the wake of a string of attacks in KP, Balochistan as well as Islamabad, involving both the banned TTP and Baloch separatists. Figures show that the TTP has carried out over 100 attacks over the past few months.
This uptick in violence came as the terrorist outfit renounced its truce with the state around the same time in November that the change in army leadership was taking place.
The challenge before the civilian and army leadership is to neutralise the terrorist threat before it metastasises into an uncontrollable monster, requiring another full-blown military operation to restore order.
Pressure must also be applied on the Afghan Taliban, who shelter their ideological TTP brethren, to either restrain the militants from attacking Pakistan, or evict them from Afghan soil.
In this regard, former federal minister and PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry commented that the resurgence of terrorism was linked to the reversal of his government’s Afghan policy.
Firstly, he must elaborate what the PTI’s Afghan policy was; if he means the appeasement of the Afghan Taliban and pursuing negotiations with the TTP, then that was a failed course of action, as the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul only emboldened the TTP.
Coming back to the military’s huddle, state forces must also investigate the reported nexus of the TTP and Baloch separatists. If there is indeed such an alliance, it can lead to a multi-front war that Pakistan will find difficult to fight.
Balochistan has genuine issues that can only be addressed politically, but separatist aspirations need to be thwarted while any link, even if tenuous, between religiously motivated extremists and Baloch militants needs to be broken.
It is also important that the military leadership has said there will be no discrimination in counterterrorism efforts. In the past, the ‘good Taliban, bad Taliban’ binary caused Pakistan immense problems, with the state going after some militants, while treating jihadi armed groups and sectarian terrorists lightly. It is this dichotomy that prevents Pakistan from completely uprooting militancy.
Ultimately, to ensure lasting peace, the end of all armed struggles lies in dialogue. Therefore, while the current TTP threat must be countered on all fronts, the militants can at a later date be engaged — but only on the state’s terms, not theirs.
The TTP, or any other armed group, must pledge to respect the Constitution, lay down their arms and cooperate with the state in bringing to justice those responsible for the mass murder of thousands of Pakistani civilians and security personnel. Anything less will be abject surrender.
Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2022
