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  • MAY 2014

    Rs.

    250

    /-

    Volume-III, Issue-V

    Challenging TransitionAFGHANISTANSChallenging TransitionAFGHANISTANS

    Page: 8INTERVIEWUSC breathingrelief to the masses

    Page: 14A prayer forthe dead

    Page: 20Master Chefcomes to Pakistan

  • EDITORIAL

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    inally, after budgeting for three consecutive years and three failed attempts to launch it in the previous regime, the PML-N government successfully auctioned four 3G and one 4G licenses. It is perceived to be a game changer in the

    stalled telecom sector where voice segment has been saturated for the past three to four years after experiencing mushroom growth in 2004-09.

    Virtually every country in the region, including Afghanistan, has already rolled out next-generation telecom services, so its a no-brainer to say that there are gains for all stakeholders in Pakistan: the service providers, consumers and the government. But, its too early to say how much and when this new regime of data is going to reap its fruits.

    The primary gains for the government are visible. The licensed amount of $1.1 billion is slightly less than what was budgeted (Rs120 billion) and what was committed to the IMF ($1.2 billion). But the catch is in payment schedule--half of the licensed fee is going to be submitted within a month while the rest is in equal annual instalments spanned over ve years. Thus, around half of the relevant budgeted non-tax revenue target would be achieved. Not bad, considering that the government was characteristically over-optimistic about the spectrum auction.

    The tough part is to deal with the fund target wherein the non-adjustable $1.2 billion is used in computing net international reserves. The situation may become even grimmer when, barring Zong, all other winning 3G licensees (Mobilink, Telenor and Ufone) will likely raise the nancing for their respective license fee payment from local banks with which they already have existing relationships. Yes, that will be rupee nancing and will not be counted in NIR calculation. That leaves only Zong to bring in foreign exchange in lieu of license fee which is $511-$517 million for its 3G and 4G licenses-50 percent of that comes to at least $255 million. This leaves a gap of $945 million and nothing but a fund waiver can let the government live on it. Lets see how Dar and his team renegotiate with the funds mission next week.

    That narrates the immediate gains to the government. The benets to be accrued to the economy at large will materialize over a medium to long term. Those benets include FDI inows, both white- and-blue-collar job-creation in the telecom sector, and indirect new business opportunities. In order to make the mobile broadband services accessible to users at the earliest, 3G operators will strive to increase their investments in network rollout and backhaul infrastructure development (e.g. optic ber and submarine cable connectivity). The pace of that investment and expansion is, however, contingent upon how well the market responds to high-speed data service oerings over time.

    Back then, market deregulation led to a competition which in subsequent years changed the landscape of the sector, voice services became more and more aordable, and the cellular companies reach eventually expanded their footprint to over 90 percent of the geography. It is only time that would tell how this new wave revitalizes the Telco sector and unleashes the potential in the data market.

    Fiscal impacts of thespectrum auction

    F

  • APR 20145

    MAY 2014

    D I S C L A I M E RUtmost care is taken to ensure that articles and other information published are up-to-date and accurate. Furthermore,

    responsibility for any losses, damages or distress resulting from adherence to any information made available through thecontents is not the responsibility of the magazine. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily

    CONTENTS

    Utility Stores Corporationbreathing relief to the massesAack on Hamid MirAfghanistans challengingtransition A prayer for the deadPost 2001 crisis revivalof Turkeys economy Honey nets criminal prolingin cyber crimesMaster Chef comes to PakistanTheatre Festival gracethe city ambianceThe tricks of the tradeA hindrance to opportunitiesThe gulf states constellation BOIs investment generationcycleUsing the scorching sun toour advantageSmoking is really injuriousto health but the economy!Privatization! How and for whatPakistans farmers tackleclimate changeDoes Religion need democracyHashoo Foundation rst alumni

    8

    11

    12

    1416

    18

    2022

    24272830

    32

    33

    3436

    3839

    Post 2001 crisis revivalof Turkeys economy

    Exclusive

    Page: 6Wonders

    of 3 G

    Page: 24The tricks

    of the trade

    Page: 28The gulf states

    constellation

    Page: 34Privatization!

    How andfor what

  • GDP due to this technology.

    It is hoped that availability of high speed mobile broadband services in both urban and rural areas will encourage a more connected community and promote e-commerce related activities. The deployment of 4G technologies will also provide our engineers and technicians to acquire the latest skills and thus become competitive in the international market.

    Pakistan has more than 132 million mobile phone subscribers but has lagged behind its neighbours in setting up 3G, which is now the norm in many countries. Even Afghanistan, a less developed country has had the 3G technology since 2012.

    Concluding Remarks It is a major jump in the technology. The wireless network technology will help boost data transfer speed up to 200 kilobits per second. It will further advance smart phone technology introduced in the third generation technology. It will help students get required information within few seconds.

    On their part, the cellular operators will have to invest billions of dollars to roll out 3G/4G technology in Pakistan for modernizing their networks, promoting research, development and increasing the number of skilled workforce over the next few years.

    According to PTA, China Mobile is going to invest $1 billion in Pakistan after winning 3G/4G licenses in order to promote research and development.

    The government has also asked the cellular companies to ensure transfer of technology to Pakistan. The auction of 3G/4G has been done in Pakistan but the latest smart phone manufacturing is yet to be observed in the country.

    MAY 2014 6 w w w . e c o n o m i c a a i r s . c o m . p k

    TECHNOLOGYhe government of Pakistan has recently sold o four licenses to provide 3G services, which would

    allow broadband-speed internet on mobile phones, and one for superfast 4G connections which was heralded by the government ocials as a success that would positively aect the countrys economy.

    Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), after the auction, announced that Zong and Mobilink won 10MHz spectrum each for 3G license. Ufone and Telenor were successful in winning 5MHz

    spectrum. Zong was even able to get an additional license for 4G technology. PTA generated $ 1.182 billion; $902.82 million from 3G and $210 million from 4G spectrum

    Auction for 3G was divided into eight rounds. Two lots of 10 MHz were there for auction along with two lots of 5MHz spectrum. After the 4th round, there was no change

    in the bids. 5MHz lots were both sold on their base price. License for 4G was given away without any auction because the demand turned out to be less than supply.

    3G auctions were of less than 2100 MHz band, the available spectrum of 30 MHz was distributed into 10 MHz, 5 MHz, 5 MHz and 10 MHz out of which ZONG won the bidding of 10 MHz, Mobilink was successful in winning 10 MHz, Ufone and Telenor won 5 MHz each.

    Zong won the 10MHz of 2100 band at the price of $306.9, Mobilink at $300.9 million, Ufone and Telenor

    of 5 MHz at $147.5 million each, totaling the amount at $902.820 million. Whereas Zong won 1 block of 4G band of 1800 MHz at the base price of $210 million that was set by the government.

    The total amount accrued by the sale is $1.12 billion below a bullish prediction of $2 billion made by

    Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in January this year. But the minister said that one 4G spectrum slot, which was also up for sale but could not be auctioned would be oered again at a later time to raise more funds.

    He said that $291 million for license in 850 MHz and $210 million worth 4G license, which was left out for foreign players is still available, predicting that government can still generate huge sums by presenting these licenses.

    Minister of State for Information & Technology, Anusha Rehman

    termed it a landmark event in the Pakistan's telecom history.

    Whereas a few days after the spectrum auction, Warid Telecom, not having participated in the bid announced its plans for 4G LTE possibly becoming the rst operator in the market to deploy 4G LTE network in the country.

    PTA ocials conrmed that Warid can oer 4G LTE services with its existing license, as it has a technology neutral license and a spectrum of 1800 MHz. However, it will have to get necessary approvals from the authorities before launching any such service.

    Importance and Utility After the arrival of 3G & 4G technologies, there would be a boom in the availability of branded mobile models (smart phones) in the country which would discourage pirated and smuggled handsets. Education, health, business sectors would be further strengthened with the introduction of 3G & 4G technologies. It would expand countrys opportunities in the business sector, contributing to increased competitiveness and promoting innovative new wirelessly enabled businesses and services.

    There would be drastic reduction in the working capital of Information technology (IT) sector. High speed data transferring and modes of connectivity would be changed. There would be boom in E-Commerce, E-Banking, E-Learning, E-Services, Telemedicine and the

    T

    WONDERS of

    last but not the least teleshopping. The services of 3G & 4G will make life more productive, secure and meaningful, empowering people to transform the way they live, learn, work and play.

    Consumers will now experience more accurate, faster, easier and friendly utilities. They will have fast speed and good video quality, roaming capability, broad bandwidth and high speed communication. Services like wide

    area wireless voice telephone, mobile internet access, video calls and TV and broadband wireless data will be easily available. Now, people are much interested in buying 3G-powered devices and tools.

    The new dawn of technological revolution in the shape of 3G & 4G would help enterprises to improve their asset and resource management capabilities, streamline their operations and ultimately, achieve signicant cost saving. For example employees working osite with mobile laptops or handheld devices may access company resource management solutions and dynamically collaborate with intra-oce systems that link warehouses, suppliers and customer databases.

    Socio-Economic Benets Next generation mobile communication technology has not only become source of immediate revenues for the cash strapped economy of Pakistan but it also promises huge monetary gains for the country. 3G & 4G technology

    comes with a promise of increase in GDP worth billions of dollars.

    According to ITU World Telecommunications Database Statistics, Economic studies indicate that for every one percent increase in a countrys broadband internet penetration, GDP per capita increases by roughly 10 percent (USD), and a one percent increase in mobile penetration results in a GDP per capita increase of roughly ve percent (USD).

    A study by the UK-based Plum consultancy in August last year said 3G could boost Pakistans GDP by 380 billion to 1,180 billion rupees ($3.8 billion to $11.8 billion) by 2020, and between 23 billion and 70 billion rupees for the additional tax revenue generated by 3G.

    Information Technology Minister Anusha Rehman, speaking at the occasion, claimed that the auction would spur employment in the country. Around 900,000 jobs will be generated due to 3G/4G technology, she said. She also hoped that there will be around 1.5 to 1.8 per cent additional growth in

  • GDP due to this technology.

    It is hoped that availability of high speed mobile broadband services in both urban and rural areas will encourage a more connected community and promote e-commerce related activities. The deployment of 4G technologies will also provide our engineers and technicians to acquire the latest skills and thus become competitive in the international market.

    Pakistan has more than 132 million mobile phone subscribers but has lagged behind its neighbours in setting up 3G, which is now the norm in many countries. Even Afghanistan, a less developed country has had the 3G technology since 2012.

    Concluding Remarks It is a major jump in the technology. The wireless network technology will help boost data transfer speed up to 200 kilobits per second. It will further advance smart phone technology introduced in the third generation technology. It will help students get required information within few seconds.

    On their part, the cellular operators will have to invest billions of dollars to roll out 3G/4G technology in Pakistan for modernizing their networks, promoting research, development and increasing the number of skilled workforce over the next few years.

    According to PTA, China Mobile is going to invest $1 billion in Pakistan after winning 3G/4G licenses in order to promote research and development.

    The government has also asked the cellular companies to ensure transfer of technology to Pakistan. The auction of 3G/4G has been done in Pakistan but the latest smart phone manufacturing is yet to be observed in the country.

    he government of Pakistan has recently sold o four licenses to provide 3G services, which would

    allow broadband-speed internet on mobile phones, and one for superfast 4G connections which was heralded by the government ocials as a success that would positively aect the countrys economy.

    Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), after the auction, announced that Zong and Mobilink won 10MHz spectrum each for 3G license. Ufone and Telenor were successful in winning 5MHz

    spectrum. Zong was even able to get an additional license for 4G technology. PTA generated $ 1.182 billion; $902.82 million from 3G and $210 million from 4G spectrum

    Auction for 3G was divided into eight rounds. Two lots of 10 MHz were there for auction along with two lots of 5MHz spectrum. After the 4th round, there was no change

    in the bids. 5MHz lots were both sold on their base price. License for 4G was given away without any auction because the demand turned out to be less than supply.

    3G auctions were of less than 2100 MHz band, the available spectrum of 30 MHz was distributed into 10 MHz, 5 MHz, 5 MHz and 10 MHz out of which ZONG won the bidding of 10 MHz, Mobilink was successful in winning 10 MHz, Ufone and Telenor won 5 MHz each.

    Zong won the 10MHz of 2100 band at the price of $306.9, Mobilink at $300.9 million, Ufone and Telenor

    of 5 MHz at $147.5 million each, totaling the amount at $902.820 million. Whereas Zong won 1 block of 4G band of 1800 MHz at the base price of $210 million that was set by the government.

    The total amount accrued by the sale is $1.12 billion below a bullish prediction of $2 billion made by

    Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in January this year. But the minister said that one 4G spectrum slot, which was also up for sale but could not be auctioned would be oered again at a later time to raise more funds.

    He said that $291 million for license in 850 MHz and $210 million worth 4G license, which was left out for foreign players is still available, predicting that government can still generate huge sums by presenting these licenses.

    Minister of State for Information & Technology, Anusha Rehman

    termed it a landmark event in the Pakistan's telecom history.

    Whereas a few days after the spectrum auction, Warid Telecom, not having participated in the bid announced its plans for 4G LTE possibly becoming the rst operator in the market to deploy 4G LTE network in the country.

    PTA ocials conrmed that Warid can oer 4G LTE services with its existing license, as it has a technology neutral license and a spectrum of 1800 MHz. However, it will have to get necessary approvals from the authorities before launching any such service.

    Importance and Utility After the arrival of 3G & 4G technologies, there would be a boom in the availability of branded mobile models (smart phones) in the country which would discourage pirated and smuggled handsets. Education, health, business sectors would be further strengthened with the introduction of 3G & 4G technologies. It would expand countrys opportunities in the business sector, contributing to increased competitiveness and promoting innovative new wirelessly enabled businesses and services.

    There would be drastic reduction in the working capital of Information technology (IT) sector. High speed data transferring and modes of connectivity would be changed. There would be boom in E-Commerce, E-Banking, E-Learning, E-Services, Telemedicine and the

    MAY 20147w w w . e c o n o m i c a a i r s . c o m . p k

    TECHNOLOGY

    last but not the least teleshopping. The services of 3G & 4G will make life more productive, secure and meaningful, empowering people to transform the way they live, learn, work and play.

    Consumers will now experience more accurate, faster, easier and friendly utilities. They will have fast speed and good video quality, roaming capability, broad bandwidth and high speed communication. Services like wide

    area wireless voice telephone, mobile internet access, video calls and TV and broadband wireless data will be easily available. Now, people are much interested in buying 3G-powered devices and tools.

    The new dawn of technological revolution in the shape of 3G & 4G would help enterprises to improve their asset and resource management capabilities, streamline their operations and ultimately, achieve signicant cost saving. For example employees working osite with mobile laptops or handheld devices may access company resource management solutions and dynamically collaborate with intra-oce systems that link warehouses, suppliers and customer databases.

    Socio-Economic Benets Next generation mobile communication technology has not only become source of immediate revenues for the cash strapped economy of Pakistan but it also promises huge monetary gains for the country. 3G & 4G technology

    comes with a promise of increase in GDP worth billions of dollars.

    According to ITU World Telecommunications Database Statistics, Economic studies indicate that for every one percent increase in a countrys broadband internet penetration, GDP per capita increases by roughly 10 percent (USD), and a one percent increase in mobile penetration results in a GDP per capita increase of roughly ve percent (USD).

    A study by the UK-based Plum consultancy in August last year said 3G could boost Pakistans GDP by 380 billion to 1,180 billion rupees ($3.8 billion to $11.8 billion) by 2020, and between 23 billion and 70 billion rupees for the additional tax revenue generated by 3G.

    Information Technology Minister Anusha Rehman, speaking at the occasion, claimed that the auction would spur employment in the country. Around 900,000 jobs will be generated due to 3G/4G technology, she said. She also hoped that there will be around 1.5 to 1.8 per cent additional growth in

    Whereas a few days after the spectrum

    auction, Warid Telecom, not having participated in the bid announced its plans for 4G LTE possibly

    becoming the rst operator in the market to deploy 4G LTE network in

    the country.

    Mehmood Ul Hassan KhanThe writer is a research scholar,specializes in geopolitical issues

    of the GCC, CIS & South Asia. He haskeen intrest in cross cultural dialogue

    & conict resolution.

  • MAY 2014 8 w w w . e c o n o m i c a a i r s . c o m . p k

    INTERVIEW

    breathing relief to the massesUtility Stores Corporation

    On this particular day in April 2014 I walk hurriedly into a building in Blue Area, which is the head oce of Utility Stores Corporation (USC), an organization that operates chain stores throughout Pakistan. The appointment with

    the Managing Director (MD), Khaqan Murtaza, has been rescheduled due to consumption of the previously appointed slot on his timetable. As I walk into the oce, I become acquainted with the Managing Director who is seated across the table with huge piles of paper les stacked on it. The oce is set in a total bureaucratic style,

    very spacious with vast windows overlooking Jinnah Avenue in Islamabad. Buered between hoarding and proteering, the USC network is spread across every nook and corner of the country. It provides basic

    commodities to general public at rates lower than the open market. USC is governed by a Board of Directors and headed by a MD. The current Managing Directortook charge of USC on 15 August 2013. Upon taking the charge,

    Mr. Murtaza has taken some major steps to maximize relief to consumers which includes improving the quality of products and introducing check and balances to stop irregularities and corruption. Every year, at the advent of

    Ramadan, the role and importance of USC catches the public eye as more and more people visit these outlets to buy groceries at subsidized rates. In this exclusive interview with Economic Aairs, the MD of USC talks about

    reforms and measures that have been taken to improve the eciency of these welfare stores.

    housands of Afghani, Pakistani, and Central American farmers who are now slicing open millions of

    acres of poppy pods, harvesting raw opium - the rst step in heroin production in the developing world. Since heroin is a farmers livelihood and heroin is an addicts life, both are caught in the middle of an American drug policy that is at war with itself.

    You see, American pharmacology companies have created millions of drug-dependent people by prescribing them addictive painkillers made with opiates derived from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Meanwhile, the addiction rehabilitation eorts in America have been cut o or drastically reduced to save the countrys money. Now, the desperate are turning to heroin for solace, as the most powerful nation on earth is beginning to look like it might bite the

    hand that feeds it.

    Americas drug policy spins on an axis of opiates. For centuries mankind has used heroin to treat pain, although it currently has no lawful medical use in the United States. In countries such as the UK and the Netherlands, doctors prescribe heroin to relieve the pain of trauma, post-surgery discomfort, end stage cancer, cesarean sections, and even heart attacks. Some physicians even prefer heroin over morphine because it is more fat soluble and can reach the target site quicker. In the United States, however, its a dierent story.

    Around 2010, small pain management clinics started popping up in America. These makeshift clinics oered no beds, exam tables, medicines, or testing tools and were little more than doctors sitting behind tables selling prescriptions with a minimum sta. The more money the patient had, the more drugs they got. In a country where capitalism is the closest thing to a moral consensus, making money often seems like the only thing to do. Indeed, the business is cash and the books are sloppy.

    In 2012, the American company, Actavis, grossed $5.9 billion in prots from its exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute oxycodone. This is nearly three times the revenue of Afghanistans entire government. The success of such pill mills is largely a result of Americas fragmented and inecient legal system that dates back two centuries

    ago when states or provinces mistrusted one another and a central government. The national government controls use of many dangerous drugs, spending billions in a war sieged to cut o the import of drugs like heroin and cocaine.

    Things are dierent with prescribed drugs though. Those fall under the aegis of the Food and Drug Administration, but once a drug wins FDA approval a doctor can prescribe it pretty much at his or her own discretion. Regulation of pain management doctors is scarce. Even now, a doctor can be a pain management specialist by simply

    paying $500, passing a criminal background check, and lling out a short application. In some states, dispensing opiate derived drugs has become a thriving industry.

    The American nation, its doctors, and the pharmaceutical industries have created millions of drug dependent victims who come streaming into emergency rooms and morgues. The latest gures available from the National Institute on Drug Abuse show that deaths from prescription opioids outpace deaths from all illegal drugs combined. In addition, Americas Center for Disease Control atly stated, Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States. The increase in unintentional drug overdose deaths in recent years has been driven by a class of prescription drugs called opioid analgesics. - CDC Grand Rounds: Prescription Drug Overdoses

    a U.S. Epidemic.

    In the past few years the DEA has developed programs for spotting inordinate drug prescriptions. This has produced an impressive string of arrests. In short, the federal government was taking millions of oxycodone doses out of the hands of addicts. Soon, heroin became the alternative. A report by the Mayo Clinic conrmed emergency room admission for heroin overdoses were spiking between 2012 and 2014.

    As pressure builds against prescription pain killers, heroin use increases. Between 2007 and 2012

    world. The State Departments International Narcotics Control Strategy Report on Pakistan for 2014 was precise on its assessment: Pakistan is the worlds highest-volume transit corridor for opiates and cannabis. Drug trackers exploit the countrys porous borders with Afghanistan and Iran, and the UNODC estimates that 40 percent of the worlds supply of heroin traverses Pakistan en route to China, the Gulf States, Africa, Europe and North America, often transiting through Pakistans seaports, airports, postal routes and coastal areas.

    In 2013 Pakistans law enforcement agencies achieved signicant narcotics seizures, though no major drug trackers were ever arrested. Budget limitations and ckle politics

    will continue to hinder any counter-narcotics eorts. In the meantime, Pakistani law enforcement agencies remain preoccupied with more urgent threats such as widespread political violence and extremism.

    So now, the worlds most prolic opium producer sits next door to the worlds most ecient drug transit system. Neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan is in a position to give the US any aid with its rampant drug problem. Indeed, both countries could convincingly argue that the United States caused the resurgence of heroin by succumbing to its own

    greed.

    Sharing the same destiny they both stand on opposite sides of the world. The Southern Afghanistan farmer walks through his poppy elds testing the pods one by one to ensure his livelihood; and the heroin addict is left wondering whether or not this dose will be the last. Each is equally desperate for a change.

    The addict and the farmer are both caught at dierent ends of the same lucrative and killer trap. They simultaneously listen for the sounds of impending danger overhead, and they harken their ears for a song of salvation. Instead, all they ever hear is a prayer for the dead.

    the number of heroin users in the United States rose by nearly 300,000 according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Todays heroin users are no longer the urban, desperate, and uneducated. Now, even suburban and rural communities are reporting signicant increase in heroin use.

    Thanks to the new opportunities, India has developed a thriving business based on mail-order oxycodone and oxycontin. The Indian company then ships the drugs discretely by US Mail or via some large private courier company. This puts South Asia in the cross hairs of American drug policy even though Afghanistan has become the worlds largest heroin producer. Afghanistan is ghting to respond to an escalating domestic opiate addiction epidemic, where citizens are familiar with drug money laundering through shady nancial networks.

    In America the threats are more muted. The United States Oce of National Drug Control Policy promised aid to Afghanistan for the nding of alternate economic sources. However, it closed the bill with a cryptic promise: The United States will continue to work with and provide support to opium poppy producing countries by creating both incentives for opium growers to participate in licit livelihoods, while simultaneously strengthening the disincentives to participation in the narcotics industry through increased interdiction and other law enforcement and supply reduction measures. The report did not elaborate what those supply reduction measures would be.

    Not surprisingly, the United States waged a war against marijuana over the past few decades (in the United States, almost all problems are solved by a war of some kind). The country patrolled its own ocean ports incessantly. They dropped plant-killing agents all over large parts of Colombia and then arrested or imprisoned foreign nationals who had never even been there but who allegedly conspired from their home countries to break American drug laws.

    It is hard to nd anyone who ever died from a marijuana overdose, but heroin overdose crowds the countrys hospitals. While studies show heroin overdose admissions spiking, legal

    medicinal use is not likely to be something that the American government will easily accept. In fact, the United States Department of International Narcotics Control Strategy Report on Afghanistan for 2014 was rather dismissive on the matter, stating: Illicit drug cultivation, production, tracking, and consumption ourish in Afghanistan, particularly in parts of the south and southwest where instability is high and state institutions are weak or non-existent. A symbiotic relationship exists between the insurgency and narcotics tracking in Afghanistan. Trackers provide weapons, funding, and other material support to the insurgency in exchange for the protection of drug trade routes, elds, laboratories, and their organizations. Some insurgent commanders engage

    directly in drug tracking to nance their operations. The narcotics trade undermines government and rule of law in all parts of the country where poppy is cultivated and trackers operate.

    Afghanistan relies on assistance from the international community in order to implement its national counter-narcotics strategies. Meanwhile, America is just now nishing up its twelve-year war in Afghanistan. However, illicit drugs production (particularly heroin), ourishes there; and it would be no dicult task for America to retrot their new predator drones with defoliant canisters or even Napalm.

    The situation in Pakistan is equally dismissive, but for a dierent reason: Pakistan does not play a signicant role in narcotics production. Instead, it is like an expressway through which drugs travel to other parts of the

  • annual sales volume comes from USC only.

    Another important thing is that USC prices are the same across the country. This USC system provides a check on price cartels as the dealers in open market cannot sell their products at unjustied dierence from that of USC prices.

    E.A. The Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) approved a relief package for the provision of essential food items

    at subsidized rates during Ramadan. Which products would be subsidized under this package?

    The ECC has approved PKR 2 billion relief for the upcoming month of Ramadan. We will ensure uninterrupted availability of essential food items to people during the holy month. In total 18 food items including our, cooking oil, Banaspati ghee, pulses, white gram, gram our and dates would be provided at subsidized rates while hundreds of other items would be available at reduced prices at

    the USC outlets throughout the country.

    E.A. Utility Stores run out of stock during Ramadan sometimes. How would you ensure sucient availability and quality of stock in all of your stores?

    There were two reasons for inadequacy of basic kitchen items at the Utility Stores. Before the start of Ramadan, people rush at utility stores to buy products at subsidized rates. The demand increases enormously and stores go out of stock in no time. For instance, last year the average monthly turnover of USC was PKR 5 to 6 billion, whereas it was PKR19 billion in the single month of Ramadan last year. It also shows peoples condence in the USC and the need for relief it extends. However, to resolve this issue, we have already made appropriate arrangements to meet the expected demand during Ramadan.

    Corruption is another reason for

    MAY 20149w w w . e c o n o m i c a a i r s . c o m . p k

    INTERVIEW

    E.A. How important is the role of USC in the creation of direct/indirect employment and poverty reduction?

    The scope of Utility Stores is wider than that of a public sector commercial organization. Besides its basic role that is the provision of essential kitchen items at aordable prices, USC has a very important role in the national fabric. It is a welfare organization that generates employment opportunities, gives a mechanism of price stability, ensures food security in far ung areas and acts as an immediate relief provider during natural calamities.

    The USC has a workforce of 14,600 people across the country; whereas hundreds of thousands of people are associated with it indirectly. I am referring to the folks associated with the USCs over 2000 vendor companies.

    Additionally, the USCs franchise scheme provides self-employment opportunities to people across the country with a nominal investment. At present USC has 1500 franchise outlets and each franchise employs at least two workers.

    USC has a system of bulk breaking and packing of essential commodities e.g. pulses, spices, rice, and sugar in small packs at USC warehouses, where we also provide employment to thousands of people on contract basis.

    USC provides large varieties of goods to consumers at lower prices under one roof. USC works on a very nominal prot margin of 6.5 to 8% and its prices are about 20 percent less than the market price. Thus it provides food security to the low income group against high ination.

    E.A. How does the USC provide assistance to national and international relief organizations in case of natural calamities?

    The USC has its 6017 outlets and 65 warehouses present in every

    nook and corner of the country and more than 60 % of our outlets are located in rural areas. What makes me proud is having branches in areas like Chitral, Skardu, Awaran, Balakot, Kashmir, Turbat, Thar and in towns adjoining national borders. We have divided the country in nine zones and our warehouses are always full of essential food items. In case of natural calamities, the USC warehouses are always the rst source for supplying food in

    distressed areas.

    In recent earth quake that hit the Awaran district of Baluchistan, relief goods were supplied immediately from the USC warehouse. Similarly, USC was a source of supplies in Thar, Attabad lake incident, 2005 earthquake, oods in 2010 and 2011.

    E.A. What role of the USC do you see in the stimulation of national economy?

    Utility Stores Corporation of Pakistan is the worlds largest single country retail stores chain. Just to make you understand the scale at which USC operates; let me tell you that the USC is the countrys biggest buyer of grocery items. There are over 2000 registered vendors associated with USC which include companies like Unilever, Gillette Pakistan, Dalda, National Foods, Pepsi International and many others. It may me surprising for you to know that almost 15 percent of the Unilevers

    It is a welfare organization that

    generates employment opportunities, gives a

    mechanism of price stability, ensures food

    security in far ung areas and acts as immediate relief provider during

    natural calamities.

    the shortage of subsidized items at stores in small towns. As I mentioned earlier, the prices at USC outlets are about 15 percent less compared to the prices in open market. Then the Federal Government also announces big subsidy on basic items for Ramadan that doubles the discount for consumers. The prices of some basic kitchen items i.e. cooking oil, sugar, beverages, gram and gram our and other pulses cut as much as 30 percent which is sometimes below the distributor price in open market. For example, the price of Dalda cooking oil is PKR194/kg in open market, whereas it is being sold at PKR187/kg at USC stores. After the announcement of Ramadan subsidy, the price of this item goes down to PKR 172/kg, which is 22 rupee less than its price in market and also less than the companys distributor price. In this situation even the shopkeepers prefer to buy products from USC and we recently found some of our store managers selling subsidized products to the shopkeepers in bulk.

    E.A. What measures have you taken to stop the corrupt practices at USC?

    I have shown zero tolerance towards corruption. Since I have taken charge, I have laid o some 1,500 employees for reasons like misconduct, illegal appointments and fake education degrees. There were around 150-160 hirings by the interim government. Appointment letters to 50-60 people were issued for daily wages with a consolidated salary ranging from 25,000 to 65,000. Daily wages were being misused. Then I dismissed some for misconduct because sales tax invoice wasnt being given by those employees. Hundreds of corruption cases have been referred to Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for the legal course of action.

    Out of total 6,000 stores, 2,300 stores were making losses, mainly due to their bad market positioning and over stang of over 1200 surplus employees. I have relocated most of them to good

    business sites and adjusted their extra sta to big stores and subsequently, majority of them started making prots.

    E.A. Have you taken measures to ensure the quality of products being sold at the Utility Stores?

    The USC buys items in bulk and break them in small packages at its warehouses. That was the point where some deceitful vendors in coalition with USC sta mixed low quality items in bulk. To stop this practice, we have stopped bulk-breaking of spices, pulses and some other items. Now, the vendors will pack them at their own facility and supply it to USC in packets. Besides USC monogram, the name of vendor would be printed on the packets. This way we have almost eliminated the chances for a vendor to supply low quality product, because each packet displayed at a store comes directly from the factory. According to USC agreement with vendors, the contract will be terminated if the supplied products are lower than the approved quality. Our inspection teams regularly collect specimens from stores and send them for lab tests at National Agriculture Research Center

    (NARC), Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) and National Institute of Health (NIH) tests to match it with the approved samples. During the last one year, we have cancelled contracts with a number of vendors on quality grounds and subsequently the complaints regarding quality issues have almost been nullied.

    Moreover, we have also made it mandatory for all vendors to submit quality assurance certicate of their products from Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA).

    E.A. Keeping in view the growing population, what is the future expansion plan of USC?

    Currently utility stores are operating in around 74 percent of the union council and there is a plan to open USC outlets in every union council of the country. The PC-1 of this expansion project is under consideration at the Planning Commission. It envisages opening up of 1,000 stores and 30 warehouses across the country. Besides that I have planned to open at least 30 new outlets in some far-ung areas utilizing USCs surplus budget.

    E.A. Is it true that USC is one of the largest tax payers in the country? How much tax did the USC pay to the national exchequer last year?

    Despite working on very nominal prots and even paying rebates to our consumers in far ung areas; the annual turnover of the last nancial year was PKR 82 billion. For the scal year 2013, the USC paid sales tax of worth PKR6 billion. The USC is not a burden on national exchequer; its a self-sustaining organization which meets its running expenses from its prots. I am committed to improve the quality of its products and raising its sales to PKR100 billion this year.

    housands of Afghani, Pakistani, and Central American farmers who are now slicing open millions of

    acres of poppy pods, harvesting raw opium - the rst step in heroin production in the developing world. Since heroin is a farmers livelihood and heroin is an addicts life, both are caught in the middle of an American drug policy that is at war with itself.

    You see, American pharmacology companies have created millions of drug-dependent people by prescribing them addictive painkillers made with opiates derived from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Meanwhile, the addiction rehabilitation eorts in America have been cut o or drastically reduced to save the countrys money. Now, the desperate are turning to heroin for solace, as the most powerful nation on earth is beginning to look like it might bite the

    hand that feeds it.

    Americas drug policy spins on an axis of opiates. For centuries mankind has used heroin to treat pain, although it currently has no lawful medical use in the United States. In countries such as the UK and the Netherlands, doctors prescribe heroin to relieve the pain of trauma, post-surgery discomfort, end stage cancer, cesarean sections, and even heart attacks. Some physicians even prefer heroin over morphine because it is more fat soluble and can reach the target site quicker. In the United States, however, its a dierent story.

    Around 2010, small pain management clinics started popping up in America. These makeshift clinics oered no beds, exam tables, medicines, or testing tools and were little more than doctors sitting behind tables selling prescriptions with a minimum sta. The more money the patient had, the more drugs they got. In a country where capitalism is the closest thing to a moral consensus, making money often seems like the only thing to do. Indeed, the business is cash and the books are sloppy.

    In 2012, the American company, Actavis, grossed $5.9 billion in prots from its exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute oxycodone. This is nearly three times the revenue of Afghanistans entire government. The success of such pill mills is largely a result of Americas fragmented and inecient legal system that dates back two centuries

    ago when states or provinces mistrusted one another and a central government. The national government controls use of many dangerous drugs, spending billions in a war sieged to cut o the import of drugs like heroin and cocaine.

    Things are dierent with prescribed drugs though. Those fall under the aegis of the Food and Drug Administration, but once a drug wins FDA approval a doctor can prescribe it pretty much at his or her own discretion. Regulation of pain management doctors is scarce. Even now, a doctor can be a pain management specialist by simply

    paying $500, passing a criminal background check, and lling out a short application. In some states, dispensing opiate derived drugs has become a thriving industry.

    The American nation, its doctors, and the pharmaceutical industries have created millions of drug dependent victims who come streaming into emergency rooms and morgues. The latest gures available from the National Institute on Drug Abuse show that deaths from prescription opioids outpace deaths from all illegal drugs combined. In addition, Americas Center for Disease Control atly stated, Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States. The increase in unintentional drug overdose deaths in recent years has been driven by a class of prescription drugs called opioid analgesics. - CDC Grand Rounds: Prescription Drug Overdoses

    a U.S. Epidemic.

    In the past few years the DEA has developed programs for spotting inordinate drug prescriptions. This has produced an impressive string of arrests. In short, the federal government was taking millions of oxycodone doses out of the hands of addicts. Soon, heroin became the alternative. A report by the Mayo Clinic conrmed emergency room admission for heroin overdoses were spiking between 2012 and 2014.

    As pressure builds against prescription pain killers, heroin use increases. Between 2007 and 2012

    world. The State Departments International Narcotics Control Strategy Report on Pakistan for 2014 was precise on its assessment: Pakistan is the worlds highest-volume transit corridor for opiates and cannabis. Drug trackers exploit the countrys porous borders with Afghanistan and Iran, and the UNODC estimates that 40 percent of the worlds supply of heroin traverses Pakistan en route to China, the Gulf States, Africa, Europe and North America, often transiting through Pakistans seaports, airports, postal routes and coastal areas.

    In 2013 Pakistans law enforcement agencies achieved signicant narcotics seizures, though no major drug trackers were ever arrested. Budget limitations and ckle politics

    will continue to hinder any counter-narcotics eorts. In the meantime, Pakistani law enforcement agencies remain preoccupied with more urgent threats such as widespread political violence and extremism.

    So now, the worlds most prolic opium producer sits next door to the worlds most ecient drug transit system. Neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan is in a position to give the US any aid with its rampant drug problem. Indeed, both countries could convincingly argue that the United States caused the resurgence of heroin by succumbing to its own

    greed.

    Sharing the same destiny they both stand on opposite sides of the world. The Southern Afghanistan farmer walks through his poppy elds testing the pods one by one to ensure his livelihood; and the heroin addict is left wondering whether or not this dose will be the last. Each is equally desperate for a change.

    The addict and the farmer are both caught at dierent ends of the same lucrative and killer trap. They simultaneously listen for the sounds of impending danger overhead, and they harken their ears for a song of salvation. Instead, all they ever hear is a prayer for the dead.

    the number of heroin users in the United States rose by nearly 300,000 according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Todays heroin users are no longer the urban, desperate, and uneducated. Now, even suburban and rural communities are reporting signicant increase in heroin use.

    Thanks to the new opportunities, India has developed a thriving business based on mail-order oxycodone and oxycontin. The Indian company then ships the drugs discretely by US Mail or via some large private courier company. This puts South Asia in the cross hairs of American drug policy even though Afghanistan has become the worlds largest heroin producer. Afghanistan is ghting to respond to an escalating domestic opiate addiction epidemic, where citizens are familiar with drug money laundering through shady nancial networks.

    In America the threats are more muted. The United States Oce of National Drug Control Policy promised aid to Afghanistan for the nding of alternate economic sources. However, it closed the bill with a cryptic promise: The United States will continue to work with and provide support to opium poppy producing countries by creating both incentives for opium growers to participate in licit livelihoods, while simultaneously strengthening the disincentives to participation in the narcotics industry through increased interdiction and other law enforcement and supply reduction measures. The report did not elaborate what those supply reduction measures would be.

    Not surprisingly, the United States waged a war against marijuana over the past few decades (in the United States, almost all problems are solved by a war of some kind). The country patrolled its own ocean ports incessantly. They dropped plant-killing agents all over large parts of Colombia and then arrested or imprisoned foreign nationals who had never even been there but who allegedly conspired from their home countries to break American drug laws.

    It is hard to nd anyone who ever died from a marijuana overdose, but heroin overdose crowds the countrys hospitals. While studies show heroin overdose admissions spiking, legal

    medicinal use is not likely to be something that the American government will easily accept. In fact, the United States Department of International Narcotics Control Strategy Report on Afghanistan for 2014 was rather dismissive on the matter, stating: Illicit drug cultivation, production, tracking, and consumption ourish in Afghanistan, particularly in parts of the south and southwest where instability is high and state institutions are weak or non-existent. A symbiotic relationship exists between the insurgency and narcotics tracking in Afghanistan. Trackers provide weapons, funding, and other material support to the insurgency in exchange for the protection of drug trade routes, elds, laboratories, and their organizations. Some insurgent commanders engage

    directly in drug tracking to nance their operations. The narcotics trade undermines government and rule of law in all parts of the country where poppy is cultivated and trackers operate.

    Afghanistan relies on assistance from the international community in order to implement its national counter-narcotics strategies. Meanwhile, America is just now nishing up its twelve-year war in Afghanistan. However, illicit drugs production (particularly heroin), ourishes there; and it would be no dicult task for America to retrot their new predator drones with defoliant canisters or even Napalm.

    The situation in Pakistan is equally dismissive, but for a dierent reason: Pakistan does not play a signicant role in narcotics production. Instead, it is like an expressway through which drugs travel to other parts of the

  • annual sales volume comes from USC only.

    Another important thing is that USC prices are the same across the country. This USC system provides a check on price cartels as the dealers in open market cannot sell their products at unjustied dierence from that of USC prices.

    E.A. The Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) approved a relief package for the provision of essential food items

    at subsidized rates during Ramadan. Which products would be subsidized under this package?

    The ECC has approved PKR 2 billion relief for the upcoming month of Ramadan. We will ensure uninterrupted availability of essential food items to people during the holy month. In total 18 food items including our, cooking oil, Banaspati ghee, pulses, white gram, gram our and dates would be provided at subsidized rates while hundreds of other items would be available at reduced prices at

    the USC outlets throughout the country.

    E.A. Utility Stores run out of stock during Ramadan sometimes. How would you ensure sucient availability and quality of stock in all of your stores?

    There were two reasons for inadequacy of basic kitchen items at the Utility Stores. Before the start of Ramadan, people rush at utility stores to buy products at subsidized rates. The demand increases enormously and stores go out of stock in no time. For instance, last year the average monthly turnover of USC was PKR 5 to 6 billion, whereas it was PKR19 billion in the single month of Ramadan last year. It also shows peoples condence in the USC and the need for relief it extends. However, to resolve this issue, we have already made appropriate arrangements to meet the expected demand during Ramadan.

    Corruption is another reason for

    MAY 2014 10 w w w . e c o n o m i c a a i r s . c o m . p k

    INTERVIEW

    E.A. How important is the role of USC in the creation of direct/indirect employment and poverty reduction?

    The scope of Utility Stores is wider than that of a public sector commercial organization. Besides its basic role that is the provision of essential kitchen items at aordable prices, USC has a very important role in the national fabric. It is a welfare organization that generates employment opportunities, gives a mechanism of price stability, ensures food security in far ung areas and acts as an immediate relief provider during natural calamities.

    The USC has a workforce of 14,600 people across the country; whereas hundreds of thousands of people are associated with it indirectly. I am referring to the folks associated with the USCs over 2000 vendor companies.

    Additionally, the USCs franchise scheme provides self-employment opportunities to people across the country with a nominal investment. At present USC has 1500 franchise outlets and each franchise employs at least two workers.

    USC has a system of bulk breaking and packing of essential commodities e.g. pulses, spices, rice, and sugar in small packs at USC warehouses, where we also provide employment to thousands of people on contract basis.

    USC provides large varieties of goods to consumers at lower prices under one roof. USC works on a very nominal prot margin of 6.5 to 8% and its prices are about 20 percent less than the market price. Thus it provides food security to the low income group against high ination.

    E.A. How does the USC provide assistance to national and international relief organizations in case of natural calamities?

    The USC has its 6017 outlets and 65 warehouses present in every

    nook and corner of the country and more than 60 % of our outlets are located in rural areas. What makes me proud is having branches in areas like Chitral, Skardu, Awaran, Balakot, Kashmir, Turbat, Thar and in towns adjoining national borders. We have divided the country in nine zones and our warehouses are always full of essential food items. In case of natural calamities, the USC warehouses are always the rst source for supplying food in

    distressed areas.

    In recent earth quake that hit the Awaran district of Baluchistan, relief goods were supplied immediately from the USC warehouse. Similarly, USC was a source of supplies in Thar, Attabad lake incident, 2005 earthquake, oods in 2010 and 2011.

    E.A. What role of the USC do you see in the stimulation of national economy?

    Utility Stores Corporation of Pakistan is the worlds largest single country retail stores chain. Just to make you understand the scale at which USC operates; let me tell you that the USC is the countrys biggest buyer of grocery items. There are over 2000 registered vendors associated with USC which include companies like Unilever, Gillette Pakistan, Dalda, National Foods, Pepsi International and many others. It may me surprising for you to know that almost 15 percent of the Unilevers

    SAJID GONDALSajid Gondal is a team member

    of Economic Aairs. Email: [email protected]

    the shortage of subsidized items at stores in small towns. As I mentioned earlier, the prices at USC outlets are about 15 percent less compared to the prices in open market. Then the Federal Government also announces big subsidy on basic items for Ramadan that doubles the discount for consumers. The prices of some basic kitchen items i.e. cooking oil, sugar, beverages, gram and gram our and other pulses cut as much as 30 percent which is sometimes below the distributor price in open market. For example, the price of Dalda cooking oil is PKR194/kg in open market, whereas it is being sold at PKR187/kg at USC stores. After the announcement of Ramadan subsidy, the price of this item goes down to PKR 172/kg, which is 22 rupee less than its price in market and also less than the companys distributor price. In this situation even the shopkeepers prefer to buy products from USC and we recently found some of our store managers selling subsidized products to the shopkeepers in bulk.

    E.A. What measures have you taken to stop the corrupt practices at USC?

    I have shown zero tolerance towards corruption. Since I have taken charge, I have laid o some 1,500 employees for reasons like misconduct, illegal appointments and fake education degrees. There were around 150-160 hirings by the interim government. Appointment letters to 50-60 people were issued for daily wages with a consolidated salary ranging from 25,000 to 65,000. Daily wages were being misused. Then I dismissed some for misconduct because sales tax invoice wasnt being given by those employees. Hundreds of corruption cases have been referred to Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for the legal course of action.

    Out of total 6,000 stores, 2,300 stores were making losses, mainly due to their bad market positioning and over stang of over 1200 surplus employees. I have relocated most of them to good

    business sites and adjusted their extra sta to big stores and subsequently, majority of them started making prots.

    E.A. Have you taken measures to ensure the quality of products being sold at the Utility Stores?

    The USC buys items in bulk and break them in small packages at its warehouses. That was the point where some deceitful vendors in coalition with USC sta mixed low quality items in bulk. To stop this practice, we have stopped bulk-breaking of spices, pulses and some other items. Now, the vendors will pack them at their own facility and supply it to USC in packets. Besides USC monogram, the name of vendor would be printed on the packets. This way we have almost eliminated the chances for a vendor to supply low quality product, because each packet displayed at a store comes directly from the factory. According to USC agreement with vendors, the contract will be terminated if the supplied products are lower than the approved quality. Our inspection teams regularly collect specimens from stores and send them for lab tests at National Agriculture Research Center

    (NARC), Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) and National Institute of Health (NIH) tests to match it with the approved samples. During the last one year, we have cancelled contracts with a number of vendors on quality grounds and subsequently the complaints regarding quality issues have almost been nullied.

    Moreover, we have also made it mandatory for all vendors to submit quality assurance certicate of their products from Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA).

    E.A. Keeping in view the growing population, what is the future expansion plan of USC?

    Currently utility stores are operating in around 74 percent of the union council and there is a plan to open USC outlets in every union council of the country. The PC-1 of this expansion project is under consideration at the Planning Commission. It envisages opening up of 1,000 stores and 30 warehouses across the country. Besides that I have planned to open at least 30 new outlets in some far-ung areas utilizing USCs surplus budget.

    E.A. Is it true that USC is one of the largest tax payers in the country? How much tax did the USC pay to the national exchequer last year?

    Despite working on very nominal prots and even paying rebates to our consumers in far ung areas; the annual turnover of the last nancial year was PKR 82 billion. For the scal year 2013, the USC paid sales tax of worth PKR6 billion. The USC is not a burden on national exchequer; its a self-sustaining organization which meets its running expenses from its prots. I am committed to improve the quality of its products and raising its sales to PKR100 billion this year.

    Photography: WAHAB SALEEM

    housands of Afghani, Pakistani, and Central American farmers who are now slicing open millions of

    acres of poppy pods, harvesting raw opium - the rst step in heroin production in the developing world. Since heroin is a farmers livelihood and heroin is an addicts life, both are caught in the middle of an American drug policy that is at war with itself.

    You see, American pharmacology companies have created millions of drug-dependent people by prescribing them addictive painkillers made with opiates derived from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Meanwhile, the addiction rehabilitation eorts in America have been cut o or drastically reduced to save the countrys money. Now, the desperate are turning to heroin for solace, as the most powerful nation on earth is beginning to look like it might bite the

    hand that feeds it.

    Americas drug policy spins on an axis of opiates. For centuries mankind has used heroin to treat pain, although it currently has no lawful medical use in the United States. In countries such as the UK and the Netherlands, doctors prescribe heroin to relieve the pain of trauma, post-surgery discomfort, end stage cancer, cesarean sections, and even heart attacks. Some physicians even prefer heroin over morphine because it is more fat soluble and can reach the target site quicker. In the United States, however, its a dierent story.

    Around 2010, small pain management clinics started popping up in America. These makeshift clinics oered no beds, exam tables, medicines, or testing tools and were little more than doctors sitting behind tables selling prescriptions with a minimum sta. The more money the patient had, the more drugs they got. In a country where capitalism is the closest thing to a moral consensus, making money often seems like the only thing to do. Indeed, the business is cash and the books are sloppy.

    In 2012, the American company, Actavis, grossed $5.9 billion in prots from its exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute oxycodone. This is nearly three times the revenue of Afghanistans entire government. The success of such pill mills is largely a result of Americas fragmented and inecient legal system that dates back two centuries

    ago when states or provinces mistrusted one another and a central government. The national government controls use of many dangerous drugs, spending billions in a war sieged to cut o the import of drugs like heroin and cocaine.

    Things are dierent with prescribed drugs though. Those fall under the aegis of the Food and Drug Administration, but once a drug wins FDA approval a doctor can prescribe it pretty much at his or her own discretion. Regulation of pain management doctors is scarce. Even now, a doctor can be a pain management specialist by simply

    paying $500, passing a criminal background check, and lling out a short application. In some states, dispensing opiate derived drugs has become a thriving industry.

    The American nation, its doctors, and the pharmaceutical industries have created millions of drug dependent victims who come streaming into emergency rooms and morgues. The latest gures available from the National Institute on Drug Abuse show that deaths from prescription opioids outpace deaths from all illegal drugs combined. In addition, Americas Center for Disease Control atly stated, Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States. The increase in unintentional drug overdose deaths in recent years has been driven by a class of prescription drugs called opioid analgesics. - CDC Grand Rounds: Prescription Drug Overdoses

    a U.S. Epidemic.

    In the past few years the DEA has developed programs for spotting inordinate drug prescriptions. This has produced an impressive string of arrests. In short, the federal government was taking millions of oxycodone doses out of the hands of addicts. Soon, heroin became the alternative. A report by the Mayo Clinic conrmed emergency room admission for heroin overdoses were spiking between 2012 and 2014.

    As pressure builds against prescription pain killers, heroin use increases. Between 2007 and 2012

    world. The State Departments International Narcotics Control Strategy Report on Pakistan for 2014 was precise on its assessment: Pakistan is the worlds highest-volume transit corridor for opiates and cannabis. Drug trackers exploit the countrys porous borders with Afghanistan and Iran, and the UNODC estimates that 40 percent of the worlds supply of heroin traverses Pakistan en route to China, the Gulf States, Africa, Europe and North America, often transiting through Pakistans seaports, airports, postal routes and coastal areas.

    In 2013 Pakistans law enforcement agencies achieved signicant narcotics seizures, though no major drug trackers were ever arrested. Budget limitations and ckle politics

    will continue to hinder any counter-narcotics eorts. In the meantime, Pakistani law enforcement agencies remain preoccupied with more urgent threats such as widespread political violence and extremism.

    So now, the worlds most prolic opium producer sits next door to the worlds most ecient drug transit system. Neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan is in a position to give the US any aid with its rampant drug problem. Indeed, both countries could convincingly argue that the United States caused the resurgence of heroin by succumbing to its own

    greed.

    Sharing the same destiny they both stand on opposite sides of the world. The Southern Afghanistan farmer walks through his poppy elds testing the pods one by one to ensure his livelihood; and the heroin addict is left wondering whether or not this dose will be the last. Each is equally desperate for a change.

    The addict and the farmer are both caught at dierent ends of the same lucrative and killer trap. They simultaneously listen for the sounds of impending danger overhead, and they harken their ears for a song of salvation. Instead, all they ever hear is a prayer for the dead.

    the number of heroin users in the United States rose by nearly 300,000 according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Todays heroin users are no longer the urban, desperate, and uneducated. Now, even suburban and rural communities are reporting signicant increase in heroin use.

    Thanks to the new opportunities, India has developed a thriving business based on mail-order oxycodone and oxycontin. The Indian company then ships the drugs discretely by US Mail or via some large private courier company. This puts South Asia in the cross hairs of American drug policy even though Afghanistan has become the worlds largest heroin producer. Afghanistan is ghting to respond to an escalating domestic opiate addiction epidemic, where citizens are familiar with drug money laundering through shady nancial networks.

    In America the threats are more muted. The United States Oce of National Drug Control Policy promised aid to Afghanistan for the nding of alternate economic sources. However, it closed the bill with a cryptic promise: The United States will continue to work with and provide support to opium poppy producing countries by creating both incentives for opium growers to participate in licit livelihoods, while simultaneously strengthening the disincentives to participation in the narcotics industry through increased interdiction and other law enforcement and supply reduction measures. The report did not elaborate what those supply reduction measures would be.

    Not surprisingly, the United States waged a war against marijuana over the past few decades (in the United States, almost all problems are solved by a war of some kind). The country patrolled its own ocean ports incessantly. They dropped plant-killing agents all over large parts of Colombia and then arrested or imprisoned foreign nationals who had never even been there but who allegedly conspired from their home countries to break American drug laws.

    It is hard to nd anyone who ever died from a marijuana overdose, but heroin overdose crowds the countrys hospitals. While studies show heroin overdose admissions spiking, legal

    medicinal use is not likely to be something that the American government will easily accept. In fact, the United States Department of International Narcotics Control Strategy Report on Afghanistan for 2014 was rather dismissive on the matter, stating: Illicit drug cultivation, production, tracking, and consumption ourish in Afghanistan, particularly in parts of the south and southwest where instability is high and state institutions are weak or non-existent. A symbiotic relationship exists between the insurgency and narcotics tracking in Afghanistan. Trackers provide weapons, funding, and other material support to the insurgency in exchange for the protection of drug trade routes, elds, laboratories, and their organizations. Some insurgent commanders engage

    directly in drug tracking to nance their operations. The narcotics trade undermines government and rule of law in all parts of the country where poppy is cultivated and trackers operate.

    Afghanistan relies on assistance from the international community in order to implement its national counter-narcotics strategies. Meanwhile, America is just now nishing up its twelve-year war in Afghanistan. However, illicit drugs production (particularly heroin), ourishes there; and it would be no dicult task for America to retrot their new predator drones with defoliant canisters or even Napalm.

    The situation in Pakistan is equally dismissive, but for a dierent reason: Pakistan does not play a signicant role in narcotics production. Instead, it is like an expressway through which drugs travel to other parts of the

  • hat Hamid Mir is a brave soul is a given. He is also a renowned, inuential journalist, hugely popular,

    known for his candid views which on balance have a wide public appeal but also create powerful enemies whose shenanigans he dares to expose. Is he also guilty of any hidden agenda? If by agenda one means promoting a cause or belief, the term by itself has no negative connotations and may even be viewed as a virtue. Most religious scholars, nearly all politicians, the advertisement gurus, the Green Peace group and many others have an agenda and as long as their motive is clearly spelt out and the public know where they are coming from, having an agenda is desirable, even necessary. The problem arises when an individual or group has a hidden motive which is camouaged and gives the impression that a particular line of thought is being supported when in reality it is being sabotaged. Spies, charlatans, fraudsters, saboteurs all fall in this category but Hamid Mir does not because where he stands on issues can be read like an open book. No, Hamid Mir has no hidden agenda but he does appear to have an open one. The question, therefore, is should a journalist have or pursue a particular agenda

    even if it is not a secret one?

    Human beings by nature have biases and to expect them to be totally unbiased would be unfair and unrealistic. That said, while in certain professions biases are an intrinsic part of their job description in some others these have to be kept to the barest minimum humanly possible. Judges and journalists fall in this category because their primary objective is to ferret out the truth and biases unfortunately could become insurmountable hurdles in the quest for the truth. Hamid Mir is a

    journalist and in his chosen profession, an agenda or bias is less than desirable. Viewed

    specically from this perspective he appears to fall slightly short of the ideal but to

    pass such a judgment without examining the environment he has to operate under would not be fair.

    Listening to Hamid Mir as a talk show anchor or reading his articles one fact stands out very clearly: Hamid Mir is a very strong willed person which in the eld of journalism could promote the tendency to pursue one line of thought at the expense of others because ones mind is already made up and hence should be resisted. In his talk shows when discussing controversial issues he does appear to be guilty of loading the guest panel in favour of his viewpoint. His questions and comments also make his bias on the subject obvious. At times he could be accused of being guilty of insinuations against individuals or institutions without sucient burden of proof. In his favour, however, it must be said that despite his obvious anti American sentiments, he has openly dismissed the conspiracy theories surrounding 9/11 and 2/11 (2nd May 2011 episode) that must have earned him the ire of the religious right parties, their supporters and in fact a large section of the public in the country.

    In a society where mega corruption and malpractices have become the exclusive domain of the rich and powerful and where

    such practices are accepted by the public as normal, taking on the bigwigs can be hazardous to ones health. A number of brave journalists have paid the ultimate price with their lives because they had the courage to expose the charlatans while some were fortunate to escape unscathed from their murderous assaults. The attack on Hamid Mir that has injured him grievously is unforgiveable, unacceptable and cannot be condoned, if the fast deteriorating state of law and order in the country is to be arrested before it destroys the very fabric of the nation state. Personally one may not agree with some of Hamids opinions or the journalistic methodology he has adopted but that does not give one the right to try and eliminate him physically. If he has leveled personal charges that are frivolous he should be sued for defamation but given the dismal state of our judicial system in regard to addressing libel laws the next alternative should be to engage him in his own turf and counter it with arguments in favour and let the public be the nal judge.

    The malaise in our society runs so deep that mere verbal condemnation will not help and journalists like Hamid Mir might have no option but to resort to unconventional means to jolt the public opinion. It is brave journalists like him who have challenged the status quo by exposing the murderous maas at the risk of their lives.

    You are not perfect Hamid; you have your idiosyncrasies and aws but given the hostile environment you are operating under, I as a citizen of Pakistan salute you and declare that you have my full backing and support. We pray to the Almighty for your full recovery and may He give us the courage to stand behind brave souls like you in your heroic struggle to cleanse our society of our major ills. Amen

    T

    JAMAL HUSSAINThe writer is a defence analyst and

    director of Centre of AirpowerStudies and can be reached at

    [email protected]

    Aack onHamid Mir

    MAY 201411w w w . e c o n o m i c a a i r s . c o m . p k

    OPINION

    housands of Afghani, Pakistani, and Central American farmers who are now slicing open millions of

    acres of poppy pods, harvesting raw opium - the rst step in heroin production in the developing world. Since heroin is a farmers livelihood and heroin is an addicts life, both are caught in the middle of an American drug policy that is at war with itself.

    You see, American pharmacology companies have created millions of drug-dependent people by prescribing them addictive painkillers made with opiates derived from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Meanwhile, the addiction rehabilitation eorts in America have been cut o or drastically reduced to save the countrys money. Now, the desperate are turning to heroin for solace, as the most powerful nation on earth is beginning to look like it might bite the

    hand that feeds it.

    Americas drug policy spins on an axis of opiates. For centuries mankind has used heroin to treat pain, although it currently has no lawful medical use in the United States. In countries such as the UK and the Netherlands, doctors prescribe heroin to relieve the pain of trauma, post-surgery discomfort, end stage cancer, cesarean sections, and even heart attacks. Some physicians even prefer heroin over morphine because it is more fat soluble and can reach the target site quicker. In the United States, however, its a dierent story.

    Around 2010, small pain management clinics started popping up in America. These makeshift clinics oered no beds, exam tables, medicines, or testing tools and were little more than doctors sitting behind tables selling prescriptions with a minimum sta. The more money the patient had, the more drugs they got. In a country where capitalism is the closest thing to a moral consensus, making money often seems like the only thing to do. Indeed, the business is cash and the books are sloppy.

    In 2012, the American company, Actavis, grossed $5.9 billion in prots from its exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute oxycodone. This is nearly three times the revenue of Afghanistans entire government. The success of such pill mills is largely a result of Americas fragmented and inecient legal system that dates back two centuries

    ago when states or provinces mistrusted one another and a central government. The national government controls use of many dangerous drugs, spending billions in a war sieged to cut o the import of drugs like heroin and cocaine.

    Things are dierent with prescribed drugs though. Those fall under the aegis of the Food and Drug Administration, but once a drug wins FDA approval a doctor can prescribe it pretty much at his or her own discretion. Regulation of pain management doctors is scarce. Even now, a doctor can be a pain management specialist by simply

    paying $500, passing a criminal background check, and lling out a short application. In some states, dispensing opiate derived drugs has become a thriving industry.

    The American nation, its doctors, and the pharmaceutical industries have created millions of drug dependent victims who come streaming into emergency rooms and morgues. The latest gures available from the National Institute on Drug Abuse show that deaths from prescription opioids outpace deaths from all illegal drugs combined. In addition, Americas Center for Disease Control atly stated, Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States. The increase in unintentional drug overdose deaths in recent years has been driven by a class of prescription drugs called opioid analgesics. - CDC Grand Rounds: Prescription Drug Overdoses

    a U.S. Epidemic.

    In the past few years the DEA has developed programs for spotting inordinate drug prescriptions. This has produced an impressive string of arrests. In short, the federal government was taking millions of oxycodone doses out of the hands of addicts. Soon, heroin became the alternative. A report by the Mayo Clinic conrmed emergency room admission for heroin overdoses were spiking between 2012 and 2014.

    As pressure builds against prescription pain killers, heroin use increases. Between 2007 and 2012

    world. The State Departments International Narcotics Control Strategy Report on Pakistan for 2014 was precise on its assessment: Pakistan is the worlds highest-volume transit corridor for opiates and cannabis. Drug trackers exploit the countrys porous borders with Afghanistan and Iran, and the UNODC estimates that 40 percent of the worlds supply of heroin traverses Pakistan en route to China, the Gulf States, Africa, Europe and North America, often transiting through Pakistans seaports, airports, postal routes and coastal areas.

    In 2013 Pakistans law enforcement agencies achieved signicant narcotics seizures, though no major drug trackers were ever arrested. Budget limitations and ckle politics

    will continue to hinder any counter-narcotics eorts. In the meantime, Pakistani law enforcement agencies remain preoccupied with more urgent threats such as widespread political violence and extremism.

    So now, the worlds most prolic opium producer sits next door to the worlds most ecient drug transit system. Neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan is in a position to give the US any aid with its rampant drug problem. Indeed, both countries could convincingly argue that the United States caused the resurgence of heroin by succumbing to its own

    greed.

    Sharing the same destiny they both stand on opposite sides of the world. The Southern Afghanistan farmer walks through his poppy elds testing the pods one by one to ensure his livelihood; and the heroin addict is left wondering whether or not this dose will be the last. Each is equally desperate for a change.

    The addict and the farmer are both caught at dierent ends of the same lucrative and killer trap. They simultaneously listen for the sounds of impending danger overhead, and they harken their ears for a song of salvation. Instead, all they ever hear is a prayer for the dead.

    the number of heroin users in the United States rose by nearly 300,000 according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Todays heroin users are no longer the urban, desperate, and uneducated. Now, even suburban and rural communities are reporting signicant increase in heroin use.

    Thanks to the new opportunities, India has developed a thriving business based on mail-order oxycodone and oxycontin. The Indian company then ships the drugs discretely by US Mail or via some large private courier company. This puts South Asia in the cross hairs of American drug policy even though Afghanistan has become the worlds largest heroin producer. Afghanistan is ghting to respond to an escalating domestic opiate addiction epidemic, where citizens are familiar with drug money laundering through shady nancial networks.

    In America the threats are more muted. The United States Oce of National Drug Control Policy promised aid to Afghanistan for the nding of alternate economic sources. However, it closed the bill with a cryptic promise: The United States will continue to work with and provide support to opium poppy producing countries by creating both incentives for opium growers to participate in licit livelihoods, while simultaneously strengthening the disincentives to participation in the narcotics industry through increased interdiction and other law enforcement and supply reduction measures. The report did not elaborate what those supply reduction measures would be.

    Not surprisingly, the United States waged a war against marijuana over the past few decades (in the United States, almost all problems are solved by a war of some kind). The country patrolled its own ocean ports incessantly. They dropped plant-killing agents all over large parts of Colombia and then arrested or imprisoned foreign nationals who had never even been there but who allegedly conspired from their home countries to break American drug laws.

    It is hard to nd anyone who ever died from a marijuana overdose, but heroin overdose crowds the countrys hospitals. While studies show heroin overdose admissions spiking, legal

    medicinal use is not likely to be something that the American government will easily accept. In fact, the United States Department of International Narcotics Control Strategy Report on Afghanistan for 2014 was rather dismissive on the matter, stating: Illicit drug cultivation, production, tracking, and consumption ourish in Afghanistan, particularly in parts of the south and southwest where instability is high and state institutions are weak or non-existent. A symbiotic relationship exists between the insurgency and narcotics tracking in Afghanistan. Trackers provide weapons, funding, and other material support to the insurgency in exchange for the protection of drug trade routes, elds, laboratories, and their organizations. Some insurgent commanders engage

    directly in drug tracking to nance their operations. The narcotics trade undermines government and rule of law in all parts of the country where poppy is cultivated and trackers operate.

    Afghanistan relies on assistance from the international community in order to implement its national counter-narcotics strategies. Meanwhile, America is just now nishing up its twelve-year war in Afghanistan. However, illicit drugs production (particularly heroin), ourishes there; and it would be no dicult task for America to retrot their new predator drones with defoliant canisters or even Napalm.

    The situation in Pakistan is equally dismissive, but for a dierent reason: Pakistan does not play a signicant role in narcotics production. Instead, it is like an expressway through which drugs travel to other parts of the

  • Afghanistan and consider it detrimental to their interests. These states are also apprehensive of a looming civil war in Afghanistan that can only be avoided by initiating the dialogue process. Unfortunately, no serious eorts have been made to revive the stalled Doha process that could have led to intra-Afghan reconciliation process. Such initiatives would help to accommodate the

    interests of stakeholders and would create conducive environment for successful political and security transitions.

    Regional states should also develop consensus on non-interference in internal aairs of Afghanistan. These states can help in capacity building in Afghanistan while respecting the sensitivities of others. Pakistan as a neighboring state has been facing the fallouts of Afghan conict since three decades and the chaos and instability in Afghanistan directly aects the stability of Pakistan.

    Post-election transitions, though a challenging task, should lead to durable peace and stability in Afghanistan because a stable Afghanistan is the key to regional stability.

    MAY 2014 12 w w w . e c o n o m i c a a i r s . c o m . p k

    WORLD POLITICS

    mid hopes and fears, Afghan presidential elections were held in the rst week of April. The initial results

    showed Dr. Abdullah, among the three candidates, having a lead in the elections. According to Election Commissions announcement, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, former Foreign Minister and Mr. Ashraf Ghani, a former Finance Minister and a former World Bank ocial are heading for a run-o election. It is enunciated in Afghan constitution that a candidate must receive over 50 % of votes to win elections otherwise run-o election would be held.

    Despite Talibans threats, urban population enthusiastically participated in the election process with impressive voter turnout of about 55-58 %. Presidential election is just a step forward in the process of political transition in Afghanistan. Given the ethnic polarization of Afghan society it would be a hard task to go for run-o elections as ethnic rivalries may spur new wave of violence and instability. Dr. Abdullah associated with Tajik political party may not get Pashtun votes in South and Southeast and Mr. Ghani, a Pashtun, may not get the support of other

    ethnic groups thus creating a legitimacy problem among other ethnic groups.

    The political transition in Afghanistan was much awaited as it precedes the security and economic transitions that have to take place during this year. The most d