FROM A RINGSIDE SEAT

The Senate proceedings generally remain staid, bereft of surprises. But on Monday it saw two quite unfamiliar developments. First, Shaukat Aziz came to the house; his second visit since he took oath of office of prime minister. Second, the house discussed 'literacy', a subject that figures too low on national priority to merit any serious consideration.
Although the proceedings started half an hour behind schedule, but the front desks were jam-packed with ministers from the very start. The attendance of treasury members too was overwhelming. There was an air of expectancy, and that materialised soon as Shaukat Aziz walked in.
Some 28 ministers were present in the house when the PM came. The Prime Minister sat for about 15 minutes, exchanged greetings with members and even flashed a cryptic message to Ishaq Dar conveying something like ' I will talk to you on phone'. When he arrived there was desk thumping, albeit tame, but he left quietly, and within five minutes of his departure most of the ministers too were gone.
It was a private members day. Acting Chairman Khalilur-Rehman entertained about a dozen points of order, mostly bitter about unpleasant developments. Professor Khurshid Ahmed wanted serious result-oriented inquiry into the Lahore amusement park tragedy.
Hamidullah Afridi wanted the reported lease of 130 kanals of land in one of the green belts of Islamabad to a private party at throwaway price be referred to a Senate committee. Rukhsana Zuberi thought the government should give serious thought to an option of repairing the existing track of Khokhrapar-Monabao rail section instead of laying new track.
Anwer Baig asked the government's position on a Washington Post report that alleged that the CIA wanted extradition of Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan.
Once a member would have raised his point of order, the chair would tell the concerned ministers that they were not bound to offer their comments. That looked odd to Anwer Bhinder, a sticker of rules, who contested the chair's position as to why there was no ruling on any of these points of order.
Under the rules the chair is bound to give his ruling, the member said. But Khalilur-Rehman overlooked this objection, observing he had "allowed" this system as "We have bent the law, not broken it". To this, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs added that new rules are under framed to take care of this situation, possibly by fixing 'zero hour' at the end of each sitting to allow members raise the issues of their areas.
Lady member Rozina Alam Khan, whose seat is next to education minister Lieutenant General Javed Ashraf Qazi, had moved for a discussion on the literacy situation in the country. The chair allotted two minutes each to some 25 members who wanted to air their views and perceptions on the subject.
The mover said the present rate of literacy in Pakistan at 54 percent-which is contested by many international bodies and representatives of civil society-- places our country, below almost all of our neighbours, at 127th position.
Ideally, 4 percent of the budget should be allocated for education, skills should be taught in schools and the media should help create a movement in favour of increasing literacy, she opined.
Ordinarily, the subject is too trite to make interesting reading, but some of the points raised by the members were quite insightful. Rukhsana Zuberi thought Pakistan has acquired unenviable distinction of focussing on higher education while majority of people has no excess to primary education.
Khalid Ranjha warned against Higher Education Commission's sharper focus on higher education-like the IT hype which cost billions of rupees. He rejected the informal education methods to remove illiteracy: "We must get on to formal education as basis for increasing literacy".
He thought NGOs spend only fourth of their funds on improving the literacy rate and the rest goes in the pockets of the managers of these entities.
Liaquat Ali Bangalzai made the bitterest attack on the education policy of the government, keeping under critical focus the Agha Khan Foundation, which has been entrusted the task of evolving syllabi for schools.
He was also angry at the work of National Commission for Human Development for what he implied scandalous role of its "volunteers". Roshan Khursheed Brocha, the lady member from Balochistan, was antithesis of Bangalzai: The NCHD is doing wonderful work; the NGOs and with the exception of a few ghost NGOs, are making positive contribution. Maulana Gul Naseeb highlighted the importance of religious education in shaping a productive Muslim, but the next speaker, Gulshan Saeed, was happy with whatever the government was doing in the field of education, although she thought the feudal landlords are against education.
In his lung-bursting speech Abdullah Riar talked of the "juggler of higher education who never showed up in the house". The most impressive exposition was by the Balochistan member Sanaullah Baloch, who propounded that unless primary education is free and compulsory and unless the regional languages are made teaching languages the dream of hundred percent literacy would remain unrealised.
He also complained against the federal government's "lopsided priorities" as there are in fact more funds allocated to the Air War College than the entire education system, and while constitutional obligation to provide education to all is ignored his province is being planted with cantonments.
An unusual quiet permeated the Senate proceedings, giving fillip to the speculation that "something is cooking" beyond the precincts of the parliament. President Pervez Musharraf's reported remark that he would like to bring the liberals on board is being seen as indication of change in the government's attitude towards the Opposition other than the MMA.
There is even a talk of release of Makhdoom Javed Hashmi on bail. And as this speculation gathers momentum the "renegades" feel threatened. An interregnum in the form of an interim set-up is in the making, some say. But it is all in the realm of speculation. Keep your fingers crossed till December 31, 2004, by which the President Musharraf will "cross the bridge when we come to it."