| October 6, 2001 | Saturday | Rajab 18, 1422 |
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Sorting out illegal Afghans
Unjustified demand
Forex accounts protection
Making parking plaza a success
Picking up the pieces
Banking upon the culprits
A much-needed comparison
Race Course
Save the farmers
Medical corruption
Indian TV channels’ propaganda
With crossed fingers
Our talent
It’s time for Blair to stop and think
TWENTY-ONE months after the failed hijacking drama by India in Kathmandu, they have done it once again.
But this time India has crossed all limits. It is beyond imagination that the Alliance Airlines flight (Air India’s subsidiary) was declared to be undergoing a mock-drill, when, like in the earlier case, its effort failed to materialize. With over 50 passengers on board, who were made to sit for over three hours in the cabin at Delhi airport, it is inconceivable that a mock-drill was on.
Why were the engineers at Delhi airport asked to be brought on board, if it was a mock-drill? Why was the re-fuelling asked for? Why did the Home Minister attend the high level emergency meeting at 2:00 in the morning? There are many more questions that are emerging, and which the Indian authorities will be required to answer.
When all efforts to successfully take forward the drama seemed to be failing, they backtracked and declared it to be a mock-drill — an error of comedy, rather a tragedy but not on account of any error, it seems.
This reflects the extent of hatred which the Indian leadership has for Pakistan, that even the lives of over 50 innocent passengers are of no value to them. This is criminal and those responsible for such faux pas should be held accountable internationally. In fact, the affected passengers must go to the court of law, as no law allows anyone to put the lives of so many people in jeopardy.
The Indian Aviation Minister confessed on an Indian TV channel that he was not aware of the mock-drill, which confirms that there was a serious effort to hijack the aircraft, and was meant to somehow involve Pakistan.
This came in the aftermath of the carnage at the Kashmir Assembly, in which over 30 people died, and which too was timed with the schedule of the Indian Foreign Minister in Washington, so that Pakistan could be painted as a supporter of terrorism.
It maybe recalled that at the time of former US president Clinton’s visit to South Asia, a similar act was carried out by India in which 30 Sikhs were killed, and Pakistan was blamed as the sponsor of the heinous act.
“Enough is enough,” some Indian leader is reported to have said after the latest bomb attack in Kashmir. Yes, it is. And it is suggested that the latest drama of hijacking and the charade of attack on the Kashmiri Assembly must not be taken lying down, and Pakistan must approach the UN Security Council in this matter. Failing to do so, we must be ready for more such enactments.
AMIR ALI ESMAIL
Karachi
IT IS estimated that there are more than 2.5 million Afghans living illegally in Pakistan. Of these, more than 100,000 are in Karachi and between 70,000 to 80,000 in Islamabad. These Afghans are a real threat to our country’s security.
It is an open secret that many of the Afghans are involved in smuggling, drug trafficking, illegal arms trade and those who are not doing any such thing are, at the least, an economic burden on our country’s already tattering economy. Some of them are snatching bread away from our own native labourers, as they work on lesser wages.
Our neighbouring country, Iran, also has more than 1.5 million Afghans on its soil. But they have, very effectively, confined them in the camps while in Pakistan, they have spread all over the country and have mingled with the local population.
Most of the Afghans have settled down in Pakistan permanently. They are unwilling to go back to their country even if fighting stops there, simply because they have better job opportunities here.
My request to the Interior Minister, Mr Moinuddin Haider, is that he should try to sort out all Afghans and take them away from our cities before it is too late. He should send them to their country and if he can’t do this at the moment, then he must confine them to their camps. They must not be allowed to enter our cities or live in our residential areas.
In doing so, he may face opposition from our so-called religious parties since most of the Afghans are their supporters and it is no secret that our religious and sectarian parties have been sending their militants to Afghanistan for training. However, the majority of Pakistanis, especially the Karachiites, have seen the brutal attitude of these illegal immigrants on the protest day called by religious parties, recently. They did not even spare ambulances!
Q.A.
Karachi
WE strongly oppose Mr Ardeshir Cowasjee’s uncalled-for demand (Sept 30) for the restoration of military courts.
Restoration of military courts will amount to setting up a partial judicial system and this would not be in accordance with the law and the 1973 Constitution.
Mr Cowasjee has no authority to speak on behalf of the people of Karachi and demand restoration of military courts. We condemn terrorism committed anywhere but this does not mean that military courts be set up to combat terrorism. The civil courts of the country are fully equipped to deal with terrorists.
MUSTAFA LAKHANI & MUHAMMAD SADIQ HIDAYATULLAH
Karachi
THE President of Pakistan has promulgated the above ordinance which has been greatly appreciated and welcomed by all concerned.
I feel that it would be in fairness to those who still hold their frozen foreign currency accounts that this ordinance be made applicable to them as well.
I understand that the vast majority of the foreign exchange accounts have been converted into cash or bonds. But the few who still hold them, should be given the benefit of the present ordinance.
MAHER H. ALVI
Karachi
APROPOS of a news item (Dawn, Sept 9), it is heartening to note how well Mr Intikhab Hanif highlighted the plight of commuters at the newly-inaugurated D-point plaza in Rang Mahal, Lahore. However, the reporter has forgotten to mention the services rendered by the former Punjab chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif, in making the first-ever parking plaza in Punjab a reality. The people of Punjab still remember and admire what Shahbaz Sharif did for the province, including massive infrastructure development, elimination of the booti mafia, supremacy of merit, improvement in law and order, etc.
The construction of the D-point plaza is just a small feather in his cap. However, the circumstances in which the plaza was built make it a memorable accomplishment. It shows the resilience of a man who never compromised on principles and always upheld the interests of the common man. It may not be out of place to mention here that during Mr Manzoor Wattoo’s tenure as CM, the same place was used as a money-making venture by constructing shops and doling them out as political favours.
However, on the eve of his becoming of CM Punjab, Mr Shahbaz Sharif had all the illegal constructions on the site in question demolished which was the heart of his constituency, much to the dismay of one PML MPA. Funds were generated, quality construction was ensured and not a single shop was allotted on political grounds despite tremendous pressure. Today, we all salute him, as the plaza is complete. But sadly enough, the inauguration ceremony was a mere photo session, as rightly pointed out by your reporter. Cars are still being parked on the road, causing traffic jams. The people of the area say that the only solution to make this parking plaza a success is by bringing back Mr Shahbaz Sharif. He is the man who can work miracles.
WAJID ALI MALIK
Lahore
THIS has reference to a news item, “Call to utilize senior citizens experience” (Oct 01). The President of Pakistan, in his message on the International Senior Citizens Day, said that the senior citizens represented a great reservoir of cumulative wisdom and experience and called upon the private and public sectors to utilize this source with a view to mobilizing their energies.
The president should know that kind words used in soothing messages do not alleviate the hardships and sufferings of the senior citizens. I would like to remind the president that the ousted prime minister had announced an extremely encouraging package for the senior citizens which must be reviewed with compassion and the benefits listed in it be given to the senior citizens without further delay.
K.A. WAHID BUTT
Lahore
THE banks have stopped accepting currency notes that bear defaced portraits of the Quaid-i-Azam. In this connection, I would like to point out that the cashiers of these banks and other institutions are themselves the biggest culprits in so far as defacing of currency notes is concerned. They make all sorts of calculations on these notes and then put their initials or stamps on them.
Furthermore, while the banks continue to issue such notes to the public, they refuse to accept them. This is highly unfair and as such, the government is requested to initiate a procedure whereby the public is not made to suffer unduly. Also, efforts must be made to educate the public through the media before introducing such policies.
AZHAR ALI
Lahore
RECENTLY, I have seen a slogan written everywhere on the railway stations which says ‘Railway ki bahali, awam ki khushhali’. Not impressed by our railways, I am describing my experience in this regards.
In the last week of August, I travelled from Hyderabad Deccan (India) to Karachi in a second class reserved seat throughout and this is what I found on comparing the facilities to passengers given by the railways of the two countries:
In India, three persons sit on a bench whereas here it is meant for four.
No one, except passengers holding reservations, can enter the compartment there, while here people sit in the passages and even in the toilets and the staff does not care.
Plenty of water is available in the trains as well as on the platforms there. Here, there is no water in the toilets nor at the stations.
In India, a concession of 30 per cent is given even to Pakistani senior citizens, while here there is none.
In Pakistan, I travelled by Awami Express on Aug 28 to 29 and my bogey No. was 9628-2. This was a junk bogey in which doors and windows were broken, taps and some fans were missing, and the remaining fans did not work. I complained to every member of the railway staff in the train and on the platform, but nobody cared to rectify the fault.
ENGR S. MUSLEHUDDIN AHMED
Karachi
THE park is a public amenity in which more than 1,000 people walk daily in the mornings and evenings. It is a source of pleasure and provides a relatively pollution free environment.
This environment is periodically polluted by a small minority who play polo in the general-purpose park in the Race Course Park.
Recently about 20 polo ponies have arrived to be stabled in the government land adjacent to the park and it appears they are to stay for sometime as tents and other material has been erected. Considering that keeping animals like buffaloes is not allowed in the cantonment this is a blatant violation of the rules.
The place has begun to stink and the horses are a public nuisance. Will the authorities kindly order the removal of this stable next to the park?
K. MUZAFFAR
Rawalpindi
AS usual, this year too, cotton prices in the open market have hit rock bottom (Rs550 per 40 kilograms) and the government is not doing anything about it. This is despite the fact that the yield has been low this season. The growers are helpless because they cannot store their crop and the grinners are cashing in on this compulsion of theirs. Soon, the government, under the influence of the textile lobby, will start importing cotton, dealing a deathblow to local cultivators.
It is the moral duty of the government to come to the rescue of the growers and start buying the fibre from them at a reasonable price immediately to save them from starvation.
JAM MUHAMMAD BAKHSH
Muzaffargarh
THIS is with reference to a letter by Dr Javed A. Khan (Oct 01) on the above topic. He is right that doctors, general practitioners (GPs) and specialists prescribe unnecessary or expensive drugs.
Our pharmaceutical companies, most of which are multinationals, have introduced a refined form of corruption. Their modus operandi is that their medical reps visit our GPs and specialists regularly and give them targets for prescribing particular drugs. They keep a regular check on them through medical stores. Their offer for fulfilling the target is according to the status of doctors, and it ranges from air tickets for Bhurban and stay at PC to tickets for family to London, during summer vacation.
We, the practitioners of this so called noble profession, get these benefits at the cost of the patients. But, here the media have a role to play. They should carry out investigative reporting and bring the facts to light. I am sure that very astonishing facts would be revealed.
It is very sad to note that highly educated persons and members of the elite class, to which a professor of medicine belongs, are involved in such malpractices.
DR KHALIL AHMED
Karachi
WHILE the entire world is condemning the recent terrorist attacks on WTC and Pentagon in the USA, the Indian media, particularly the TV channels, have taken it as an occasion to malign Pakistan as supporter of terrorism. The fact is that India itself is involved in state terrorism in Kashmir.
Over 100,000 Kashmiris have been killed, maimed or incapacitated by the Indian occupation forces which are there to suppress the freedom movement of the Kashmiri people. The UN resolutions of 1949 are very clear about the right of self determination of the Kashmiris but India has denied it to them. Kashmir is still shown as a disputed territory in UN maps while India shows it as a part of its own country.
The freedom fighters of Kashmir cannot be called terrorists as they are fighting the Indian forces. On the other hand, the Indian forces have killed thousands of innocent civilians which is an act of terrorism undertaken to demoralize the Kashmiris and to compel them to give up their struggle for freedom.
It is time that our television took up the issue and countered the Indian propaganda. Besides Kashmir, the terrorist activities of the Indian intelligence agency, the RAW, carried out inside Pakistan, should also be exposed.
M. AZHAR KHWAJA
Lahore
“TRADITIONALLY, Jews tend to a live-and-let-live attitude on the sensible ground that whenever things go wrong in a society where they are a minority, they will get in the neck.” The history of the Jews is nothing but a chronicle of them getting it in the neck.
We watch America with our fingers crossed.
M.A. AHSAN
Lahore
THE other day, an open heart surgery was performed in the Civil Hospital, Karachi, on an infant of three days and a life was saved. A talented act. There is no dearth of talent in our country but we are too miser to acknowledge it.
LATEEF SHAIKH
Hyderabad
THERE’S a joke running on the Net: the Japanese prime minister was in Washington to meet with the US president. Not being proficient in English, he was coached to say “How are you”, and when Mr Clinton replied “Fine, thank you and how are you?” to say “Me too”. What the prime minister said came out sounding like “Who are you.” Clinton replied “I am Bill Clinton and I am married to Hillary”. The Japanese prime minister bowed and said with a smile “Me too”.
This story reminds me of Tony Blair who must have said, “Me too”, many times since Sept 11. Correspondents on a BBC programme were critical of Britain toeing the American line, even to the extent of introducing identity cards. They said Britain had been the target of many terrorist attacks and such a step was never considered. It appears that even the internal British policies are being dictated by the US, with the British prime minister playing second fiddle.
Mr Blair, who now speaks of the “shame of the new evil of mass terrorism”, needs to be reminded of the lethal weapons his government has been supplying to Israel and the spraying of Iraq and Yugoslavia with ‘cluster’ bombs — half a million children dead in Iraq and 17,500 civilians killed in Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon.
A long history of betrayal of the Islamic and Arab peoples — the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the founding of the state of Israel, the attack on Egypt’s Suez Canal, four Arab-Israel wars and 34 years of Israel’s brutal occupation of an Arab nation. Supplying of arms and assassination lists to Indonesia’s Suharto resulting in a million deaths, in return for getting British companies back in Indonesia. Whole villages were turned into concentration camps.
The eager Blair government has embarked on four violent adventures, in pursuit of ‘British Interests’, dressed up as ‘peacekeeping’, and which have little or no basis in international law. A record matched by no other British government for half a century.
People are neither still, nor stupid. They see their independence compromised, their resources and land and the lives of their children taken away. Their accusing fingers increasingly point north, to the great enclaves of plunder and privilege.
Inevitably, terror breeds terror.
KHURSHID ANWER
Lahore
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