| October 7, 2001 | Sunday | Rajab 19, 1422 |
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Judging the means to an end
Population explosion
Pensionary benefits
Where’s Kashmir?
Irresponsible conductors
Heavy traffic in DHA
Explanation time
Indian propaganda
Motorway police
Bank drafts and TT
Bagh-i-Jinnah
Corruption in district accounts offices
‘Confusion worse confounded’
A wrong approach
I WAS brought up abroad, but have been living in my homeland, Pakistan, for 18 years now. One of the saddest elements of our society, and in my opinion one of the major reasons for our current bad reputation worldwide, is the lack of ethics in us as a people.
We, blowing our own trumpet, call ourselves the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. I wondered while going through the morning papers as to what gives us the right to use this title. I read about murder, karo kari, theft, car snatching, rape, injustices of a hundred kinds, lawlessness, guns, drugs, killing of entire families, religious fanaticism, corruption, etc. How much of all this is in conformity with the Islamic teachings?
There is a Hadith, which I have used to mould my own lifestyle. It goes like this: “Anyone who hurts the feelings of another Muslim with his words or actions is not a Momin.”
I regret the fact that our religious fanatics are supporting a man who has been linked to terrorism in the past and was training illiterate, hungry youth to take up arms in the name of Islam.
The events of Sept 11 in the US are, probably, a blessing in disguise for Pakistan and Islam. If we do not avail of this opportunity, I am not sure if we will get another.
What has happened to Afghanistan and its people should be an eye-opener for us. Shall we adopt the brand of Islam being enforced by the present rulers of Afghanistan? We have to take the decision now.
TAJAMMUL HUSSAIN
Karachi
I DIFFER with Mr Khurshid Anwer who in his letter ‘Who is a terrorist?’ (Oct 3) seeks to justify wanton terrorist violence as desperate acts by people seeking to vent their anger on their real or imagined oppressors. Targeting civilians and civilian installations deliberately cannot be justified under any circumstances, howsoever hard we may try to cloak it in the garb of freedom struggles and other moralistic jargon.
In order to achieve noble ends, even the means adopted must be noble, as had been proved by the Indian freedom struggle and the civil liberties movement of the 60s in the US under Martin Luther King Jr. Again, Mr Anwer seems to have gotten his basics wrong. India attained freedom not because of Subhas Chandra Bose and his INA or Bhagat Singh’s assassination of General Dyer, but the bold and noble sacrifices made by the people through the non-violent freedom struggle.
Subhas Chandra Bose’s INA was nipped in the bud because of the surrender of both the Germans and the Japanese upon whom he relied heavily for money and logistics, and as such had no great implications for the British. General Dyer’s assassination was a one-off case as the extremist elements never had any great following among the masses and hence could not make any significant impact on the British morale. The overwhelming majority was in favour of the movement led by Gandhi and other leaders and it is this group that ultimately secured freedom for India.
‘Forcing mediation upon all warring parties everywhere’ as Mr Anwer terms it, would only add to the already volatile situation that the world is in and create a dangerous battlefield out of the world where any and every movement headed by war-mongering megalomaniacs, who act more out of whim than out of any logic, would seek legitimacy to further their own personal agendas that have nothing to do with freedom or oppression.
G. HARISH
Hyderabad, Deccan
NEVER before in the history of mankind has human population grown at such an alarming rate. This has resulted in an enormous tilting of the balance of nature towards unpredictable climatic changes. We are all blessed with a life-supporting atmosphere and underground water resources. If we blindly continue to increase our population our end and the end of our children will not be too far away.
Although our industry has come into its own in terms of strength and flexibility, we have been unable to predict and control the resulting population explosion which has been way beyond all estimates. The result has been that we find ourselves in a situation which is not much different from the dark ages when injustice, poverty, disease, oppression and bloodshed were rampant.
Along with our power to control the elements, we must control our population if we are to continue to move on the road to progress and prosperity.
ALI KHAN
Lahore
GOVERNMENT employees’ salary scales are being revised with effect from December 1, 2001, although, consistent with previous practice, this should have been done in the year 1998 or 1999. Due to this unfortunate delay, many government servants who retired after 1998 or 1999 have been deprived of their rightful increase in salary and, thereby, in pensionary benefits.
Now, in all fairness, the ministry of finance should allow revision of pension of all those who retired, say after July 1999, on the basis of presumptive pay as has been the practice in the past and has been done for those retiring between July 2001 and Nov 2001.
The anomaly committee constituted for this purpose is requested to kindly look into this genuine and just appeal. It is suggested that this increase be allowed at least to the extent of net pension, if financial constraints do not permit increase in full pensionary benefits.
A PENSIONER
Karachi
IN an exclusive message to Dawn on Sept 28, published the next day under the heading “Not a war against Islam, says Blair”, the British prime minister said, inter alia: “We also need to put a new emphasis, through diplomacy, on tackling the sources of tension and conflict in the world. This must include new impetus to the Middle East peace process.”
Mr Blair forgot Kashmir which he should not have because it was his Labour Party and its Prime Minister Clement Attlee as well as Viceroy Mountbatten who were responsible for the emergence of the dispute when they partitioned South Asia in 1947 and helped Nehru to hijack Kashmir.
If Attlee and Mountbatten had applied the principle of partition vis-a-vis Kashmir, the people of the subcontinent would have been economically strong. Their plight is attributable solely to the Kashmir dispute due to which India and Pakistan have been for over half a century in a no-war, no-peace situation.
Mr Blair should use his good offices for the resumption of Indo-Pakistan dialogue.
JALAL AHMED
Karachi
YET another incident occurred when a girl student was thrown off a moving Karachi University North Nazimabad point bus as the driver picked up speed while off-loading her. How many more accidents have to happen to correct these problems?
Even the little school-going kids (wards of KU employees) are not safe. The drivers load and off-load without bringing the bus to a complete halt! Moreover, the KU buses for Saddar shuttle, even the one leaving as late as 5.30 pm, have passengers crowding the footboard while there is space inside the bus. Why can’t the conductors see to it that no one rides on the footboards, particularly whenever the bus has ample space inside? And, who is responsible for ensuring that the conductors perform their duties responsibly?
CONCERNED STUDENTS & PARENTS
Karachi
WE, the residents of DHA, wish to inform the DHA administration, Karachi Traffic Police and the administration of various schools and colleges situated in Phase VIII that since there is no arrangement to control the traffic related to the various educational institutions located in this area, there have been a number of accidents recently.
Though the volume of traffic in this area is heavy, particularly in the morning and the afternoon, there are neither any traffic signals at the cross-roads, nor any traffic constables, or speed breakers. To aggravate the situation, we have the water tankers whose drivers are known for rash driving.
We appeal to the administration to look into this. In the meantime, we request the parents to ensure that the drivers of their vehicles drive slowly and carefully to avoid accidents.
PARENTS OF DHA SCHOOL CHILDREN
Karachi
THIS refers to Lahore Diary (Dawn, Sept, 16), dealing mainly with the recent breakdown of Wapda’s electrical system. It is indeed gratifying that Wapda, for a change, has deemed it fit to apprise the public of how and why of the breakdown and the sequence in which it happened. Much of it was highly technical jargon but it had to be so, given the nature of the breakdown. In a nutshell, the primary cause, according to Wapda, seems to be the failure of some transmission towers.
What Wapda has, however, not clarified is: why did the transmission towers knuckle down? What was the wind velocity at the time and more importantly, was this velocity beyond the figure these towers had been designed for?
Let Wapda clarify this and let the meteorological department independently come out with its record of the wind velocity at the times mentioned in the Wapda handout. And for heavens sake, let neither agency cover the other. (These towers, in any case, were most probably erected much before the present chairman took over. He need not, therefore, have to be evasive or unreasonably defensive on this score).
There is a further lingering question mark in my mind: why did it take so long for the highly sophisticated and computerized control system to restore the supply? Even manual controls would have taken less time. I am sure Wapda can explain it in easily understandable language so that the general public can sympathize with Wapda in a sympathetic manner.
ENGR AMANULLAH KHAN
Lahore
EVER since the catastrophic incidents of Sept 11, the Indian government is indulging in persistent propaganda against Pakistan to establish the ongoing freedom movement in Kashmir as terrorism.
The prompt decision of the government of Pakistan to support the US efforts to fight out terrorism gave a suitable rebuttal to the clumsy efforts of the Indians. Yet, as a follow up of their policy of defaming Pakistan, Indians staged a coordinated suicide attack in Srinagar on Oct 01. It was timed to coincide with the talks of Jaswant Singh in Washington.
Earlier, similar tactics were adopted when a large number of Sikhs and Hindu pilgrims were massacred by Indian agents during President Clinton’s visit to India.
The people of Pakistan have viewed such treacherous interpolation of India with grave concern. It is felt that our foreign ministry should also move fast and take up the matter with the authorities in the US, exposing the mean tactics of the government of India.
LT-COL MUKHTAR AHMED (Retd)
Karachi
MOTORWAY is a track for fast, smooth and safe driving. However, people tend to resort to reckless driving violating all rules and regulations.
To keep these incidents under check, the motorway police was performing a good job initially. However I have observed during my frequent visits to Rawalpindi that the performance of the motorway police has deteriorated to such an extent that they look the other way when people drive recklessly. That is why accidents are occurring frequently.
COL (Retd) ANEES AHMED KHAN
Lahore
I AM AN overseas Pakistani. During my 18 years’ stay abroad I have never used Hundi for financial transactions. I have always advised and practically helped Pakistanis there to keep their savings in Pakistan.
I had kept my own account in Pakistan. Last year, I issued a crossed cheque of Rs10,000 in favour of my brother. He deposited it into his account. My bank in Karachi, a nationalized bank, refused to encash it on the plea that since the account holder (an overseas Pakistani) had not operated it hence the account had become dormant and now the account holder should come personally to the branch — to get a cheque of Rs10,000 encashed after spending Rs30,000 as travel charges! So I decided to close my account in Pakistan.
In August this year, I was to travel to Pakistan. I approached the foreign branch of the same nationalized bank with my cash savings in hand requesting it to issue a bank draft in my name so I may take my savings with me. The bank refused to do so and asked me to send money by TT.
Had I got the draft, on the day of my arrival in Karachi, I would have deposited it and the following day it could have been credited into my account. But money was following me by TT to take 5 days for credit into my account!
The bank refused to give me a bank draft at 5:30 on Wednesday evening. Had I given this money to any Hundi operator, the very next day it would have been deposited in my account.
JAVED
Karachi
A CHARGE of Rs3 and Rs2 is levied for entry into the Bagh-i-Jinnah. This charge is made for its upkeep.
But it appears that the money so collected is not enough. We still find the condition of the plants and the lawns unsatisfactory and in need of much to be done.
It is of no use to levy a charge for a certain purpose if that objective is not achieved. Such a charge would only invite criticism.
I would suggest that either this entry fee is dropped altogether or it might be raised to Rs10 for an adult and Rs5 for a minor below the age of 12. This might generate enough funds for the proper upkeep of this garden.
M. ASAD DAR
Karachi
THIS refers to S.A. Khokhar’s letter (Sept 4). He has very rightly pointed out that offices and departments like the registrar’s office, the courts, the police, the licensing authorities, the revenue collection departments etc., have made life miserable because of corruption rampant at these places.
But he has missed the treasuries or district accounts offices. The clerks and officers of these offices thrive on corruption and that too, without an iota of the feeling of guilt. Even the lower cadre employees of these offices and the head offices of education department etc., maintain their own cars and luxurious residences. But those government agencies which are supposed to keep a watch on the living standards of government employees and are expected to take to task those found living beyond their known sources of income, remain criminally silent about them, implying their own connivance with them.
Only teachers, who already belong to the downtrodden class, are indiscriminately harassed in every regime. No doubt teachers too, very often fail to rise up to the expected level of dedication and hard-work, but the treatment that they get at the hands of the staff of the aforementioned offices, specially when they go for getting their pay bills passed, is greatly humiliating. If they fail to grease their palms, their salaries are withheld on account of flimsy objections. These offices have developed such an informidable culture of corruption that any one trying to get his rightful work done there without offering a bribe, himself feels ashamed.
KHAHRO MUMTAZ ALI
Dadu
IF someone asks me to explain the term ‘confusion worse confounded’, I’ll ask him to go to the Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore to meet a prisoner. He’d come bouncing back on the broken road leading to the jail thinking that he’d probably have been better off behind those high walls than for the few moments he had spent outside.
It was my misfortune that despite feeble health I felt duty-bound to see my former chief editor, Rehmat Shah Afridi, with whom I have spent many happy days, and who is now confined there for whatever crime he has committed. Supported by my walking stick, and holding the strong hand of my chauffeur, I managed to walk up to the main gate of the jail after being forced to park the car quite some distance away.
There I noticed a board indicating that the mulaqat, or meeting place with prisoners, was on that side. That area was completely blocked by people falling over each other. I then saw another board outside a shabby hut saying that the istiqbalia, or reception, was in there. As I peeped in, I found the main chair, supposed to be that of the receptionist, was vacant. All the other chairs lying there were occupied including one by a gentleman in a black jacket and a matching tie.
Fortified with a retired PAF officer’s identity card, I asked where I could find the jail superintendent. “Go right ahead,” said the man in black. Leaning on my walking stick I went ahead only to be confronted by two sepoys clad in ceremonial sort of uniforms but which were totally crumpled and shabby. “I want to meet the jail superintendent,” I said. “Go to reception,” They ordered. “But there is no one there,” I remonstrated. “He has just gone back to his seat,” said the sepoy. And lo, when I trudged back to the reception hut, I found its entrance blocked by a crowd. I had to call it a day and return home.
Doesn’t all this confusion give rise to corrupt practices? Won’t the innocent and illiterate women coming from the far corners of the province pay for being accorded priority for getting a glimpse of their near and dear ones? Haven’t there been reports of such women having been taken by the jail staff to their quarters with the promise of an early mulaqat and raped in the process? Can the jail authorities give any kind of satisfactory answer to these questions?
I also saw a Corolla with a triple one number plate, a favourite of Rehmat Shah Afridi’s, parked there at one side. Whenever and wherever he saw a car with that number he would purchase it at any price. Now if the car I saw outside the Kot Lakhpat Jail on Tuesday, Oct 02 was his, who was using it?
SQN-LDR ASHFAQUE NAQVI (Retd)
Lahore
PRESIDENT W. Bush would have been a failure if he were a doctor as he is apt to treat symptoms without identifying the cause.
M.M. KHAN
Karachi
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