ISLAM is the only religion which revolutionised every aspect of human life and ushered in a new era in the realm of society, culture, economics, politics and civilization. Above all it raised the down-trodden and the teeming millions from the nadir of degradation to the apogee of respectable status. It redeemed the millions from the thraldom of slavery and serfdom.

Broadly speaking Islam brought home a new concept of God and humanity and infused in the dead souls a new spirit which emboldened the followers to sweep away all the elements of decay, degradation and ignorance by the flowing currents of truth, social justice, equality and fraternity. It made them stand upright and steadfast and carve out big empires and kingdoms by the physical and intellectual vigour. The pursuit of intellectual research, with a transcendental sense of duty to God and Man made the Muslims what they were a few centuries ago.

What were the teachings of Islam which created such a wonderful revolution in the Muslim nation and made them a power to be reckoned with? It was Tauheed and Iman and fear of the Almighty, social justice, and tolerance. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) regarded the religion of Islam as a straight, natural law, for men to follow, wherein there was no perplexity or ambiguity; and he even taught that all children of men would follow the same straight way were it not for the corrupting influences of those who consciously or unconsciously set an unnatural example by their way of life for their little ones to follow.

According to the Prophet, religion was the natural bent of a free, unbiased mind, and man the vicegerent of God on earth in real sense, inspired by his Master to know the good and refuse the evil and only when he refused to follow the highest and the best and deliberately chose the wrong path did he descend to the lowest level.

Islam upheld the dignity of labour and the Prophet himself worked along with other Muslims in the construction of the first mosque at Quba and in the digging of the trench in the Battle of Khandaq. It emancipated the slaves and the womenfolk from their bondage. The slaves were placed on an equal footing with their masters and they were elevated to the rank of generals and commanders. Hazrat Bilal was appointed the first Muazzin of Islam and was respectfully addressed as Sayyedna (our chief). Zaid was appointed the General in the expedition to Mauta. Anas, Salman Farsi and Suhail Rumi were other slaves occupying high positions in the Islamic society.

Women were similarly elevated to a dignified position. They were given the right of divorce and the right of inheriting properties of the father and their deceased husbands which was denied to them before the advent of Islam.

The philosophy of brotherhood in Islam is based on faith instead of blood or family relations, and as such is contrary to the established norms of Arabia. The new society and the new nation which came into being with the advent of Islam adopted justice and tolerance towards all irrespective of any racial, linguistic distinction as their cardinal principles. Following this ideal the Islamic commonwealth included within its fold Jews, Sabians and Christians as citizens like the Muslims. They were accorded religious freedom and political rights and other fundamental rights of the citizens through the Madina charter.

We who swear by Islamic ideology should judge, reflect and ponder over our national problem and follow Prophet Muhammad’s first charter and help in establishing peace and harmony among all classes and races of people and raise the position of Pakistan in the comity of nations. That historical charter, which stands to this day as monument of enlightened tolerance will serve as beaconlight to all future statesmen who may aim at achieving success and at the same time goodwill and cooperation from all.

Of course the best statement on human rights is also to be found in the sermon on the mount Arafat delivered by the Prophet on his farewell pilgrimage in 632 AD: Therein he praised and glorified God, then he said: “O men, listen to my words, I do not know whether I shall ever meet you in this place again after this year. Your blood and your property are sacrosanct until you meet your Lord, as this day and this month are Holy...” The whole sermon is an ideal message for Muslims in particular and humanity at large.

In regard to various human rights and the fundamental freedoms which have been incorporated in the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” of 1948, an Islamic scholar sums up the position as follows: “The twin aim of this Declaration is on the one hand to equip the individual to live a free life considered successively as (i) a physical organism; (ii) a moral personality; (iii) a worker; (iv) an intelligent being and (v) a member of a community and of a polity, and on the other to help the individual so equipped to make his contribution to international amity or the peace of the world.”

He further comments: “To the student of the Qur’an not one word, in the preamble or in the objectives of the Charter and not a single article in the text of the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” will seem unfamiliar. Under a creed which places man next to God, and brushes aside all distinctions of race, colour and birth and calls upon all mankind to live together as a family of God, or as a fold every member of which shall be a shepherd or keeper into every other and be accountable for its welfare; the “Universal declaration of Human Rights” must follow as a basic corollary, or an extension of the Qur’anic programme. But a mere declaration of them will not carry humanity far. Several questions call for attention from the Qur’anic point of view.”

A number of questions arise in one’s mind in this context. Firstly, what is the impulse underlying the ‘Charter of United Nations’ and the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights; adopted in pursuance thereof? In other words, is this scheme in the interest of or for the good of humanity as a whole or is it a practice to subserve the interest of any country or group of countries?

Secondly, looking at the list of rights covered by the “Universal Declaration” is it possible for any country claiming to be civilized at the present hour to say with confidence that all the rights are observed by it or that it may serve as a pattern for the rest? It is obvious that the initiative for implementing them must come from the government or legislature of each country: Is the system of political life in every country equal to the task? It is time for us to reflect on these issues in the contemporary context.

THE BEAUTY of Karachi’s water supply and distribution network that used to depend mostly on gravity flows and minimum pumping was its simplicity. But the system was simple and beautiful some 30 or 40 years ago; today it stinks like hell. Fully charged Damlottee wells could supply up to 20 million gallons to a city of less than 200,000 people at the turn of the last century.

Later Water Trunk Main (WTM) and Hub Trunk Main (HTM) systems from the Indus River and the Hub river were added to fulfil the needs of a dramatically multiplying population, making the filter plants at the COD Hills and the North East Karachi Reservoir (NEK) the centrepiece for water distribution system in the city.

The Water Trunk Main system continues to be responsible for more than 70 per cent or more than 300mgd of water supplied to Karachi. But to do so more than 34 major valve sites at the WTM, 63 major valve sites at the HTM and 19 major valve sites at Karachi Division Civil II responsible for transportation of water from Haleji, Gharo and Pipri have to be operated daily. Additionally, there are scores of pumping stations at the trunk main system that have to be manned and operated on a daily basis to supply water to the city.

The HTM starts at the Hub dam designed to supply 100 million gallons of water through an unlined canal that terminates near the Madina-tul-Hikmah, completed nearly twenty years ago to overcome an endemic water crisis in the fast-growing shanty towns of the former district west. A 66” pipeline was laid all the way up to the pumping station at Banaras Chowk. The WTM however has the infrastructure to push the Indus water through pumping stations in the former district central all the way to Banaras Chowk in case of a shortage.

Up to 16 city divisions, in addition to the WTM, HTM and KDC II, are responsible for internal distribution of water in various localities. The North Nazimabad Division is responsible for operating some 76 major valve sites and three pumping stations while Malir Division remains responsible for 37 major valve sites and nine pumping stations.

Each of the trunk mains of concrete or steel with varying diameters of 66” to 18” transports water to the 16 divisions. Each may have many secondary mains that may in turn branch into tertiary lines. The city’s water distribution system spreads like a spider’s web and extensively depends upon an intricate operation of manual valves and massive pumping. Every valve and the pumping station, at a mainline or its branches, has to be operated as per a complicated schedule by a lone KWSB employee.

If there is a power failure, mechanical or electrical breakdown or just plain absence of the KWSB employee in this unending maize of underground system may result in the failure of water reaching to parts of the city. With lots of good luck water reaches KWSB consumers passing through a very long yet laborious, hectic, lethargic and inefficient system of leaking and creaking pipelines, aging yet poorly maintained pumps and faulty valves with the whole operation relying on an increasingly alienated staff.

Parts of Karachi’s water supply and distribution network may now be over eighty years. Most of the concrete pipes lay

at every streetside and neighbourhood have aged beyond its natural life span of 20-25 years. The Karachi Water & Sewerage Board specializes in fire fighting under para-58, and it continues to lack funds to carry out “Scheduled maintenance.” The aging pipeline may be over 10 kms long but due to lack of resources only that portion of the pipes that may have actually sunk would be changed.

Each time the city gets hiccups lots of people have become richer. Each water project, specially funded by foreign loans, has cost the city and its people billions of rupees. Name calling aside the fact of the matter is that the city is thirstier by the day. The leaking joints, the sinking pipes, failing pumping stations and a fast-growing population have been increasing the gap between availability of water and demand by the day.

With about 8,000 employees, operation of less than a hundred water-pumping stations and a thousand valves to ensure the delivery of 20 million gallons of allocated water to the city residents may still be an unsurmountable task for the KWSB. However, if the Board dips into available technologies, transforming major valves and pumping station operations through computerized remote control centres, modems and telephone lines, standby generators and UPS, trained mobile supervisors and timer-controlled switches supplemented by area valvemen for neighbourhood operations and reasonable investments in “Water Loss Reduction Programme,” the city may be able to overcome a horrific problem.

The KWSB can only support itself if it decides to shed some of its dead weight. The Karachiites too cannot be absolved of their responsibility either. Lahore that sits over a 24-hour water supply source revises it tax rates for water and property every three to four years. Karachi revised its water and conservancy rates after some 26 years in 1995. Fewer than 165,000 KWSB consumers out of a total of 660,000 paid their taxes that year. Six years later even though the KWSB was able to increase the number of its consumers to more than 800,000, less than 183,000 actually paid their bills. A city that prides on being the main taxpayer for the federation has a very poor record of paying where it really matters.

INCREASING prices, inadequate safety measures, consumers apathy and insufficient laboratory facilities were identified as some of the causes of adulteration and the spread of diseases at a workshop on “Pakistan food and security system development” jointly organized by the National Institute of Health and Unicef at the University of Agriculture last Monday.

Abid Husain of the food science and technology section of the University of Karachi in his lecture on adulterants in food gave a detailed account of how lust for money was playing havoc with human health.

He said many traders were involved in selling food items produced by metallic salts, textile dyes, starch, gums, animal fat and plants. Sale of adulterated foods was much more common in inner cities and rural areas due to the poor rate of apprehending the adulterators, he said.

Hameed Ahmad, a former principal scientific officer, Biotechnology and Food Research Centre, Lahore, and Dr Shahnaz Hamid, the principal scientific officer, Applied Chemistry Research Centre, Lahore, in their paper on “Hazadrs of food colours” said three types of dyes, including industrial dyes, were being used for colouring plastics and dyeing fabrics. The pigments used by the paint industry contain injurious chemicals like cobalt, arsenic, mercury and their compounds and food colours.

They said: “The challenge for a chemist is to devise colours that are safe for use in foods. It is not enough to say: use natural colours. Natural colours are also chemical pigments. Many foods using natural colours are unlikely to reach supermarket shelves with their natural colour at its peak. For example, canned foods such as peas and strawberries will be khaki and dull brown, respectively, without the addition of food colour.”

They said the main trend in colour in food was towards the use of anthocyanin colours. No doubt anthocyanin would become another additive bogey word for some people, but it should be remembered that anthocyanins were the principal type of pigment employed by nature in flowers and fruits. At present, they were mainly consumed in foods, which naturally contain them. But they would increasingly be consumed as additives, which had been extracted from one plant source and used to colour totally different foods.

Consumer Protection Council chief A.H. Maker in his paper on “Consumer rights — the silence of the lambs” said corruption, mismanagement, misuse and abuse of authority had become a way of life in our country. Adulterators, hoarders and profiteers were playing with the health of human beings with impunity. Consumers were not putting up any resistance which had further encouraged the adulterators and looters. They were being cheated and misled by advertisement, he said.

He said there were over 80 brands of cooking oil and ghee available in the market. “Most have the PSI quality control monogram printed on the tin or pouch. Only 18 are registered with PSI, but only eight have a valid licence,” he said.

He said some 15 samples of cooking oil and ghee taken from Karachi markets were sent to the Central Testing Lab. Thirteen were found unfit for human consumption, while one-third of the samples were found to be under weight. At the same time, some manufacturers used second grade, non-food grade tin plates and old, rusted tins for packing, he said.

He said most stomach-related diseases were due to contaminated and substandard foods and beverages. In spite of this flouting of the law, not a single manufacturer or wholesaler had been challenged, prosecuted or punished.

Dr Syed Qurban Hasan, the director-general of the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority, spoke on the role of the authority in monitoring and regulating food standards and quality control.

He said about 4,700 standards had been developed until now by eight divisions of PSQCA. Pakistan standards were being formulated through a consensus by a body with the participation of federal or provincial regulatory agencies, university scholars, technocrats, consumers and manufacturers with assistance from SDC staff in frequently-held meetings of various committees in a division. “Standards provide uniformity to the quality of products manufactured by various industries, and the government can enforce regulations on the basis of a documented standard,” he said.

He said the agriculture and food division of SDC had so far finalized 513 standards related to foods and agriculture. These included food items like edible oils, vanaspati, margarine, biscuits, juices, burgers and drinking water, natural mineral water, chewing and bubble gums.

He said a team of PSQCA, CPC and KMC health officials collected samples of edible oil and vanaspati from a market in early July. These samples were analyzed at QCC and a report was sent to the Ministry of Science and Technology in July 2001. Most of these samples were found to be substandard and steps were being taken to prevent production and sale of substandard oil and ghee, he said. Most of the samples were found to be from the manufacturers who did not hold valid licences from PSQCA.

Under the PSQCA Act, 1996, wide powers have been given to PSQCA to stop the manufacture, storage and sale of such products which do no conform to Pakistan or any other country’s standards recognized by the authority. No person shall use the authority marks except under a licence or certificate issued by the authority. Any person contravening the provision of the authority under various sections can be punished by imprisonment up to one year or a fine of Rs30,000 or both.

Provincial labour minister Muhammad Tariq said food security was as important as national security and agriculture sector would have to show a spectacular growth rate to keep pace with its ever-growing needs and demands for food security.

He said the Pure Food Rules, 1965, also called for a revision. For launching programmers to control health hazards, the areas of hazards needed to be identified, data on toxicity should be collected, analytical sensitivity and reliability be properly assessed, dietary intake patterns be documented and an agency must be accountable for surveillance of residues and contaminants in food. Furthermore, the food technologists must give due consideration to enhance the overall quality of the scientific foundation of our food security and safety programmes and build risk assessment capabilities, improve links between regulatory programmes and scientific research and promote better understanding regarding comparative risk of various food-borne hazards.

Dr Faqir Anjum, the chairman of the Food and Technology Department of the University of Agriculture, said countries like Pakistan had to change their strategies to combat such a situation. He said it was the need of the hour that food security and safety programmes were chalked out to counter hunger and poverty.

He said efforts were required to reduce storage losses in food commodities. Inadequate and improper storage of cereals, legumes and nuts had resulted in the detection of fungi and toxins. There was a great price fluctuation in food items. Unplanned and improper use of chemical fertilizers had created health hazards due to the presence of nitrates and nitrites in food commodities, while indiscriminate application of pesticides on food crops had shown the presence of their residues in foodstuffs, he said. Polluted air, unplanned industrialization, coal burning and petrol consumption were also contaminating food with heavy metals. Similarly, application of untreated sewage and industrial effluents had caused presence of lead and cadmium in some foods. Nickel was present in vegetable ghee samples.

Prof Dr Riaz Husain Qureshi, the vice-chancellor of the University of Agriculture, said food security was a multi-dimensional phenomenon. Therefore, it required a well-organized effort to effectively deal with man’s greatest concern — his quest for freedom from hunger, poverty and deadly diseases.