| December 25, 2001 | Tuesday | Shawwal 9, 1422 |
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Why another motorway?
Admission to medical college
Exports to Afghanistan
Fire insurance
Meaning of fundamentalism
Who attacked the Indian parliament?
Drug addicts: incorrect statements
Road manners
Improving public sector’s performance
THE words “Quaid’s vision” has been a popular expression among Pakistani leaders for the past five decades. While it is not possible to state in these limited columns what the Quaid’s vision for Pakistan was, I would like to make a brief reference to some aspects which reflect his vision for Pakistan.
In a broadcast to the people of the United States of America in February 1948 the Quaid said, “The constitution of Pakistan is yet to be framed by the Constituent Assembly and I do not know what the ultimate shape of this constitution is going to be, but I am sure it will be a democratic type, embodying the essential principles of Islam which has taught us democracy, equality of man and justice and fairplay to everybody. In any case Pakistan is not going to be a theocratic state. We have many non Muslims. They will enjoy the same rights and privileges as other citizens and will play their rightful part in the affairs of Pakistan”.
In his historic address to the Constituent Assembly, the Quaid covered many other aspects but categorically stated to the people of Pakistan “you may belong to any religion, caste or creed - that has nothing to do with the business of the State”.
The Quaid placed the highest emphasis on democracy, rule of law, equality, freedom of speech and expression, human rights, women’s rights, tolerance and education. He spoke out against bribery, corruption and nepotism. He warned against the evils of parochialism and sectarianism.
Sardar Shaukat Hayat Khan summarised the Quaid’s vision from another aspect as under:
“The other and higher aspect of Pakistan is that it would be a base where we will be able to train and bring up Muslim intellectuals, educationists, economists, scientists, doctors, engineers, technicians, etc. who will work to bring about Islamic renaissance. They will spread over the Middle East and other Muslim countries to serve their co-religionists and create awakening among them. The entire belt of the Middle East will develop into a solid, cohesive block - a third block.
“This block will have three advantages. First, it will be sitting astride the entire line of communication between the West and Australia and other Eastern countries. Second, it will control the world’s oil supplies. Third, it will control the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. Moreover, it would be a buffer between East and West. This is the idealism which underlies the Pakistan Movement.” (Quaid-e-Azam as seen by his contemporaries by Jamiluddin Ahmed.)
The Quaid’s vision can still be achieved by placing the highest emphasis on education at all levels and strict adherence to the rule of law. Fanaticism, extremism, parochialism and sectarianism are leading us in the opposite direction.
LIAQUAT H. MERCHANT
Karachi
PAKISTAN is a developing country with limited resources. All expenses on new projects involving infrastructure, energy, education, health and agriculture have to be made after careful study. Projects should be economically feasible.
Unfortunately, our rulers are very fond of grand projects. Lahore - Islamabad motorway (M-2) was not required but was constructed and on a wrong alignment at an exorbitant cost and on contractor-financing with sovereign guarantee. The government invested over Rs 18 billion plus a contractor loan of 656 million US dollars at an interest of two per cent above LIBOR.
The expenses on its maintenance and operation are more than its revenue. Expenses are incurred on toll collection, toll equipment, telephone, mobile workshop, police and maintenance of the road. Mr Shaukat Aziz in a TV programme has disclosed that, the maintenance and operation cost is more than its revenue. The government is paying interest from its own resources and no principal payment has been made. Traffic is very low and the road is underutilized.
The previous government also started M-1 project (Rawalpindi-Peshawar motorway) which is at a standstill and its financing situation is even worse than M-2 (loan and GOP funding).
The present government has been critical of such projects which are economically not viable and is committed to projects of social welfare and poverty reduction. Strangely, it is now being planned to construct another motorway M-3 Pindi Bhattian - Faisalabad at a cost of Rs 5 billion (approx.).
Motorways are justified if traffic exceeds 40,000 vehicles per day. The traffic on M-3 is expected to be between 3000-5000 vehicles per day and its daily toll revenue will be about Rs 150,000. The annual maintenance and operation cost would be Rs 70 million while its revenue will be Rs 50 to 60 million. The project is economically not viable and will benefit less than 0.5 per cent of the traffic of Pakistan. Should the government invest Rs 5 billion on a project which has hardly any benefit.
It may be pointed out that that Convention Centre, MNAs lodges, Prime Minister’s office and residence were constructed as a cost of over Rs 6 billion and their annual maintenance cost is over Rs 300 million per year.
It will be advisable that the project M-3 be scrapped.
BRIG (R) KHALID AMIN
Islamabad
Entrance tests for admission to the medical colleges of Sindh were held twice under the auspices of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi, but the results were declared null and void on both the occasions due to the discovery of some irregularities. .
Over 5,500 students appeared in the IBA test and there were about 500 who had become eligible for admission on the basis of the test which became ‘disputed’. On the news of cancellation of the test on December 14, some students agitated in front of the Karachi Press Club and the Governor House. It seemed as if it was becoming a political issue.
The government, in order to defuse the situation, just after 24 hours of its last announcement, revoked its earlier decision of holding the test afresh.
Now the position is that about 5,000 students feel that they have been deprived of a fair entrance test. The tests being conducted by IBA have lost its credibility totally. In view of the immense confusion and frustration caused by two successive tests of doubtful transparency, it is felt that either of the two undermentioned options be followed.
First, the entrance test may be done away with for this year and admissions may be given on the basis of merit, based on the marks obtained in the Intermediate examinations. Second, admission may be allowed on merit calculated by averaging out the percentages of marks obtained in the Matriculation and the Intermediate examinations on equal weightage basis.
It is hoped that the concerned authorities will take immediate action on the proposal made above.
S. A HASAN
Karachi
MR JAWAID Bokhari’s report on ‘Afghan relief supplies: $100 million export targeted’ (Dec 15) is good news but the target seems to be too conservative, even if export is restricted to supplies for refugees only.
The financial bigwigs of the UN and donor countries have estimated that rebuilding of Afghanistan would require at least $10 to $ 12 billion in as many years for infrastructure, education, training facilities, communications and government functionaries’ development, including the vital economic assistance and relief supplies for the winter and famine conditions.
The annual assistance for Afghanistan, therefore, would be around $1 billion. If our exporters can muster the capability of selling and exporting the much needed food, medicines, tents and other basic consumption supplies, Pakistan should capture at least one third of this UN assistance.
This one third quantity will be worth $300 million annually or more. If this materializes, the quantum may increase provided the quality of goods does not decline, for which close monitering is necessary. This also requires government’s overall patronage which should be readily available by immediately removing the impediments exporters face.
S.M. KAZIM NAQVI
Karachi
THIS relates to the recent fire at Karim Centre. Many a time we, the insurance professionals, have tried to impress upon the shopkeepers in Karachi, the importance of having an insurance cover against fire but have remained unsuccessful.
In developed countries, insurance is considered a necessity and not an obligation. All the shops in the Karim Centre could have been insured against fire for a meagre premium amount of Rs 2,200 per year per shop. But unfortunately, none of those shops that were gutted in the recent fire had an insurance cover. A rough estimate suggests that around 200 shops were destroyed. In these 200 shops, there would be at least 400 bread earners and, presuming a family of 5, the fire seems to have brought misery to around 2,000 citizens. A fire insurance would have saved them from a lot of suffering which they must have undergone in the aftermath of the fire.
I would suggest that the government should make it compulsory for all the shopkeepers above a certain level, to have an insurance cover against fire which would certainly mitigate much of the agony of those who have the bad luck to have such an experience.
M. FAYYAZ VAKANI
Karachi
THIS is in response to the letter on “The meaning of fundamentalism” by Aroosa Shaukat (Dec 7).
The writer attempted to draw an analogy between the fundamentals of religion, such as Islam, and the fundamentals of science, such as chemistry, displaying a lack of understanding of both. The argument made was that there was no difference between being a good chemist by adhering to the fundamentals of chemistry, and being a good Muslim by adhering to the fundamentals of Islam.
The basic difference, of course, between the religious domain and the scientific domain is the role of faith versus scientific empiricism. Faith can easily serve to close the mind, whereas the drive for seeking an objective truth, which animates the scientific endeavour, forces an open minded approach, subject to constant examination, experimentation, and revision.
No claim is ever made to an absolute truth in science, which would be true for posterity in all conceivable situations. To paraphrase Karl Popper, the celebrated philosopher of science, the laws of science are best considered as a series of working hypotheses which have so far withstood all attempts at empirical refutation or “falsification”.
PAWAN MADHOK
Minnesota, USA
News of the attack on the Indian parliament was delivered to the media all over the world. What is ridiculous, is that India has accused Pakistan’s ISI, Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Al-Qaeda movement for this operation.
It has become customary for the Indian government to blame Pakistan’s ISI in every terrorist activity in its country. This is done to hide their own incapability of controlling the law and order situation in their country. So the accusation was something well expected.
The Indian government is involving Lashkar-i-Taiba in this terrorist act. But this is not true. The Lashkar has restricted itself to Kashmir only and has never extended its activities to the Indian states. It should be remembered that Kashmir is not an Indian state and the Kashmiris are themselves victims of Indian state terrorism.
After the September 11 incidents, India has added the Al-Qaeda group to its own list of terrorists. In this way India wants to misguide the world and make them believe that it is a victim of terrorism
The question is who attacked the Indian parliament? I think India should look closer to home for the answer. It could be a gimmick to get passed the black law POTO which is facing a lot of criticism, or to strengthen BJP’s position in the forthcoming UP state elections where support for the ruling party has shrunk considerably.
ZUNAIRAH SAMI
Karachi
This is in reference to an article (Nov 27), titled “Dangers of heroin epidemic” by Dr Ikram ul Haq. The writer is correct in his assertion that “heroin epidemic is sweeping through the country” and that the problem has acquired dangerous proportions”. However I would like to point out that the figures quoted by the author regarding the heroin addict population in Pakistan, India and other countries of the region appear to be inflated. I would be interested to know the sources for his data.
I would also like the writer of the article to identify the “leading psychiatrist” of the Aga Khan University Hospital who was reported to have “treated 1937 addicts in 2000”. This is, in my view, an outlandish claim and, as far as I know, no psychiatrist from the Aga Khan University Hospital has ever been contacted by the writer in this regard. The writer has used the following quote purportedly made, by the leading psychiatrist: “Heroin addiction is spreading like some kind of guerilla movement”. It appears that the writer has gotten carried away in his enthusiasm to give more credibility to his article by quoting an unnamed psychiatrist from the Aga Khan University Hospital.
The writer has also quoted inflated and unrealistic figures regarding the cost of drug detoxification treatment. For his information the Aga Khan University does not provide a dedicated drug detoxification and/or rehabilitation programme.
I also wish to point out another fallacy in the assertion of the writer regarding the treatment outcome. His claim that with the availability of “a friend or person of the opposite sex, who sympathizes with the addict - the cure is almost automatic”. This is a rather naive statement and has no basis in fact. Drug addiction is a complex social and psychological problem with multifactoral cause and does not lead to easy solutions. Purely medical approach to treatment and rehabilitation has proved to be a failure.
Dr Abdul Faizi
Chairman, Dept of Psychiatry
The Agha Khan University
Karachi
IT IS a common sight at traffic signals that motor-vehicles queue up and wait for the red light to turn green. But one often notices that in spite of the red light having turned green, the traffic remains static and there is no movement for some time. It is often so because the driver of a vehicle ahead in the queue is either busy in talking to some one sitting in the car or is lost in his thoughts or happens to be looking elsewhere.
On hearing the horns, the driver gets attentive and moves on. Thus due to his carelessness, an appreciable time is lost for the traffic coming behind him.
Out of sheer frustration, some of the drivers lose patience and try to thread their way through the traffic.
Sometimes this results in accidents. All this can be avoided to a great extent, if the driver of the first car remains attentive and moves on as soon as the red light turns green.
We should inculcate road manners in the general public through the print and the electronic media.
RAFAT MAHMOOD ANSARI
Islamabad
THE state in many countries, and certainly in Pakistan, is the single biggest provider of services to its citizens. The list is endless. Electricity, gas, water, education, roads, justice, law and order, public health, country’s defence, railways, airlines, and regulatory bodies are some of the more obvious examples.
If one was to agree that the basic responsibility of a state is to provide these services in a manner that best meets the needs and expectations of its citizens then we are talking of a primary business model in which the state becomes a supplier and the citizens its customers. This relationship is now being universally recognized, and the states are increasingly interested in providing services that continually enhance the satisfaction levels of their citizens.
There is a general perception in Pakistan that the services provided by the state are inefficient, inadequate and substandard. They cater only to a handful of the rich and influential, while making it a nightmarish experience for ordinary citizens when undertaking even routine transactions such as paying bills, getting ID cards or driving licences, getting phone connections, reporting cases to police paying taxes, or dealing with government departments.
What are the causes of this affliction in state-run organizations and what can be the possible remedies? I interviewed a number of chief executives of state-run organizations and asked them a very basic question.” Who are your customers?” It took a long time for many to come out with the reply “Islamabad”. There is thus a complete lack of focus on who are their real customers. If one works to please some imaginary figure in Islamabad, instead of the real person standing in the queue, the quality of service rendered would obviously be compromised.
Another important reason for the poor service is the psyche that every customer should be considered a thief unless proved otherwise. This approach leads to designing systems with as many checkpoints, securities, counter-signatures, affidavits, stamped papers, notary publics, and attestations as possible in order to prevent the possibility of a fraud. Interestingly it is this approach which lends itself not just to long delays and frustration but also to the greatest number of frauds. Even in some of the more organized and disciplined housing societies of Pakistan there are people who easily cross all these hurdles to occupy some one else’s palatial bungalow with fake documents. Inadequate training and motivation of lower staff coupled with the top managers sitting in their comfortable offices, and happy to deal with files instead of issues, creates just the right recipe for uncaring and unresponsive customer service.
There is no easy way to break the habits acquired over many decades. This impasse must nevertheless be broken at all costs. It is a major source of misery and frustration to millions of citizens. Many Pakistanis who emigrated to western countries quoted the incompetence and corruption of the service-providing state organizations as one of the main reasons for their departure.
As a first step, the government should get independent customer satisfaction surveys for each department and service that it offers. Next it should ask these departments to significantly reduce the customer waiting times, number of customer visits for a service and the number of windows of transactions to which a customer is exposed. Another basic step would be to describe on a large, easily readable board outside each office, the precise sequence and the steps of how a service is provided, and to provide it exactly in the same manner, regardless of the rank or status of the recipient. The touts and the middlemen operating in front of each government office (visible to all except the concerned office) can be firmly dispensed with, as their backdoor interventions hinder the establishment of normal processes.
Finally, the performance of a state sector service providing organization and the promotion of its bosses should be made dependent on their customer satisfaction ratings determined each year by independent bodies.
NAEEM SADIQ
Karachi
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