| January 8, 2002 | Tuesday | Shawwal 23, 1422 |
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PTV programming
Burning garbage on Korangi Road
Why evidence is needed
Pakistani channels on cable
Wedding woes
Park versus road
Madness at noon
Pandora...
Internet charges
Countering the war rhetoric
Suicide by a medical student
Circular Railway
PMA’s suggestion
Date extension
Why India is avoiding talks
NO one with the country’s interest at heart would disagree with President Musharraf’s stated resolve in the Dec 25, 2001, speech at the Quaid’s Mazar to build a new Pakistan as envisioned by Jinnah.
However, to do so the Quaid’s words in his August 11, 1947, speech will have to be remembered and implemented in right earnest, that is, “the first duty of the government is to maintain law and order, so that the life, property and religious beliefs of its subjects are fully protected by the state.” And that, he would not tolerate what he said, “this great evil of nepotism and jobbery.”
Yet, the President will have to be reminded that at least some of the actions of the government do not synchronize with his own words in his Dec 25, 2001, speech that, “corruption and nepotism have eaten the nation like termites from within,” and his appeal that “let society treat the corrupt with contempt so that the fear of God is put into them and they at least hide and feel ashamed of showing of their ill-gotten riches.”
It is no secret that innumerable appointments to various important and well-paid posts in the government and semi-government departments are being made without recourse to meeting or fulfilling any criteria or merit. This has to be rectified and regulated. For, nothing can change unless it is brought from the top.
Secondly, the wheeling and dealing being carried out by the NAB in the name of ‘plea bargain’ is most objectionable. Nay! reprehensible, against all canons of justice and an abject proof of selective justice. A number of big thieves have been let off after having surrendered a portion of their loot.
After all, what message has been conveyed to those who have had their hands in the till for long without having been netted till now, and those preparing to follow in their footsteps? One thing is for sure, any crook is ensured a way out of trouble if caught, provided the loot is big enough for bargaining and he is prepared to offer the least resistance to the authorities, especially politically!
Why has the Chinese example escaped the President’s notice where the minimum penalty for those government and politically corrupt people who are found guilty of accepting bribes or of criminally misappropriating public money is death? For, only this can deter such people or at least serve as some punishment or even an eye-opener for others.
What should be remembered is that such criminals are not only the cause of untold suffering for their victims but also shake the people’s trust in the state and government besides weakening the economic foundation and security of the country.
FAZLE ALI NAQVI
Lahore
THIS refers to a letter by Mr Zain Mankani (Jan 3) about the banning of Indian channels in Pakistan in the wake of the current confrontation. I completely agree with him when he says that this might be ‘a blessing in disguise’, as the plays shown on these channels are simply meaningless. One hardly comes across any useful items on these channels.
But what is regrettable is that what we watch on our own TV is largely an imitation of the Indian channels. The comedies are shallow and silly. I find it difficult to manage even a smile on them. The plays have glamour but the characters and incidents happen to be far from real life in Pakistan.
For instance, what lesson would you get from a sitcom (situational comedy, as it means) where, in the entire episode, you see a husband, along with his son and daughter-in-law, stupidly looking for his wife, who is reported to have fallen into a well while she had actually been sleeping tight after having taken a sleeping pill by mistake? And also what message do you get watching the love affair of an ultra mod actress, or perhaps a prostitute?
After all, why PTV claims to be a family channel when I and many others like me feel embarrassed to watch its plays with our families, especially with my brother and father?
I request the PTV to air sensible plays and comedies. I am sure PTV would stand out in international competition if the programmes are creatively conceived and have good, purposeful themes. It is also necessary that the programmes reflect our own values and culture and not those of the others.
BUSHRA ALI
Islamabad
BURNING of garbage on roadsides is quite common in our city. Of late, it has been observed that some factory owners in Korangi Industrial Area burn garbage in front of their factories situated on the main Korangi Road.
Thick clouds of smoke rising from these heaps of burning garbage not only cause pollution but also make breathing difficult. At times, vehicles moving at high speed are not visible to pedestrians crossing the main road because of these clouds of smoke, thereby increasing the possibilities of serious accidents.
The concerned officials of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industries are requested to look into the matter and direct the factory owners not to throw or burn garbage on the main road. Instead, they should arrange for its proper disposal.
M. RAFIQUE ZAKARIA
Karachi
THE Indian foreign minister, in response to a question about Pakistan wanting evidence against those being accused by India, made an interesting observation, to put it mildly.
He said this was like a murderer asking for evidence about the crime he was being accused of. But, to speak the truth, this is what jurisprudence is all about. You can accuse a person but not indict him without providing cast-iron evidence.
KHURSHID ANWER
Lahore
I AM a resident of Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Karachi, and a subscriber of the Infohighway cable service. Since the government has directed cable operators to stop showing Indian TV channels, Infohighway has also taken them off. But what is surprising is that they are not even telecasting some of the Pakistani private channels.
While the rest of the country is getting all the PTV channels and also the privately owned Pakistani channels, we the subscribers of Infohighway are not receiving Prime and ARY Digital. I am surprised at this biased attitude towards these channels.
I hope the PTA would direct all cable operators, including the Infohighway, to show all Pakistani channels otherwise the subscribers would be left with very little choice as far as Urdu programmes are concerned.
SAULAT KALIM
Karachi
I AGREE with the views expressed by Nusrat Nasrullah in his “Social Themes” (Dec 30) on the lavish display of wealth at wedding functions, and the flouting of rules and regulations.
But in this I think the government is to be blamed, first for not enforcing the rules and then for the ban itself which is impractical.
The only thing of value left in Pakistan is the family system and as the families are big and with guests coming from all over Pakistan and abroad, there are hundreds of people attending a wedding. Our hospitality and lifestyle makes it nearly impossible not to have the guests over for a meal.
So let us look at this problem realistically. The government should prescribe a simple menu which should be allowed. A time restriction should also be placed because wedding functions start very late and, therefore, go on upto midnight or even after that.
S. BABAR
Karachi
THE Nazim of Karachi, Naimatullah Khan, is thinking of converting the 36-km long dry Malir river bed into a park, according to a Dawn report.
How about converting this into a road instead? The Malir river crosses both the Super Highway and the National Highway. The incoming traffic would be able to use this as an alternate, easing the traffic on the existing roads from Sohrab Goth and Quaidabad to the city. The river has bridges and, therefore, the traffic over the river bed would flow unhindered upto the Karachi Port.
It would be a lot cheaper than the Northern Bypass or the Lyari Express Way, and can be constructed fairly quickly.
S. NAYYAR IQBAL RAZA
Karachi
I HAVE always admired Irfan Hussain’s weekly column in Dawn. However, his latest column entitled ‘Madness at Noon’ published on Jan 5, 2002, was not balanced and also incomplete, probably because of space limitations. While he mentioned the alleged involvement of Pakistan-based groups being reportedly involved in arming and training volunteers to take part in the Kashmir ‘jihad’, he failed to draw the public attention to the ‘state terrorism’ perpetuated by the Indians on the poor people of Kashmir since 1947.
It is also pertinent to add here that the Indians are no saints. While allegations against Pakistan are yet to be proved through solid evidence, it is equally true that the Indians have also been involved in carrying out covert terrorist activities in Pakistan over the last decade or so. Unfortunately, on our part we have not been able to match the Indian propaganda through the diplomatic channels and the media (local and international).
In the concluding para, Irfan states that he was asked by friends in London to explain why Pakistan and India were at the verge of such a catastrophe. My answer to his friends would be to ask the British who intentionally left the “partition agenda” incomplete to ensure that Pakistan and India relations would remain strained until sanity prevailed on both sides.
NAZIM HAJI
Karachi
TIME and events have raised questions about the thoughts of Allama Iqbal. At current standards, the following verse of Allama’s is enough to invite a chargesheet, retroactively:
Jis khet se dahqan ko mayassar na ho roti
Us khet ke har khoshai gandum to jalaa do
Instigation at least, if not terrorism, might be the charge.
It seems Muslims have a built-in slot for ‘rebel’ which microbiology identified as ‘ts’ (terrorist syndrome). A serious disease, indeed!
The UN should be moved in to deploy a special cell of WHO to stop the outbreak and eradicate it from the earth.
Too much work ahead for universal care-takers.
M.M. KHAN
Karachi
PAKNET is really fleecing its users in Muzaffargarh. At Rs 20 per hour, the download speed here is no more than a few bits per second which means that it takes about half an hour just to download one web page which is equivalent of one book page.
The usefulness of Internet gets virtually negated when the user, in the frenzy of his exuberance for the Internet, is caught in between an interminable wait for his favourite download to come to completion and his apprehension of the escalating cost accruing to him as a result of the slow Internet functioning.
The Paknet authorities seem to be well aware of this position of the users and are fully exploiting. Add to this the share of the PTCL booty as the frustrated user tries again and again to reset the connection, in a bid to improve the speed.
The only solution to this problem lies in charging the user not on the basis of time but by the kilobytes he downloads per session. And the PTCL should charge its share not from the user but from the Internet company as a percentage of the Internet fee. Thus the Internet telephone number should be toll-free for user. Only in this way can the Internet be made useful in our country.
The Minister for Science and Technology is requested to look into the matter.
AQREEL AHMAD
Muzaffargarh
THOSE at the helm of affairs in Islamabad should not treat Indian’s war rhetoric lightly. The military regime should act promptly at both the national and international levels.
Dr Tahir-ul Qadri’s suggestion of taking the politicians and the nation into confidence over the latest developments and the formation of a representative group of politicians for the projection of the Kashmir issue is the best remedy available to deal with all internal and external threats.
It is time the government moved in to rein in India. The earlier it is done the better it would be for us.
AMANAT ALI
Okara
OMADEVI, a second year MBBS student of the People’s Medical College, Nawabshah, after failing twice in the first professional examination, hanged herself to death last week. Her sad and untimely demise has brought to fore the chaos prevalent at the only state-run girls’ medical college in Sindh.
Since its inception in the mid-70s, the Peoples Medical College has been facing a shortage of teaching staff. For decades together, the gynae/obs department is headed by a senior registrar. The logical outcome, reflected in last year’s final MBBS result, was that 55 per cent of the students failed in this subject.
The Sindh Health Department, the Vice Chancellor of the Liaquat Medical University and, of course, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council should move swiftly to fill the vacant posts of teachers so that quality education is imparted to students.
Incentives should be offered to retired professors as that they can be hired on contract till some permanent arrangement is made.
SURGEON M. HANIF AWAN
Mirpurkhas
THIS is with reference to Mr Rizvi’s letter (Dec 24) under the above caption.
I fully support the suggestion of extending the Karachi Circular Railway facility. But this should be done upto the last point of North Karachi and not upto Nagan Chowrangi, so that the commuters living around Surjani Town may also benefit.
Until the ’60s, stones engraved with ‘PWR’ were seen mounted along the right bank of Gujro Nala. But it appears that with the shifting of country’s capital from Karachi to Islamabad, the plan of laying railway tracks along the Gujro Nala was abandoned. That should be revived in the best interest of the people of Karachi.
GHAZANFAR HUSAIN
Karachi
THE Pakistan Medical Association, Karachi, strongly supports the action taken by the Sindh Health Department regarding the utilization of private funds of government medical colleges of the province.
There must be a transparent mechanism for spending this non-government fund duly generated by the medical colleges under the self-finance scheme. We feel it should primarily be spent on the improvement of teaching and training of medical students.
It is shocking to know that huge amounts have been spent under discretionary powers of the principals without the academic council being consulted. Those who have lavishly spent this money must be held accountable.
The PMA, Karachi, appreciates the steps taken by the Sindh Health Department and requests the authorities to include persons of repute and NGOs in funds management committees.
DR HABIB-UR-REHMAN SOOMRO
Karachi
I REQUEST the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan to kindly extend the last date for the exchange of one and two rupee notes till March 31, 2002, because there are so many Pakistanis who possess these notes but cannot exchange them with coins, as they are abroad or out of station.
T. JAFFER
Karachi
IT is quite a pressing question why India is avoiding the talks offer. Why is India not letting go South Asia of the war fear and the tension over the issue of Kashmir and cross-border terrorism? Pakistan is repeatedly offering talks, but India is rhetorical, haughty, taking false pride in its military power and the foolish talk of war.
The fact is that India is taking this opportunity to get Pakistan declared a “terrorist state” and burying the Kashmir issue for good. Immediately after Sept 11, India planned to get Pakistan in a corner where it could have no escape.
The bomb blast outside the Srinagar assembly and the ridiculous hijacking drama were two examples that the world ignored as it was more interested in the American campaign in Afghanistan than the Indian hue and cry.
Now how strange it is that when the American campaign in Afghanistan was winding down after the annihilation of the Taliban, we had a terrorist attack on the Indian parliament. Indian analysts say that it is an attack on the sovereignty of India, which is quite right and the leverage it needed to get all the guns pointed towards Pakistan.
It is now quite clear that any other form of terrorism — bomb blasts, mass killing etc — would not have moved the world than an attack on the Indian parliament. India simply could not let go this opportunity because the world as a whole is keen to “kill and annihilate terrorists”.
India is playing dangerously. It wants to keep the military pressure along with the demand for crackdown on militants. But the military buildup can get out of hand, something India fails to understand. At the moment, it is more deluded in its military power, trying to be more American than the Americans themselves.
If India is war-thirsty, Pakistan has played a most sensible part during the current crisis. If this has not been the case, the world would have seen the outbreak of war between the two nuclear nations.
Pakistan offered joint probe, which was turned down. Pakistan cracked down on extremists, but India wants them to be extradited. No one knows what will be the next “wish” of Indian leadership.
REHAN ISPHAHANI
Islamabad
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