Give Kashmiris a chance

WHEN I was a teenager about 35 years ago and in my final year in college in Srinagar, the movie Battle for Algiers was a big hit. It captured my imagination as well as that of my classmates, one of whom approached me a few days later and asked if I would commit myself to the liberation of Kashmir. Yes, of course, I said, reading a typed sheet my friend took out from his coat pocket. ‘Bear Arms against a Sea of Troubles’, I remember the title said.

“This is our manifesto,” my friend said as I read the aims and objectives, which included blowing up bridges and the local radio and telephone buildings, ambushing army convoys and killing soldiers. The text said nothing about where we would get arms and ammunition, the number of members in the group, how we would organize, who our leader was or when we would execute our plan.

However, I remember the manifesto was long on the ‘why’, with each point emphasized in the present tense: our cause is freedom. India promised us a referendum on our future, but fails to keep its promise. Prime Minister Nehru, the last Englishman to rule India, has kept our popular leader Sheikh Abdullah in jail for over 15 years. To the extent that India denies us our fundamental rights and subverts its own constitution, to that extent, India is not a democracy.

It was great stuff for my impressionable mind. My friend had energized me. If the Algerians could do it, so could the Kashmiris. I read the typed manifesto again before signing it with a flourish.

A few weeks later that teenage flirtation landed me for 11 months in Srinagar’s Central Jail, where I met 12 of my classmates who had also signed the manifesto. (The college principal had been somehow alerted to the plan and called the police.) Subsequently, India announced that it had cracked a dangerous gang of terrorists trained in Pakistan. There was no trial. We were just locked up and forgotten, until one beneficent pro-India sycophant in Kashmir was replaced by another, who ordered an amnesty. Soon after, I fled to the future of other continents.

The passage of 35 years hasn’t dimmed my memory. My passion for Kashmir’s freedom is undiminished, despite the horror of the last ten years during which anywhere from 35,000 to 80,000 mostly civilians have been killed. Maddened by merciless Hinduization of Kashmir’s Muslim culture, the lack of career opportunities and India’s repeated betrayals during the past 50 years, a rag tag army of young Kashmiri men took on the third largest army in the world.

“See, we told you so,” India is screaming, “Kashmiris are terrorists.” India has fuelled Western fears of resurgent Islam, propagandizing the militancy as fundamentalist, which in turn enables India to flout all international codes of conduct in Kashmir. If all Kashmiris are terrorists and must be smoked out of the Himalayas by 500,000 Indian troops stationed there, then let us at the very least agree on a working definition of terrorism which must include both the unofficial and official variety.

But, wait. Let’s be honest. Prior to the militancy, India portrayed Kashmir as the model for secularism in India, as the warp of her pluralist democracy. What has propelled Kashmiri society seemingly overnight from a model of secularism to deranged fanaticism? Under the present ultra rightwing regime, Indian society is becoming increasingly intolerant and absolutist.

Kashmiris have been enslaved for generations. Restore their dignity. Fulfil longstanding promises, and watch how swiftly Kashmiris sign a manifesto to honour democracy in a world that has changed literally overnight after 9/11.

RAFIQ KATHWARI

New York, USA

All this at great cost

THIS refers to the report (Jan 4) about the Pakistan Tobacco Company’s ‘environment and corporate social responsibility’, ‘afforestation programme of planting 10,000 trees everyday’, ‘IT learning resource centres for employees and community’ and ‘mobile doctors programme’ among other initiatives.

The PTC needs to be commended for its sense of social responsibility.

I wonder how are these various programmes are being financed? If they are being done from the company’s earning and profits, as they must surely be, I beg to ask the following questions: Is it right for a company to make profit from a product considered to be one of the biggest killers in the world today and use that profit for programmes which will make them look ‘socially responsible’? Can any tobacco company justify its profits earned at the cost of 100 million lives lost in the last century and millions more who are suffering from the ill-effects of smoking on the flimsy argument that smoking is an ‘informed adult choice?’

Multinational tobacco companies have sought to underpin their presence in developing countries by actively engaging in their economies. Seemingly philanthropic gestures of building schools and hospitals have allowed tobacco companies to buy into health and education sectors of poor developing nations which are less likely to resist such financial aid and look favourably on the tobacco industry.

Cigarette companies have expanded their operations in Asia. In other words, there are many more expendable lives in developing countries like Pakistan. No amount of cosmetic social programmes can change the situation.

DR MURAD MOOSA KHAN

Karachi

Will PTV news improve?

MUCH has changed in the PTV during the last one decade, but not the Khabarnama or PTV News.

It is now customary that whenever something special happens, people turn to channels like CNN or the BBC for the news. But they seldom tune in to PTV News, as it lost its credibility a long time ago.

As the present government has taken some bold steps in other fields, it is felt that the PTV, too, should be asked to take necessary measures to establish its credibility.

I hope that the government would take the courage to give up the old fashioned censored telecasting of news by the PTV. I am sure that if this is done, people would begin to trust our own channels and not look towards the foreign channels.

WASIF FAROOQ

Khanewal

Kashmir solution

IT IS my view that the international community should, in the interest of peace, pressure India and Pakistan to accept the pre-Independence territory of the State of Jammu and Kashmir as a UN Protectorate, administered by it.

After a five-year cooling period, the people of Kashmir be allowed to decide for themselves, if they would like to become independent or accept the LoC as the international boundary between India and Pakistan.

The two countries may not influence the decision of the people in any way.

Both the countries have considerable social and cultural problems to tackle with and, therefore, should welcome a solution to this long pending problem.

S.A. KHAN

London, UK

A relic of colonial era

THE Land Revenue Act in force in our country since the colonial times is truly a black law which gives extraordinary powers to even petty officials like naib tehsildars who use it more to enrich themselves than to do anything good for the nation. The immediate power of arrest conferred by this law is tantamount to putting a weapon of mass destruction in the hands of terrorists who can only be expected to use it to bully and intimidate the people to plunder them.

No wonder that attempting to seek out a tehsildar who is upright is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. This law, a relic of the coercive colonial rule, is an affront to the fundamental human rights and must be amended to restore human dignity.

What is most alarming is that this law has been extended to cases of purely civil nature such as bank loan defaults. Now if there is a default, it should be sorted out in a civil court and not through the criminal code. Moreover, in the case of ADBP loan defaults the farmers are almost entirely innocent because the market forces have always worked against them due to adverse government policies and they have been incurring continuous losses. On top of it, corrupt ADBP officials, taking advantage of farmers’ dire circumstances, use their authority to secure bribes, driving the farmers deeper and deeper down into the debt quagmire.

This year, due to tense international conditions, the entire business ambience worked against the farmers and the government, too, let loose the corrupt ADBP officials along with tehsildars to keep them under constant threat of detention.

The government is requested to stop arresting farmers for loan defaults.

SUFAID POSH

Muzaffargarh

Arts Council election

POETS, writers, artists and dignitaries from different walks of life are members of the Arts Council. Several years back, it was decided in a general body meeting that a fee of Rs300 per annum should be paid by the members, even by those who are life members. As a result of this, a large number of life members, who had not paid this amount, were deprived of their right to vote in the last two elections.

I request the president, the newly elected office bearers of the Arts Council as also the members of the governing body to lift this condition in the case of life members and that they be allowed to cast their votes in the next election.

DR QAISAR SAJJAD

Karachi

Denationalizing colleges

IT IS rumoured that the Sindh Government is planning the denationalization of colleges it had earlier taken over. The major argument advanced in this regard is the inefficiency of government-run organizations.

Denationalization would be a setback to the poor and middle-class students. If a college such as the D.J. College is sold, the owner would have to pay quite a hefty amount for it. Subsequently, he would want to earn a profit at the earliest. So, he would start charging heavy fees. According to some, it might be to the tune of Rs3,000 per month. How can a student of average means afford such a high fee?

We continue to be robbed by the many private schools and universities which have mushroomed in the recent years. Let our government colleges continue to function in the public sector. Education should not be turned into a money-making industry.

BILAL KHALED SIDDIQUI

Karachi

Ayubia chairlift

GALIYAT Development Authority (GDA) has closed down Ayubia chairlift for fear of any possible accident, as the lift had become too old to be operated safely.

In Pakistan, this was the first ever chairlift and was installed near Khanaspur in Galiyat by a Swiss firm M/s Poma Lifts in mid-60s during President Ayub Khan’s regime. Upon completion the place was named Ayubia after president Ayub. Initially, the life span of this chairlift was stated to be 10 years. However, due to proper maintenance, the lift remained operational for over 35 years.

The closure of the Ayubia chairlift has resulted in a loss for local hoteliers as well as traders who largely depend on the tourist inflow to the area. According to PC 1 document of the GDA — responsible for the uplift and development of Galiyat — Rs5.7 million are required to refurbish Ayubia chairlift and make it functional again.

In spite of the fact that GDA has Rs140 million in its coffers, the authority is unable to restore the project due to the fact that its financial powers do not permit it to spend any money on this project.

The government of Pakistan as also the NWFP government, claim to encourage tourism in this area. But redtapism and lack of coordination among the government departments is in fact discouraging tourism. The GDA and the NWFP government are losing Rs4 million annually due to the closure of the Ayubia lift.

It is expected that the NWFP governor, acting in the interest of the province and the people of Galiyat (who are totally dependent on tourism), would direct the concerned authorities to restore Ayubia chairlift without delay. Otherwise, Ayubia will go into oblivion as no one would bother to visit this town without its only tourist attraction.

SARDAR ABRAR RASHID

Abbottabad

Indian terrorism

WE all know very well how peaceful a country India happens to be.

My own country, Sri Lanka, was once a paradise on earth. It became a hell just because of Indian sponsored terrorism directly and through the Tamil Tigers. We are happy to learn that Australia has included them in their list of terrorist organizations. Here, in the US, we are trying to have it added to the US terrorist list as well.

In India, mosques and churches are burnt and Hindu fundamentalist organizations like the RSS, the Shiv Sina and the BJP kill Christians and Muslims on a regular basis. Who was in charge of the demolition of the mosque in Ayodhia? None other than L.K. Advani, now the BJP Interior Minister. Just recently one of these leaders has said that all Muslims should be pushed back to Pakistan.

India is not a peace loving country. It has massacred Sikhs in their own gurdwaras, and killed Kashmiri civilians. Can any one forget their slogan: “Leave Quran or leave Hindustan”.

SHANE DE SILVA

Chicago, USA

Emergency OT at CHK

THIS is to compliment the Dow Medical College Alumni of 1976 for the wonderful piece of work they have done by providing a superb operating facility at the Civil Hospital, Karachi.

I, as a surgeon, have numerous experiences whereby emergency major chest trauma or vascular disruptions had to be sorted out in an absolutely primitive environment. Patients lying on the operation table, surgeon trying his best to salvage life, at times without necessary instruments.

In an unimaginable contrast, this place has now been renovated with all civilized standards of surgery well in place. The most important bit is the resolve and commitment to run and maintain it in the years to come.

DR RAHEEL HUSSAIN

Karachi

Removal of pulpits in mosques

HAZRAT Umar (ra) had directed the removal of pulpits built on raised platforms or on raised steps in the form of a chair in all mosques. A classic case is reported in the biography of Hazrat Umar (ra) written by a renowned Egyptian historian, in which Hazrat Umro bin Aus, governor of Egypt, had built a mosque with a pulpit to deliver sermons. Hazrat Umar (ra) had ordered the removal or dismantling of the raised pulpit on the principle that the preacher should stand on a level with the other worshippers and not sit or stand at a higher level in a haughty style.

If the above practise is introduced in our mosques, a lot of firebrand “mullahs” could be brought down to earth who are at present delivering sermons from throne-like pulpits and look down on the faithful as captive audiences to hurl their half-baked views of Islam on them.

The mushroom growth of so many sects in Islam is due in no small measure to the malignant effects of the pulpit and the loudspeaker which ought to be curbed to the benefit of society at large.

DR M. YAQOOB BHATTI

Lahore

Public transport in Islamabad

WITH the passage of time, the commuters’ problems in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi are becoming acute. Because of the population increase, this problem has aggravated to such an extent that we find people sitting on the rooftops of buses.

At peak hours, the mad rush of commuters causes dangerous and indecent situations. The need is not only to increase the public transport but also to bring about an improvement in the management of the transportation system. Both, the private and the public sectors have to play their respective roles.

PERVEZ AHMAD GHAZI

Islamabad

Safe disposal of hospital waste

THIS refers to a report about the booming recycle business of hospital waste in Peshawar. The three major hospitals are said to produce approximately 3,500-kg hospital waste daily like syringes, blood bags, IV tubes, cotton, bandages and dressings.

It has been reported that despite strict vigilance and incineration facilities, a large quantity of hazardous hospital waste is sneaked out and recycled at more than a dozen places in various parts of the city. The hospital waste is said to include toxic, radioactive, inflammable and biological waste and a little mismanagement of it could cause lethal diseases like Hepatitis-C and HIV/AIDS.

It is said that due to higher profit margin and easy availability of recyclable hospital waste, recycling is now an organized business with many people attached to it. As per the report, there are more than two dozen hospitals and healthcare centres as well as surgical fields that have no incineration facilities.

The problem is not confined to Peshawar. Such waste is produced in hospitals, surgery units, clinics, maternity homes, pathological laboratories, etc. all over the country. The hospital waste poses a threat to the health of the staff handling it as well as the general public. The menace of recycling and re-use of medical-care items can only be eliminated through concreted efforts such as:

* Doctors and paramedical staff have to play a major role. Every time they use a syringe or blood bag, they should cut the needle and the mouth of the bag or bottle, with a view to forestalling its re-use. Plumber’s cutter is handy for this purpose.

* The doctors and/or administrators managing the hospitals may see to it that the hospital waste is kept separate from the other solid waste of the hospital. They are expected to take steps that such waste is not pilfered for recycling. The hospital waste may be incinerated every day. If proper incinerated is not available, the hospital waste may be sent for burning to the hospital equipped with an incinerator, and charges paid for incineration. Proper collection, storage and eventual safe disposal of hospital waste are their moral and ethical responsibility.

* Each city may have central incineration facility in the private sector for safe disposal of hospital waste at a fee.

* The government, with a view to ensuring a clean and healthy environment, may provide a framework for hospital waste management in the country.

MUHAMMAD BASHIR CHAUDHRY

Karachi