Scarce funds hobble union councils

THE new local government system has failed to resolve the problems at the grassroots level and people are seeking help from the court as usual, while union councils are facing difficulties in performing routine office work without proper funds.

Nazims, Naib Nazims and councillors of union councils are unhappy over the lack of sufficient funds and executive powers in view of pressure of voters for resolving their problems, particularly construction of streets and drains, and improving cleanliness.

The union councils are without funds despite permission granted by the district government to Nazims and Naib Nazims in remote areas to levy sophisticated taxes.

According to a survey, each union council could not exceed an income of Rs5,000 to Rs6,000 during the first quarter of the fiscal year.

The Nazim, the Naib Nazim and councillors demanded the government to provide them sufficient funds for development schemes, besides executive powers to resolve public problems.

THE income tax advisory committee has proposed to bring those businessmen into the tax net who are not paying income tax or wealth tax. It also resolves that small businessmen who cannot pay these taxes will not be included in the survey.

Speaking at an advisory committee meeting held here the other day under the chairmanship of its chairman and income tax commissioner, Farooq Tahir, the members stressed that the national economy could be strengthened by collecting more taxes.

The meeting urged that tax survey teams should not harass the people and the business community, otherwise a stern action would be taken against them.

Committee members Anjuman-i-Tajiran president Dr. Mahmood Ahmad, Haji Muhammad Siddiq, Muhammad Sabir, Pakistan Medical Association’s former president Dr. Gulzar Ahmad, journalist Akram Malik and Muhammad Aslam Lone put forth proposals to accelerate the pace of recovery of outstanding dues from defaulters and bring the business community into the tax net.

The advisory committee chairman assured the meeting that all constructive and solid recommendations would be implemented under a strategy.

THE divisional headquarters hospital’s neuro surgical department has been running without necessary equipment and paramedical staff for the last one year.

According to a survey conducted by Dawn, some 75 per cent of the patients brought to the DHQ Hospital had head injuries and 50 per cent of them were referred to the General Hospital or Mayo Hospital in Lahore.

The health department had inducted a neuro surgeon, Dr. Muhammad Ashfaq, in the hospital a year ago, but no necessary equipment or the paramedical staff were provided to him.

When contacted, the neuro surgeon said he was facing problems in conducting operations without necessary equipment and the staff.

He said he had informed the health director-general and other senior officers besides the hospital medical superintendent who promised to provide the equipment and the staff by setting up a separate surgical unit in the DHQ.

THE Markazi Anjuman-i-Tajiran, Naushera Virkan, has expressed resentment against the tehsil council taxation department over the levy of ground tax on footpath shopkeepers, saying it is an attempt to legalize these roadside shopkeepers.

At a meeting held with Markazi Anjuman-i-Tajiran president Sheikh Muhammad Saeed, the participants said the tehsil city council taxation department was levying ground tax on footpath shopkeepers to stabilize them in the main bazaar and other roads without consulting the elected representatives and the Anjuman-i-Tajiran which was illegal and unjustified.

They apprehended that all bazaars and streets of the Naushera Virkan tehsil could become a hurdle in the smooth flow of traffic due to encroachment of these shops. They pledged that they would not pay any tax to the tehsil council till it withdrew this tax.

THE crime graph in the district fell by 27 per cent during the year 2001 due to intensive patrolling and use of modern techniques by police.

This was claimed by district police chief Muhammad Aslam Tarin while talking to newsmen the other day.

He said some 10,767 cases were registered in 2001 as against 14,676 the previous year, showing a decrease of 3,909 cases. At least 44 gangs of criminals were smashed and looted goods, including cash, jewellery and vehicles, worth Rs66.6 million were recovered.

He said as many as 1,657 proclaimed offenders and 1,487 court fugitives were arrested during the campaign launched against them during 2001.

The SSP said 12 Kalashnikovs, 245 rifles, two sten-guns, 230 guns, 350 revolvers, 995 pistols, 139 carbines and 6,100 bullets were recovered during the deweaponization campaign, while 2,145 cases of illicit arms were registered.

He said dozens of corrupt police officials were sacked and suspended from service during this period.

No room for extremism

MAN is a social animal and human life cannot be spent aloof. Unlike most animals, man has been bestowed with the gift of the gab, emotions and faith. When emotions run high and the tongue turns loose, man is likely to fall in the trap of extremism, leading to madness, cruelty, selfishness and injustice.

Allah Almighty through his apostles has given clear guidance to man, not to fall prey to Shaitan and always tread the path of moderation. Through His final book of guidance, the holy Quran, Allah has provided clear instructions to the human race, to behave in a moderate manner, in all walks of life.

Ayat 171 of Surah An-Nisa says, “O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: nor say of Allah ought but the truth.” Extremism and excesses in religion are likely to lead people to blasphemy or a spirit that may be very opposite of religion. It was perhaps Jewish extremism and excesses in the direction of formalism, racialism, exclusiveness and rejection of Jesus Christ which drove them away from the original message of Allah, sent through Moses (peace be upon him).

Similarly the Christian attitude that raises Jesus Christ to an equality of God, has also been condemned in this Ayat. Muslims here have been warned not to fall into extremism either in doctrine or in formalism. Islam expects its followers to be so moderate, realistic, sober and practical at all times that it directs Muslims to remain composed and behave soberly, even if they are likely to miss an important function such as prayer congregation.

Hazrat Abu Fatadah Ansari has narrated, “We were offering prayers in congregation led by Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), when we heard the noise of some people running. After completion of prayers, the holy Prophet enquired about the noise. Those people told him that since they were getting late for prayers so they came running. The holy Prophet said: “Don’t do this again. You must come for prayers in a composed and soberly manner. Pray behind the Imam the part you get, and complete the remaining prayer on your own.” (Bukhari, Muslim).

There is no concept of monasticism in Islam, which perhaps is the other extreme of lavishness and flamboyance. Ayat 87, Surah Al-Maidah, says: “Ye who believe! Do not make unlawful, the good things which Allah has made lawful for you, but commit no excess.” The commandment clearly directs that a Muslim should not go to the extreme of depriving himself of the pleasures and bounties of Allah, which have been made lawful for us. At the same time, we have been forbidden from wastage and extravagance, which is the other extreme. The path ordered by Allah is the path of moderation.

Many of us have the tendency to probe into unnecessary and unwanted details about our religious obligations. This again is a sign of extremism. Ayat 101 of Surah Al-Maidah says, “O you people who believe, ask not questions about things which if made plain to you, may cause you trouble.” Maulana Abul ala Maudoodi has explained this ayat with a practical example.

He says suppose you are ordered to sacrifice a goat on a certain occasion, the wise and moderate will just go and do it. Some others might ask whether it should be a male or a female. They might then ask what should be the colour of the goat, whether it should have hair or not and so on. If the answers to all these questions are given, imagine how difficult the life would become.

Allah does not wish to make our life difficult. “No soul is burdened more than its potential to bear” (Ayat 233 of Surah Al-Baqara). “On no soul doth Allah place a burden greater than it can bear” (Ayat 286 of Surah Al-Baqara). Going into the details of the above ayaat we find that in Ayat 233, the burden refers to material wealth whereas in Ayat 286 it is in terms of spiritual duty. It has been assured by Allah that He will accept from each person just what he has the ability to offer. Here again, it is clear that Allah expects moderation and not extremism in all human actions, may it be a material, spiritual or a religious obligation.

Whereas it is incumbent upon us to help people to know and understand the signs of Allah, any step beyond this, including the use of force, animosity, cruelty or injustice, amounts to crossing the limits of moderation and is against the dictates of the holy Quran. Unfortunately some of us have been wrongly made to believe that it is our responsibility as a Muslim to ensure that the whole world obeys the dictates of the Quran and the Almighty Allah. And a few of us have been misguided to believe that we would become a mujahid or a martyr if we force the world, by the edge of sword, to obey the commands of Allah.

If we read the holy Quran carefully, we would realize that such extremism is strictly prohibited in Islam. Ayat 68 of Surah Al-Anaam clearly states, “when you see men engaged in vain discourse about our signs, turn away from them unless they turn to a different theme. Ayat 69 continues, “on their account, no responsibility falls on the righteous, but their duty is to remind them that they may (learn to) fear Allah. Ayat 70 of the same surah further says, “Leave alone those who take their religion to be mere play and amusement and are deceived by the life of this world. But proclaim (to them) this (truth): that every soul delivers itself to ruin by its own acts.”

Ayat 107 of Surah Al-Anaam categorically commands us not to show extremism in forcing the conduct of other people, “If it had been Allah’s plan, they would not have taken false gods: but We made you not one to watch over their doings, nor are you set over them to dispose of their affairs.” The holy Quran categorically condemns sectarian violence. Ayat 159 of Surah Al-Anaam says, “As for those who divide their religion and break up into sects, you have no part in them in the last: Their affair is with Allah: He will in the end tell them the truth of all that they did.”

Ayat 256 of Surah Al-Baqara (2) says, “Let there be no compulsion in religion.” Compulsion is incompatible with religion because religion depends upon faith and will, and these would be meaningless if induced by force. Truth and error have been so clearly up by the mercy of Allah that there should be no doubt in the minds of any persons of goodwill as to the fundamentals of faith.

What words of wisdom can teach more moderation, forbearance and tolerance than those used in Ayat 125 of Surah Al-Nahal, “Invite all to your Allah’s way with wisdom, and by gently exhorting them and by reasoning in a kindly way. Indeed your Allah knows better who has strayed from His path and He knows better who will be guided”, and Ayat 128 of the same surah, says “So you do not grieve over them, nor distress yourself over their schemes. Indeed Allah is with those people who fear Him and those people who do good deeds.”

Ayat 63 of Surah Al-Furqan orders Muslims to display the highest form of peace and forbearance: “And Rahman’s servants are those people who walk on earth humbly, and when the ignoramus address them they say: “Salaam! Peace on you” (and walk away).

Ayaat 54,55 of Surah Al-Qasas further say, “And when they hear the inadvertent (talk of no consequence) they turn away from it, and say: “Our deeds for us and for you what you do. Salaam Alekum, peace be on you. We do not desire to be with the ignoramus.” Ayat 96 of Surah Al-Mominoon commands us not to remove evil with evil because animosity and evil only breed evil. “Eliminate (remove) a badness with what is good.”

Allah commands man to exercise moderation in spending the wealth, which He has provided to him. Here again, both extremes namely miserliness and wasteful spending have been condemned. Withholding of the gifts that Allah has given to us is forbidden. Ayat 180 of Surah Aale Imran Says, “soon shall the things which they covertly withheld be tied to their necks and twisted collar on the day of judgment. Spending of the gifts of God for those who need them (apart from what is necessary for ourselves) is charity and withholding of charity (apart from our needs) is greed and selfishness, which is strongly condemned. Ayaat 31 to 33 of Surah Araaf say, “O children of Adam! Wear you beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer: eat and drink but waste not by excess for Allah loves not the wasters. Say who has forbidden the beautiful (gifts) of Allah that He has produced for His servants and the things clean and pure for sustenance? The things that my Lord has indeed forbidden are shameful deeds, whether open or secret; sins and trespasses against truth or reason, assigning of partners to Allah for which He has given no authority and saying things about Allah of which you have no knowledge.

Allah forbids both extremes i.e. miserliness as well as spending one’s possessions for boastful display of wealth and to show off to others. Ayat 37 of surah An-Nisa says, “Indeed Allah has no love for conceited, the arrogant. These people are miserly, encourage others to be miserly and conceal what Allah has given them of His bounty. For such Kuffar we have prepared degrading punishment. In the next Ayat of the same surah, Allah condemns the other extreme. “Allah has no love for those who spend their possessions only to show off to other human beings.

The holy Quran strictly forbids miserliness and hoarding of wealth. Ayat 35 of Surah Tauba says, “And the people who hoard gold and silver and do not spend it in Allah’s cause, then to all such people give the news of a painful punishment. On the day (these riches) will be heated upon fire of hell then their foreheads and their sides and their backs will be branded with it”.

The writer is a retired commander of Pakistan navy.

We may have another chance

PRESIDENT Musharraf’s much-celebrated speech last week caused a literary meeting in Malir to turn into a heated political discussion. A mixed lot of liberals and progressives were finding it difficult to come to terms with the idea that the general could take the reactionary forces head-on for the cause of peace in the region.

One of the seniors prophetically commented that the audience must not continue to look for classical solutions to not so classical socio-political problems ailing this country. He lamented that social consciousness must not lag behind the material change.

There may be many reasons for the president’s speech. The western media was calling it as the most important speech of his career. But it would be most unfair to call the message surrender to the US or Indian pressure. If one recalls his nationally televised speech at the Seerat conference last summer then Saturday’s address appears to be a continuation of the same thinking process.

That day General Mushraraf may have been addressing a global audience over the Kashmir issue yet the speech held important implications for the future of Karachi and its people. For over 30 years Karachi has faced the fury of religious and ethnic intolerance slowly turning it into a killing field for its people in the name of ethno-sectarian strife.

Last Saturday’s speech should be seen as condemnation of that dark period. It would be extremely unwise for the provincial and city managers or civil society to simply brush aside the opportunity this space and time has to offer.

It is an open secret that the religious fundamentalism was officially promoted in our country to support America’s dirty war in Afghanistan, initially to counter the former USSR and then the Russian influence in the region.

As a consequence of these proxy wars, the cosmopolitan city of Karachi has seen proliferation of madressahs and Jihadi activities that spanned from Afghanistan to Kashmir and beyond.

Unfortunately the city has not only been the centre of exporting reaction but has also faced the reaction of this export. The wrath of Afghan war started by introducing the dreaded arms culture at our centres of higher learning destroyed the educational peace. Drugs were soon to follow. The establishment remained a silent spectator over the years as factional fighting amongst various religious groups, Bombay mafias, their local and foreign masters and dirty operation of intelligence agencies continued.

During this period the vested interest had manifested itself through massive land encroachments in the name of mosques, mazars and madressahs. Repeated attacks on the Business Recorder remain one of the hits over the city press. Universities and medical colleges in Karachi appear to be Rangers camps thanks to an incompetent administration and violence perpetrated by religious and ethnic groups at our campuses.

Surely it was a black day that Karachi’s district administration sealed a mosque on Burns Road to avoid bloodshed between warring Sunni factions. An intersection on Frere Road near Women’s College is known by two names Ahl-i-Hadees chowk and Hanafi chowk after Ahl-i-Hadees Mosque and Ahle Hanifia Mosque situated on two sides of the intersection. An Imambargah Abidia was also commissioned in a few shops between the two that was later taken over by Ahl-i-Hadees Masjid during sectarian riots. Ironically, the shops are now being used for commercial activities.

With several other mosques nearby, more than half of Jehangir Park has been taken over by a mosque in Saddar. An Imambargah has sprung up out of nowhere at the northeastern edge of Liaquatabad Flyover not far from another sprawling one. A huge madressah and Imam’s residence has been illegally constructed over a plot of one acre allotted for construction of a mosque behind Clifton Centre at Block-5. Due to encroachment, the adjoining park land with a value exceeding hundred thousand rupees a square metre has been taken over, depriving residents of several area apartment complexes, the little open space they once had.

There are numerous such stories and the tentacles of vested interest seem long, painful and unending. Time and again it has been alleged that the ongoing rate for killing a Kafir in Karachi was a mere fifty thousand rupees. People claim that the innocent youngsters were provided a Kalashnikov and promised heaven in the life hereafter.

So many people like Saleem Qadri a Barelvi and founder of Sunni Tehrik, Arif-ul-Husaini, a Shia and founder of Tehrik-i- Jafria, and HaqNawaz Jhangvi, a Deobadi and founder of Sipah-i- Sahaba, and even Shaukat Mirza have lost their lives to senseless sectarian violence.

Even in the posh localities of the city many mullahs continue to wage their holly crusades especially during Friday sermons. Severe displeasure of many Namazis fail to stop the heresies of such barely educated mullahs.

The Glasnost approach of the president may have made a dent in the following of recently banned sectarian organizations.

During an interview on Wednesday a Hafiz-i-Quran and a five-month Afghan war veteran admitted that most of the Jihadi organizations had abandoned the righteous path and the families of Shaheeds were being abandoned while the leaders carried out their politics.

If the establishment is now willing to control the menace of previously unchecked religious intolerance and factional fighting every sane element of society must lend wholehearted support to secure the future of our coming generations.

President Musharraf may have called the bluff of these once dreaded militant. However to carry the bulk of the populace along through these tumultuous times he needs an evenhanded approach towards sectarian and ethnic organizations. A commitment by the establishment for not repeating the mistakes of yesteryears and an early return to a democratically elected government in the country may not be out of place.

Quality matters, not years

THE decision of the federal task force on education that universities will henceforth award bachelor’s degrees after 16 years of study instead of the present 14 has shocked both students and parents alike.

Perhaps the decision aims at bringing university education to the level of foreign universities. The task force has also decided to set up a higher commission to improve the quality of higher education. The president of Pakistan has also asked the universities to concentrate on research.

A number of parents and students told this scribe they do not support this decision. Their argument is that by the time the students will complete their education, they will reach the middle age. The parents argue that university education is very costly and two more years mean an additional burden of Rs50,000 which most parents simply cannot afford.

Even if it is assumed that the students and their parents have their own vested interests in not agreeing with the decision, many disinterested observers and analysts find the decision untenable. As the standard of education, specially in Sindh, has deteriorated beyond redemption, it will be wishful thinking that the standard can be improved by extending the duration of the bachelor’s course by two years.

The issue is far too complicated and there are more causes than one for the bad state of affairs. Isn’t it a fact that the honourable members of the task force themselves did their graduation in 14 years, as did the grade 22 officers serving in the federal and provincial governments? Isn’t it also a fact that their expertise and knowledge is second to none? The Sindh University has produced a galaxy of scholars and bureaucrats who have made their mark on all walks of life.

Previously, the duration for doing the LLB course was also increased from two years to three years but the extra year of study has not given the three-year wallahs any edge over the two-year wallahs. Most of the members of the superior judiciary are the ones who have obtained their law degrees in two years.

The quality of education cannot be improved by extending the graduation period from 14 years to 16 years and there should be no doubt about it. There are students in the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, who have failed to clear their graduation — a four-year course — even in 10 years. It is a matter of record that some students of 1991 and 1992 batches who ought to have done their graduation in 1995 and 1996 are still there in 2002. So, would it be correct to assume that these engineering graduates who obtain degrees in 12 years will be more competent than those who graduated six or seven years back? Certainly not.

Who is to blame? The lion’s share must be passed on to the university. Why has it retained the students who haven’t cleared the four-year course in 10 years? I am told that some of these students have yet to clear many a supplementary examination, which is not held expeditiously. Of course, the university cannot be blamed wholly.

It is quite obvious that such students have no interest in their studies, and their parents have no control over them. They are interested in politics and ‘bhatta’ only, and the university authorities instead of rusticating the black sheep look the other side. The other day I was stunned to learn from a Sindh University teacher that there are people who take away bagfuls of money as salaries but they have not delivered a single lecture in years.

Then we have the case of that unfortunate student of the People’s Medical College, Nawabshah, Oma Devi, who hanged herself to death in her hostel room because she had failed in the examination. She has been cremated as has been her uncle who died of grief. Oma has been forgotten and everyone has been given a clean bill of health. It is being said that she was not a bright student. Maybe, but what about the allegations that the teachers of the medical college were more interested in their private practice than in taking classes.

What about the words of the district Nazim that if the teachers do not take classes, the students will continue to commit suicides. And what has the great philosopher, Bertrand Russell, to say about higher education. In his famous treatise on Education, Russell says: “I shall assume that universities exist for two purposes; on the one hand, to train men and women for certain professions; on the other hand, to pursue learning and research without regard to immediate utility. We shall, therefore, wish to see at the universities those who are going to practise these professions, and those who have that special kind of ability which will enable them to be valuable in learning and research. But this does not decide by itself how we are to select the men and women for the professions”.

Russell has not advocated that the period of studies should be increased. University education, though it might annoy quite a few people, is not a right but a privilege of brilliant students, and the brilliant students can easily complete their graduation in 14 years. Again, to borrow from Russell: “University education should, therefore, be regarded as a privilege for special ability, and those who possess the skill but no one should be maintained at the public expense during their course. No one should be admitted unless he satisfies the tests of ability, and no one should be allowed to remain unless he satisfies the authorities that he is using his time to advantage. The idea of the university as a place of leisure where rich young men loaf for three or four years is dying”.

About the teachers, Russell says: “Every university teacher should be himself engaged in research, and should have sufficient leisure and energy to know what is being done in his subject in all countries. In university teaching, skill in pedagogy is no longer important; what is important is knowledge of one’s subject and keenness about what is being done in it”.

So, the synthesis is that the principle expounded by the great philosopher in the field of education, which do not include the increase in graduation period, should be followed. The universities of Sindh have already introduced pre-entry tests, and the governor has ensured transparency in the examinations by eliminating copy culture. This can be seen from the results of all the boards of education. The ratio of successful candidates in the intermediate examinations, specially of the Hyderabad Board, has come down to 40 per cent.

This means that university education will now be the domain of the brilliant students and not of the stinking rich. The new vice chancellor of the Sindh University has introduced a number of reforms, specially his stress on the teaching of the English language and research. If other universities were to emulate him, the quality of education will certainly improve without the need to increase the duration for graduation from 14 years to 16 years.

However, what is of paramount importance is the regular presence of the university teachers in the classrooms. This is indeed a herculean task for old habits die hard. But where there is a will, there is a way. Let the worthy university teachers take classes regularly, and the quality of education will automatically improve. Let those university teachers be shunted out who do not produce original research papers every year for, after all, research is an integral part of university education as has been rightly acknowledged by the federal task force on education.