| January 26, 2002 | Saturday | Ziqa’ad 11, 1422 |
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Pakistanis in Uzbekistan
Kashmir then and now
Violation of traffic rules
PTV weather report
Missing manhole covers
Quaid’s birthplace
FIA at Karachi airport
Skin disease in Kaccho
Highrise buildings
What drug companies can do
Who is a graduate?
Balochi news
Cable operators
Wapda’s revised deputation policy
BESIDES the war in Afghanistan, the inexplicable acts of terrorism in India, and the uncertainties that haunted the SAARC summit in Nepal, the fag end of 2001 was historic in yet another way for the Indo-Pak subcontinent; never before in recorded history did so many heads of government visit India and Pakistan in such a short span of time. Their purpose; to praise Gen. Musharraf for his support to the US-led coalition now busy “stamping” out terrorism from Afghanistan, and to counsel restraint to India in its current stand-off with Pakistan.
The most interesting aspect of the rhetoric that all these exalted guests indulged in was the assertion that, besides many other peripheral issues poisoning Indo-Pak relations, the single most contentious and the longest lasting unresolved issue was the status of the disputed territory of Kashmir.
It didn’t add much to the knowledge of the people of the subcontinent. People living on both sides of the border separating India and Pakistan have known this bitter fact for over half a century, and have looked up in vain to successive governments that came into power in their countries since independence, to resolve it and deliver them from the curse that its has become for all of them.
All the visiting dignitaries advocated the resolution of Kashmir dispute through dialogue, but to appease an intransigent India, they all opined that there was no room for third party mediation to facilitate that illusory dialogue. None seemed worried about the fact that by agreeing with this absurd logic, they have ensured that this much desired dialogue remains only a dream. For over half a century, they have been witness to the fact that Indo-Pak differences are irreconcilable without strong third party mediation that can drill some sense into the heads of the leadership on both sides of the divide, especially the Indian leadership. Yet, they indulge in the same archaic rhetoric that has lost all meaning for the people of the subcontinent.
India and Pakistan have now become nuclear powers of sorts, and given the horrifying record of armed conflicts between them on Kashmir, the danger of yet another and far more devastating conflict between the two cannot be reduced unless they are forced into a dialogue by a powerful third party, no matter how much India rejects the idea. Support for the Indian inspired “no third party mediation” line only lowered these leaders in esteem in the eyes of the people of the subcontinent. It is time they realized that the hollowness of rhetoric lacking integrity can be sensed very easily even by the illiterate; they may not always be lucky to find a medium to express their resentment over it.
A.B. SHAHID
Karachi
I am a Pakistani who has been in Uzbekistan for the last six years. I am working in a travel company which has been very instrumental in introducing Central Asia to the travel world. The theme which I have had the opportunity to work on was to develop regional tourism and bring in more harmony among the nations of the region.
On Jan 22, I had the opportunity of attending a luncheon meeting hosted by Pakistan Embassy and the local business community. It was delightful to see Mr Asfandyar Wali and Mr Najmuddin Shaikh being the chief guests. The meeting was attended by the elite literary circles of Uzbekistan and the local bureaucrats. The warmth of our Uzbek friends created a homely atmosphere with their knowledge of Urdu language.
The choice of Mr Asfandyar Wali and Mr Najmuddin Shaikh was very appropriate at the time when Pakistan is seeking its real identity in this region.
A visit of President Musharraf to Uzbekistan and other countries in the region will further enhance the importance of Pakistan.
ZIA UL HAQUE
Tashkent
“THE whole Kashmir Valley has been handed over to the Indian military administration. The police, being Kashmiris, have been withdrawn. A reign of terror has begun. Kashmir has been practically cut off from the outside world. There have been conflicts with crowds and firing on numerous occasions. My information is that far more people than those officially admitted have been killed. A much larger number who were wounded were sent to jail instead of hospitals.
“Srinagar is almost a city of the dead where movement is difficult and large number of people are practically interned in their own houses, apart from the many hundreds who have been put in prison. Clashes occur daily and even women have been shot dead. But what is worse is the deliberate attempts, reminiscent of the martial law days in the Punjab in 1919, to humiliate human beings.
“I understand that people are made to crawl in some of the streets; that sometimes they are made to take off their turbans to clean the streets and pavements; that they are made to shout at the point of bayonets ‘Mahraja ki jail’. Dead bodies are not handed over to the relatives for burial according to religious rites, but are soaked in petrol and burnt. The mosques, including their inner shrines have been occupied by the military. A wall of the Jamia Masjid of Srinagar has been knocked off to
make a passage for military lorries. A dengerous feature of the situation is the deliberate attempt to foment communal trouble.”
The above passage is not a report on the present day conditions in Kashmir. It is part of a statement issued by Pandit Nehru on May 28, 1945, when the Dogra ruler, after arresting Sheikh Abdullah, had cracked down on the poor and innocent Kashmiris. What is happening in the Valley now under ‘secular’ India is far more barbaric, ruthless and massive than anything done by the late Maharajah Hari Singh.
BASHIR AHMAD
Lahore
THERE are several factors responsible for road accidents:
Most vehicles use blazing headlights during the night which dazzle the driver coming from the opposite direction and this may result in a head-on collision. This is against traffic rules and the offenders must be punished.
Zebra crossing is ignored by some drivers. They do not reduce the speed when they are close to it.
People are seen using, mobile phones while driving. This may also cause accidents. The traffic police should be given powers to cancel the licences of such drivers.
Public transport drivers should have special uniform so that they may be easily identified at the time of the accident and do not try to escape from the scene.
There should be a ban on the use of radio and tape recorders on vehicles plying on roads.
Those breaking the speed limit should be fined Rs 1000 and their licence seized.
M. ASHRAF AWAN
Karachi
WILL the PTV authorities kindly pay some attention to the weather report telecast each day with the 9 pm news?
The met man (or woman) begins with a high pressure or a low pressure — as if “kum dabao” or “ziada dubao” is an end in itself. We are told that a high pressure is in Afghanistan and moving toward Pakistan; or a low pressure is in Iran and is moving away. So what?
As a listener, I am interested in weather and not in “kum” or “ziada dabao.”
Besides, look at the visual part of it. While he tells us of Islamabad weather, simultaneously four or five cities’ names with their minimum and maximum temperatures appear on the left. However, before we are able to grasp Islamabad’s min and max, the chart disappears.
Now we are told of Lahore’s min and max, and similarly the names of four or five cities appear in the left and disappear as quickly. No one has the super intelligence to hear the main city’s min and max and, at the same time, read in two second