| February 28, 2002 | Thursday | Zilhaj 15, 1422 |
To send a letter to the Editor
Click here
EPB and trade fairs
Daniel Pearl’s murder
LNH clarification
Tree plantation along the motorway
Assembly seats
Saluting Ghalib twice
Investment in real estate
Problems of DMG officers
Double standards
Adopting Afghan orphans
Pakistan Standard Time
Conservation of natural gas
DURING the harsh winters (from November to February), there is an acute shortage of energy in Gilgit, the heart and headquarters of Northern Areas. The government is planning to bring about an IT revolution in the area. But an IT revolution without electricity is simply unthinkable.
The existing energy resources are too expensive for persons of average income. Wood is scarce due to depleting forests. Gas available in the form of LPG cylinders is expensive and its supply is irregular, as it has to be transported across the Karakuram highway, which often remains blocked due to landslides. It is true for kerosene oil as well.
The only available option is hydro-electricity. According to an estimate carried out by GTZ (an international agency working on development of hydro-electricity), approximately 30,000 megawatts can be generated from the potential sites in the Northern Areas.
Rivers of the Northern Areas have never been exploited for hydro-electric development. The mountain streams end up in the Gilgit river. The river has enough discharge in winters for construction of small dams. Dams if built on the Gilgit river could be very useful sources of energy.
Small dams are very popular in developed countries. They are pollution-free and environment-friendly. Although the initial cost is high, its long-term benefits are innumerable. The maintenance cost is low and the power obtained is cheap and regular.
AMJAD WALI
Gilgit
MR Razak Dawood has become the first Commerce Minister to publicly acknowledge what exporters have known for years. There is everything wrong in EPB, especially the manner in which it goes about participating in trade fairs and exhibitions. He specifically mentioned the recent disaster at Heimtextil in Germany.
Those Pakistani exporters who attend these fairs as exhibitors or as visitors, will agree that these trade fairs have become junkets for EPB officials, and that the favourites of EPB officials or probably those who have individual “connections” with certain EPB officials can get approved, while many genuine exporters who have no “special” contacts with high officials get the thumbs-down from EPB.
Mr Dawood has been to many such exhibitions; recently he has attended the Dhaka International Fair and Interjeans in Cologne. He can surely understand the difficult situation the exporters are facing. It is high time a conference is held in which exporters are invited and where there should be nobody from EPB.
Secondly, participants should be ordinary exporters who have never been office-bearers of trade associations. This is important because association “leaders” have a tendency to display sycophancy because a lot is at stake for them.
Thirdly, there should be no media coverage because many exporters are shy and reluctant to speak in front of the media.
Fourthly, an observer team consisting of representatives from MI, ISI, IB, NAB, and the President’s secretariat must be present to listen to the truth.
Mr Dawood is also seeking the elusive figure of ten billion dollars in exports. Can he confidently state that with the present EPB structure, Pakistan can attain the export target?
Mr Dawood is the son of a family that has pioneered industrialization in this country. He is also an educationist, setting up LUMS in Lahore. He has founded many service-oriented organizations. He would be doing the exporters a big favour and also make Pakistan a major player in the global village if he can take the bold step of revolutionizing EPB. The other alternative (more realistic) is to close down EPB and introduce laissez-faire when it comes down to exports.
KARIM “BABU” SOOMRO
Karachi
DANIEL Pearl’s murder is hair-raising. It cannot be explained away or justified.
The national image has vastly suffered as journalists have played a vital role in bringing information to the doorsteps of the people. They have courageously covered wars and exposed dangerous international militias and mafias.
Pearl’s gruesome murder indicates that he had stumbled upon some murky facts which would have embarrassed powerful lobbies.
The government should bring the killers to justice and share the facts behind the scenes with the people so that they know the dangers and risks surrounding them.
ASMA JAHANGIR
Lahore
THERE are many among us who wept at Daniel Pearl’s death. Not one in a million will say that his death will do anybody any good.
Daniel Pearl was doing his duty. We were hoping that one fine morning every newspaper will carry the headline ‘Daniel Pearl is free’ but alas that was not to be. It is a pity that the events leading to his tragic end had their beginnings in Karachi, a city which is known for its friendly attitude towards foreigners.
Karachi has a phenomenally long history of fruitful inter-action with foreigners. Alexander the Great stayed for more than three weeks in what is now Karachi harbour. He called the place and the Indus delta as a ‘bridge between the east and the west’ and made arrangements for commercial cargoes to be shipped to Europe on a permanent basis.
Daniel Pearl’s death will be mourned widely, particularly by the journalists. It was yet another case of violence against journalists which should not be condoned under any circumstances.
AZMAT ANSARI
Karachi
I am an American of Mexican birth who loves Pakistan. Over the last 10 years I have travelled to your country several times wandering from the Hunza Valley to Peshawar to Karachi and to many points in-between. In the process I have made many friends and have learned a little of your religion, your culture, and your problems.
Often when reading western newspaper and magazine accounts of Pakistan I am angered by the lack of understanding shown by western journalists. Many are simply not open to the complexities of your society.
One of the few journalists who really seemed to understand Pakistan (and the Middle East in general) was Daniel Pearl which is what makes his death so sadly ironic. He was one of the good guys trying to explain the passion and contradiction that is your country in an unblinking honest way. His barbaric beheading diminishes the cause of those who carried it out and makes a mockery of your peace-loving religion. It has hardened those who do not understand you, but it has also scared your friends.
I have cancelled a trip to your beautiful country and will not be renewing my plans anytime soon. I am deeply saddened.
R. GUTIERREZ
California, USA
THIS is with reference to the news item “two cops shot dead” (Feb 23).
We would like to highlight some inaccuracies in that report. The article states “Younus was hit by a bullet. He was rushed to Liaquat National Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.”
This statement is far from the truth. As a matter of fact Mr Malik Mohammad Younus was brought to the emergency ward in a state of shock (no recordable pulse and blood pressure) but he was breathing following the gunshot injury to his belly. He was attended by a consultant anaesthetist immediately along with the emergency ward doctors. He was then rushed to the operation theatre.
A group of four general surgeons including the Chief of Surgery, Dr Moizuddin, immediately started treatment after the patient’s arrival. He was operated upon within half-an-hour of his arrival in emergency ward of Liaquat National Hospital.
For three long hours, the team of general surgeons attempted to save Mr Younus’s life. He had sustained multiple injuries to the stomach and intestines with complete disruption to the aorta (major blood vessel in the belly carrying blood from the heart to the lower half of the body) from which he was bleeding rapidly. He was transfused nine bags of blood during surgery.
Despite control of bleeding and aggressive cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Mr Younus succumbed to his injuries which was due to irreversible shock secondary to excessive blood loss.
All possible treatment was provided to Mr Younus and whatever was reported in the news item is incorrect.
DR ALI AZMAT ABIDI
Director Administration, Liaquat National Hospital
Karachi
THE motorway is one of those projects which has given all of us a feeling of pride whenever we use it. Instead we continue to deprecate it as if by dismantling it we would get all our money back, forgetting that it is there to stay.
Let us be honest. It has set a qualitative standard which will necessitate improvement of all roads.
But the motorway still lacks trees. Tree plantation requires big money, which is neither available nor does it enjoy priority, compared with other needs. Let us then do it ourselves. We should create a motorway tree plantation fund and assign the task to the newly elected Nazims, Naib Nazims and their teams.
We only have to plant two rows of trees outside the fence. The outer plantation should be Ashoka which can grow up to 40 feet in height. We have another option as well, to plant Sukhchain which is a lush green variety. Let us hurry up. We should start this project on self-help basis.
We are a poor nation and in dire need of development without straining the public sector resources.
HADI IQBAL HUSSAIN
Lahore
THE National Reconstruction Bureau has increased the number of seats for both the houses of parliament and for the provincial assemblies, by 50 to 60 per cent. According to press reports, the assembly buildings are not sufficient to accommodate the proposed increased number of legislators.
I wonder if the concerned officials have worked out how much would it cost to increase the seating capacities of the various buildings in which the assemblies have been housed. Do we have any provision for this in our budgets and can we afford this additional expenditure when the assemblies are usually dissolved much before completing their normal term?
A. AHMED
Karachi
IN his article, ‘Saluting Ghalib twice’ (Feb 23), Ashfaque Naqvi has hurt, though unintentionally, speakers of Urdu all over the world. He writes,” He (Ghalib) is buried in India but in no way does he belong to that country. What he belongs to is Urdu. We can, therefore, claim that he is closer to us than to anyone else.”
There are more Urdu speakers in India, Hindus and Muslims put together, than anywhere else. Then there are people like me, an Indian Hindu emigre to the US, who can only say, ‘bahut bey aabroo hokar terey kuchey se ham nikley’. In Pakistan, Urdu is the primary language of even less than one-fifth of the population.
In fact, Ghalib belongs to everyone who enjoys the prose and poetry of Urdu— the wonderful fusion of Hindi, Persian and some Arabic. It has no religion.
ATUL BARRY
Louisville, KY, USA
FOLLOWING the fall of the US dollar against the Pakistani rupee, many who were previously investing in the US currency have started encashing it in the open market and turning to investment in real estate.
The buying and selling of open plots has increased all over the city but it has been particularly so in Phase VI to VIII of Defence Housing Authority in Karachi. The last time that the prices of real estate had registered a significant rise, was towards the last part of Benazir Bhutto’s second stint in power.
SYED A. MATEEN
Karachi
THIS is with reference to Qazi Nazim Naeem’s letter on ‘Problems of DMG officers’ (Feb 16).
The writer has rightly pointed out that with the devolution plan and transfer of power to the elected representatives, the rationale for this group no longer exists. It would, therefore, be appropriate if the group is disbanded.
SALMAN RASHID
Lahore
THIS refers to Mr Kajal Deepak’s letter on this topic (Feb 18). The writer maintains that when the Babri Masjid was desecrated and demolished, the Government of India had adopted a secular policy. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Actually the government of Narasimha Rao was a party to the whole act. The Indian Intelligence had alerted the government of the intentions of the Hindu fundamentalist parties, that is, the Bajrang Dal, RSS, Shiv Sena and Vishva Hindu Parisad, but the government did not stop the storming of the sacred historical monument.
That was a real test of India’s much trumpeted secularism, but it had failed as no serious measures were taken to protect the sacred place. Neither the troops were called in to prevent the hoodlums from obliterating the Muslim holy site nor even the routes leading to the mosque were effectively blocked. The tragedy could have been easily averted if the government had so wished.
And it is not the Muslim community only whose sacred places have been desecrated in ‘secular’ India. During Indira Gandhi’s rule the Golden Temple of the Sikhs was desecrated by the Indian Army. Both, the Indian Army Chief and Indira Gandhi, had to pay a price for this.
It is a fallacy to believe that, as Mr Deepak has stated, the people of India and Pakistan would come any closer if better communication is established between them. May I ask him, was there any communication problem when these two people had lived together for centuries?
Lastly, why those involved in the destruction of the mosque have been allowed to roam freely in ‘secular’ India? One of them is even holding a ministerial post.
And now the dreadful deadline of Sept 15 set by the Hindu communalists for the starting the construction of Ram Mandir on the site of Babri Masjid, is drawing closer. Will ‘secular’ India fare any better now, or the carnage of 1992 will be re-enacted?
SAFIR A. SIDDIQUI
Karachi
THERE are reports in the media of adoptions of Afghan refugee orphans by non-Afghans. I hope that those responsible would ensure that Muslim adoptees are brought up as Muslims and not proselytized. In this respect, Pakistani and other Muslim families should be given preference.
One would be very appreciative of a better lifestyle and future for the orphans, but it should not be at the cost of their religion and culture.
MRS KHAN
Piscataway, USA
THIS is in response to the letter by A. Wajid Salim Air Cdre (Retd) on Pakistan Standard Time (Feb 22). The reason to have daylight saving time in the US and Europe is not to let people tan their skin, it is to save energy. Think about having an extra hour in a day when you don’t need to turn on those lights and Neon signs. This can convert into major savings for the whole nation and reduce your electric bill.
Having said that, it is definitely the responsibility of the government and the media to well publicize this arrangement before the change. The people should also be told as to what they are supposed to do.
The way it is implemented in the US and Europe is that everybody just puts the watches and clocks one hour ahead in April and one hour back in October. This way, nobody has to change any schedules anywhere. A 5 PM train out of Cantt station still leaves at 5 PM.
ARSALAN GILANI
New Jersey, USA
I endorse the views of S. Mohsin Ali, when he says in his letter (Feb 21) that we should consider measures to conserve natural gas rather than wasting it just for burning in power houses and elsewhere.
It may be recalled that a proposal was mooted in the late nineteen sixties to liquefy natural gas of Sui and ship it to Japan. This would have brought in immediate huge foreign exchange earning, but we would have lost the use of this precious reserve for ourselves. It was a very tempting proposal, but was opposed. The government was advised to concentrate on exploring more new reserves of natural gas and to make use of existing reserves as far as possible for producing more fertilizers and to find other industrial uses for natural gas. We wish to repeat this advice.
It is of paramount importance that we continue to make all-out efforts to explore more reserves of natural gas and indeed also of oil. In the case of oil, already frightening by high forecasts are being projected for the future. As far as natural gas is concerned, it is indeed very easy to request friendly countries to ask for their assistance for laying pipelines and for importing gas from other countries but what is the guarantee that we will be able to continue to get supplies at all times and at reasonable levels of prices.
Rather than approach friendly countries for assistance for payments of imports of natural gas and for laying pipelines for its use, we should seek their help for exploring new reserves of natural gas and oil.
It is true that handling of coal is a messy business, but we appear to have abundant resources of coal. We should therefore try to make maximum use of this locally available source of energy for burning in power houses and elsewhere.
We should try and make use of coal for other purposes also. In this connection, it is not understood, as to why it has not been possible for us to shake off our dependence on imported coal and coke for requirements of Pakistan Steel. It is considered that it is the duty of our industrialists, technocrats, bureaucrats and others to think of ways and means of making maximum use of locally available raw materials for industrial and other uses, particularly in view of the threatening postures being taken by India towards us on all issues. It may not be advisable to knock at the doors of others for resolving every problem of ours.
To revert to natural gas, we cannot too strongly stress the importance of judicious use of our existing resources of natural gas.
MOHAMMAD ANWAR KHAN
Karachi
You can also send letters to the Editor
Just send your message to the following address:
Make sure you include your full name, postal address, e-mail address, and in the case of Pakistan your day-time telephone number.