| March 2, 2002 | Saturday | Zilhaj 17, 1422 |
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Women’s police stations
Colleges for overseas Pakistanis
Poor police performance
Milosevic’s trial
A young man kidnapped
Iqbal on Haj
Saluting Ghalib twice
A teleplay in bad taste
Sanghar schools
Nadra cards
Indian rupee
Frequent accidents
Public Accounts Committee’s role
ACCORDING to the State Bank of Pakistan, home remittances of overseas Pakistanis during the first seven months of the current financial year have registered a record inflow of over one billion dollars. In January 2002 the figure rose to 180.56 million dollars, registering an increase of 79.25 per cent over the corresponding month last year when the inflow was recorded at 100.73 million dollars.
The increase in foreign remittances has raised hopes of sustained improvement in the country’s reserve position.
During the first six months of last fiscal year, Pakistan received 609.16 million dollars while for the whole year the remittances stood at 1,086.57 million dollars. Since Sept 11 attacks and follow-up actions of the United States and FBI to eradicate terror-related flows, one immediate beneficiary was Pakistan.
FBI investigated the business of money changers, creating worries for those involved in traditional Hundi or Hawala system of transactions, forcing more and more people reverting to formal banking channels to send the money home. People holding capital in the safe havens of Dubai and other foreign destinations also sent back their savings. The dollar availability, both in the kerb and official market, gained momentum, helping the rupee strengthen six per cent in the official inter-bank and 10 per cent in the kerb trade against the US dollar.
The central bank is also working on a plan to establish legally operating exchange companies in the country under strong Prudential Regulations to replace the money changers. A special committee on the subject submitted its reports to the central bank recently.
The SBP is holding consultations with the Forex Association of Pakistan (FAP) and the Ministry of Finance to shape up its plans. The bank wants to institute a transparent and modern system of foreign exchange, without adversely affecting thousands of people associated with money exchange business. Some of the large money changers could apply for the new exchange companies, on the basis of set criteria of paid-up capital and other regulations. However, many small operators would have to seek mergers or would be forced to liquidate their business.
The abrupt global change in the situation has undoubtedly contributed a great deal to heavier inflow of expatriate remittances to Pakistan. Now is, perhaps, the time when effective measures be devised to put an end to the illegal transfer of expatriate Pakistanis’ savings to their families at home.
FATIMA KIRMANI
Karachi
THE Punjab governor has stated that, instead of a full-fledged women’s police station, small cells for women should be set up in police stations as women have failed to perform their task well. He has also stated that as men are also involved in one way or the other in the crime committed by women, therefore, police stations should be headed by men with small women’s cells working with them.
The governor’s statement seems to be gender-biased and is aimed at depriving women of their rights. It is to prove that women do not fit well in a male-dominated society.
The governor should stop for a moment and look into the performance of policemen over the years. How much have they added to the efficiency of their department? Yes, they have added to the incidence of police torture, increased the number of extra-judicial killings and fake encounters — killing the innocent and supporting the culprits. The crime rate has increased tremendously over the years as criminals know they can get away with anything by bribing the policemen. It is time the governor gave up old ways and learned to cope with the world where women’s empowerment has been recognized as a prerequisite for national development.
Setting up of small cells will not do, it is important to provide women with better facilities for efficient working.
SABRINA KHAN
Lahore
There are only a few Pakistani schools in Kuwait which are affiliated with the Federal Board of Education, Islamabad, where the students can study up to the Higher Secondary (FA/FSc) level. After that, most students are deprived of further education due to the fact that they cannot move to Pakistan or to any other country to continue their studies, because their families don’t want them to be away from them.
If the Pakistan government could arrange the setting up of institutions for imparting of education at the higher levels, at least up to the graduation level, the problem being faced by the overseas Pakistani families in respect of education of their children, could be solved.
We try to compete with India in so many other fields, why not in the field of education ? It may be mentioned that India has made adequate arrangements for the higher education of its overseas youth. The federal minister and the secretary for education are requested to look into the matter.
BARKATULLAH MARWAT
Kuwait
HERE is a classic case of police extortion wherein employees of a poultry breeding farm were robbed to the tune of Rs122,000 in broad daylight at gunpoint at 1.30 pm on February 7, with no action taken by the Raja Jang police station located about 200 metres from the scene of the crime.
At first, the police refused to register the FIR. Later, on orders from higher police officers, after registering the FIR, a sham investigation was caried out on Feb 8 and the whole incident was treated as doubtful.
It may be mentioned that this road linking Raiwind Road with Raja Jang along a canal is very dangerous and the farm staff have been frequently robbed en-route. The police have been regularly informed but no subsequent action has ever been taken.
Now when a dacoity involving a substantial sum of money is involved it is sheer ineptitude on the part of police to declare it to be a doubtful case so as to escape responsibility. The police in this station are even threatening to involve the farm staff in dacoity so as to intimidate them not to follow up the case further.
It appears that the area police have created a state within a state to do as they please without any control from higher officers. This sad state of affairs ought to be taken note of by the Punjab governor to safeguard the life and property of private sector employees.
DR M. YAQOOB BHATTI
Lahore
THIS refers to Mahir Ali’s article ‘Dictator in the dock” (Feb 20) in which he analyses the situation Milosevic finds himself in. After a half-hearted nod to the fact that people like Milosevic deserve to be tried in an international court of law, he launches a diatribe against the West in general and the US, in particular.
He forgets that it was only Milosevic and his policies which left the civilized world no other option but to attack him and his infrastructure. It is granted that the onslaught of bombing sped up the temporary displacement of Kosovars but even as they were fleeing to Albania they knew that they’ll soon return to a more peaceful and friendly Kosovo, which would have never occurred if the world had just stood by and allowed Milosevic and his cronies to systematically cleanse Kosovo of all non-Serbs.
Does anyone believe that fewer Kosovars would have died if Milosevic had not been brought to his senses by the overwhelming force? Does anyone believe that Yugoslavia would be a country on a constructive path today if the butcher of Kosovo, Croatia, and Serbia was still ruling that country?
Once it is known that a person is evil, his temporary lapse of evilness does not make him good. Milosevic, despite the world’s waffling, proved time and again that he was evil and had no intention of changing. He used temporary lulls in destruction and mayhem to build u