| March 4, 2002 | Monday | Zilhaj 19, 1422 |
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Saudi proposal
Annual medical check-ups
More provinces
Religious processions
Good work, KMC
Advancement of clocks
Children sniffing glue
Data in Nadra cards
Detainees in the US
CSS competitive examination
Afghan women in burqa
Kashmir plebiscite
Textbooks rental
Tobacco growers’ plea
THE Indian President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, sounded more hawkish than Mr Vajpayee when he announced in his address to the parliament on Feb 25 that “a massive troop deployment on India’s western border is there to stay unless Islamabad meets some key conditions.”
This is browbeating of the worst kind. Pakistan is a self-respecting sovereign country, can it tolerate such nonsense? Is Mr Narayanan in any kind of delusion that India could dictate terms to a nuclear power? Pakistan’s conventional equilibrium is also quite a match.
The Indians should not forget that they were caught napping on the heights of Kargil. And in Siachin, the Pakistan Army is giving a good account of itself. Our valiant soldiers neither lack resolve nor courage, their morale being sky-high. If India keeps its menacing posture, I can only say that the response would be befitting.
I wish if Mr Narayanan had only cared to read the golden words of India’s philosopher President Dr S. Radhakrishnan who had wisely cautioned his countrymen and the world that “man’s greatest enemy is nuclear weapons which in war may completely destroy civilization and in peace inflict grievous and lasting damage on the human race.”
The Indian President has further said that “terrorism and dialogue cannot go together”. True, subconsciously, he referred it to its own state-terrorism in the vale of Kashmir. By calling it cross-border terrorism, India cannot pull the wool over the world’s eyes. Eighty thousand Muslims of Kashmir have been massacred by the Indian Army, now where is the Indian conscience?
Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire expressed his disgust about India’s frenzied military preparedness. “Is it not insanity that India’s Government currently the third or fourth most powerful military machine in the world continues to waste so many resources on militarism while so many of their people are in need of the basic necessities of life? Yes, it is insanity”.
The best course of action would be that Indians come to the negotiating table without so many ifs and buts and they will find Pakistanis in real search of peace.
SAFIR A. SIDDIQUI
Karachi
THE recent offer of a solution to the Middle East problem by the Saudi government is a good omen. The plan offers Arab recognition of Israel, in exchange for Israel’s withdrawal to pre-1967 boundaries.
However, one issue remains unaddressed and that is the right of return of Palestinian refugees. Either the Palestinian refugees should be allowed to return to a Palestinian state or they should be given citizenship in the Arab countries that they currently reside in.
In all fairness, this plan offers the best possible solution. But it seems highly unlikely that Israel would accept it, considering the significant voting strength in the Jewish settlements in the Palestinian areas which the settlers want to retain while this plan calls for their removal.
Israel must accept this plan because, it holds hopes for peace.
AMIR QURESHI
Birmingham USA
THIS is with reference to a news item from Dadu, “Cop kills seven, commits suicide” (Feb 26). This unfortunate incident took place perhaps because the old practice of regular medical check-ups of government employees has been given up.
In the past it was a routine practice that all officials, from the peon to the Deputy Commissioner, used to report for medical check-up to the Medical Superintendent of the Civil Hospital of that area every year. But this practice has come to an end since long.
The health secretary, Sindh, is requested to revive this practice so that such tragic incidents do not occur in the future and people do not go berserk, killing innocent people.
Dr KHALID HUSSAIN BHANGER
General Secretary, PMA
Jacobabad
DIFFERENT views are being expressed in the media about increasing the number of provinces in Pakistan. It is a fact that more provinces will bring the provincial government closer to the people will help in and removing their hardships in the far-flung areas.
The present four provinces were created in an arbitrary manner in 1970 when the notorious One Unit was dissolved. In 1947 there were nine federating units of West Pakistan. Equity and justice demanded that these units should have been restored to their original position. In fact keeping in view the historical and cultural realities, more provinces should have been created.
At present, the federation is lopsided. Punjab is bigger than the other three provinces put together.
So there is a need to create a balance among the federating units. Punjab may be divided into three provinces named as Northern Punjab (Pothohar and adjoining areas), Central Punjab and Southern Punjab.
If in the United States, with so much cultural affinity and communication advancements, there are separate states of North Carolina and South Carolina and also North Dakota and South Dakota, why should we not have the same in Punjab?
FEROZ SHAH GILANI
Karachi
THE President has taken a bold step in announcing changes about the manner in which the various religious organizations should function. The silent majority supports the president and is hopeful that his orders would be enforced.
Islam, like some other religions, does not allow any of its adherents to inconvenience other people or to disrupt any normal activity. In this context, I want to draw the attention of the authorities concerned to something which has been causing great inconvenience to the residents of this city.
It has been observed that now, in addition to the tenth of Muharram and Eid-i-Milad-un-Nabi, processions are also taken out by various religious sects. Most commuters in the city, particularly those who live or work near the route of the procession, are disturbed and inconvenienced. Those having their own transport, too, have to suffer because the traffic is diverted from its normal routes, causing extreme congestion.
On the Ashura Day, robbers, dacoits and car-snatchers have a field day during the time of the procession which is taken out from Nishtar Park and, while proceeding to Kharadar, takes a circuitous route that is really unwarranted.
It is now high time that religious processions are held in designated enclaves or outside the city limits. In Karachi, these could be confined to any area between Pakistan Steel and Gharo. A serious thought should be given to this issue. It may be mentioned that even in Iran, street processions are banned.
KHADIJA KARAMALI
Karachi
IT is quite a relief to see that the Karachi Municipal Corporation’s performance is improving. KMC is criticized every now and then for a lack of efficiency in its ranks but no one can ignore its gradual improvement, especially its efficiency during Eid-ul-Aza.
In the past, a huge amount of waste leftover from the sacrifice used to be found everywhere in Karachi, piled up at every corner for days, giving rise to an unbearable stink.
The situation this year seems to be a little better as the leftovers were collected by the KMC garbage collecting staff quite quickly. The situation may not have been equally good in every part of the city but there certainly is some improvement.
The KMC deserves a pat on its back for its efficiency and let us hope for an even better performance in the future.
FATIMA AKHTAR SALIM
Karachi
THIS refers to the news item regarding advancement of clocks by one hour from the first Sunday of April.
It may be mentioned that this is done in Europe and America only, because summer days in those countries are very long and winter days are very short. No country in Asia, including the most developed like Japan, Taiwan, China, Hongkong and Singapore, follow this practice because it is neither necessary nor convenient.
A similar decision was taken some years ago in Pakistan but the idea had to be abandoned on the eleventh hour, because it was felt that it would only create confusion. It is, therefore, better to drop this idea.
ABDUL AZIZ
Karachi
AN increasing number of people, particularly children, in the city are becoming addicted to glue-sniffing, a form of substance abuse believed to have been introduced by Bengali and Afghan nationals presently staying illegally in Karachi (Dawn, Feb 14).
Sniffing glue has become common among homeless kids and those of low income families who are frequently seen in and around shrines and crowded market places, begging, washing cars or working as tea boys. They either pour the glue onto a piece of cloth which they roll up and sniff, or pour the sticky substance into a shopping bag and hold it near their face. Some choose to enhance the pleasure by putting it in their mouths.
According to doctors, children sniffing glue start feeling dizzy, light-headed and drowsy giving them a feeling of pleasure. Inhaling glue by covering the face causes the displacement of oxygen in the lungs and subsequently the central nervous system, causing breathing to cease.
The constant use of glue has been associated with a number of serious, long-term, and often irreversible health problems, including loss of hearing, damage to the brain and bone marrow and deficiency of oxygen in the blood. Some of the long-term effects are burned nose membranes, perforation of the gall bladder, bone marrow destruction, blindness and possibly death.
Large quantities of glue are used in factories manufacturing boxes for cosmetics where teenage workers are addicted to the smell of glue. Moreover, Bengali and Afghan nationals are spreading the sale of glue among teenage children in the city. There is an urgent need to completely stop the sale of glue on the streets, otherwise more children will become addicted to glue-sniffing.
The Inspector General of Police should take a serious note of the sale of glue in several areas of the city and people involved in selling such substance should be apprehended, so as to prevent children from sniffing the glue.
Otherwise there is a possibility that this habit may spread in the entire city and more children may fall prey of this new type of addiction.
SYED A. MATEEN
Karachi
NADRA suggests that we thoroughly check the printed information before we receive the card. The question that I have for Nadra is about the embedded data in the cards. How can we be sure that the bar code matrix on the card also contains correct information?
I suggest that the delivery men carry the code reade