| March 6, 2002 | Wednesday | Zilhaj 21, 1422 |
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Tenants’ appeal
Rise in extremism
Another national monument?
Thal Canal
Bank timings
Attack on worshippers
Salaries not paid to teachers
Ban on Indian channels
English book on Ghalib
Indecent advertisement
Broken letter-boxes
Promotion of science and technology
Increase in price of sugar
Faisalabad library
PMDC’s move
THE slaughter of 11 Muslims in a Rawalpindi mosque last week is yet another reminder that, by and large, sectarian terrorism is a homegrown phenomenon.
With the Palestinian struggle in the forefront of the media these days, one cannot help noting a qualitative difference between our homegrown terrorists and the Palestinian Intifada. Our terrorists are cowards who take on soft targets in safe places with minimal risk to themselves. The terrorists in Pindi locked the mosque’s door from inside, and took their time in the Namazis’ slaughter, one of their accomplices standing guard outside. The Palestinians, however, are paying for the Intifada with their lives.
Two recent videos of the Palestinian resistance and Pakistani terrorists give a graphic testimony to such difference. The Palestinian video shows a young Palestinian woman’s testament of self-sacrifice, prior to her suicide mission against Israel. The Pakistani video depicts the beheading of Daniel Pearl and the stabbing of his headless body. In luring an innocent journalist for an interview, Sheikh Omer was hardly running any risk to his own life.
A businessman who met Sheikh Omer last year at a reception in Sialkot spoke of how Omer had charmed the audience with his religious bearing (the long beard and turban), flawless Urdu and English, and a certain shyness and modesty. There were stories of his jazba motivating ‘selfless’ acts, like giving up his studies at the London School of Economics, doling out $50,000 to a hard-up friend studying at a British university, and commitment to the Kashmir Jihad.
And as for Kashmir, Pearl’s beheading was preceded by that of the Norwegian tourist, Hans Christian Ostro in July 1995. Ostro was beheaded in Kashmir by terrorists. However, it goes to the Kashmiris’ credit that on the Friday following the discovery of Christian-Ostro’s body along a mountain path, Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid witnessed one of the biggest public rallies ever, where Kashmiris condemned the tourist’s murder.
However, one is not too sure if there has been a similar public outrage in Pakistan following Pearl’s beheading, notwithstanding the condemnation of the gruesome murder in the national media.
SUROOSH IRFANI
Karachi
WE draw attention of the Government of Pakistan to the enhanced rents charged by the Evacuee Trust Property Board.
Most of the evacuee buildings are very old and do not warrant any increase in rent. The Evacuee Trust Property board has never taken any step towards the maintenance of the premises during its tenure of more than 50 years and not a single rupee has been spent on either minor or major repairs. The department only enhances rents periodically. This is a sorry state of affairs.
We, the tenants of the buildings numbers L.R. 6/1/1, IV-20, 21, 22, Lohana Homes opposite K.M.C. workshops, Lawrence Road, Karachi, strongly protest against the enhancement of rents because the above buildings are very old and located in a low rating area of the city.
The higher authorities are requested to ask the Evacuee Trust Property Board to withdraw the contemplated excessive and backbreaking scale of rent in the interest of justice.
AFFECTED TENANTS
Karachi
I ALWAYS wonder why people around the globe ignore South Asia while analyzing the causes of rise in extremism. India and the Hindu-centred policies of its successive governments have been the biggest and strongest cause in fuelling the extremist sentiments. We should not forget that out of 1.3 billion world Muslim population more than 500 millions live in South Asia and they have suffered the most at the hands of the majority community.
Whether it is the Congress party in power, BJP or any other party, minorities have suffered in India. The coalition of extremist Hindu parties that now controls the ruling BJP as its political arm has a declared ambition of purging India of all its religious minorities. The violence against minorities has always been merciless. There are reports that following its tradition, the police in Gujarat has sided with the majority Hindus in killing the Muslims and burning them alive in their own homes. This is what secular India’s real face is.
While Muslims have been prime targets, the Sikhs and Christians have not escaped the fury of Hindu mobs in the last two decades. There were merciless killings of Sikhs following Indira Gandhi’s murder and the recent systematic killings of Christians in the state of Gujarat and Orissa.
In 1992, under full political patronage of Mr Advani, the present Home Minister of India, the Hindu mobs pulled down a 15th century mosque. Now his political mentors are pursuing a campaign to build a temple in its place.
The world, for the sake of peace and for dealing with the problem of extremism needs to pressurize the Indian government to rein in Hindu extremists. If the Indian government is sincere in its claims of secularism it must ban the terrorist organizations of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Rashtriya Sewak Sang (RSS). It just cannot let these terrorists organizations blame and kill the Muslims.
How can the US justify its criticism of Muslim extremism when Hindu extremism continues to play havoc with the lives of Muslims in India.
IMRAN AHMED SIDDIQUI
Karachi
THE bureaucrats have once again come with an idea to construct a new national monument. They say that Minar-i-Pakistan has lost its charm. The fact is that it is a long time now that they had the Chaghai mountain models and they want some new project with built-in kickback opportunities.
The time has come for us to stop all such antics and look towards social development, particularly in the education sector. The correspondents’ dispatches from the interior of the country convey heartbreaking news. The schools have no benches, no teachers and even no roofs. There is no water to drink and no roads to walk on, not to speak of hospitals and libraries.
Whatever funds that can be managed, should be spent on these necessities and not on mere monuments.
MOHAMMAD IQBAL
Karachi
THE digging of the Thal Canal is tantamount to digging a grave for Sindh because it will destroy Sindh. There is already a severe shortage of water in Sindh and due to the inadequate discharge of water into the sea from the Indus, the brackish sea water has encroached inland destroying millions of acres of fertile agricultural land in the coastal areas of Thatta and Badin districts.
When the Chashma-Jehlum Link Canal was constructed, it was agreed that it will only be operated during periods of high flood. But this promise was never honoured and Punjab continued to take water as it willed from this canal. Now with the construction of the Thal Canal, the Punjab will have legal authority to operate the Chashma-Jehlum Link Canal, of which the Thal Canal will be a branch.
The water diverted to the Thal Canal will no doubt come from Sindh’s share because there is no access water to spare.
This will be the death knell for all Sindhis.
Since the Sindh government has failed to protect the interests and rights of Sindh in this crucial matter, the honourable thing to do now would be for the Governor to resign along with his entire cabinet.
AMEER BUKSH BHUTTO
Member, SNF,
Larkana
THE four hours fixed by the banks for cash transactions are not sufficient in view of the ever increasing volume of trade and other needs of the general public.
These timings were fixed long long ago, when the number of cash / bank transactions were quite low as compared with what it is today. For example, nowadays most private schools are receiving the monthly as well as admission and examination fees through banks and I have often witnessed an extraordinary rush in various banks due to this reason.
My personal experience is that the bank cashiers, while making payments and receiving cash deposits, immediately enter the details in the cash registers after each transaction and one has to wait until the entry has been registered. Previously such entries were made after the cash timings or when there were no clients at the counter.
It is proposed that the bank cash timings may be fixed, from 9 am to 1 pm, and again from 2.30 pm to 4 pm.
This is a common demand and, if met, the general public as well as the business community would be facilitated to a great extent.
SYED ABRAR HUSSAINI
Karachi
THE recently reported terrorism in a mosque in Rawalpindi in which 10 worshippers were killed and 25 injured is yet another dreadful incident in a chain of attacks on mosques in the recent past. We claim to be Muslims and yet whereas the Hindus are demolishing mosques in India we are going a step further to kill worshippers in mosques.
One thing that could be done by the government is to ban naming mosques after some sector the other as all mosques are built to worship “Allah”.
Secondly, the Friday sermon should be selected by the government as is done in Saudi Arabia so as to exclude the possibility of spreading hate by the speakers that destroys the unity of our nation.
DR M. YAQOOB BHATTI
Lahore
THIS is with reference to the news item in which the Project Manager of the Sindh Middle Schools has stated that the government has earmarked an amount of Rs 3.43 m for the year 2001-02, to be disbursed among the 7,300 girl students of 16 districts of Sindh (Feb 28).
We hope that whatever the Minister Sahiba has said would actually materialize and the allocated money would not go into the wrong channels.
I also want to draw the attention of the minister and other high-ups of the education department to the plight of Junior School Teachers and High School Teachers who were specially selected by the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) for induction into this project. Some four months have passed, but these teachers are still waiting for their salaries. The officials of the education department are totally indifferent and have no sympathy for these teachers.
I request the Governor of Sindh, the Chief Secretary and the Secretary Education to kindly issue orders for the release of the salaries of these teachers.
GHULAM MOHAMMAD SAHITO
Nawabshah
YET again, the government has made a grave error by banning certain channels terming them as Indian-based. The decision was welcomed by those who can be emotionally driven by our leaders, who lack any rationale and have a one-track mind.
The satellite channels are actually a market operated internationally and all the production houses, television artistes, the film industry and even regional cultures can benefit from it.
On the contrary, we can smell the local TV broth, which is being cooked, and it is felt that if we put a stop to our neighbour’s, which is becoming popular worldwide, then we can sell our content to the local TV industry.
Here I remember a programme some years ago called, Fifty-Fifty. Where a man sells a radio to his wife bought for Rs 150, his wife then sells it to her son and then the man buys it back from his son for Rs 215. Now this man tries to sell it to an outsider for Rs 250. The outsider refuses to buy it at Rs 250, calling it too expensive.
The man tells him, “I swear I have bought this for Rs 215 from my own (Ghar ki khareed itni hai, bhai).
We as a nation want to sell our product to ourselves and think that we will survive. Our media magnates, the regulating authorities and the information ministry are too busy in blocking the Rs 2,500 million in advertising money going out of Pakistan to some standard satellite channel and want to encourage the multinationals and local giants to advertise on PTV only.
God save us from the misconceptions of our leaders.
DR TAHIR RAZA
Rawalpindi
IT was disappointing to see that Mr Naqvi tried to steal Ghalib from us, the Indians. I have many Muslim friends and I have studied and enjoyed Ghalib’s work.
I would also like to mention that the only comprehensive book about Ghalib and his life in the English language has been written by an Indian, Pavan Kumar, and that book is the most popular among native English speakers in the West.
He may have been of Turkish or Persian descent but for us he is everyone’s Galib.
SARVJIT SINGH
Millis, USA
I WAS stunned to see the new cell phone advertisement campaign message. Their punchline describes their products as “Small, sexy and fun”. This message stares at us at major road junctions, cell phone shops and elsewhere in the city.
This must not go unnoticed by the authorities or I don’t know what next would be displayed on the crossing the next time I stop at a red signal.
MUHAMMAD SALMAN SHAUKAT
Lahore
RECENTLY the price of a regular postal envelope was doubled. Postal charges have also been raised. On the other hand, the functioning of the postal department has deteriorated.
To give one example, letter boxes placed in our locality, that is, Chungi Ammar Sidhu, Lahore, are broken and one can easily take out letters from it and other postal material. Other examples are the Sabzi Mandi Post Office and the Kenchi Ammer Sidhu Post Office.
IFTEKHAR AHMAD
Lahore
Recently, Dawn published a few advertisements by NUST (National University of Science and Technology) inviting foreign qualified PhDs. The advertisement is encouraging as it offers the researchers and instructors a fairly good package to attract them to our country.
The importance this government is paying to the development of science and technology is highly appreciable. Scholarships for foreign studies have been restored and efforts are being made to improve the research sector in the country.
As the process of improvement has started, I would like to make a few suggestions.
At present the emphasis is mainly on higher education. Steps should also be taken to improve primary and secondary education which form the base for higher education.
In addition to scholarships or interest free loans may also be provided for studies abroad.
Cooperation in the form of combined projects between universities and the industry, may be encouraged.
MASOOD MAQBOOL
Karachi
AN increase of 10 per cent in the import duty of white sugar, raising the total duty to 30 per cent, has resulted in an increase in the price of sugar by Rs 2 per kg. It has now gone up from Rs 24 to Rs 26 per kg in the market.
This increase in import duty actually supports the hoarders rather than the cane growers.
Certainly an increase in the import duty would have benefited the cane grower, if imposed at the start of the crushing season. But not now, when more than 50 per cent of the sugar has already been sold at very low prices by the mills and losses have been incurred.
So it is good luck for you, sugar hoarders!
HUSNA
Karachi
IT was sad to learn that the Tehsil municipal administration was closing down the sole library of Faisalabad according to reports appearing in the press.
The Punjab governor must have already read the news item. He should intervene in time to save the only refuge for book-lovers in Faisalabad.
AAQIF VAREED
Lahore
THIS refers to the editorial “PMDC’s move” (March 1). All efforts of the PMDC are commendable but the methodology adopted needs reconsideration. Institutions which have already passed out many batches of medical students and were comprehensively inspected earlier should not have been, all of a sudden, served with notifications not to hold examinations and not to admit any batches of students.
Except one college in the private sector, which has an international community sponsorship, all other medical colleges in the private sector are run by individuals and foundations which depend on the fees of students to an extent of 70% or more.
Whenever anything goes wrong with a private medical college, the provincial government is pressed very hard by the students and the guardians to intervene. That is why when a private medical college was derecognized, it was the provincial government which ordered that all the students be admitted in all the public medical colleges of Sindh. By a conservative estimate, the number of medical and dental students in the private colleges in Karachi only, exceeds 2000. The provincial government cannot be expected to remain a silent spectator in this situation. The opinion expressed by the Sindh health minister, is based on realities on the ground.
I had earlier pointed out (Sept 11, 2000) that the provincial government has a role to play. While in the past the emphasis was only on the undergraduate medical education, the postgraduate medical education also needs proper attention.
It will be appropriate if the federal government constitute a national commission with representatives from provincial governments and private and public medical colleges to examine the entire situation.
Meanwhile, considering the interest of the students, those institutions which were recognized earlier should be allowed to conduct the various examinations. Re-inspection may be done as soon as possible and the provincial governments made responsible to help in removing the deficiencies pointed out by the PMDC.
DR K. H. MAHMOOD
Karachi
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