| April 11, 2002 | Thursday | Muharram 27, 1423 |
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Closely guarded secret
Arbitrary GST list
Peshawar-Landikotal rail link
More knowledge, less wisdom
Not enough reason
Gwadar Port
In the name of justice
PIA and teachers
Ads for jobs
Sales tax and export
THE editorial ‘Bush’s belated wisdom’ (Dawn, April 6) points out a basic flaw in the policy statement of President Bush and his declared ‘vision’ of lasting peace in the Middle East. One can easily make out that the purpose was to assuage the angry feelings of the Palestinians and Arab countries, generated by a full scale military action against a defenceless people.
More than half of the policy statement stresses that the Israeli rampage is the result of alleged terrorism and Yasser Arafat is responsible for it, clearly meaning that Israel is justified in what it is doing. This faulty thinking cannot help solve the problem.
First, in order to achieve lasting peace in the region, it must be accepted that the continued occupation of the Palestinian lands constitutes continued aggression. The UN Security Council resolution nos. 242, 338 and three more that were adopted within the last two weeks were based on the fact that Israel is the aggressor and has no justification to continue to hold on to the territories captured in 1967. The non-enforcement of these resolutions is a miserable failure of the world body and its inaction tantamounts to condoning Israeli aggression and reign of terror.
Secondly, it must be recognized that the struggle of the suppressed people for their rights is not terrorism. Many of the alleged terrorist attacks were directed against the Jewish settlements in the occupied areas. The Jews had settled there with a clear intention of making the Palestinian cities a permanent home of theirs. Grabbing the land of the Palestinians is nothing but an aggressive venture. And when the Jews do not respond to peaceful methods, using means other than peaceful is justified to oust them from the illegally occupied areas.
The Oslo Accord was signed in 1993 and nine long years have gone by since then. Israel has been avoiding its commitments on one pretext or the other. The said accord had provided that 18 months after the formation of the Palestinian Authority, an independent and separate state of Palestine will be founded. This body was formed in 1996 by election and thus the creation of Palestinian state is long overdue. Yasser Arafat was elected its chairman and was expected to take over as the head of the new state. Israel now says that the Palestinian state is now irrelevant.
It is high time that the Arab countries shake off their inaction. They must press for the formation of a coalition to enforce UN resolutions calling Israeli to vacate illegal occupation of lands. There must be a vigorous demand to impose sanctions against Israel and stop economic aid and supply of weapons to it.
PROF MUKHTAR ALI NAQVI
Orlando, USA
I AM grateful for Mr Khurshid Anwar’s kind remarks about my piece on India’s threat of starving Sindh and Punjab by scrapping the Indus Waters Treaty (April 5). He has raised some pertinent questions.
Actually it is for the Pakistan government to allay public fears vis-a-vis India’s threat of ending the treaty. Coming in the wake of Indian forces poised at our borders ready for aggression, such a reassurance by the government was very much needed.
By my writings and lectures I have been reassuring the people that there was no imminent danger of India cutting off the flow of our rivers. India stopped bus, train and PIA services on January 1, because it could physically do so. But it has no ready means to immediately divert or stop the flow of rivers from entering into Pakistan. The operative part of my contention is ‘immediate’ and I stand by it.
Regarding the possibility of India’s intervention with the Jhelum flow by Wullar Barrage, its effect will depend on the volume of water stored that in turn will be determined by the height of gates. According to the treaty, India cannot divert stored water nor can the height of the gates be above acceptable limits. Despite such a safeguard, India could cause harm if it were to store water at a critical crop cycle. For instance, if it starts filling up the pond upstream of the barrage, say, in mid-October to mid- or end-November, it could be harmful since this is the period of wheat sowing.
However, India could interfere more effectively on the Chenab by disregarding the safeguards provided in the treaty as it could not only store but also divert the flows. As for the Khaplu Dam on the Shyok River, there should be no fear as it doesn’t lie in Indian held Kashmir but in the northern areas.
I could not agree more with Mr Anwar’s idea that “a thorough debate be initiated on this important issue”. But a debate could be fruitful if one were well informed and in possession of the requisite data. What I have been writing about and speaking in my lectures has been based on past knowledge. As pointed out earlier, I have yet to see a categorical comment by our government regarding India’s threat of ending the treaty and about structures being built by it on the Chenab and the Jhelum. Unfortunately, our bureaucracy keeps all such information as if it were a closely guarded state secret.
B.A. MALIK
Lahore
I WAS surprised to see the list of drugs exempted from GST in daily Dawn (April 6). The essential and life-saving drugs exempted from GST under the heading of ‘Dermatological Products’ are only four in number, that too incomplete and obsolete. Perhaps no expert was consulted while deciding essential drugs for dermatological use.
Benzyl benzoate emulsion is one of the four drugs; it is used for the treatment of scabies. Scabies is a very common skin disease effecting people from all walks of life specially the poor and deprived. The drug is highly irritant to children and infants and unacceptable to most of the people, whether rich or poor. It sometimes causes contact dermatitis as well. Permethrin cream 5% (specially for infants and children) and gamma benzene hexachloride cream should have been included in the list as essential drugs because scabies is a severely distressing and highly contagious disease, which disturbs the life of the person.
Clotrimazole cream 1% in the list is one of the earliest of topical anti-fungals but more recent and effective imidazoles and other potent anti-fungals need serious consideration.
Steroid creams are the mainstay of the treatment of a number of skin disorders. Unfortunately only one drug has been mentioned i.e. betamethasone with neomycin, which is rarely prescribed by specialists nor does any dermatologist prefer to use it in combination with neomycin which could be harmful to the patient. More potent topical steroids should have been included in the exemption list as they are essentially required for chronic and resistant dermatoses. Similarly, depot and long-acting steroid injections have not made a place in the list.
Oral anti-fungals have been totally ignored. These drugs are used for superficial and systemic fungal infections. They are considered as life-saving drugs and should have been included in the list.
Similarly anti-histamines are very widely used not only by dermatologists but by all specialists. Some patients use anti-histamines regularly for months and years. Surprisingly, the list carries only one anti-histamine i.e. Chloropheniramine which is one of the oldest product; newer and more effective sedative and non-sedative anti-histamines should have been included.
I request the President of Pakistan to instruct the Federal Ministry of Health to review the list of the drugs for dermatological use and provide relief to the patients.
DR KHURSHID HASAN ALVI
Karachi
A RAIL link has existed between Peshawar and Landikotal since the British days. Though this facility has now been reduced to a tourist attraction only, it could be gainfully used for transporting a large number of office-goers, students and other commuters daily from Peshawar to the University and Hayatabad in the morning, and back in the afternoon. The future dwellers of the upcoming Regi Lalma Scheme could also benefit from this rail link.
The only requirement is for the railway authorities to explore the possibility of revitalizing it for the use of the general public. The track is available, the train does exist and all other paraphernalia could be arranged without any difficulty. The coaches could be manufactured in the existing carriage factory of the country.
Luckily, this railway track escaped the wrath of the railway authorities during the time of one of the earlier governments when the railway department was on an uprooting spree of the railway tracks due to non-profitability of running trains on these routes. Instead of analyzing the causes of losses on these routes and taking remedial measures, the department had come out with the novel ideal of dismantling the existing railway tracks and doing away with the facility itself!
The present management of the railways has brought about revolutionary changes and has turned it into a revenue generating organization.
The railway authorities should take up this suggestion and make it happen in the general interest of the public.
AIR-CDRE (R) AZFAR A. KHAN
Rawalpindi
THE paradox of our time is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways but narrower viewpoints. We spend more but have less. We buy more but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems.
We laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our (social) values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life not life to years.
We’ve been all the way to the moon and back but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbour. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things but not better things. We’ve cleaned up the air but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom but not our prejudice.
We write more but learn and accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less. These are the time of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small characters, steep profits and shallow relationships.
These are the days of two incomes (husband and wife both working) but more divorces, fancier houses but broken homes.
So, give time to love, give time to speak and give time to share your thoughts.
MUBEEN RASHEED
Lahore
THE protection of the reforms process is not good enough reason for the continuation of the rule by an army general. Politicians can do that just as well.
We have to get back to parliamentary democracy in its original form. It is no good complaining that the previous democratic governments did not deliver. There has been more than enough time for introspection and self-criticism by the political leaders and better governance is expected from them. We have to get back on the rails and abandon the present quasi-democratic set up.
Also, Gen Musharraf has burnt his boats as far India is concerned. We badly need a political government that can bring a reluctant India back to the negotiating table for purposes of de-escalation and some non-military forward movement.
KHURSHID ANWER
Lahore
OUR constitution only allows public representatives to rule the country; all else are acts of deviation from the constitution. President Musharraf got this act legalized by the superior court, even though the court does not have the authority to legalize it under the constitution.
So, why referendum? And why inconvenience the innocent public? And above all why incur a huge expenditure, which our poor country can’t afford?
The simple way is to seek advice on referendum from the judges of the superior courts who have taken oath under the PCO.
I fully endorse the views of Ayaz Amir that we are being ruled under the law of the jungle. I salute the action taken by the PML-N for a wheel-jam strike on the referendum day as a move towards the restoration of true democracy.
ENGR ZAHID HUSSAIN AWAN
Karachi
THE commencement of work at the Gwadar deep-sea port highlights the deep-rooted friendship between China and Pakistan. It is yet another project where China itself offered help to Pakistan. There is no denying the fact that China has always proved to be a trusted friend of Pakistan.
A deep-sea port at Gwadar will go a long way in the socio-economic uplift of Balochistan, hitherto the most deprived province of Pakistan. The project will take three years to complete and would cost around $248 million.
The project has been held up since 1995 for one reason or the other. Now the whole credit goes to the present government, which is determined to complete it within the stipulated period.
At the same time one must appreciate Pakistan’s long-time friend China, and it is hoped that the two countries will continue co-operation for their mutual benefit in the future too.
RAFAT MAHMOOD ANSARI
Islamabad
IT was reported (Dawn, March 30) that the ministry of finance was likely to present in the federal budget for 2002-2003 some scheme for the rationalization of pensions. There was, however, no mention of the restoration of the commuted portion of old pensions after complete refund despite a lot of critical comments by the press. The new rules, being adverse, cannot be binding on the old pensioners. There is no justification for withholding the surrendered portion of a pension when it becomes due under the rules.
Even if the government thinks both gratuity and pension as a risk and a liability, it cannot do away with it. It may, however, drop the lump-sum gratuity system for the time being for paucity of funds to the fresh retirees but it cannot withhold the surrendered portions of pensions retrospectively. The amount of pension withheld will be disproportionate to the agony of the deprived pensioners. A system based on injustice cannot endure. The government is, therefore, requested to save the old pensioners in the name of justice and equity.
ABDUR RASHID
Lahore
Recently, Dawn carried a PIA advertisement with the slogan ‘Great people to fly with’, seeking applications from professionally qualified and experienced teachers for various subjects for its Model Secondary School located at the PIA Township, Karachi Airport (April 7). The advertisement proclaims that school employees are not entitled to any of the PIA facilities.
Why is it that teachers are being denied the privileges enjoyed by equivalent cadres in other branches of the PIA? Isn’t this discrimination?
I would like to ask the chairman PIA if he considers teachers to be an inferior commodity? And I would also like to know as to how does the Federal Minister for Education react to this?
LT-COL SYED AHMED (R)
Karachi
IT appears that most of the public sector organizations advertize vacancies in newspapers just to complete a formality. Actually, they do what they want to do, and much before the ad appears in the newspapers.
In the last four months, I have applied to more than 20 public sector organizations in response to their advertisements. Although I fulfilled all their requirements, I was not called for a test or interview even by a single advertiser. And I am not the only complainant; there are many jobless young men who go through the same experience.
I just want to request the concerned government authorities that if they cannot give us jobs, they should not add to our frustrations with such deceptive ads. No hope is less painful than a hope extinguished after being kindled.
M. YOUSUF
Islamabad
I INVITE the attention of the authorities concerned and of the chairman CBR to the Sales Tax Act of 1990 wherein relief had been granted and all exportable items were exempted from the payment of sales tax. The Central Board of Revenue had also laid down a procedure for the refund of sales tax where commercial exporters are involved and taxable products/ items are purchased from registered suppliers and later on exported from Pakistan. The procedure described in the Sales Tax Act of 1990 specifies the responsibilities of exporters and suppliers separately.
According to the prescribed procedure, an exporter is required to produce evidence of purchase i.e. registered supplier’s invoice and proof of export i.e. export shipping bill listing specified goods as exported from Pakistan, and claim for the refund of same sales tax amount that is shown on registered suppliers invoice against the goods purchased for export. The responsibility of payment of sales tax lies with the registered supplier and not the buyer.
It is surprising that in spite of the clear-cut procedure, claims worth billions of rupees of genuine exporters are lying unpaid with almost all the collectorates of sales tax. The exporters are only told that the cases are pending for want of verification and re-verification of registered suppliers invoices from the respective collectorate.
The question is: why are commercial exporters being made to suffer? Why billions of rupees claims are held unpaid for years when documents required under the Sales Tax Act are provided to the respective collectorates along with originally filed claims? Here, I would like to refer to a recent complaint filed with the Federal Tax Ombudsman Secretariat, Islamabad, wherein Faisalabad collectorate had issued show cause notice to a reputed exporter. The judgment of the court was against the collectorate as per section 3 of the Act which clearly places the responsibility of payment of sales tax on registered suppliers.
The chairman of the Central Board of Revenue and the minister of commerce are requested to direct the Collectorate of Sales Tax to clear up refund claims of exporters, which have been held up for years. The blockage of funds is a severe blow to the economy.
Export trade faces tough international competition and the margin of profit is very nominal and much below the rate of applicable sales tax. The blocking of sales tax refund amount of an exporter hits him financially. It is hoped that appropriate action will be taken in this regard.
ASIF HANIF
Karachi
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