| May 13, 2002 | Monday | Safar 29, 1423 |
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Lawyers’ role in Kashmir
Cases of status quo
Murder of a scholar
Architect of Durand Line
Spare us the agony
Killer Landhi Bridge
Car seat belts
Support to present setup
Grounds for compassion
The referendum and foreign media
WITH the referendum behind us and a mixed reaction trailing it, the nation is looking forward to October elections quite apprehensively lest the opportunist plunderers find their way to the assemblies yet once again, manoeuvring for which has already started by them. Alliances of sorts for and against the President are coming up, ironically both in the name of democracy.
Resilience of some of the elder power brokers is astonishing to watch. Their eloquence in advocating the reason for uniting to restore the government of, for and by the people, notwithstanding the basic differences in their political philosophies, stands and manifestoes, is a treat to the ears.
Yet, how very naive of them not to realize that ‘one cannot fool all for all time’. The masses of the 21st century are way wiser than their predecessors who could be easily lured by catchy slogans and hollow promises. Everyone now knows that the real reason behind such alliances is to horse-trade for fielding their respective candidates in the common constituencies where they claim to wield some influence, if at all any. Everyone, including the so-called allies, know that such marriages of convenience cannot last for long and are bound to break up sooner than later. Even a cursory glance at the fate of all previous such political alliances will prove the point.
However, due to the plethora of political parties in the country, their leaders have no choice but to enter into such give-and-take arrangements with one another to survive, though in the process they do immense damage to the country and its politics.
This overabundance of political parties is one of the major causes for the failure of democracy in Pakistan. The President will do the nation an everlasting service by curtailing their number. Implementing the following few steps, along with the other existing rules of conduct for the elections, will help achieve the desired results:
(1) A candidate be allowed to contest from one constituency only and that too of his domicile.
(2) A candidate must poll at least 51 per cent of the votes cast to be declared elected. Hypothetically speaking, in a constituency with five contestants, how can a ‘winner’ with, say, 21 per cent of the votes have the right to represent the other 79 per cent of the people who voted against him. If required, a second round of voting be held for the top two candidates only to decide the winner from between them.
(3) The fee for the candidacy should be fairly high — say Rs2 lakhs for the MNA and Rs1,50,000 for the MPA — which should be paid by the party fielding the candidate.
(4) The fee to be confiscated if the candidate fails to secure less than 33 per cent of the total votes cast in his constituency. Fresh fee to be paid for the second round of voting for the top two candidates.
(5) No political alliance allowed for fielding candidates in the election. If the political parties so desire, they could merge into one another.
(6) No joint candidate allowed to be fielded by different political parties.
(7) A candidate losing his fee to be debarred for contesting the next election.
(8) Candidate to file return of his and his immediate family’s all movable and immovable assets, duly supported by income tax returns for the last three years with his application.
(9) A suitable limit on expenditure be imposed on the electioneering campaign of the candidate.
The above would automatically wean out the trivial and leave two or three major political parties with strong and healthy political culture in the field. Then, there would be no need for the alliances or for making of weak collation governments where horse-trading is the order of the day to ‘accommodate’ all.
COL (R) RIAZ JAFRI
Rawalpindi
THE idea of holding an all Jammu and Kashmir lawyers’ convention needs consideration. Lawyers play an important role in the formation and promotion of public opinion. The lawyers of the Hindu and Muslim communities led their freedom struggles against the British. The interaction between lawyers from both sides will be useful as a confidence building measure and also contribute to the process of dialogue between the two countries.
The convention can be jointly arranged by the bar associations of Srinagar-Jammu and Muzaffarabad-Mirpur. It can be held in any of these four cities or even in New Delhi or Islamabad. The governments of India and Pakistan can facilitate the holding of this convention.
Details can be mutually decided. Each side should have 100 practising lawyers to be nominated by the respective bar associations. Our side should include 15 lawyers from Kashmiri refugees living in Pakistan, and 15 from the Northern Areas. Some prominent Kashmiri lawyers from foreign countries should also be invited. The participants should bear their expenses for attending the convention.
Besides other mutually agreed topics, the human problems being faced by the Kashmiris, the disturbed or uprooted families, Kashmiri citizens living in foreign countries, citizens living in close proximity of the Line of Control, etc, should receive special attention.
The convention can suggest measures to solve human problems and to generate goodwill to promote a just and lasting solution of the Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
KHWAJA MUHAMMAD BASHIR BUTT
Bahawalnagar
ALTHOUGH it is a universally accepted dictum that “justice delayed is justice denied”, it is a regrettable fact that this principle is hardly implemented by our judiciary. In our courts, cases drag on and on, not for months or years, but for generations. That is why people are reluctant to go to courts for justice.
‘Status quo’ is a legal term commonly known as ‘stay order’ which implies that there should be no change in the conditions until such time when the judge issues an order.
In most cases no order is forthcoming for years for one reason or another. Status quo is strictly followed. Any disregard of the ‘stay’ attracts punitive clauses of the existing law. Every government promises prompt justice at the doorsteps of the aggrieved. But it never happens.
The most outstanding examples of the status quo in Karachi are as follows: One, the unfinished sports complex situated at the junction of M.A. Jinnah Road and the Aga Khan Road. Perhaps the work was abandoned in 1977; two, O Brayo Hotel, opposite Pearl Continental and on the junction of Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan Road and Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road; three, Dorman City on Clifton beach; four, a shopping mall on the land belonging to Bin Qasim Bagh in Clifton; and five, Plot No. DS-124 on Khayabane Shamsheer opposite Silver Sand multistory housing-cum-commercial complex. This plot of over six acres is in the prime area of the DHA and was allotted to an influential person of rural Sindh during the PPP regime.
There must be hundreds of such cases in Karachi alone. Is this prompt justice at the doorsteps of the aggrieved parties?
We generally follow in the footsteps of the US but don’t follow their judicial system which is closer to the Islamic polity. The judiciary in America is the most powerful pillar of the state. There is no permanent ‘status quo’ or ‘stay order’ as is prevalent in this ‘land of the pures’.
S.M. ZAKERYA KAZMI
Karachi
ON May 5, I attended a lecture given by Dr Ghulam Murtaza Malik at the New Garden Town, Lahore. I guess that was his last lecture as he was shot dead on May 7.
I knew him only through his discourses on the television or otherwise. But I was greatly impressed by the purity and consistency of his message. In his lecture on that day he emphasized three points.
First, Islam need not have multiple sects, and suffer the issues arising out of that. Notwithstanding the interpretations made later on, it was possible to practice it with purity and simplicity as revealed to the Holy Prophet.
Secondly, the best way to understand Islam is to learn Arabic and read the Holy Quran and study the life of the Holy Prophet.
Thirdly, Allah does not like a prayer which is not supported by a conscious effort towards achieving the end it is made for.
Dr Murtaza was indeed a progressive and liberal scholar of Islam. All I can say is that another true voice of Islam has been silenced.
SHAHZAD ISHAQ
Lahore
I USED to listen to Dr Ghulam Murtaza’s lectures regularly. His style was simple and effective.
When I heard the news of his murder, I could not believe it. How could any one kill a kind person like him?
Our law enforcing agencies have become too negligent and slack in performing their duties. And it is because of their inefficiency that such a thing has happened. It is high time that a complete overhauling be taken up.
BILAL MUGHAL
Islamabad
I AM afraid Mr Fazal Qureshi has most of the facts wrong in his article ‘Architect of the Durand Line’ (May 5).
The grave ‘discovered’ by him at D.I.Khan is not of the architect of the famous boundary line but of his father. Durand Sr died in 1871, as testified by the church memorial plaque.
How could then he preside over the commission that accomplished the feat in 1893? Actually it was Sir Henry Mortimer Durand (1850-1924), not a military man but an ICS officer, who was at that time Foreign Secretary in the Viceroy’s Council (not ‘cabinet’), who lent his name to one of the great acts of diplomacy in this part of the world.
He occupied that post for a full decade, that is, till 1894. Later on, he was posted as ambassador to Washington (1903-1906).
I have culled all the above information from one of the numerous sites on the internet. But these are easily available in books on Pak-Afghan relations.
Another point that needs clarification is that the town is not named Tonk but Tank ( pronounced Tawnk). Secondly, there was no deputy governor at the time referred to in the article. Perhaps the writer meant Lt-Governor, which would be a correct description of the office held by that dignitary.
C.M. ASHRAF
Lahore
IT is an established fact that PTV’s Khabarnama happens to be the most boring programme every evening. Most of the news and pictures telecast during it are of no value to the viewers. The irony is that no effort is being made to solicit the opinion of the viewers to make it realistic, interesting and popular.
On the other hand, there is an everlasting urge on the part of PTV to further bore the viewers to death. One such dose was administered to us on May 1 when at the beginning of the Khabarnama, the newscaster requested the chief election commissioner to announce the results of the referendum.
Instead of announcing the results, the chief election commissioner embarked upon a never-ending tale of boredom. For a good over 15 minutes, he subjected us to torture for no fault of ours.
I have yet to come across a single individual who was interested in what he said during the prelude to the announcement of the actual figures. Having survived the onslaught this time, may I request the chief election commissioner to spare us the agony when the results of the October elections are announced?
AZHAR ALI
Lahore
ABOUT six months ago, a minibus fell off the Landhi Bridge killing several persons. There was no side railing which could have offered some resistance to the skidding ill-fated bus.
As usual there was an uproar for the immediate repair of the bridge. Work on it started with lightening speed and ceased in similar fashion. It still remains incomplete.
At present there are three deep cracks, 6 inches wide and 10 meters apart, on the road over the bridge. These are very dangerous for all types of vehicles.
Do we have to wait for another tragedy to awaken the concerned authorities to make this bridge safe for vehicles and human beings?
PERWAIZ KIZILBASH
Karachi
IT has been observed that in Suzuki Mehran no seat belts have been provided, which poses a threat to drivers in case they suffer an accident.
The concerned authority is requested to take necessary action.
ANIL KHAN LUNI
Karachi
I HAVE always seen my people and my country suffer and bleed due to the wrong doings of our politicians and the privileged few. Every now and then a perfectly democratic government is set up by extremely fair means only to fill up the bank accounts of those who want to satisfy their hunger for material wealth. The poor and average man has always suffered while the rich have become richer.
Now for the first time ever in Pakistan’s history we have a really sincere man, who had no political aim before Oct 12, 1999, when the responsibility of leading our wounded nation was thrust on his shoulders.
It is my motherland and it’s your motherland! I love my country to the extent that if need arises I would lay down my life for it. That means I want only what is good for Pakistan, not for a few Pakistanis. Therefore, I support the military government heart and soul, like all patriotic Pakistanis. Who on earth wants a democratic government in a country like ours? We have never had democracy and we can never have democracy until there is a tremendous rise in the literacy rate.
Right now, General Musharraf is our leader, we want him there to look after us and our country.
HARIS ZUBERI
Karachi
THE case which I want to refer to is that of a girl child student, whose mother is in distress due to the child not being transferred from afternoon to morning shift by her school principal. While conceding to the prerogative of the principal to decide on the merit and also the accommodation so available, it has so transpired that this particular case has its own significance of merit as well its compassionate grounds.
The child travels from the far end of Gulistan-i-Jauhar by bus to reach Saddar, which consumes more than an hour, and returns home late in the evening. The mother besides her gynae problem has to work from morning till noon to supplement the house budget which renders the child unattended and uncared. On the other hand the father has no stable income and is not able to provide reasonable subsistence to the family.
It has been observed that some principals are very rigid in their approach and refuse to flex on compassionate grounds. I had asked the parents to see the Secretary Education with an application but nothing came out of it.
I, therefore, request the Sindh Education Minister to intervene.
SAIFUDDIN
E. Contractor
Karachi
THIS is with reference to Ardeshir Cowasjee’s article ‘So far so good’ (May 5).
The typical response of the many supporters of General Pervez Musharraf to the recent referendum has been to unashamedly claim victory and flatly deny charges of irregularities reported all over the world.
Mr Cowasjee, however, has adopted a different approach. He has taken refuge in selective quotes from the foreign media and exhorts us to “imbibe the wisdom of those who look at us from afar, those who are interested in the facts of this country.”
While one is willing to follow his argument, Mr Cowasjee’s approach would have been more credible if he had been more comprehensive in the quotes that he has selected from foreign newspapers.
He quotes excerpts from the The Times to demonstrate how supportive this London-based newspaper is of the General’s victory. I am not sure which version of the article Mr Cowasjee read but the same article goes on to say: “The referendum has been a setback. It was an attempt to cover a military regime with the trappings of a democracy while still leaving it essentially a military regime. It appeared to offer choice while not in fact doing so, increasing the electorate’s cynicism. The tactics to secure an endorsement have been so crude — bussing in supporters, harassing journalists, forcing civil servants to the booths and condoning widespread fraud — that they have alienated most of the middle classes, the backbone of the President’s support, upset Pakistan’s lawyers and united the squabbling opposition.”
The New York Times, from which Mr Cowasjee has quoted passages from an article written by a freelance contributor, condemns the referendum as being “rigged”.
Mr Cowasjee’s third source of ‘wisdom,’ the Washington Times, says in an article that “Musharraf’s decision to seek a full five-year term through an up-or-down vote has made him a controversial figure. Instead of doing what he was expected to do, Musharraf got involved in a popularity contest and it was a battle Gen Musharraf was expected to lose. Now to save himself from embarrassment, he will have to indulge in the activities that made previous governments unpopular.”
The western media has universally condemned the referendum exercise as the sham it was which perhaps explains why Mr Cowasjee’s pearls of wisdom are restricted to only three newspapers. The Financial Times, one of the most respected papers in London, describes the referendum as having succeeded only in “advertising the illegitimacy of (Musharraf’s) rule to the world. Tuesday’s vote on what must surely rank as one of the most loaded questions in electoral history was a shame made even worse by widespread allegations of vote-rigging... if Pakistan’s history of military rule is any guide, Gen Musharraf’s regime will grow steadily more corrupt and irresponsible, unchecked by any real mechanisms of accountability. The general would have been better advised to put his constitutional changes to a referendum before standing in a contested presidential election himself. During the cold war, for reasons of realpolitik, western governments backed several autocratic rulers who curtailed the development of representative institutions, inadvertently encouraging the rise of extremism. It would be a tragedy if those same mistakes were repeated in the latest war against terrorism.”
VOMIC NUR SHAH
London, UK
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