| May 23, 2002 | Thursday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 10,1423 |
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Our positive approach
Hostage to loudspeakers
Deeds, not words
Federal taxes
Advice from Jurassic Park
Security after death
Tourism promotion
Good news also, please
Suggestions for elections
A lesson to learn from crows
Corporal punishment
Recruitment of Mukhtiarkars
Signboards
Battling terrorism
RECENTLY President Musharraf was explicit in stating that he wishes to introduce in the Constitution a role for the army. The army’s, rather armed forces’ role is already defined in Article 245 of the Constitution and relates to the defence of Pakistan’s borders and aid to civil power, when called upon by a civilian government. If then an attempt is made to allocate any other role to the army it will be Musharraf’s second greatest folly after the debacle of referendum.
Considering that in the same breath the General says that he wishes to introduce true democracy in the country rather than continue with sham democracy that prevailed earlier, the question arises as to how would he reconcile true democracy with a role for the army in governance. Surely it will be contradiction in terms.
Presumably such a role for the army is being sought with a view to giving continuity to the government and to avoiding elected government getting derailed from the true path, whatever that might be. Perhaps it is the Turkish model that is in the General’s advisers’ minds. But what they fail to understand is that there is a subtle difference between the Turkish army and the Pakistan army. While Turkey owes its existence as a modern state to its army, the Pakistan army is tainted with the legacy of British Indian Colonial army, which had no role to play in the creation of the country.
Considering that without there being any defined role for the army in the Constitution, Bonapartism has still been its hallmark, institutionalizing it would result in continued direct and pernicious interference by the army in all future governments in view of it being the most powerful of all institutions. Bonapartism then from being a hallmark of the army will become an article of faith and result in politicizing of even the lower cadres of army, which will eventually adversely effect the discipline of the army itself.
Perhaps the Kakul-trained minds do not realize that stability and continuity of government is ensured through strict adherence to the Constitution and not through the trouncing of it. Thus, what needs to be done is to introduce workable amendments in the Constitution which ensure checks and balance and not to make it subservient to army’s will.
Indeed what is required is amendments in the Constitution that would make it in effect a quasi-presidential form of government while maintaining its parliamentary character to assuage the Supreme Court. The French model would come closest to what we require. Perhaps the General can take solace from the fact that the French model, too, was introduced by a General, though an eminent one.
JUSTICE (R) M. SHAIQ
USMANI
Karachi
INDIAN Minister for External Affairs Jaswant Singh, announcing the decision to expel the Pakistan High Commissioner, said that “for the sake of parity of the relationship between the two countries, the Pakistan High Commissioner is being asked to go back to Islamabad”. Earlier the Indian Government had withdrawn its High Commissioner from Islamabad after the attack on the Indian Parliament building by some unknown people in December last year.
Pakistan had avoided taking any tit-for-tat action against the Indian decision when New Delhi recalled its High Commissioner from Islamabad and snapped air, road and rail links. The government of Pakistan retained its High Commissioner in New Delhi. Despite the negative attitude of the Indian government the government of Pakistan would like to continue to work for de-escalation of tension in the region and normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Now it is up to India to play its role in maintaining peace in the region. It must call back its troops from Pakistan’s borders. With the withdrawal of Indian troops, Pakistan will also withdraw its troops from the Indian borders, which it had to deploy to face any eventuality.
Pakistan has always tried to maintain harmonious relations with India, but the Indian government has failed to do so. The Indian government and the media have been alleging Pakistan’s involvement in held Kashmir, which Pakistan has denied categorically.
During the Saarc summit President Pervez Musharraf extended his hand of friendship to the Indian prime minister, but it is really unfortunate that the Indian prime minister did not respond to the goodwill and gesture of the Pakistani president.
Instead of finding ways and means for reducing tension, India has escalated tension in the region by sending its troops to Pakistan’s borders and may be preparing its ground work for attacking Pakistan. But this armed conflict may extend and convert into a nuclear war.
India should take steps for normalizing relations with its neighbour, Pakistan, and work jointly with Pakistan on a peace-keeping agenda which is in the interest of all.
SYED A. MATEEN
Karachi
I WOULD like to draw the attention of the higher authorities to a highly disturbing situation that has existed in our locality for a very long time.
I am a resident of Block 13 of the F.B. Area, Karachi, in the vicinity of Masjid-i-Farooq-i-Azam. The imam of the said mosque has literally kept the entire neighbourhood hostage to his speeches which continue for hours.
Although there is a ban on the use of loudspeakers, except for azaan and Friday khutba, the public address system is used with full blast at the gatherings held in the mosque, which are mostly attended by people from outside this locality.
The speeches are full of hate and incitement and preach extremism.
As President Musharraf has taken the bold decision to tackle religious extremism, I feel that the time has come for such activities to be stopped.
A RESIDENT
Karachi
THE US Ambassador to Pakistan, Mrs Windy Chamberlain, has decided to give up her diplomatic assignment in Pakistan. What she said in a recent interview reflected a very un-enviable image of Pakistan.
In the beginning, Mrs Chamberlain had been very active and articulate in improving US-Pakistan relations. But it seems that the sense of insecurity created by some recent incidents of terrorism against foreigners in Pakistan have dashed her hopes.
But what would be the message sent all around the world by her decision? It would be simply that Pakistan has become a land not safe for foreigners. And it would have a tremendous effect on so many aspects, the most drastic being that on economy. Sincere efforts are, therefore, needed to bring an end to the incidents of terrorism.
And please, no words, deeds only.
SALIM SHAH HOTI
Peshawar
IN his recent interview on ARY digital TV, Mr Altaf Hussain of the MQM stated that 62 per cent of the federal revenues were contributed by Sindh. This is a gross distortion of facts.
It must be appreciated that all taxes are actually paid by individuals and not by companies. It is known to all that companies pass on the burden of indirect taxes to their customers by including the tax into the price of their products. If the products of a company are sold all over Pakistan, it is not correct to attribute the entire tax paid by the company to Sindh just because the head office of the company is located in Karachi.
To find out what percentage of tax has been paid by each province, we need to know the proportion of the products of the company sold therein.
Likewise, in the case of direct taxes, such as corporate income tax, the burden of tax falls on the shareholders of the company, not all of whom reside in the province in which the head office of the company is located.
From the above, it is obvious that the determination of the contribution of each province to federal taxes requires an elaborate exercise. One would, however, be greatly surprised if the contribution of each province to federal taxes turns out to be very different from its share of the national product.
ASAF ALI SHAH
Lahore
THIS is with reference to ‘Advice from Jurassic Park’ by Mr Kunwar Idrees (May 18).
Besides what has been suggested in the article, I think that if the term of the future governments is brought down to four years, the possibility of the dismissal of governments before completion of their term would be minimized.
The issue of national security council may rest with the future democratic government.
As the referendum has become highly controversial, I fully endorse the view of the writer to replace the present Election Commission with a new one with people acceptable to all political parties and having a clean record.
M.R. SARHANDI
Karachi
THIS is with reference to the picture published in Dawn on May 19, showing a policeman guarding the area around the Edhi morgue where the body of Daniel Pearle has been kept. It is a pity that a person who is no more has got the safety which we Karachiites can only enjoy in our dreams.
FAISAL SHAHZAD ABBASI
Karachi
THE Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation is introducing a bus service to connect Islamabad with stations of tourist attraction like Naran, Chitral, Swat, Hunza, Skardu and Gilgit.
Unfortunately, despite immense interest shown by tourists in these areas, successive governments made no worthwhile efforts to promote tourism in the Northern Areas. Sri Lanka is earning huge foreign exchange from tourism, but in Pakistan the number of tourists is on the decline. This is only because we have failed to develop the necessary infrastructure to make tourist spots accessible to tourists.
The tourism industry has suffered a lot in the wake of the Sept 11 incident that has led to a drastic decrease in the flow of tourists from the United States and other western countries. This calls for rebuilding the tourism market but the government alone cannot do the job. Tour operators, hotels and airlines would have to make joint efforts to promote tourism.
The law and order situation in the country, too, is not encouraging for tourism. Our missions abroad should try to create a better perception of Pakistan in the host countries to help increase the inflow of tourists.
AMJAD KARIM
Hunza
I AM a regular reader of Dawn and I have observed that the civic problems of Karachi are appropriately highlighted with news reports as well as pictures. But when any of these problems are solved, the same is seldom reported or discussed in the paper. For instance, a road that had been dug and left unattended, was highlighted and the very next day, the authorities took corrective steps. But this was not reported by the paper.
Similarly, the issue of transfer of artefacts from Karachi to Lahore was given extensive and prominent coverage, but the statement by the minister clarifying the issue, was reported inconspicuously on page 3.
The people of this city are already very frustrated, and by highlighting negative or bad news only, the paper adds to this frustration. The least you can do to ameliorate their agony is to take notice of the good news as well, which do occur in the city, though less frequently.
ZEESHAN RAZA
Karachi
I HAVE worked as a presiding officer in elections in the past. No doubt, we are moving towards betterment in election work, but still my colleagues and I, who worked as presiding officers in the recent referendum, feel that some things in the arrangement of election duties need improvement.
Most of the returning officers were civil judges who had no experience of public dealing. I think that senior principals of educational institutions should be appointed Assistant Returning Officers, as they possess the experience to tackle any untoward situation in colleges during examinations and at the time of admissions.
Secondly, the ballot boxes are too heavy and it is difficult for presiding officers to carry two or, sometimes, even four boxes at a time. I remember that in the past, the police was responsible for transporting these boxes to the polling stations and the presiding officers had to carry only the sensitive material.
I hope the Chief Election Commissioner would consider these suggestions.
ASRAR AHMED
Karachi
I’VE read about many campaigns to get rid of crows. But they are not all in all bad. An incident a few days ago just outside my house alerted my attention. The crows were creating such a storm, reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock’s movie, that I had to go outside and see what the din was about. There was one crow lying dead on the road and what mayhem....
There is a lesson we can learn from these so called menace birds people wish to be rid of. Daily, people are being killed in Pakistan, particularly in Karachi, and no one bats an eyelid. Why can’t we stand up like the crows for the death of one of our own; doctors, lawyers, philanthropists, educationists all being killed at the hand of terrorists and both the government and the people remain silent.
The culprits should be caught and punished. Then let us see if this is repeated. Why this apathy? Why this slackness?
S. BABAR
Karachi
IT has been reported that in a well-known high school of Hyderabad, a boy was severely beaten by his teacher and had to be rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
In this age, when we are so enthusiastic about following western models from fashion to political systems, and spare no opportunity to show our concern for human rights, how can we connive at such inhuman incidents. This is in not education but barbarism.
The concerned quarters ought to take stern action in this regard. Corporal punishment, in any form, must be completely banned in schools.
TARIK OMRANI
Hyderabad
I WOULD like to ask the secretary of the Sindh Public Service Commission if a syllabus has been prescribed for the written test for the post of Mukhtiarkar.
If yes, then why has this office not supplied a copy of it along with the application forms? If the answer is ‘no’, then how can we prepare for that test?
I’ll be thankful if the position is clarified.
ASHIQUE ALI LASHARI
Khairpur (Mirs)
IT is highly commendable that decent signboards with names of roads and important buildings written on them have been erected by the city government through the courtesy of the Pakistan State Oil, at various locations in the city.
However, this is to bring to the notice of those concerned that one such signboard opposite the GPO on the I.I. Chundrigar Road reads as “General ‘Pots’ Office”.
NOMAN A. REHMAN
Karachi
THE government has rightly decided to overhaul the law and order machinery and create a specialized anti-terrorist unit following the May 8 suicide bomb attack in Karachi. The suicide attack signals a dangerous phase of terrorist activity in the country and requires extraordinary response.
Pakistan has faced terrorism for years, but since Sept 11, terrorist attacks have not only taken a quantitative jump, they have become more organized and sophisticated.
The intelligence gathering and investigation methods and skills of the law enforcement agencies should be improved to enable them to deal effectively with terrorism. A new well-equipped investigative force should specifically deal with such cases.
The Central Investigation Unit should be provided with latest crime fighting equipment and manned by the most capable officers of the law enforcement agencies. A modern forensic laboratory at the federal level would complement the provincial forensic facilities, which should also be upgraded.
Equally pressing is the need for better coordination and information sharing between the numerous agencies in the field, a weakness a specialized anti-terrorist unit could possibly rectify.
The terrorists selected Karachi, the hub of Pakistan’s commercial activity and a nerve centre of Pakistan’s economy. And the act was committed at a time when the foreign investors had just begun to gain confidence and foreign direct investment had started to flow into Pakistan. The blast is clearly aimed at scaring away the prospective and actual foreign investors and, thus, bringing the economy under further pressure.
India is also adding to Pakistan’s problems. As India is drumming its own hysteria against terrorism, the Indian leaders are all but bringing South Asia to the verge of war.
India is crying hoarse that it has been the victim of terrorism, but the fact cannot be denied that Pakistan’s improving economic situation is not sitting well with India. As Pakistan’s economy improved substantially after Sept 11, 2001, India is doing everything to portray Pakistan as a country ‘sponsoring terrorism’.
India is an extremely confused country today. When it cannot control the killings of Muslims, it has no explanation but to blame Pakistan, which is ridiculous, as a number of independent reports have held the Gujarat government responsible for the unabated killings of Muslims.
India has become a stumbling block in the international community’s fight against terrorism and its role must be reviewed.
FATIMA KIRMANI
Karachi
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