| June 3, 2002 | Monday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 21,1423 |
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India’s terrorism in Lanka
End of the honeymoon?
Fooling the innocent
Phone blues in Turbat
A people’s peace initiative
Clarification
On knife’s edge
Rationalize fines
A terrible ordeal at the airport
University of Karachi Islamabad
THIS refers to the article “A voice in the wilderness” by Dr Tariq Rahman (May 26). I agree with most of his assertions but I have some reservations about the later part of his article.
The recommendations put forward by the Task Force on Higher Education are often contradictory and they will produce results opposite to the stated objectives. In fact, if implemented these recommendations will kill transparency, autonomy, intellectual freedom and scholarship. A few of my own observations on the aforementioned recommendations are listed below:
The task force has dubiously set aside critical issues like autonomy, transparency, resource constraints, bureaucratic and political intervention, group politics and poor physical and research facilities, instead focussing its attention on a single factor, i.e., poor governance.
The task force has tried to rectify ‘poor governance’ by strengthening arbitrary and discretionary powers of the administration (governors) by providing them a cover through handpicked nominated bodies such as governing boards, executive councils, etc.
The task force has deliberately avoided framing rules and regulations concentrating only on the structural adjustments required. The framing of rules and regulations has been left to the various nominated bodies, thus giving more powers to the administrators to change or frame rules according to their wishes.
A mechanism for public accountability and transparency is missing. Only the intention of accountability is mentioned but the procedure of how to go about doing this isn’t.
The recommendations also marginalize the role of teachers in the organizational structure, in decision-making and in the development process.
By linking tuition fees to the cost of education, the task force has reduced higher education to a purchasable commodity. Higher education is made available to those who can afford it.
The outcome of such a policy will be that parents and students will view higher education as a sort of investment to be recovered in the shortest possible time. Consequently, disciplines offering the highest rate of return will flourish. Profitable subjects such as business administration, information technology, commerce and medicine will attract a large number of students.
Humanities, social sciences, physical and basic sciences and to a large extent engineering will get fewer people. A further decline in the standards of higher education would happen.
Health, education and security are the prime responsibility of the state. These are social services and not profitable commodities. Such services must be universally available in a free and independent country.
I do not think that modifications in the structure proposed by Dr Rahman will make a difference. The current proposals should be rejected because they are based on false assumptions and a wrong philosophy. An educational system in which the teachers have a very minor role to play is bound to fail.
Let us dig up the recommendations prepared by senior university professors way back in 1973-74, put them on the anvil and prepare a proposal which is transparent and effective. The new proposal must emphasize the teacher’s role in the management structure which facilitates creation and dissemination of knowledge. It must ensure maximum autonomy, intellectual freedom and participation of teachers. It should guarantee that higher education is accessible to all making sure that the principle of merit is not violated.
The system must place students and their need at the centre and should promote ethics, scientific and intellectual rigour.
In the end, we must weed out all parasites which like termites eat away the social, ethical and moral fabric or our society and those who are responsible for academic anarchy and intellectual dishonesty.
I am very grateful to Dr Tariq Rahman for raising his voice. I assure him that his is not the solitary voice, there are many other voices in academia scattered throughout Pakistan. Let us join together and raise our voices simultaneously. Let us stand up and be counted.
PROF DR ABDUL QADEER
Chairman, Department of Applied Physics
I have read the text of President Pervez Musharraf’s speech who has rightly pointed out that Indian terrorism has played havoc with the South Asia region, particularly Sri Lanka, for the last two decades.
It is well known, despite India’s denials, that Tamil terrorists were armed and trained in India from 1983 onwards, to create terror in Sri Lanka. Their leader, Prabhakaran, has in the past been provided safe haven in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu where the terrorist training camps were set up.
While their horrible misdeeds involving brutal murder of thousands of innocent civilians in Sri Lanka are well known, some of their other major crimes include the assassination in May 1993 of President R. Premadasa, crashing an explosives-laden truck into a government building in Colombo and killing 91 civilians in July 1996, and the murder on July 18, 1996, of around 1,200 Sri Lankan security personnel in a camp at Mullativu. On October 15, 1997, the LTTE attacked the World Trade Centre in downtown Colombo with a truck bomb killing 17 people and injuring 100, including several tourists. In 1998 they destroyed a Buddhist shrine, the Temple of Tooth, killing 17 people and the same year they attacked an army camp at Killinochi which resulted in the death of around a thousand Sri Lankan soldiers.
It is obvious that such serious acts could not have been committed as frequently as they did without financial and material support from another state. The devastation that we have suffered is several times more than what US witnessed on September 11. It is regrettable that the international community has failed to notice the damage caused by Hindu terrorism not only within India and against non-Hindu Indians but in the entire South Asian region.
JEDDAN WEERATUNGA
Colombo, Sri Lanka
PRESIDENT Bush’s statement requiring President Pervez Musharraf to halt “incursions” within Indian held Kashmir comes at a time when Pakistan is striving hard to absolve itself of Indian allegations of supporting militant attacks on the Indian parliament and later in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Such remarks are not likely to be helpful in defusing the current atmosphere of tension.
After having enjoyed for some time the status of a frontline state in the United States’ war against terrorism, the first jolt came to Pakistan when the US sent its troops to conduct joint military exercises with the Indian army in Agra. This was followed by persistent US demands that Pakistan stop ‘infiltration’.
The current somersault is by no means unexpected. The wise men of this land had long been trying to bring back to its senses the Pakistani leadership which had been beaming with pride, congratulating itself for transforming Pakistan into the darling of international community through an unequivocal support of the ‘war on terror’. But the US seems no longer in a mood to extend the honeymoon because it does not want to annoy India.
ZAIB ZAHEER
Karachi
MR Ayaz Amir is being criticized by the readers of your paper about his critical analysis of the state of the country and the possible disastrous consequences of nuclear strikes. The times have changed. Those days are gone when the people were told lies about the ‘victories’ in the previous wars.
India is in strong position as far as the strength of armed forces and their democratic political set up is concerned. On the contrary, Pakistan is being presided and self-grandiose generalissimo without any mandate, and his commanders are heavily involved in the civilian set up with definite erosion of their professional skills. I do not think these generals have learnt any lesson from the chequered history of the country.
When Ayaz Amir says that Mr Nawaz Sharif and Ms Bhutto be involved in confidence building and handing over the power to defunct or suspended parliament, he is quite right.
For God’s sake stop fooling the common and innocent people of the country by saying that the armed forces will be carrying out jihad should war break out. This slogan did not work in 1971. Pakistan is under an illusion that the United States will rescue it this time. But who knows what will hapen next time.
B.A. SOLANGI
Redbridge, UK
Telecommunication facilities in tehsil Dasht of Turbat are terrible. An exchange equipped with sixty connections was established in Dasht’s headquarter Kuddan. Another exchange was installed in sub-tehsil Balnigore.
The intended purpose of the so-called exchange was to provide communication facilities but that so far has not been achieved because of a single trunk line in Kuddan’s exchange. The single trunk line has to provide communication facilities to more than a dozen government offices.
Due to the absence of public call offices, the general public also has to use this solitary trunk line for making calls. In addition, a large number of businesspeople also have to rely on this single line. Because of this the single trunk line is always busy.
The problem has been brought to the notice of the district authorities a number of times. The minister for science and technology is requested to kindly look into the matter.
GHULAM SHAH QUATHANI
Turbat
IN the backdrop of the potentially dangerous standoff between India and Pakistan, writers, analysts, defence experts, and world leaders across the globe have rightly expressed their concern about a possible nuclear holocaust in South Asia.
The lives of more than a billion people are being held hostage by a small number of decision-makers on both sides of the border. Unfortunately, the ruling elite of the subcontinent seems to hardly factor in the human aspect in their respective strategic gameplans.
Ordinary people will be biggest losers in case hostilities do break out. A tiny minority takes such decisions with scant regard for the wellbeing of the people, while the majority is considered not wise enough to have any say.
Now is the time for us to voice our concerns to build public opinion for the cause of peace. In this regard, we want to share our thoughts and a tentative blueprint for action with civil society. Our objectives are to educate and inform the public through informal direct social contacts about the dangerous consequences of a nuclear exchange, and to mobilize people at the grassroots level.
We want to bring the humane dimension of such conflict into the consciousness of those decide policy and influence public opinion. To start with, we intend to get the signatures of people on a draft resolution for peace. We also plan on launching a website to put this idea on the Net and get feedback from people. A real sustained effort at the ground level is needed to create awareness and a strong lobby for peace.
Our base would be our own city of Toba Tek Singh. Yet we hope a snowball effect might happen and generate similar activity in other cities of the subcontinent. The voices of sanity are scattered everywhere and what we need is to get them all together and articulate them.
We invite suggestions in this regard from people who believe in the principle of peaceful co-existence and of ‘live and let live’. We can be contacted via email at the following address: peoplesinitiativeforpeace@hotmail.com
SHAHID ANWAR AND OTHERS
Toba Tek Singh
A news item has appeared in Dawn (May 29) regarding the construction of a cenotaph at Shakarparian. The fact of the matter is that the project to build a national monument was initially entrusted to the Ministry of Interior and the Capital Development Authority but was later transferred to the Ministry of Minorities, Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth Affairs according to the decision of the cabinet in February.
The government of Pakistan intends to build a national monument in Fatima Jinnah Park in sector F-9. This monument will be dedicated to the people of Pakistan and will commemorate the sacrifices they made to ensure a safe and happy future for the country. The monument will reflect the aspirations of the people of Pakistan.
A national competition will be undertaken shortly in consultation with the Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners to choose a suitable design for the monument. Based on the results of the national competition, the government will make the final selection. After that the monument will be constructed.
JAVED SARFRAZ MALIK
Director, Publicity,
PID,
NEVER in their turbulent history have India and Pakistan come so close to mutual destruction as they are now. Even the slightest misjudgment on either side could result in unmitigated disaster.
Despite all the belligerency and hostile propaganda there have been some sane voices, nevertheless, on both sides, calling for restraint and deliberations across the table.
But these counsel seem to be no more than cries in the wilderness amidst the war hysteria. This is no time to settle old scores as India seems to think. Both countries are on the brink of ruin.
But, it is never too late to pull back from the brink. What is needed is not endless exchanges of artillery fire but a dispassionate reappraisal of the issues involved and of the causes that led to this escalation.
The first step should be a mutual withdrawal of forces which in itself will reduce the tension. India’s refusal to pull back unless Pakistan gives concrete evidence of putting an end to cross-border infiltration, and on its part, Pakistan’s untenable stance that the latter are beyond its control are the sticking points at the moment.
As such, third party mediation is the only way out of the present situation. Let us consider for a moment whether Kashmir, the bone of contention between India and Pakistan is worth the price of mutual destruction.
After all, God forbid, while a nuclear exchange could at worst pulverize Pakistan, it would at best be a pyrrhic victory for India.
SYED AMANULLAH
Karachi
A FEW days ago I was on my way to my office at the PNSC. When I crossed the Garden Road signal towards Tibet Centre, I was stopped by some policemen along with two traffic constables.
I parked my vehicle on the side of the road. I was ordered to show all the papers, which I did, and all were found complete. Then, one of the traffic constables informed me that I had jumped the signal, this despite the fact that the signal was not even in running condition.
The constable threatened me with a fine of Rs 500 but then himself said that I could go if I paid him a lesser amount directly. I refused this offer, but I had to pay a sufficient amount to release my documents. I presume many people must pay a bribe, just to get the police of their back. And the government loses out since the money goes to the constable.
Why can’t our fines be rationalized so that policemen don’t have any leeway to offer a lower ‘rate’ to the motorists they harass.
MUHAMMAD ARIF
Karachi
ON May 26, at 2.20 am while returning from the international departures lounge at Karachi’s Quaid-i-Azam International Airport, I found that I had lost the parking slip for my car. I was told by the staff in the lot that I should contact the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) vigilance counter where I might have to show my car’s documents.
There I found a Muhammad Ilyas sitting. I explained my problem to him and showed him my attested copy of my car’s documents, a copy of my national identity card, and my company’s visiting card (the vehicle was company-owned).
His first objection was that I must have with me the vehicle’s original documents. I told him that the papers I had were attested by an authorized notary public and that given the incidence of car theft keeping copies of the originals was a normal practice. After studying all documents for 10 to 15 minutes he then said that I should have had in my possession an authority letter from the company. I went back to my car and brought him the letter he wanted.
This man again started studying all documents and started saying words like people are very tricky these days. He gave me a blank paper and asked me to write him an application that I have lost my parking slip and attach a photocopy of my car’s documents, the authority letter, my identity card and the company visiting card.
I went to a nearby photocopy shop, made the copies and wrote the application. By this time it was about 4.00 am. This also happened because each time I went Mr Ilyas would go over my documents all over again, as if there was some big fraud going on. There were around three or four other persons sitting around him and they all seemed to be enjoyed my ordeal. My wife was with me all this time and one can imagine the torture she must have also gone through because of this misuse of authority.
In any case, back to my story. Finally, when I came back to the man my application and the photocopies, he again started going over them, saying things about frauds and car theft.
All this did not even satisfy him at which point he asked me whether the telephone numbers on my business card worked. I told him yes they did. He asked his assistant to call and check. While he was calling I told him that he would most likely hear a recorded message in my company’s name. The assistant said that is what he heard. Then, the man asked me whether there was any person at the office who could confirm that I did indeed work for this company. I told him that since it was four in the morning finding somoeone to confirm that would be quite difficult.
Then he asked me for my home number, which I refused to give him. He then told me to take a taxi home and that I should leave the car at the airport. The procedure would be completed in the morning.
Before leaving, I told him that the airport security at parking just takes half a minute to check a vehicle and you have have taken two hours to study my case. Since when is it a crime to lose a parking slip. You are here to assist the general public, not to interrogate and treat them like criminals, I told him. Finally he gave me a slip which basically meant that I was re-issued a parking ticket.
The worst part of these details cannot be felt fully by reader since they did not spend two hours in such a place with their family, and that too in the middle of the night. Perhaps, the CAA could have a clear policy for dealing with such problems.
ARSHAD FAROOQ NIZAMI
Karachi
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