| July 6, 2002 | Saturday | Rabi-us-Sani 24,1423 |
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A park after Omar Asghar
Internet service in Makran
Partial Islamic system
Palestine, US policy
Bombing by ‘mistake’
The three power brokers
Plight of the lesser children
A vicious circle
Vehicle registration
Donation
PCB’s clarifications
OUT of professional interest, I have followed the debate on the Lyari Expressway for the past many years. It is also of interest to me since I grew up on its banks in the Garden area in the ’50s and ’60s. I saw the settlements emerge, some planned and others not, which are now going to be demolished.
The Expressway at best is a controversial project. The opponents (at least in the press) have put up a far better case than the supporters of the Expressway. Mega-communication projects can change cities through land-use changes and if such changes are not planned they can be disastrous.
In the absence of a Karachi Master Plan or a development plan for the corridor neighbourhoods the project may create damage to an already damaged city.
These are issues that bureaucrats and generals who now determine development do not understand and the architects and design engineers who they employ are also ignorant of or they are simply interested in consultancy money.
It is common all over the world that projects that are likely to result in major land-use changes or are likely to be controversial are examined at the conceptual stage by a committee of experts from different institutions and interest groups. They invite objections and suggestions from interest groups, victims, beneficiaries, make the plans public and then take a decision based on solid planning parameters and political priorities. From what is evident, this has not been done for the Lyari Expressway.
For Karachi, this is all the more important given the failure of so many mega-projects whom professionals like myself had projected as failures.
These projects include the metrovilles, sewage projects (treatments plants that receive no sewage), proposed mass transits that were non-starters for economic reasons, master plans that could not be implemented, the Lines Area Redevelopment Project, to name but a few. Billions of rupees, much of them in loans, have been sunk in these projects.
In addition, according to Section 12 of the Pakistan Environment Protection Act 1997, this project should have had an initial environmental examination which it has not. Also, the manner in which eviction is being carried out violates the UN Habitat Agenda of which the government of Pakistan is a signatory.
It also violates the policy decision announced by the then Chief Executive of Pakistan (now President) for the regularization and upgradation of katchi abadis on Jan 15, 2001. If the government cannot follow its own laws and commitments, it should not expect its citizens to follow them either.
There is still time to review the Lyari Expressway project in a transparent manner in the larger interest of the city and its people, especially those who have been living in the neighbourhoods adjacent to Lyari River for more than a century and a half.
AIJAZ ALI
Karachi
A MAN with a mission has gone, bringing to an end a distinguished career of which the most significant dimension was the care for environment.
Although a very large part of his work was concentrated in the north, for Karachiites his work invariably commanded respect.
He was essentially a clean person whose dealings were characterized by visible decency. People by and large felt comfortable while dealing with him. Environmentalists in Karachi looked upto him as ‘Our man in Islamabad’.
Among many good things that he did for the city, the most important was the ban he effected on the construction work in the remnants of the Mai Kolachi mangrove forest. The earth, an introduced element, had been brought there by vested interests at an exorbitant cost to push the sea backwards so that construction could take place.
One does hope that once the earth is taken away and the natural ebb and flow of the tide is restored the regeneration of the devastated forest will become possible. The replantation of the mangroves even now can be taken in hand in places where the earth has not been dumped.
There is every reason to suppose that the mangroves will flourish again paving way for the proposed Mai Kolachi mangrove park. I suggest that the proposed park be named Omar Asghar Mangrove Park. The immediate priority, however, is to remove encroachments made by the construction mafia.
AZMAT ANSARI
Karachi
ON a few occasions that I met Omar Asghar Khan I wished he would one day be part of a government that is committed to principles and people.
That thought was always overtaken by the reality that he wouldn’t ever make it for he possessed neither the money nor the guile of a politician. That impression was reinforced when General Musharraf gave him a jumble of unimportant portfolios and then let him quit.
KUNWAR IDRIS
Karachi
EVERYONE should be thankful to the present government for providing Internet facility in remote areas of the country. But as far as the case of Makran is concerned, the situation is different.
In the beginning, when we only had five lines, we faced the problem of connectivity. After the installation of V-Sat equipment (satellite dish) at PTCL Turbat, the users got 16 lines. Connectivity has become easier but the speed has gone slow.
This is very irritating because it takes an hour to open a single web page.
We would also like to point out that after the installation of V-Sat, the local dial-up facility has been abandoned to connect other ISPs except Paknet; the subsidiary of PTCL. In this way, the users are compelled to live with the poor service of government owned ISP.
On the whole, the people of Makran are not satisfied with the present situation of Internet connectivity. We have written many letters to the higher authorities, including the minister for science and technology. We request the minister to do the needful so that our problems regarding Internet may be solved.
Our demands include:
The speed of Internet in Makran be improved.
The number of lines be increased from the existing 16 to 100.
The users of Makran be given access to all Karachi-based ISPs through local dial-up.
UBAID SHAD AND OTHER INTERNET USERS
Turbat
ONE must be grateful to Cdr Hasan Mahmood Kidwai for having put things in the right perspective (June 28). I would like to add a little more.
The Islamic system cannot be put into practice piecemeal. Islam is not just about Hudood and punishments. More than anything else it is about fair play, justice and equality of all, the pauper and the king, in the eyes of the law. The hands of a thief cannot be cut unless the basic needs of the people have been adequately met. The second Caliph, Omar (RA), had suspended this punishment for some time during the prevalence of famine in Arabia.
By the same token, while pornography has a field day in the country and men and women are exposed to erotic stimuli of all kinds from a young and impressionable age, the imposition of Hudood laws would be premature.
Moreover, as has been pointed out, the conditions for the award of punishment for adultery, basically deterrents, are so stringent under the Islamic law that except in cases of voluntary confession, the legal requirements for its implementation can almost never be met. I may add further that the laws against adultery arise from the fact that Islam, as indeed all other religions too, upholds the primacy of the family as the basic building block of a healthy society and seeks to strengthen it by this and other means.
Wherever in the world the sanctity of the family has been ignored, the result has been the disruption of family life, proliferation of divorce, a sharp increase in births out of wedlock, and a jump in single-parent families with all the undesirable consequences these developments bring.
WAJID NAEEMUDDIN
Karachi
THE US role regarding the Palestine issue is expressly discriminatory. It overlooks the excesses committed by Israel but sharply reacts to any resistance put up by the Palestinians. Now the US has shattered the very last hope by announcing to sever all diplomatic contacts with the sole moderate Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.
The American announcement (of having no business with Arafat) has been made in a bid to raise a new but docile leadership in Palestine. But all the Palestinian leaders have expressed their strong disapproval of this US decision.
Being a Muslim country and a key partner of the US in its war against terrorism, Pakistan should express its deep concern about the American decision regarding Palestine.
MOHAMMAD ALI LUND
Dadu
THIS is with reference to the recent report of the US armed forces bombing a wedding reception in Afghanistan and killing 40 people including women and children — by mistake. This reminds me of some other previous ‘mistakes’ of targeting and killing unsuspecting civilians like bombing the Chinese embassy and shooting an Iranian passenger plane, to name only a few.
I wonder how safe the world would be if the US armed forces, present in so many different corners of the world and equipped with the most lethal equipment available, continue to make ‘mistakes’ so often. Isn’t this thought ‘terrorizing’?
MISBAH HUSEIN
Karachi
THE present government is going to broker power between the president, the prime minister and the army chief, in order to establish a system of checks and balances.
The theory of checks and balances or separation of powers, was originally propounded by the eighteenth century political scientist, Montesquieu.
To check the abuse of power by any of the state institutions — the legislative, the executive and the judiciary — he evolved a system in which each of the above three institutions would have a check on the powers of the other two. The American constitution is largely based on his doctrine.
However, Montesquieu had never envisaged that the army would exercise authority over civilian institutions, nor had he ever thought of brokering power between individuals: the president, the prime minister and the army chief.
Had he lived today, he might have sued the government for tarnishing this thoughts.
IMTIAZ ALI KALHORO
Larkana
EVERY Sunday newspapers are full of ‘situations vacant’ advertisements placed by national and multinational companies. A very few of them indicate their preference for candidates qualified from specified institutions while the large majority do not mention any such restriction in their ads.
But the painful fact is that almost all the advertisers call for interviews only those candidates who have studied at those few prestigious institutions. Even position holders from other universities or institutions are ignored.
A candidate who has not been able to get admission in one of the reputed institutions, is not necessarily an incompetent person. There can be so many factors, not related to his intelligence or capability, that could have prevented him from studying at those institutions — for example, the financial factor as most of the prestigious institutions are very expensive.
And it is also wholly incorrect to believe that all other institutions are producing incompetent people. The fact is that the education imparted by them is also of good standard but they are not well-known to the prospective employers.
I request such institutions including the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, from where I received my degree, to make some co-ordination with the national and international companies and make them aware of the standard of their teaching, which is not inferior to that of other institutions in the respective fields.
I also appeal to the advertisers to give a chance to the candidates from other institutions to prove their worth and not to dismiss them simply because they have not been lucky enough to study at one of the better-known institutions.
SHAHID SHAIKH
Karachi
WE start with a political government. Soon we become disillusioned with it because of its malpractices and start inviting the army to intervene. The army obliges readily and starts its regime by blaming the politicians and the bureaucrats for all the ills afflicting this poor country.
This is followed by a period of accountability and diversions like the Islamization process or the devolution of power plan etc. Along with this, promises are also dished out that if the people make some sacrifices their lot would improve remarkably in due course of time. That time, however, never comes as people’s lot, instead of improving, continues to deteriorate day by day.
Then people start becoming restive, providing an opportunity to the out-of-job politicians to exploit the situation. They form alliances and launch movements for the restoration of democracy. The khaki rulers ‘restore’ democracy, leaving the people in the lurch only to make more sacrifices for the new rulers.
This circle goes on and on, with the people acting only as silent sufferers. How can and who would break this vicious circle?
FAREED ASHRAF
Islamabad
NOT too long ago I bought a Suzuki Alto and wanted to get the vehicle registered under my name as soon as possible. But I never knew that this would only lead to frustration and a wastage of time.
It was April 18, 2002, when I approached the office of the Motor Registration Wing at Civic Centre. After I paid all the due taxes and fees, I was given a receipt and was asked to come and collect the registration book after 30 days. I was told that normally it takes only one week but since registration books were not available with the department at that time, the matter would take that long.
However, when I went to collect my book on the given date, I was asked to come the following week, and thus began my weekly visits to that office. My last visit was on June 27 when, after being told to come again, I approached the concerned ETO. But he was too arrogant to talk to me and sent me to the counter again. Dejected, I went to the administrative officer who was kind and helped me to get my registration book on the same day, though it took four long hours.
May I ask the authorities concerned why they did not get the books printed in time? Apart from that, their staff is generally arrogant and rude and that is why most people prefer to deal with them through brokers.
DR SOHAIL AHMAD KHAN
Karachi
THE other day our law minister donated Rs0.3 million to the Sargodha Bar Association. Some lawyers objected to this donation on the basis that only a particular bar was given money and not other.
As a taxpayer, I fail to understand why such heavy donations are made to bars. Why didn’t the minister concerned realize that it was the taxpayers’ money and not his personal wealth that he disbursed so generously?
Lawyers earn handsome incomes and can easily afford the expenses of their professional body. Moreover, when they are asked to pay taxes, they come on the roads and boycott the courts. Is there no check on the taxpayers’ money?
FAIZA BASHIR
Lahore
THIS is with reference to in article by Ali Kabir, ‘PCB considers itself above board’ (Dawn, July 5).
To clear some of the inaccuracies fed by this “motivated” piece, the PCB has this to offer.
Firstly, the issue of television rights. To ensure transparency, for the first time the bids were publicly invited, and opened at an international venue (which was not Sharjah, as stated in the article, but at Dubai) with international and national supervision of highest order.
The process of evaluation of bids is complex and time consuming. And nowhere in the world is this done with everything out in the open, because not only is it detrimental to the interest of the parent organization, it is also unfair on the bidders. The whole process is likely to take another three months, and all bidders are in the know that the final decision would be taken by September 30.
Secondly, it is absolutely inaccurate that there was any backlog in auditing of PCB’s accounts. All accounts upto 2000-2001 have been audited by a leading firm of auditors, A.F. Ferguson and Company. The fiscal year 2001-2002 has just ended and the process of its audit would proceed immediately and concluded with due alacrity.
Thirdly, other than the event of last April, which is in the follow-up process, no appearance fees are pending to the CBFS.
Fourthly, Wasim Raja was picked up as match-referee independently by the ICC out of a panel suggested by the PCB. The ICC made its own evaluations and the PCB had nothing to do with it.
Fifthly, Tangiers was also cleared up by the ICC as an offshore venue after it met its stringent conditionalities, and the PCB had nothing to do with it. Pakistan is not the only team taking part in the inaugural event there next month. South Africa and Sri Lanka too are part of a tri-nation tournament, with other nations likely to play there as well. If it was not a good venue, and the CBFS a lousy paymaster, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka would never have agreed to play there.
Sixthly, there is no ‘unwanted paraphernalia’ at the board’s secretariat. Those who raise this bogey are not aware of staffing requirements of modern-day boards. In fact, the PCB has a far smaller establishment compared to other developed countries, such as Australia and South Africa.
As far firing people on non-performance or for other reasons, this remains the prerogative of all corporate set ups, and such things are never discussed in public.
The proof of good governance of this board is that it has gone into previously uncharted territory, and tried to take the development of the game a few notches higher and on a permanent basis by creating systems and nationwide infrastructure to support it. As a result 45 out of PCB’s 53 infrastructure development projects are on schedule.
Also due to the board’s endeavours, the Pakistan team has come out of the rebuilding phase in just a year and a half. The induction of new blood, taking good care of assets like Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Zahid as well as bringing back the discarded maestros such as Waqar Younis and Rashid Latif have combined to turn around Pakistan’s fortunes, to make it a team to reckon with.
KHALID BUTT
Media Manager, PCB,
Lahore
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