| July 27, 2002 | Saturday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 16,1423 |
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Human sacrifice in India
Closure of roads
Legal status of NA
Silence over Mianwali bargain
Fake letters
A born-again missile man?
India’s sinister designs
GC and co-education
White elephants
Private universities
Why the need for TV licence?
The options before Powell
THIS is with reference to ‘Can economy grow if market shrinks’ by Dawn team (Business pages, July 21). The report was a thorough insight into the problems of the middle class. There is no doubt that the economic growth of every country is attributed to the positive response of its middle class by generating more demand of goods and services.
The survey of Dawn and the statement of Shaukat Aziz have great many contradictions about the current status of lower and middle income groups in the country. The dilemma of our economy is that all our governments rely more on window dressing and statistical wizards to justify our economic and social issues. They always conjure up the idea of serving the lower and middle income groups in their speeches but their policies reflect otherwise.
The present government has followed in the same footprints. The new financial year has started with disastrous price increases of major commodities consumed by lower and middle class groups thus further squeezing their household budgets. Even the current initiative of launching consumer credit setup through banks and other financial institutions would not do any good for the middle class as this will add another burden of credit and instalments on them. What the middle income group requires is liquidity and that is possible only when its discretionary income increases.
However, the present government does have some achievements like controlling and stabilizing the exchange rate, increasing foreign reserves to $7 billion and restoring our credibility with international financial institutions and markets. But all this is the start of real challenge. At this juncture the need is to bring the exchange rate to less than Rs50 within a year.
However, the recent weakening of the dollar against the euro and increased approach of Pakistani products to EU markets with increased quota could be great opportunities for exporters to diversify their export to EU.
This way, one, they can avert the strengthening of the rupee against the dollar and, two, they can benefit from the strengthening of the euro against the dollar in the international market.
The middle income group, besides creating demand of goods and services, also plays an active role in developing the corporate sector of any country. The economic growth of any country is now directly linked to the development, performance and growth of the entrepreneurial setup, unlike the creation of a few major players in major sectors through the current privatization process. Once the privatization process reaches its completion one can see a monopoly-like situation in every sector. This would provide the middle income group with little opportunities to play their entrepreneurial role for the growth of the country.
The objective of the government should be to make lower and middle class groups as the focal point of their policy-making.
MUHAMMAD FAISAL MUZAMMIL
Karachi
THE incidents in Meerwala and Mianwali have brought shame to Pakistan and hit world headlines. However, few people know what goes on in one of our neighbouring countries where human sacrifice to please gods and goddesses is still practised.
I produce below what a prestigious American magazine, Time Asia recently reported:
For the magic to work, said the US magazine, “the killing had to be done just right. If the goddess were to grant Khudu Karmakar the awesome powers he expected from a virgin’s death, the victim had to be willing, had to know what was happening, watch the knife and not stop it.
“But even tranquillizers couldn’t lull 15-year-old Manju Kumari to her fate. In his police confession, Karmakar says his wife, daughter and three accomplices had to gag Manju and pin her down on the earthen floor before the shrine.
“In ritual order, Karmakar wafted incense over her, tore of her blue skirt and pink T-shirt, shaved her, sprinkled her with holy water from the Ganges and rubbed her with cooking fat. Then chanting mantras to the ‘mother’ goddess Kali, he sawed off Manju’s hands, breasts and left foot, placing the body parts in front of a photograph of a blood-soaked Kali idol.”
Saying that human sacrifice remains banned in India by law, the American magazine said it was still practised secretly. It adds, “Quite simply, say the faithful, — known as tantrics — Kali looks after those who look after her, bringing riches to the poor, revenge to the oppressed and newborn joy to the childless.
“So far this year, police have recorded at least one case of ritual killing a month. In January, in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, a 24-year-old woman hacked her three-year-old son to death after a tantric sorcerer supposedly promised unlimited earthly riches. In February, two men in the eastern state of Tripura beheaded a woman on the instructions of a deity...”
The magazine goes on to give other examples. However, what happens in India in no way lessens the enormity of crimes in Meerwala and Mianwali.
RIZWAN HAMID
Karachi
MORE than a month after the blast outside the US consulate, which killed innocent Pakistanis, the road in front of the consulate building as well as the residence of the consul general is still closed for two-way traffic. This is causing serious traffic jams and a great deal of inconvenience to the public. Looking at the new concrete blocks being put outside the US consulate, it seems that this is going to be a permanent feature.
May I ask the authorities concerned if they think the US government would close down Pennsylvania Avenue if there was a bomb blast near the Pakistan embassy in Washington? Frere Hall is off limits to the citizens of Karachi. Would the US government do the same with Central Park if Pakistan’s consul general lived in its proximity?
Please don’t relegate us to second class citizens in our own country.
ZAHID F. EBRAHIM
Karachi
THIS has reference to Dr Sabit Rahim’s letter ‘Legal status of NA’ (July 21). The Northern Areas are legal and historical parts of Jammu and Kashmir state and fall within the “disputed territory” like other parts of the state.
As per Article 257 of the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan, the future of Jammu and Kashmir, including Gilgit and Baltistan, will be determined according to the wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
The solution of the problems of the people of Northern Areas is that they should have representation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir government and seats according to their population should be given to them in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly. They should also come within the jurisdiction of Azad Kashmir High Court and Azad Kashmir Supreme Court.
SAALIM SALAM ANSARI
Karachi
ALTHOUGH the Chief Justice of Pakistan has taken suo moto notice of the infamous Mianwali bargain, but the damage has been already done, and two innocent girls have been sacrificed at the altar of tradition.
Urgent efforts need to be done to revoke these marriages. It is regrettable that among the ruling elite and politicians, only Aitzaz Ahsan bothered to take notice of this gory incident and issued a bold and informative statement in this regard. However, the Punjab government is still sleeping. Despite all claims of upholding women’s rights, may be the governor does not consider it politically expedient to interfere in these ‘minor’ matters and invite the wrath of his political allies in Mianwali.
It is also very strange to see that our ever green Begum Atiya Inayatullah still seems to be very comfortable with the situation, and did not make any effort to stop this crime and injustice.
Thus, all is quite in the government camp. It could be that we are waiting for directions from the US State Department before taking any action.
May I call Islamists, secularists, NGOs, journalists and all other groups to join hands and try to stop this crime. In order to their resolve, they may set up a hunger strike camp in front of the Mianwali Press Club.
I really wish that prominent politicians like Imran Khan, who also happens to be from Mianwali, and Farooq Leghari, who happens to be a relative of Nawab of Kalabagh, would lead this protest.
RESHMA SAJJAD
Hull, UK
I AM a student of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in Britain. I received a letter on July 22, which bore the ACCA logo and was in the usual envelope of the association.
The letter informed me that I had won a worldwide gold medal in one of the subjects of professional examinations. It was surprising but I was happy, and informed my family about it.
The letter was from some Martha Jones of the ACCA medals and ceremonies department.
When I communicated with the ACCA in Britain, I came to know that the letter was fake and the papers had not been checked as yet. This was really embarrassing for me and my family.
I am writing these lines so that other students can be spared such shocks.
MUHAMMAD ADIL ALEEM
Lahore
MR F.S. Aijazuddin has written in his article ‘A born-again missile man?’ (July 23) that India has “yet to honour a Parsi or a Harijan” for the post of presidency.
He goes on to say that “the closest the latter caste got to the presidency was Jagjivan Ram...”, who was disallowed by the “Brahmin Indira Gandhi.”
This is to inform him that the outgoing President of India, Shri K.R. Narayanan, belongs to the Dalit or Harijan caste. Harijan is just another name for Dalits, given to that community by Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom struggle. Also, Narayanan became President in 1997 during the prime ministership of the ‘upper caste’ I.K. Gujral.
RAHUL MALHOTRA
Austin, USA
PRESIDENT Musharraf may be sincere in holding elections in the coming October. The government machinery is working overtime to meet the deadline but the Indian stance could hinder the holding of elections. Moreover, the United States’ present policy regarding the subcontinent would only help India. On several occasions, US officials have advised Pakistan to stay on their side. Recently the US Deputy Secretary of State praised Gen Musharraf and said: “At the moment General Musharraf is on the right side.” The praise was nothing more than a warning sign for him. The present crisis is so real that if for some reason President Musharraf decides to go against the US interest in the region, war will be imposed on Pakistan by both India and the US.
India has the following reasons to go to war with Pakistan:
The Indian armed forces are highly demoralized due to their continuous aggressive posture on the international borders and the line of control (LoC) in Kashmir.
Hasty decision by the administration to mobilize a million troops on the international borders is hitting the military establishment. Officers in the Indian army are questioning the logic behind the whole exercise if there is no attack, even a limited one.
Politically, Prime Minister Vajpayee draws his power from fundamentalist Hindus and extremists who wish to see Pakistan weak. In addition, pressure from cabinet ministers has further contributed towards the war hysteria.
India is not likely to remove its armed forces from the international borders without waging a war. Therefore, as Pakistanis, we should stay awake and be prepared to defend our great nation.
SHAZIB HAMEED
Lahore
IT was heartening to read (Dawn, July 18) that Government College, Lahore, has decided to introduce co-education at undergraduate level from the next academic session.
It reminds me of my stay in GC way back in the sixties when co-education was allowed at graduate and post-graduate levels only and not in the intermediate classes. We were told then that it used to be allowed in the intermediate classes much earlier to our joining the college, so we would curse those who had done so. But when my son joined BA in the early nineties, it was disappointing to learnt that co-education was only available at master’s level.
The merits of co-education are much stronger than its demerits.
The late Dr Arif, Dr Arifa Sayeda, Saadatullah Khan are the best products of co-education in the sixties.
HAFEEZ AKHTAR
Lahore
WAPDA and KESC are Pakistan’s two white elephants that continue to remain so even after being run by army officers for many years. They are the most corrupt with kundas flourishing with the connivance of their personnel, and the most inefficient with a line loss of 41 per cent.
These organizations are overstaffed and the consumer has to bear the cost of Rs6 billion worth of electricity which is gifted every year to the retired employees of these organizations.
And the unfortunate part of the story is that even after being placed under serving army officers, there has been no improvement and the honest consumer is being subjected to raised tariffs every now and then.
F. ALI
Karachi
I WANT to draw attention towards a problem which almost every student faces after passing out from a private university.
Government-run universities do not accept the degrees of most of the private sector universities even if they happen to be chartered by the government of Sindh or recognized by the University Grants Commission.
Fairness demands that a student obtaining his degree from any recognized\chartered university in the country, public or private, should be eligible to continue his further studies at any of the public universities.
The governor of Sindh is requested to kindly look into the matter and help the students through some legislation.
ZIA UR REHMAN RIZVI
Karachi
THESE days PTV is running a campaign for the collection of TV licence fees. In this regard, I would like the PTV accounts department to clarify to the public if they are really going to save something after spending so much on their collection drive. They may answer the following:
1. How much revenue is being collected annually by PTV through the sale of TV licences?
2. How much expenditure is incurred on:
a) printing of TV licence forms,
b) media publicity for the payment of TV licence fee,
c) payment made to the private company for the contract of TV licence sale,
d) commission paid to the banks and post offices selling TV licences.
If the profit is too little, there is no sense in charging TV licence fee from the public. This licence may also be abolished just like those for dish antenna, VCR/VCP and radio. This would save the people from unnecessary harassment. The inspectors of Inter-Construct Private Ltd visit houses to check for TV licences in the forenoon when the male members of the families are generally not available.
The main beneficiary in this game of TV licence fee seems to be the private company, which has printed its own TV licence forms and is publicizing the fact that banks and post offices are issuing licences on old forms.
A clarification of all these points from PTV is urgently needed.
S.H. ZAIDI
Karachi
DURING his visit to India and Pakistan this month, US Secretary of State Colin Powell has two choices before him. One is to continue to confine himself to warning both Pakistan and India against going to war with each other, and the other is to play a more active and mediatory role in regard to Kashmir by initiating a peace process.
This can take the shape of a quadrilateral dialogue — US, India, Pakistan and Kashmir — or an appropriate use of the newly-developed procedures and mechanics at the United Nations. The US by itself or through the UN would supply the catalyst that is needed for a settlement. It is interesting to note that when the Kashmir dispute erupted in 1947-48, the United States championed the stand that the future status of Kashmir must be determined by the will of the people of the territory and that their wishes must be ascertained under the supervision and control of the United Nations.
The US was a principal sponsor of the resolution which was adopted by the Security Council on April 21, 1948, and which was based on that unchallenged principle. The basic formula for settlement was incorporated in the later resolutions.
The urgent necessities are: (a) To demilitarize the arena of conflict — the state of Jammu and Kashmir — through a phased withdrawal of troops (including paramilitary forces) of both India and Pakistan from the area under their respective control. (b) To take the sting out of the dispute by detaching moves towards demilitarization of the state from the rights, claims or recognized positions of the three parties involved. In order to do this, it might be necessary to make the demilitarization of state the first step towards the reduction of Indian and Pakistani forces on their borders outside of Kashmir. It is after the peace-process is set afoot that the rights and claims of the parties can be considered in a on-violent atmosphere.
Such an initiative by the United States on Kashmir will not only end bloodshed and suffering in Kashmir, but would also have a direct and positive effect on international security by eliminating regional fighting, national tensions and the risk of a nuclear war between India and Pakistan. It is in everyone’s interest to settle the Kashmir conflict peacefully without further delay.
DR GHULAM NABI FAI
Karachi
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