| August 9, 2002 | Friday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 29,1423 |
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Exporters’ waiver plea welcomed
Double vote for non-Muslims
Entrance tests criterion
UK visa facility
Ultimatum to Site allottees
Postal dept merits no credit
Lyari children
Rote-learning
‘Abul Kalam’
Turbid water for Karachi
Vani and Qisas
Factors of low inflation rate
AS the October elections approach us and we see the curve ahead on the road, let us be mindful of the fact that in our zest for full democratic exercise, we do not end up derailing the vehicle.
Pakistan is like the bus that runs on our highways; old, neglected, rickety, smoke-emitting and choking as it continues down the ever-winding road. The country’s drivers have been no different from the operators of our buses; ill-trained, hot-headed and life risking. The passengers are always the hapless poor souls.
Let’s make sure that we keep our tempers cool while trying to put better drivers at the helm of affairs in Pakistan in October. While we should all be vigilant and seek our leaders’ better performance and deliverance, we must not lose sight of the fact that we cannot afford a violent struggle for power because we have been dangerously careening off the road.
I have been both a supporter and a strong opponent of General Musharraf. He has severely blundered with his referendum. His constitutional amendments look suspicious from various angles even if there may be some validity towards national interest.
However, we must recognize that he is currently the most stabilizing factor in Pakistan. We are currently enjoying freedoms that we did not enjoy under any of the previously elected prime ministers, including Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, once my hero about whom I, as a young man, had high hopes but his wadera style dictatorship utterly disappointed me.
Democracy is a road not a goal. Let us preserve some of the freedoms we have and work peacefully towards more in the future. We cannot and should not expect total freedom in a flash, for our nation. We are a nation that has been thirsty for a long time. Let us not drown ourselves while trying to quench this thirst.
For democracy to take root and flourish, we will have to implement parallel social and economic changes. Equal rights to all, irrespective of gender, ethnicity or religion, is an important cornerstone of democracy.
Our children have been neglected. They will have to be educated with a world view that gives them hope for a better future.
Economic stability and well-being go a long way in ensuring democratic stability. Pakistan must have at least 25 years of parallel development of democratic, social and economic development to transform it from what it is today.
We must demand of anyone who aspires to become our next prime minister to commit himself to these changes.
SALIM AKBANI
Illinois, USA
THIS is with reference to the letters from Muhammad Iqbal (Aug 4) and Abdul Salam (Aug 7) regarding the waiver of fines charged under the Export Finance Scheme (EFS) of State Bank of Pakistan to the exporters who failed to show their performance due to the Sept 11 event.
This is to clarify that the SBP has been considering requests from such exporters for a waiver notwithstanding their failure on account of micro events, limiting the exporters’ ability to perform, or the macro developments pertaining to the entire sector.
This, however, also depends upon their performance record under the scheme.
In fact, a large number of such cases have been either settled or in the process of settlement.
The exporters are advised to provide necessary documentary evidence concerning the impact of the 9/11 that led to the cancellation of their order/s. They will also have to prove that the EFS funds had not been utilized for purposes other than they were meant for.
It may be added that the exporter/s will have to repay the SBP loans within the stipulated time with mark-up.
The exporters affected by 9/11 event may contact Director, Banking Policy Department, State Bank of Pakistan, Karachi, for a review of their individual cases.
SYED WASIMUDDIN
Chief Spokesman
State Bank of Pakistan
THIS refers to the news item (Aug 2) stating that the government is restoring non-Muslim seats in the assemblies and has decided to introduce double vote for the non-Muslim citizens i.e. one vote for the non-Muslim seat and the other for the candidate in the constituency.
The system of double vote in my view amounts to reverse discrimination. What is so special about non-Muslim citizens that they should be given double vote while the Muslim citizens be denied such facility? If a non-Muslim should have a say as to who should be returned candidate from a particular constituency, equally a Muslim citizen should have a say for the elections of non-Muslim citizens as well.
The discrimination through the double vote like all other discriminations will rob the soul of equity, justice and fair play.
If the government intends to restore seats for non-Muslims then the system of election of non-Muslims as originally embodied in the Constitution should be restored i.e. the electorate college should be the particular assembly itself.
The reserve seats for non-Muslims should not extend beyond a particular period, say 20 years or six general elections whichever is earlier.
This proposal is being given so that the non-Muslim citizens should be integrated in the mainstream of national development as they have been deprived of such process of integration because of separate electorate.
M. L. SHAHANI
Karachi
I have just finished giving A-levels this June. Applying to several local colleges has been part of a most exhaustive summer for me. As an A-level student, one can’t help noticing a certain bias in the written tests towards the Intermediate/FSc system of education.
Especially considering medical college tests, a major part of the test is composed of substance from the FSc curriculum, absent from A-level courses. Hence, A-level students are expected to study not only their own courses but also the FSc one.
This cannot possibly be committed to memory in a matter of weeks. So the colleges are driving away considerable potential and the country losing large sums of money to foreign universities.
The fact that written tests are treated as an eliminating step in the selection process seems unrealistic. To consider the example of international standardizing tests such as the SAT’s, no college limits its applicants to a precise test score, and no applicant is ineligible to apply due to his/her test score being too low.
I would suggest a more reasonable procedure where either SAT scores are considered for A-level students, as are for all foreign A-level candidates, or a separate test where their knowledge is adequately tested.
MASOOMA AQEEL
Karachi
IT is hard to remember how much time has elapsed since the High Commission and Consulate Generals of Great Britain have sharply curtailed their consular work.
The reason given is danger to the lives of British immigration service officers while, it seems, that danger does not quite extend to the Britons dealing with political matters. And this is in a nation of 145 million or so that there are no visitor visas in prospect for ordinary Pakistanis despite their historical and human ties with the people of Britain.
One appreciates the general danger to white foreigners in Pakistan from some of the frustrated fundamentalists. But haven’t the senior officers of the HC assessed the nature and level of threat to their security, given the security arrangements that they had to make for themselves in addition to what the state provides?
The point one wishes to make is the need for the British HC resuming issuing visitor visas, at least to those who have had multiple visit visas in the past and no problems arose out of their visits. If necessary, such visas can be issued from one city, adjudged to be relatively safe for the British officers in the way the Americans are doing. Or else the HC may make alternative visa-issuing arrangements in places like Dhaka, Colombo and Dubai in cases where personal appearance may not be necessary and courier services can be employed.
Unless the British authorities actually wish to discourage Pakistanis visiting Britain and spurn the modest tourist earnings, making alternative arrangements should not be beyond the ingenuity of British bureaucracy.
M.B. NAQVI
Karachi
THE Sindh Industrial Trading Estate (Site) authority has issued a final notice (Aug 5) to the allottees for cancellation of non-utilized plots in SITE and Nooriabad area.
Three hundred and three people had been allotted 1,216 acres and were unable to utilize their plots within five years from the date of their provisional allotment.
According to the notice, the allottees failed to pay their dues, premium, rent, and non-utilization fee including the penalty within the stipulated time given earlier by the management of Site. The total arrears up to June 30, 2002 against the allottees amounted to more than Rs156.9 million and they have been asked to clear the outstanding amount within seven days, failing which their provisional allotment would stand cancelled.
This is quite a harsh action and it needs to be corrected by the management of Site as practically it will not be possible by all the allottees to clear the total outstanding amount within a short span of seven days.
The allottees should be given adequate time to arrange the payment in easy instalments.
The management of Site should take a sympathetic view and provide all the necessary cooperation in solving the problems of the allottees due to which they were unable to set up industries.
The industries need to be set up within a stipulated timeframe as this will boost economic activity in the province and create thousands of job opportunities for skilled and semi-skilled labourers. But the problems of the allottees must be taken into account.
SYED A. MATEEN
Karachi
THIS has reference to Iftikhar Khurshid’s letter “Postal Department’s Efficiency” (Aug 4). The writer has given undue credit to the department.
All the credit goes to the Postal Department of the Ville di Pietrabugno, Corsica, France, which sent the letter by air-mail despite the fact it was marked ‘by surface mail’ by the sender. Credit must be given where it is due.
I would like to bring on record the most glaring neglect and inefficiency on the part of our postal department. I sent a small export parcel (weighing less than one kg) by SAL postal service, duly supported with all the specified export documents on June 18 for Ontario, Canada.
The parcel was mailed by the post office at the Fortress Stadium, Lahore Cantt., vide postal receipt No 120. The Land Customs Superintendent at the GPO, Lahore, cleared the parcel on June 22 for onward despatch to the addressee in Canada. It has failed to reach its destination till date and nobody knows where it is.
On personal inquiries it transpired that the parcel had been sent ‘by sea’ by the Foreign Mail Office although payment was made as ‘air tariff’.
We feel certain that we stand to lose our old customer in Canada who has been shouting at us for its earliest despatch and delivery. If this happens, it would be because of the postal department.
AN AFFECTED PARTY
Lahore
WE are students and eager to help educate children in our area, Lyari. For the purpose, we have set up an education centre and contribute plenty of our time convincing people to send their children to the centre. However, parents, most of them illiterate, resist our efforts causing us sheer disappointment.
Still we have not reached the point of frustration. We meet children who do not go to school or those who waste their after-schooling time by just wandering. We tell them to attend our centre but they pay no heed to our call.
Our mission is to bring Lyari people at par with the highly educated ones. We would welcome if someone comes forward to help us in our mission by suggesting ways and means or some sort of psychological techniques to deal with illiterate people.
SHAHNAWAZ AND JAHANGIR
Karachi
THIS is with reference to Mr Babar Sattar’s article, ‘Of faith and responsibility’ (Dawn, July 13), which is really thought-provoking. The learned writer says: “What seems to concern Iqbal most is the abdication of intellectual responsibility by the Muslims to understand religion and apply it to their lives.”
This is quite pertinent and is the root-cause of our retrogression in all spheres of life — political, social, religious and personal.
The real cause of this malady is our flawed system of education which encourages selective rote-learning without worrying about the context and implications of a subject.
This deprives young students of innovation, creativity and independent, analytical and critical thinking. Half-baked and hurriedly written textbooks and an outdated system of examination has made a bad situation worse.
The habit of rote-learning has become part and parcel of our system of education from the primary to university level. Resultantly, students are getting very high marks in the examinations which is inconceivable in some cases.
After the completion of their education, when these students enter practical life, they follow the same mind-set, lacking independent thinking and spirit of inquiry, thus surrendering their individual intellectual independence and making it subservient to interpretations by others in every walk of life.
If we want to retrieve our lost individual intellectual independence as a nation, we have to make radical changes in our system of education and equip our young generation with a spirit of inquiry, innovation and original thinking.
PROF ATAUL-HAQ SUBHANI
Faisalabad
MR Muqtadar Khan in his article, “Why Abul Kalam as president?” (Dawn, Aug 3) has misspelled the name of the President of India, several times. If it is deliberate, it is not in good taste.
There is no doubt that a Muslim will not knowingly adopt ‘Abdul Kalam’, as a name, because as a Muslim one cannot be abd of kalam, which is not an attribute of God.
However, if the President of India is happy with his name, why should we misspell it?
S. M. ZAIDI
Lahore
KARACHIITES have been receiving contaminated water for the last few weeks. The city government should know that it is the prime responsibility of the government to ensure supply of purified and hygienically fit water to its citizens.
The citizens pay regularly more than reasonable price for the commodity which previously was at least potable. A handful among the millions of those living in Karachi can afford mineral water. Why almost every citizen of this metropolis is being forced to consume contaminated water?
I request the Governor to intervene and do the needful to avoid spread of water-borne diseases on a large scale.
SAGHEER AHMED
Karachi
There is hardly any area in the city which has not been affected. The authorities maintain that since the water in the Indus river has become very dirty, it remains so even after being treated at the water treatment plants. But it is contrary to what I have experienced.
My parents have been using potassium permanganate and alum regularly to clean the water that is being supplied to our area. And believe me, there is a thick layer of sludge that is deposited at the base, leaving the water as clear as crystal.
If one can purify this water at home, why cannot the water supply authorities do it at the plants which are designed exclusively for this very purpose?
BUSHRA ABBASI
Karachi
THIS is with reference to the letter by Capt (r) Amad Khan Malik (Aug 1). There appears to be a discrepancy between what has appeared in the press and that which has been stated by Mr Malik.
As per news item, eight girls were to be given in marriage, their ages ranging from five to 18 years. The age of the oldest male was mentioned as 80 years. There was a blood money of Rs8 million in addition.
The noble gesture of Malik Asad Khan is to be appreciated. However, it would have been better if the blood money or Qisas only had been paid according to the Sharia instead of the traditional Vani.
ABDUL BARI
Faisalabad
THIS is with reference to an article, ‘The truth about low inflation rate’ (Aug 5). The main contention of the writer is that the observed phenomena does not flow out of the objective economic conditions on the ground.
The SPDC report, from which the writer quotes, has itself presented the determinants of inflation for 2000-01. The decomposition of the inflation rate in table 2.12 of the report shows that over 70 per cent of inflation is imported. This consists of increase in dollar value of oil and its products and depreciation of the rupee.
The above finding implies that in 2001-02 both components of imported inflation were highly subdued. There was a decline in the value of oil prices and instead of depreciation there was an appreciation of the rupee.
The SPDC model, therefore, adequately explains the main contributory factor behind low inflation. It is another matter that the author of SPDC’s report doesn’t stick to this scientific explanation in his conclusions and presents his own opinionated views which have been cited in the article. These views are unfounded and not substantiated by the results of the simulation model itself presented in the SPDC report.
Anyone can indulge in speculation and conjectures but that does not confer authenticity to those views.
In addition to the imported inflation, the supply of food grains has a big impact on inflation rate as these items account for almost 50 per cent of the consumer price index.
Fortunately, despite the severe drought, the country had a surplus of food grains and stable prices, which have kept the inflation under control.
So, when we take the contribution of these two factors into account — the imported inflation and supply of food grains — the picture about low inflation becomes clear and it very much corresponds with the ‘objective conditions of the economy’.
AAMIR NAQVI
Karachi
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