| August 10, 2002 | Saturday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 30,1423 |
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A millstone around India’s neck
A question of political maturity
Whale: the exciting hazard
Minister’s remarks
Mai Kolachi mangroves
Pakistani products
Making it clear to Blair
What hockey team lacks
Girls’ school
Exhausting wait
East Pakistan
Politicians
Poor state of ISPs
THERE are reports in the press regarding the merger of the curriculum research and development centre (CRDC) with the Punjab Textbook Board.
The CRDC is the only research-oriented institution in the public sector in the Punjab attached with the education department. It was established in 1972 and has a tremendous record of curriculum research.
Unesco’s Asian Programme of Education Innovation for Development, has recognized CRDC, Lahore, as the only associated centre of the Programme from the Punjab. The National Development Group (NDG), under the federal ministry of education, has also recognized the CRDC as its only member from the Punjab. Its function is totally different from that of the Punjab Textbook Board as recognized at a meeting of the Punjab cabinet headed by the former governor of the province.
The cabinet, in spite of recognizing its separate entity and function, decided to merge it with the Board for unknown reasons.
The present government is giving great importance to the development of science and technology and encouraging research as is clear from the many decisions taken by it.
The decisions include establishment of a school of biological sciences and raising of monthly stipend from Rs1,500 per month to Rs 5,000 for those who have PhDs in natural sciences and are working with research institutions.
Keeping in view such encouraging steps, it is strange that such a decision against the only research institution of the Punjab education department has been taken.
This forced merger becomes all the more unacceptable when one finds that in all other three provinces and Azad Kashmir, textbooks boards and curriculum bureaus are functioning separately.
It is hoped that Punjab governor will not let this merger take place and allow both the institutions to work separately as a forced marriage never works.
USMAN NAVEED
Lahore
THIS refers to the letter of Anthony Fernandes (Aug 2) in which he has advised New Delhi to behave ‘like men, and not like boys with toys’ and offer a referendum in Jammu and Kashmir monitored by international observers as was done by Indonesia in East Timor.
What needed is that it should dawn on Mr Vajpayee that Kashmir is not as important to India’s future as the economic uplift of its masses just as President de Gaulle had felt that France’s future was more important than keeping Algeria under its rule against the wishes of Algerians.
Will Vajpayee follow Mr de Gaulle? He has only to convince the Indians that the atoot ang perception was the result of disinformation that was dished out to them during the past decades and tell them that it is in India’s interest to let the Kashmiris decide their own future.
JALAL AHMED
Karachi
THIS is with reference to Umair Ali’s letter (Aug 7). I wish we had at least understood the spirit of democracy by now.
The point is quite simple. Do we have a better option than it? Indeed Nawaz or Benazir Bhutto periods were no less than a mess.
Looking closely at the history of democracies in the Third World, we would find many things common with what we have observed here.
However, in those places where democracy was allowed to continue, its roots have gone deep into society.
If we say that dictatorship is better than democratically elected leaderships, it implies that those who have guns to seize power are right and, therefore, have legitimacy to rule.
Democracy is basically a system that gives rights to everyone. Before Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Sindh was more under the yoke of feudals. It was his leadership that created awareness among the common man about the significance of vote.
It is being said most of the people are not literate and so they would always elect the old fossils but in India where the literacy rate is almost the same, why is there democracy delivering the goods — relatively speaking?
Had we followed the democratic track without break, people would have been politically mature by now.
The fact is that democracy has not been sincerely accepted.
Now a National Security Council is being set up which will be more powerful than the elected parliament.
JAVED QAZI
Karachi
I READ in Dawn (Aug 2) about an 18-metre whale, weighing seven-eight tons, lying on the beach at Do Daria, Clifton. It was also mentioned in the news item that the Sindh Wildlife Department would shift the carcass to a coastal laboratory to determine cause of its death.
Many days have passed since the carcass landed at the shore but it is still lying at the same place. The whole area is in the grip of intolerable stink and spread of infectious diseases is feared.
I request the concerned authorities to make necessary arrangements for the removal of the dead whale from the area.
SYED ADEEL HUSSAIN
Karachi
WITH immense excitement I, along with my husband, set out on Sunday to see the dead whale which nowadays is talk of the town.
This hapless aquatic Titan has attained the status of a top-notch celebrity.
As it turned out, we couldn’t have decided on a worse day, for the road leading to the spot where the giant mammal now lies was clogged with all sorts of traffic, packed with people keen to experience this once-in-a-lifetime event.
After braving the bumper-to-bumper grand procession of vehicles for around an hour, we decided to return as it was then nightfall, and there still was no visible chance of us reaching the site within reasonable time.
Though we got back frustrated, the occasion afforded us plenty of food for thought. It displayed yet again just how entertainment-starved the ordinary citizens of the metropolis are.
Our disappointment was lessened to a great extent by the sense of thrill and buoyancy that surrounded us. Despite the thwarting vehicular hindrances, people seemed to be having a whale of a time, which indeed was quite heartening.
At such occasions the authorities must do their best by facilitating the people. However, there was not a single traffic constable in sight to manage the stupendous flow of traffic.
Furthermore, not a single police mobile could be spotted. With unfortunate security incidents happening in the recent past, shouldn’t the authorities be more vigilant?
SIDRA TAUSEEF ALI
Karachi
THIS is with reference to the federal information minister’s remarks: “Those trying to paint Pakistan as a weak state must be discouraged” (Aug 4).
I would like to remind him that ever since Ayub Khan introduced dictatorship in Pakistan, his main weapon was to curb criticism and to propagate his so-called achievements through all the means available to the state. Successive governments followed his example.
The people are suffering because of increasing prices, high utility bills, loadshedding, water shortage and, above all, the serious law and order situation. And yet they are being asked to believe that they are much happier today.
I hope the minister would spare a few minutes of his precious time to see the front pages of newspapers reporting heavy loadshedding, non-availability of drinking water and thefts of cars and bikes every day in a city which generates maximum taxes for the federal government. One can just imagine the plight of the people in rural areas.
ABDUL GHANI BROHI
Hyderabad
THIS is with reference to the letters of S.H. Zaidi (July 17) and A. Rehman (July 25) on Mai Kolachi mangroves.
Mr Rehman is absolutely correct that the mangroves were thriving before the start of land-reclamation activity by KPT. A number of water birds inhabited or visited this forest.
Nothing could be more blatantly incorrect than Mr Zaidi’s statements like “One does not see any trace of Mai Kolachi mangrove forest” and “mangroves are located along nearly the whole of the Balochistan coast.”
I have taken a photograph on Feb 2, 2002, which shows the roadside opposite to the site for the KPT Housing Scheme. One can see more than trace of mangrove forest in this picture.
Despite all pollution, lush green mangroves are still thriving in places where land filling is not done. Even in the reclaimed area, there are still stunted bushes and stumps of mangrove trees. Birds still visit the remnants of once extensive forest.
Without any major delta, the sandy and rocky coast of Balochistan is largely inhospitable to mangroves. There are only three small pockets where mangroves occur, namely Miani Hor, Kalmat Khor, and Gvator Bay in Dasht river estuary. More than 95 per cent of Pakistan’s mangrove forests occur on the Sindh coast from Karachi to the Indus delta.
Something called sustainable development is now recognized the world over as vital for the long-term survival of human species on this planet.
This is why the environment impact assessment (EIA) has been made mandatory for every developmental project under the Environment Protection Act 1997 and the Biodiversity Action Plan 1998.
Would Mr Zaidi like to mention if an EIA of this place had been conducted? The Sindh Environment Protection Agency should look into this matter and the apex court should think about taking a suo motu action.
The late Omer Asghar Khan was one of the most brilliant persons brought in by the present government. His untimely and mysterious death is a great national loss. Naming a nature resort after him would be the best tribute.
The ‘starry-eyed idealists’ do not want to ‘plant’ a mangrove park at Mai Kolachi — mangroves are already there naturally. They just need to be protected from human highhandedness.
Land reclamation is not something favoured by nature. Whenever there is a strong cyclone or earthquake, the sea will take back all the reclaimed land as the world had witnessed in the 1999 earthquake in Turkey.
DR SURAYYA KHATOON
Karachi
THE other day, while visiting a super market store in our locality, I got the heights of delight when I noticed some Pakistani products of a high standard on display.
They had tags of reasonably high price on them in comparison to the products of the same category from some other countries.
These Pakistani products included bed-sheets, cushions, pillow covers etc.
In Pakistan we often feel ashamed while buying a ‘Made in Pakistan’ item. However, while abroad, especially in the US, we feel proud to buy products from our country.
I wish Pakistan could also be able to export modern engineering equipment and heavy machinery. It would indeed be a great pleasure if the dream come true.
ZAHIR B. YOUSAFZAI
Miami, USA
IN the middle of the closing ceremony at the Commonwealth Games here in Manchester, a speaker thanked the organizers, athletes, volunteers, the Queen and the public, all to loud applause.
But it was not so when he thanked Tony Blair for his support. There were loud jeers and booing. It was a bit strange, because Manchester is a Labour Party stronghold, like much of the industrial north.
The fact is that despite what our government and the press would have you believe, most UK citizens do not support the ‘War against terror’. The public reaction in Manchester simply showed Tony Blair exactly what the British people think of his fawning to the war-monger currently occupying the White House.
Supporting Bush is damaging Tony Blair immensely. Let’s see if Manchester opens his eyes.
PAUL REED
Manchester, UK
PERHAPS Pakistan’s most disturbing achievement in the Commonwealth Games is the performance of the so-called unbeatable hockey stalwarts who got a tremendous send off and who got a terrible drubbing from New Zealand and conceded seven goals which must be a record at the semi-final level.
It appears that the Pakistani team was playing without a defence and the goal was open. Anyone could score at will. This has been conceded by Col Zafri whereas Tahir Zaman has given a rather childish answer to this debacle saying that the quick goals at the very outset by the New Zealanders upset the team. Is our team so brittle psychologically that it just caves in? It perhaps means that we have no resilience whatsoever to fight back.
For quite some time I have pointed out some of the weaknesses of our hockey team both to the sports minister and the PHF secretary. I was told through a letter by the sports ministry that the entire setup for organizing hockey in the country had been changed. But the result is there for all to see.
I have no patent recipe to improve our hockey (which was perhaps one of our strong points for Commonwealth Games) but I can re-emphasize some points which somehow have never got the right consideration. They are:
1. Modern field hockey is a battle of will — and the weak-willed are doomed from the outset, and so are the physically weak.
2. The whole art of field hockey at competitive levels is to find a ‘window of opportunity’ — and capitalize on it. It’s that simple. (It’s not so simple to do it.).
3. The best method of creating this window of opportunity is through the flanks as no breakthrough is really possible from the centre and frontal attacks.
4. Relying only on penalty corner conversion is a totally faulty stratagem and should be avoided.
5. Like some good footballers, the players should not be specialists, say, in defence or strike. They should even be able to play up the line and then fall back as the need arises and the forwards should in case of need be as competent in defence as they are as forwards. This elasticity must be achieved during training.
6. Resilience and mental robustness must be inculcated in the team.
E A S BOKHARI
Lalamusa
THE village Ghariza is in Khyber Agency (Fata) and has two primary schools, one for boys and the for girls.
After passing the primary level, the boys can go to other areas for further education but the girls remain deprived of further education.
I present two suggestions in this regard: One, the girls’ primary school be upgraded to the level of high school or two, a new high school be approved for the village.
KHALID JAN AFRIDI
Village Ghariza,
Tehsil Jamrud
NADRA has failed to deliver any great miracles that had been predicted when it was set up. As I read every day so many complaints published in the newspapers against Nadra, I supposed that I need not cry in the wilderness as the authorities did not appear to have taken any notice.
It is also a pity that the home ministry has not taken any steps for the redressal of the grievances of the complainants. After one year, I feel, I have lost my patience.
I submitted my application for a computerized NIC with the Nadra counter set up in the Municipal Hall, Qila Didar Singh, Gujranwala, on July 12, 2001, vide receipt No. 273252 which shows the delivery date as October 12, 2001.
As a period of more than a year has already elapsed, I feel it is time to request the DG of Nadra to help me with my computerized NIC at his earliest convenience.
TAHA NAZIR
Gujranwala
TO recount a person’s achievements in terms of the positions he held does not bring out what he actually did for the country. Yet this is what S.J. Burki has done (‘Those eventful years’, Aug 6).
Certainly none of the civil servants, mentioned in his article and who achieved eminent positions, took any steps to constructively remove the economic grievances of East Pakistan as articulated by East Pakistani economists well before 1971.
KHALID AHMAD
Canada
IN his column (Aug 4) Ardeshir Cowasjee has exposed a number of so-called politicians who soiled their hands with dirty money looted from the masses.
The spontaneous reaction of the shocked nation stabbed in the back is ‘You also, Brutus?’.
FEROZ S. GILANI
Karachi
I WOULD like the federal minister of science and technology to consider the following points:
1. Most of the Internet service providers (ISPs) are financially in great trouble at present. A few have closed down and a number of them may soon be pulling down their shutters. This should be a matter of concern for the government, and not just for the ISPs, as considerable capital and talent are at stake.
2. I would not say that the government is entirely to blame. After all, free enterprise has to carry the risk of failure. But one must deliberate on the contributory causes in any case. Take, for example, the government level for ISPs. Firt, there is huge initial licence fee. Then comes royalty which, to start with, was four per cent of the turnover (now reduced as a result of an out-of-court settlement). Then, there is a huge annual levy designated previously as licence renewal fee now renamed annual licence fee, by turnover (revenue receipts).
3. Now take the case of an ISP which is losing heavily and is in such a dire state that it is about to wind up. The irony is that it is still obliged to pay the above mentioned government dues, because these dues are a function of its revenue and not of its income (difference between receipts and expenditure).
4. I do not say that the ISPs or other scientific and technological enterprises should be tax-free. But surely, it is time someone defined income correctly, and saved these precious enterprises from extinction.
5. Everyone talks about Pakistan’s need for an economic revival. There is consensus in the country that this revival has to come from our indigenous enterprise. But if you continue to punish what little private enterprise there is, our CBR and their WTO will, between the two of them, ensure its demise. (Over six billion dollars in foreign exchange reserve notwithstanding).
The situation is, therefore, very critical requiring urgent suitable action by the minister.
Prof Ataur Rehman should bring some sanity to the government’s taxation policies — at least those that affect science and technology in general and telecommunication in particular.
AMANULLAH KHAN
Lahore
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