Electing the right people

ELECTIONS are only a month away. But past experience shows that many of those who are in a position to assess the performance of governments do not normally participate in the exercise and prefer to remain away from the polling stations.

By not taking the trouble of leaving the comfort of their homes and going to the polling stations for voting, they indirectly allow the wrong people to be elected who later on indulge in corrupt practices and misuse their office as “elected representatives”. Unfortunately, the right people who matter most in guiding the fate of the nation do not get elected only because their silent supporters fail to express their choice through vote and prefer their ‘comfort and convenience’ to their duty as citizens.

The elite of our society, who have the ability to distinguish right from wrong, express their opinions only in their drawing rooms, clubs, offices and social gatherings but do not even think of taking a practical step like going out to a polling booth to cast their vote. They feel quite miserable when they see wrong people being elected to represent them in the assemblies and then start criticizing the conduct of such people without realizing that they themselves were responsible for sending such an incompetent lot to these august houses.

I feel it is time for all segments of our society to wake up from their deep slumber and start taking practical steps to ensure that right people are given the chance to show their worth as part of future government. We have suffered a lot by not fully participating in the process of elections in the past. For democracy’s sake, all intellectuals, doctors, engineers, teachers, civil and military employees, lawyers, judges, artistes, media people, businessmen, students and housewives should rise to the occasion and play their role in electing the most suitable persons as their true representatives in the assemblies.

So far, the people elected to the assemblies were not of our choice and we had no access to them. This time let it be our own choice of people who we consider to be the best for the job and who can deliver. Let us prove to the world that we too are fit for democracy and can manage our affairs well.

I feel, if we take a small step out of our houses on the 10th of October this year to participate in the election, it may one day result in the giant leap towards ‘democracy’ that we have been craving for since 1947.

M.I. RAHMANI

Karachi

Janikhel village siege

JANIKHEL Wazir is a typical village of Bannu region in the NWFP consisting mainly of a cluster of mud-huts whose inhabitants are near or distant relatives to each other.

Being a member of this tribe, I can vouch for the fact that no terrorist has ever lived here or maintained any connection with any terrorist group. However, thanks to the worldwide terrorism phenomenon, this tiny sleepy village has become the focus of national and international media.

The majority of Wazir Janikhel tribesmen are haplessly poor and backward. At present the village has been surrounded by the army and paramilitary forces. The whole tribe is in trouble because of wrong information fed to the authorities and ground is being prepared for using colonial-era tactics of collective punishment.

An example of such a collective punishment can be found in the Middle East region where Israeli forces have been unleashing a reign of terror against the unarmed Palestinians. Israel and the United States have been following the same agenda there.

A similar stage has been set in Janikhel because our government has already agreed to work on the American agenda.

With the help of the US finance and arms, Pakistani forces have besieged the village housing the tribesmen who take much pride in calling themselves Pakistanis.

MAJ (R) GULZAR WAZIR

Janikhel Wazir

The gap between incomes

WHEN Air Marshal Asghar Khan entered politics in the late sixties and launched his Justice Party, he mentioned in the party manifesto the need to regulate the range between the highest and the lowest salary in the country. He used to stress this point because he was convinced that social justice was unthinkable without such a balance. If I recollect correctly, the range that he had proposed was 1 to 8.

What should such a range be is, of course, a debatable matter. However, it is plain that greater the gap, more complicated would become the situation.

In this context, it caused me much anxiety when I came to know that a not-so-big international pharmaceutical company has pegged the remuneration of its chief executive at Rs 7.25 million per annum, excluding a very sizable package of perks approximating yet another million. If this be the case with a relatively small international firm, one can only wonder what heights the chief executives of the ‘big league’ companies might be scaling.

Before one is misconstrued on the ‘grapes are sour’ grid, let me say unequivocally that the finger is not being pointed at who is getting what, but a warning orange flare is being fired to illuminate the lurking danger in the ominous mismatch between such remunerations and an impoverished society with 40 per cent of its population existing under the poverty line, not even having the buying power to get hold of life-saving drugs without the GST.

Injured irony aside, this is a serious matter. Doubtlessly, it must call for a realistic examination of the entire salary structure currently obtaining in the country to ensure that: One, it is in consonance with minimal social justice. Two, it is effectively moored in and linked to performance-cum-strategic improvement in the national interest.

M.J. ASA’AD

Karachi

Islam and Western media

I AM a 16-year-old, Spanish born Pakistani Muslim. I have been taught that Islam is a religion of peace. Yes, Jihad is a part of our religion but surprisingly many are unaware that Jihad is the most extreme way of refraining from sins, as controlling yourself from committing any sin is the most rewarding act of Jihad in the eyes of Allah.

Islam does not stop Muslims from mixing with non-Muslims, instead it encourages friendship and harmony between the two. But through the western media Islam has been portrayed otherwise. Muslims are blamed for the massacre in Israel and Palestine. The rest of the world fails to understand that the Palestinians have no other way of surviving, they are people living without hope and a man living without hope is a man without a life.

Even before the 9/11 attacks Muslims were a constant target for the western media.

We have thousands of Kashmiris dying in occupied Kashmir but does anyone care? Do they know the number of young kids killed, the number of women gang-raped and the thousands of young men with their lives ahead of them slaughtered like a bunch of animals and all the Americans and the UN can do is try to calm down the situation.

SAMYA ARIF

Karachi

Double vote right

I HAVE twice read the letter by Mr Haq (Sept 2) which he has written in answer to my earlier letter on August 25.

He has cited the example of India where the minorities have no double vote. In this regard, however, he has very conveniently forgotten that if the minorities have no double vote there, there is no discrimination against them in the Indian constitution. A Sikh has been at one time the president of India and now it has its third Muslim president. Moreover, there are no discriminatory laws against any community there unlike Pakistan where such laws abound, particularly against the Ahmadis.

So far as Pakistan’s being an ideological state is concerned, what will Mr Haq say about the beloved founder of our nation who, in his very first speech to the first constituent assembly of Pakistan in 1947, had openly declared that “you may belong to any religion or caste or creed — that is noting to do with the business of the state”. Will Mr Haq accuse the founder of Pakistan of lying and cheating the world in his very first formal speech?

As far Mr Haq’s claim that the Druze are considered non- Muslims by the vast majority of Muslims, may I ask him if any country in the Middle East has declared them non-Muslims? Let Mr Haq accept the fact that in the whole world, it is only Pakistan where the mullahs have been able to force the government to declare the Ahmadis as non-Muslims in its constitution. This has given Pakistan a bad name in the comity of nations but who cares?

M. ISHAQUE SOOFI

Rabwah

Overload on children

AILEEN Qaiser has described the ordeal of school-going children carrying disproportionately heavy school bags (Aug 27).

The situation is further aggravated when the concerned quarters show lack of interest to address the problem as pointed out by Ms Qaiser. Let us analyse the problem right from the primary school.

Six subjects are taught from classes II to V in the public sector in Punjab — Urdu, English, mathematics, social studies, Islamiat and science. Some primary schools in the private sector have also introduced Arabic and computer science on their own to lure parents in the name of quality education but with a view to enhancing enrolment and their own incomes.

This is cruelty to innocent children. We are doing all this unnecessarily as if we are producing specialists right from class-II. The problem of unnecessarily heavy bags and then burden on the innocent minds can be easily solved.

For example, the subjects of social studies, Islamiat and science can be easily merged into one book to be called ‘general knowledge’ in all the primary classes. The contents of each subject can also be reduced keeping in view the mental level of the average child. This would reduce the number of subjects from six to four.

Moreover, it should be mandatory for all private and public sector schools not to introduce any other subject apart from these four.

Again, oral and objective-type examinations should be introduced in the primary classes in all subjects because the writing ability of the children is very poor at this stage and, therefore, they resort to rote-learning. The introduction of objective-type and oral examinations in primary classes would also drastically reduce the number of exercise-books used by a student.

This aims at making the syllabi student-friendly instead of burdening children with more and more subjects and books at this tender age. The same system can also be adopted for the lover secondary classes with necessary changes.

PROF A. H. SUBHANI

Faisalabad

Where are the manifestos?

ELECTION 2002 is fast approaching and we are still unaware of the manifestos of the political parties. The voters must know what these political parties are offering so that they might be able to decide which party to vote for.

It is now high time that the parties issue their manifestos and programmes for taking the country out of its present problems. These manifestos and programmes will have to be discussed and analyzed in the press as well as in private discussions. Only then the electorate might be expected to make a correct decision.

B.H. HADI

Karachi

Seervai’s book

THIS is with reference to Mian Ghani’s letter ( Aug 24) and Yasser Latif Hamdani’s letter (Sept 3), regarding the book Partition of India — Legend and Reality by Hormasji Manekji Seervai. Both gentlemen had suggested that the Oxford University Press should reproduce this book in Pakistan.

The OUP did apply for a licence for reprint rights in view of its importance and relevance to Pakistan and M.A. Jinnah. However, the copyright holders in India declined permission on the ground that they wanted OUP Pakistan to purchase finished copies and import them into Pakistan.

This cannot be done because import of history books from India into Pakistan is not permitted by the customs authority.

UZMA AHMED KHAN

Media Manager, OUP,

Karachi

Wapda clarification

THIS is with reference to the news item under the heading, ‘Flawed distribution causes water shortage in Sindh’ (Sept 5). It is regretted that the Wapda chairman has been misquoted in the report.

In fact the chairman had said on the occasion referred to in the news item that all indents of all provinces issued by ISRA were met 100 per cent. Excess water had been stored and reservoirs of both the dams, Tarbela and Mangla, were full. Excess water was going below Kotri. Since the distribution of water was a province’s business, Wapda had nothing to do with it.

NAEEM HAIDER SYED

Dy Director, PR, Wapda,

Lahore

Noise pollution

MORE than 15,000 two-stroke auto-rickshaws have already gone off the roads in Bangladesh. Another batch of 5,500 would be withdrawn very soon. A ban has been imposed on rickshaws by the elected government of Begum Khaleda Zia because these had been the major source of air and noise pollution.

In Pakistan, particularly in Karachi, there have been repeated public demands for some action in this direction but our leaders pay no heed.

Should we hope for something favourable in future?

M. IQBAL

Karachi

Hockey commentary in Urdu

I AM a great hockey fan. It is still our national pride. I have been listening to the commentary and watching the game since the 1960s and it has always been a pleasure to listen to the radio and TV commentary.

I cannot understand why the PTV management has now decided to go for English commentary only.

A very small percentage of the hockey fans can understand English properly. The Urdu commentators’ style — racy and exciting — makes the game more enjoyable.

I request PTV to continue with the Urdu commentary.

AZFAR HUSSAIN

Karachi

US designs and world opinion

WHY do the Americans think that they can take the whole world for a ride whenever they like; that everyone other than them is a half-witted ignoramus?

They have been trying their level best for months and years to get the weapons inspectors back into Iraq without success. Now that Saddam Hussein is prepared to allow the inspectors in, the Americans have very conveniently changed their tune.

Dick Cheney is pleased to inform (misinform) us that sending in the weapons inspectors will not serve any purpose. The truth is that they are now all geared up for the attack on Iraq. Seven aircraft carriers are already in place. Now they do not want to back off from their pre-planned goal of regime change in Iraq.

All this regime change is according to a master plan to establish US hegemony around the world; ‘either you are with the US or against the US’; and have nothing to do with the war against terrorism. That is just an excuse to hoodwink the world.

KHURSHID ANWER

Lahore

Vendors and shopkeepers

IT is the right of shopkeepers to fight back when a usurper tries to occupy the land in front of their shops.

When vendors bring in their pushcarts or raise their makeshift cabins in front of a shop, they usually block the entry or even sight of the customers who may visit that shop. Moreover, these vendors virtually damage the display and show if the shop.

In fact, these vendors are responsible for the loss caused to the shopkeepers by their awkward presence throughout the business hours.

The shopkeepers pay rent, utility bills, income tax and sales tax and, therefore, have the right to protect their business get these vendors removed.

Such a situation can be witnessed in all the markets but the problem is worst at the KDA flats, Shadman area of North Karachi where the authorities have turned a blind eye towards the shopkeepers.

An urgent attention is requested.

M. ISRARUL HAQUE

Karachi

EPB report: impact on Pakistan exports

HEEDING the recent advice given by the President of Pakistan that we should learn WTO rules, I opened the 1995 Export Promotion Bureau’s report entitled “Uruguay round of trade talks: Impact on Pakistan’s exports” and thought I shall learn a thing or two from there. Here are some of the conclusions drawn and advice given in the report.

Explaining how the signing of this accord would affect Pakistan, the EPB report said that this could result in closing up of thousands of factories across the country because of accusations of environmental pollution and also due to the “ISO 9000” issue. It could also reverse our efforts to make Pakistan computer literate and threaten our carpet exports. The profits of our garments and footwear exporters, too, could be curtailed.

Back in 1995, the EPB report informed us that all pirated software will be confiscated and destroyed and the computer “revolution” sweeping across the developing countries will come to a halt unless the west adopted user-friendly policies. It further predicted that while “pirate shops” will have to go underground, authorized dealers of software will experience a massive growth in sales. It illustrated the case of Warner Brother’s introduction of its home movies in Pakistan as an assertion of this prophecy.

The report also predicted that the price of yarn will increase in the post 1995 period due to a higher demand for textile products as quotas for these are gradually being integrated in GATT. Those who keep a track of prices know, it declined. Its analysis of Japanese rice market and related phyto-sanitary issues reflected a lack of understanding of the Japanese rice market.

Of course this was the work of the old people at the EPB. I must confess the help one now receives from particularly the young EPB officers and the vice chairman, who carries the reputation of a no nonsense professional.

The government logic, however, has for a long time been that EPB should be headed by dynamic private sector leadership on account of his expert opinions.

The present incumbent must have reserved all his advice and opinions for the government only; we are yet to learn of any, from him.

SARAH

Islamabad