| September 24, 2002 | Tuesday | Rajab 16, 1423 |
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The missing enthusiasm & politicians
Pakistani NIC for Afghans
Those not remembered
Bringing sanity to politics
Special treatment to special children
Missing a flight
Sales tax matter
Interviews on News Night
Philanthropic ventures
Non-Muslim electorates
Dumping along Mai Kolachi
I READ with interest the item ‘Trials and tribulations of a Pakistani living in America’ in the Internet edition of Dawn (Sept 18).
It is unfortunate what Mr Shakir Ali Baloch had to endure. Nevertheless it is also instructive of how our expectations are so different from what we ourselves deliver.
In Pakistan most ‘illegal aliens’ have always been treated abysmally. The police and other security forces are notorious for extortion while dealing with this segment of the populace not to forget their generally reprehensible attitude towards ‘legal’ citizens of the nation.
The next time Mr Baloch comes back to Pakistan, he should have a good look at the faces of the many poor people being systematically harassed by various ‘agencies’ at the airports. He may well not have to endure such humiliation, being the son of a former Pakistani civil servant.
DR N. HASAN
Hamilton, New Zealand
AS an immigration consultant, I can very definitely say that Mr Baloch was treated well under the circumstances. To stay in this country, as an illegal person is not considered a ‘criminal offence’ but to cross border, stay as an illegal alien and buy a fake social security number, are ‘federal crimes’ and the offender may be sent to jail for up to seven years.
I hope one understands the position of the US government after 9/11 mishap.
ZEEJAY KASH
New York, USA
AFTER reading Shakir Ali Baloch’s story ‘Trials and tribulations of a Pakistani living in America’ I have decided that I want to help this man and his family.
As an American I have never condoned what has been done to men and women by the law-enforcement agencies just because they heard a whisper in the wind about someone. Because of the wrongs done to this man and his family he is scarred for life. He never deserved that and neither did his loved ones. If there is a way to help, please let me know via my e-mail
MARY BERNIER
E-mail xxxx@charter.net.
I PITY the editorial, ‘The missing enthusiasm’ (Sept 12), in which Dawn listed the absence of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif from the electoral scene as one of the causes for the lack of popular enthusiasm in the coming elections. Knowing the corrupt political leadership, a vast majority of the populace never took interest in any previous election.
Your assertion to the contrary is thus wrong. The two leaders mentioned above indulged in misrule and unprecedented loot of the national wealth during their tenures.
They brought the country almost to the verge of becoming a failed state. The list of their acts of omission and commission is endless. They have also been convicted by courts of law. But despite all this, the press has kept them alive.
If the press is the fourth pillar of the state, it’s a rotten one.
MASOOD AKHTAR
Lahore
THE National Database and Registration Authority has never been mindful of devising a proper method of screening and scrutiny to determine if an applicant of CNIC is a genuine Pakistani. This is surely not a very difficult task. But Nadra has preferred to indulge in an ultra-high degree of criminal negligence for reasons best known to them. As a dangerous consequence, millions of Afghans and persons of other nationalities are now proudly holding a Pakistani CNIC.
Ordinary common sense will indicate that critical screening and checks are always done well at the entry point which, in this case, is the application submission counter of NADRA. Unfortunately, the ill-trained and ill-educated staff at these counters have been harshly strict on insignificant things like colour of the ink, back-ground of the photographs of the applicants, etc. but the least concerned about the actual nationality of the applicant.
CNIC is an important national document and as such, the present management of the NADRA must be taken to task for committing a national crime, that is, issuing CNIC to Afghans and others. The already issued CNICs should be immediately withdrawn.
CONCERNED
Karachi
AS the world geared up to mark the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks, we would like to pay tribute to some other innocent victims of terrorism as well. No television channel has ever mentioned their plight and no newspaper or magazine has ever printed their photographs.
On this day, we remember the 121,237 Iraqi Muslim babies who died in the last 12 months (WHO statistics) as a direct result of American-imposed sanctions on Iraq, preventing critical medicines for children, from reaching Iraqi hospitals. Three times as many Iraqi babies die every month as a result of these sanctions, than were killed in the 11th September 2001, attacks.
On this day, we remember the Afghan Muslim civilians who have been brutally murdered since October 2001, by American warplanes indiscriminately bombing their villages, houses, mosques, hospitals and wedding parties. Ten times as many innocent Afghans have been killed by Americans than were killed in the 11th September 2001, attacks.
On this day, we remember the 6084 Indian Muslims killed and burnt alive in cold-blooded killing orgies organized by the Indian government in Gujrat, during the last 12 months.
On this day, we remember the 5078 Chechen Muslim civilians who have been killed by Russian aerial bombing during the last 12 months, having been given a green light by the American ‘War on Terror’.
On this day, we remember the 3039 Palestinian Muslims who were killed by Americans (via weapons held in the hands of Israeli soldiers) since September 2001.
On this day, we remember the 1399 Kashmiri Muslims murdered and the 852 gang-rapes carried out by Hindu and Sikh soldiers in Indian held Kashmir.
On this day, we remember the 1261 Indonesian Muslims massacred by Christians in the Maluku region of Indonesia.
On this day, we remember the 598 Muslim, Mujahid prisoners being kept in small cages in Guantanamo Bay, after their beards were forcibly shaved, their hands and feet were bound and their eyes and ears were covered, in conditions where they are susceptible to malaria, heatstroke and other tropical diseases.
On this day, we mourn the death of the hearts of 1.2 billion Muslims worldwide who are blind to the above tragedies, but alive to the few thousand killed on 11th September 2001, in New York.
QASSIM HAMEED
Karachi
SINCE I was a child, I have looked at our venerable politician, Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, with awe. His presence seems to be a permanent element of our politics.
But now, after so many years, when I think of his major achievements in the field of politics, I find none worth mentioning. What a pity! One wonders about the people who elect him year after year.
These days, Nawabzada Saheb is telling us that the survival of this nation depends on giving a free reign to our politicians and allowing them to do whatever they want. The nation knows well that they just fight among themselves, bring down elected governments by illegal and immoral means and then hold fresh elections, once again. None of them is bothered about the nation and about solving its problems. No sir, we cannot afford that any more. The common man now wants to put an end to their playing with the nation’s destiny.
General Musharraf’s constitutional amendments are desperately needed to bring some sanity to our country’s politics and thus usher in some stability. Nawabzada Saheb and others like him, are requested in the name of this poor nation, to please retire and spend their time in praying for this country. That might help us more than all their sleepless nights in political manipulations and their tiresome days in bringing out rallies.
BARRISTER SHAHEEN RAJA
Chakwal
SPECIAL children are found in all societies of the world. They can become good and useful citizens if trained and educated properly. In modern societies of the world, they are given special attention and appropriate education and training.
In western countries, if a special child is born in any family (poor or rich), the government provides them special package i.e. free treatment in hospitals and rehabilitation centres, more care and education and special training. Even government provides relaxation in utility bills to the families of special children.
Many Third World countries also pay due attention to special people at government level. But in our country the role of government in the rehabilitation of special people is not satisfactory. It should allocate funds for the promotion of special children’s education. Modern equipment should also be installed in these institutions.
It is learnt that the government has decided that all special education and welfare centres in Islamabad be privatized. The government is urged to seek the opinion of the Ministry of Special Education, the administration of the special education centres in Islamabad and the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) in this regard.
ASMAT ULLAH
Islamabad
I HAD a ticket for travel by PK717 leaving Islamabad on June 30 at 4.45am for New York via Manchester and arriving at New York’s JFK airport at 12.50pm and getting the connecting direct Delta flight at 4.40pm for Tampa.
Two days before departure, not the PIA but the travel agent informed me that as PK717 was re-routed via Karachi, no chance of my getting connecting direct flight in New York, and as the arrival time there of PK717 was changed to 4.20pm, I could only get the next morning flight via Miami.
The PK717 flight left Islamabad at the exact time with one-third full with passengers. In Karachi, departure was delayed slightly but the plane got two-third filled. At Manchester, it got delayed for over two hours.
The only explanation given was that cargo loading was taking time.
The PK717 arrived in New York at 7pm. About 30 families had lost their connecting flights. It took the PIA staff more than three hours to re-arrange their connecting flights, all next day, mostly indirect and time consuming.
Thankfully the strict US liability law obliged and PIA did provide night accommodation in hotel. It was a sight to find so many old passengers, women and children with heavy baggage stranded for the whole night, starting the ordeal over again early the next morning.
Everyone affected publicly declared never to travel PIA again. The compulsions of our country leave little choice for the consumer.
A SENIOR CITIZEN
Islamabad
I AM a lawyer doing practice in sales tax and income tax disciplines. During the course of my practice, I have found missing links/details in the income tax statements and sales tax returns.
The real point which I want to emphasize is the anomaly between the income tax statements that are submitted to the Income Tax Department and the sales tax returns which are the exclusive subject of the sales tax department. The Central Board of Revenue has now interlinked these two formal accounts of legal value with instructions to the concerned departments to compare these two ‘accounts’ with each other.
Quite naturally and logically this anomalous position between the two statements, one given to the Income Tax Department and the other to the sales tax authorities, gives rise in turn to prolonged litigations between the tax payees and tax collectors.
As a result, uncertainty prevails and even estimated figures of overall economic position take a U-turn.
BURHAN AHMAD (ADVOCATE)
Lahore
THE compere on News Night, like many before him, repeated the fairy tale that the 13th and 14th amendments had been passed in 15 minutes. Asfandyar Wali Khan scoffed at this and questioned the compere. He asked whether with the cut-throat political environment prevailing in the country and the deep-rooted vendetta between the parties, was it possible for them to agree on anything in 15 minutes or even in 15 hours? How could they then agree on weighty matters like the two amendments in a quarter of an hour?
He said that achieving a consensus on the amendments had taken a lot of hard work behind the scenes over a considerable period of time. It was only when complete unanimity was reached, that the amendments were put to the joint sitting of the House. The voting by then was a formality and may have taken only 15 minutes.
Elaborating further, he reminded the compere that there had been no two opinions, until then, about the president’s powers to dismiss an elected government and even about lotacracy, which everyone decried but when it was done away with, everyone cried foul. Make up your mind, he seemed to say.
In the context of Gen Musharraf’s efforts at amassing absolute powers on the plea of ‘doctrine of necessity’ for fulfilling his agenda, it is not difficult to see that the then prime minister might have had the same motivations and with good reason.
It is now hoped that comperes like Talat Husain and Naeem Bokhari will not freely indulge in this canard which has been nailed good and proper by a very seasoned politician.
KHURSHID ANWER
Lahore
THIS has reference to the two letters with a picture of Ramzi bin Al Shibh (Sept 19). Appreciating the sentiments expressed by the two writers, the conclusion drawn by me is that our rulers have made a landmark decision to live in the bush in the hope of performing miracles in the supreme national interest.
Since unexpected events have no timeframe, they call for patience; hence people should not pin high hopes. While writing these lines, I happened to glance at Capt Riaz Ahmed’s letter, ‘Philanthropic ventures’, who stressed the need for tree plantation on Ummah level because this fell in the category of Sadaqa-i-Jaria. The coming into existence of Pakistan is also a Sadaqa-i-Jaria.
Philanthropic countries of the world have been giving aid, grants, loans or remittances by expatriates to keep the citadel of Islam afloat, considering it as a Sadaqa-i-Jaria. We are destined to subsist on foreign aid in perpetuity.
K. A. WAHID BUTT
Lahore
ONE is unable to say anything about the brains of our brainless government departments. There is a huge list of actions which nobody can understand. One example of its kind is the decision of the Election Commission to issue a separate list of Ahmadi voters for the coming elections. I have the following points to make in this regards:
(1) One list includes Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Parsis, etc, while a second list is created only for Ahmadi voters, which is named as the ‘list of non-Muslim voters’. So if the second list is for non-Muslim voters which only includes the Ahmadis, the first list seems to be the list of Muslim voters including Christians, Hindus, Parsis, etc. Any logic or explanation from the election commission?
(2) The government took a very wise, bold and democratic step by saying that all Pakistanis would be allowed to vote on a joint electorate basis and would be allowed to participate in the elections on all general seats irrespective of religion. The why was there any need for the second list? And who are the characters behind this drama that destroyed the true essence of joint electorates?
(3) Why are only the Ahmadis in the non-Muslim list and all others are in the Muslim list?
(4) The Quaid-i-Azam, a man of great vision, in his August 11, 1947, speech said that everyone would be free to practise his religion and, at the same time, he would enjoy equal rights as a citizen of Pakistan. Please don’t break the promise of the Father of the Nation for petty benefits.
The government should either withdraw the notification or at least combine both the lists and it should be a list of all voters irrespective of religion. We have only a few days in hand and a prompt action will ensure the participation of Ahmadi voters living across the country, who have jointly decided not to participate in the elections because of this humiliating discrimination.
MAQBOOL A. MUBASHER
Lahore
THIS is with reference to Karachi Notebook (Sept 16) about Mai Kolachi. The author alludes to a controversy pertaining to the land, on both sides of Mai Kolachi, which existed in the past. Then a question is raised, while coming from Clifton to Queens Road, the area on the left perhaps is being treated as landfill. If it is so, why?
The author has asked either Karachi Port Trust or the Sindh Environment Protection Agency to respond.
Karachi Port Trust is a green conscious organization and has taken all possible measures not only to preserve the existing mangroves in the area of Mai Kolachi but has embarked upon planting mangroves by developing suitable nurseries for them in China Creek area.
The KPT has gone a step further and ensured protection of mangroves through continuous boat-patrolling so that mangroves are not cut or damaged by people who make fodder or domestic fuel out of the mangroves.
Environment awareness of the public, being the objective of the KPT led it to fixing of cautionary boards on the eastern side of Mai Kolachi. The objective is to preserve mangroves and wildlife.
People are warned not to dump garbage in the area. However, in spite of this, people continue to dump garbage in this area not paying any heed to what the boards read. The KPT then started patrolling the area.
Finding still no worthwhile improvement, permanent watchmen were posted who made a number of arrests through the local police. The saline seawater is one of the basic and essential requirements of mangroves, its availability has been ensured in the area by providing linkage between water bodies on both sides of Mai Kolachi through suitable arrangements.
As far as the employment of four bulldozers is concerned the area is under constant watch, and no such activity has come to the notice of Karachi Port Trust officials, especially during the week ending Sept 14.
KAFIL AHMED KHAN
Senior PRO, KPT,
Karachi
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