| October 11, 2002 | Friday | Sha'aban 4, 1423 |
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Using oil as weapon
Incorrect CNIC: Nadra’s version
Liaquat and ties with Moscow
What to write about
Pilots’ recruitment in PIA
Reporting
Beauty of Karachi
Law minister’s remarks
Blasphemy law
Toxic discharge
Quality of cable TV
India’s secularism
Pathetic state of a college
THIS is with reference to the editorial, ‘Higher education showdown’ (Oct 6). As an official of the office of the Minister for Education, I would like to clarify a few misconceptions and misunderstandings about the reforms being introduced by the government in the higher education sector.
In the first place, it is clarified that there is no basis whatsoever for the apprehensions expressed by certain quarters about privatization of public sector universities or increase in their fee structure.
The government has neither approved nor is considering any such proposal which may lead to the commercialization of public sector universities, increase in fee structure or job insecurity for teachers. On the contrary, it has enhanced funding to the higher education sector to Rs7 billion this year. It is expected that the funding will touch a figure of Rs16 billion in two-and-a-half years.
This step has been taken to ensure that fees are not increased. The reforms also aim at limiting the numbers of students admitted on self-financing basis. A mechanism has also been evolved for the establishment of a system of higher education whereby no meritorious student will be denied admission due to financial constraints.
It can hardly be denied that the standard of education at our public sector universities has deteriorated to the extent that students graduating from them hardly get any jobs. On the other hand, students graduating from some private sector universities grab most of the jobs but the high fee-structure of these universities allows only the privileged classes to study there.
The objective of the entire exercise in the higher education sector is to bring the public sector universities at par with private sector universities of high repute in terms of quality without increasing the fee so that the students belonging to the less privileged classes of society have access to high quality education.
The underlying idea behind the reforms is that Pakistani students belonging to all sections of society have a right to quality education that should be available to them irrespective of their ability to pay for it.
The Model University Act also provides maximum autonomy to universities. It will separate policy-making and accountability of universities from their management.
This again is not a fact that stake-holders were not consulted while preparing the Model University Ordinance. The Steering Committee on Higher Education consulted the vice chancellors, teachers, students and society at large. Even these days, debates are being arranged on TV on the issue.
I would also like to mention here that the consultation process has not ended yet. The Federal Minister for Education, Science and Technology, Prof Atta-ur-Rahman, who is also Chairman of the Higher Education Commission, has started a process of consultations. A meeting of all the vice chancellors will be held at the HEC on Oct 8. Prof Atta will also hold similar meetings in all the provinces with the stake-holders — faculty, teachers’ associations, etc. to listen to their viewpoint and remove misunderstandings.
MAMOONA AMJED
Director PR, Minister for Education,
Islamabad
MALAYSIA’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad, while lamenting the powerlessness of the Muslim world to protect its interests, has given a call to the Arabs, who produce half of the total output of mineral oil, to consider using it as a weapon the way they had done briefly in 1973.
It is worth pondering that, barring a few exceptions, wherever Muslims are in the majority there is oil/gas under their feet. These two fossil fuels are likely to remain the most sought-after source of energy, unrivalled as long as their natural reserves last.
In Africa, mineral oil in substantial quantities is found in Nigeria, Libya and Sudan — all Muslim majority states. The same is the position in the Gulf region and in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Iraq containing around 30 per cent of the world’s total reserve, matched only by the newly discovered deposits in Muslim majority states of Central Asia.
Most surprising is the position in South Asia where plenty of gas (and some quantity of oil) is found only in the two Muslim majority states of Pakistan and Bangladesh. Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, all three Muslim states, are the only producers of oil in Southeast Asia.
So, there is a distinct sign of nature’s bias in favour of Muslims in this particular respect. It is an open message, not a cryptic one, for the beneficiaries of this bounty of nature to realize the importance of the power that has been bequeathed to them — the power that can bring the industrial world to a creaking halt, the power that cannot be snatched or destroyed like other assets of self-defence, conventional or nuclear.
JAFAR WAFA
Karachi
THIS is with reference to the computerized NIC No. 3740546589467 issued to Mr Rohail Bhatti as reproduced in Dawn (Islamabad edition, Oct 4).
We apologize for the mistake in the production of the CNIC. However, this may not be the first case that has come to light. Considering the huge size of database being handled, these kind of errors are bound to be there attributable to man, machine and materials.
These are, therefore, duly catered for in execution plans. We have adopted a special document, tasdeeq nama, for the correction of any errors.
We have requested the citizens through the media to thoroughly check the information printed on the new CNIC before accepting it and not to accept a card if its contents are found to be incorrect.
We take upon the responsibility of all necessary corrections and delivery at the doorstep of the citizen on us.
As per the procedures, Mr Bhatti should not have accepted this card or approached local Nadra office for correction.
Further, to process the queries and questions of the applicants expeditiously, a special CRM model has been established which is available throughout the country on our helpline, 111-162-372. We request all applicants, raising queries or seeking more information, to provide the number of his/her old NIC, receipt or CNIC application form to enable us process the queries expeditiously.
Mr Bhatti is also requested to approach the local Nadra office to get his CNIC corrected free of charge.
JEHANZEB AZIZ
Advisor, Nadra,
Islamabad
THERE is a common perception that Liaquat Ali Khan, our first prime minister, had cancelled his planned visit to Moscow and instead went to Washington, thus damaging relations with the Soviet Union.
Recently, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the (now defunct) USSR, Mr Mansur Alam, appeared on the ARY London’s Q & A TV programme conducted by P.J. Mir. A woman asked Mr Alam about Liaquat Ali Khan’s reported refusal to visit Moscow. He vehemently corrected this impression and revealed that the cancellation of the planned visit was not due to Liaquat Ali Khan’s refusal to visit Moscow but because of the fact that Moscow had suggested the date as Aug 15 to which he had responded by saying that he would undertake the visit after Independence Day celebrations (Aug 14). Naturally, it was not possible for him to reach Moscow the next day.
Mr Khan had asked for an extension of two/three days due to flight schedule problem. However, Moscow did not respond to his request and instead cancelled the visit in the following October.
Mr Alam had verified the facts from the Cabinet records and also the relevant records of Moscow government,
Liaquat Ali Khan visited the United States in December next.
Our relations with Moscow suffered not due to the cancellation of the visit but because of our joining SEATO and CENTO pacts which were directed against the USSR.
I suggest that on Liaquat Ali Khan’s anniversary, the government should issue a clarification on the subject in order to set the record straight and remove wrong impression from our people’s mind.
S. FARID AHMAD
Karachi
JUST by reading three columns by Mr Ayaz Amir, I now know that, among other things, he has been a military officer and a member of the provincial assembly, has visited the world around, appreciates the finer things in life such as classical music and English literature, and longs for a sip of premium scotch.
Ninety seven per cent of us can’t tell Broccoli from Beethoven, then why does Mr Amir continue to harp about stuff so irrelevant, except that it tells us how intellectually and culturally refined and so different from the rest of us he happens to be. I could stomach him better, singing praises for the congenitally corrupt odd couple of BB and Sharif.
Please write if you must, about something which matters the most, our miseries.
ANEES NAWAZ
Dera Ghazi Khan
THE PIA had advertized for the recruitment of cadet pilots in March 2001. The candidates had to go through a competitive written test, an initial interview, a thorough medical check-up, flight test and a final interview. This five-stage procedure was completed in December 2001. However, the candidates are still in the dark about the result.
It may be mentioned that only a few of the 32 candidates, are gainfully employed in other organizations while the rest are just waiting. Some of them had plans of going abroad for seeking jobs or for higher studies but have abandoned the same in favour of this option.
These candidates have already wasted nearly two years of their lives but there has been no end to the mental agony suffered by them and their families.
We strongly appeal to the PIA management to finalize this recruitment without further loss of time.
CONCERNED PILOTS
Karachi
THIS refers to the report regarding Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology headlined, ‘GIK Institute takes action against three students’ (Oct 7). In my opinion, the report was not accurate. It was grossly exaggerated.
Dawn is the last place where we would expect inaccurate or exaggerated news reports.
ALTAMASH HAI KHAN
Swabi, NWFP
THIS refers to the letter, ‘Beauty of Karachi’ by Abdul Rasheed Khan (Oct 6).
To the best of our understanding in Karachi Building Control Authority, no beautification of buildings has ever been undertaken in the past except once during 1984 at a restricted scale in which Maymar Town was declared as the ‘best locality’.
We fully appreciate your concern over KBCA’s failings that beautification of Karachi had been piecemeal, unprofessional and oblivious of town planning.
We, therefore, wish to assure the Karachiites that our current humble venture would be a forerunner for a better and upgraded Karachi. The KBCA deals with a segment, and issues such as billboards, hoardings, debris, abandoned check posts of police and decoration of roads with foliage do not fall within its ambit.
The KBCA submits that these issues fall in the jurisdiction of the City Government which has priorities and which knows better how to conduct its business.
MIRZA YOUSUF ALI
PRO, KBCA, Karachi
THIS has reference to a report by Mr Ashraf Mumtaz headlined, ‘LFO is now part of Constitution: Ranjha’ (Punjab edition, Oct 3).
The federal law minister is reported to have said that legislators to be elected in the general elections will be administered oath under the 1973 Constitution of which the Legal Framework Order (LFO) is now a component. If this report is correct, the minister, it seems, has committed contempt of court since the matter is subjudice in the apex court.
Refer to the report by Rafaqat Ali from Islamabad, ‘SC wants LFO status clarified’ (Oct 3), Justice Munir A. Sheikh, is reported to have said: “It has been observed by members of the bench that parliament’s power to amend the Constitution would be restored when it was revived and those powers could be used for rejecting the LFO.”
K. A. WAHID BUTT
Lahore
IT is being argued that since the United Kingdom has a blasphemy law, we, too, should continue to retain ours in the shape it exists. The comparison is hardly valid.
England went through a renaissance, a reformation of religion and later an industrial revolution.
We have gone thorough none of these processes. The minds applying laws in that country are, therefore, quite different from those here. The blasphemy law on their statute books is consequently much safer than ours.
In the current state of our society the blasphemy law that we have, will continue to embarrass us before the world.
KHALID AHMAD
Montreal, Canada
THIS is with reference to the news item, ‘Toxic Kotri water to be disposed of properly’ (Oct 8).
Toxic waste from Kotri Industrial Estate has been discharged into K.B. Upper Feeder Canal for the last about 30 years. Is it not criminal negligence on the part of the Sindh irrigation department and the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board to over look this health hazard? This type of toxic discharge into our rivers and canals is taking place all over the country. Public ignorance is a blessing for our rulers.
I wish this news item does not attract the attention of prospective foreign investors, as this would scare them more than any thing else.
M. N. SYED
Los Angeles, USA
A FEW days back there was a warning from the Pakistan Electronic Media Authority to cable television operators to the effect that they should desist showing programmes harmful to our cultural and moral values, and that the officials of the local governments should ensure implementation of this directive.
The PEMRA directive did not elaborate on those values. The order, thus, simply added another party to the long list of graft mongers.
To me, the activities and traits which are harmful to our society are hypocrisy, intolerance, corruption, fraud, theft, dacoity, murders, gang rapes, karo-kari, molestation of women and children, ignorance, inefficiency, etc.
Though hardly any television programmes aim at promoting these, all of them are thriving in our society, as can be observed by a glance over the pages of any newspaper.
Another part of the same directive was meant to force the Pakistani channels down our throats in the form of the front part of the channels’ bouquet.
I am totally against round the clock repulsive hips gyrating, but channels being offered presently by most of the cable operators are the only entertainment that the hapless public of this country can look forward to.
Pemra should ensure the quality of transmission and not clamp down a stranglehold on public choice.
A. HAMID
Karachi
Mr MUSTANSAR Khurshid, while questioning India’s secular credentials (Oct 7), stated that V.P. Singh, a Sikh prime minister, was not allowed to complete his term. This is incorrect. Mr V. P. Singh is a Hindu, not a Sikh.
I hope that readers would now understand that religious fanaticism or minority-bashing in politics in India are just imaginations of sick minds.
N. NAGESHWAR
Chennai, India
THE report on Dyal Singh College (Punjab edition, Oct 2) depicts the pathetic state that this institution is in. The decaying, rather falling buildings, are a sad reflection of the fact that there is a scarcity of financial resources coupled with lack of will and initiative on the part of the current administration.
The founders of the college had created a Trust that could generate enough income to continue for good. The college is located in the heart of Lahore. Its Trust owns some of the most expensive property in the city. Acres of land it owns apart from the college and library premises, unfortunately, is either used as a dumping ground, lying waste or has already been grabbed by the land mafia.
One prime example of it is a triangular piece of about 3.4 acres of land on Abbott Road adjacent to the Laxmi Chowk. It stretches into the Royal Park and backs on to the Islamia College for Women, Cooper Road. This piece of land has been grabbed by food joints on the main road, some workshops at their back, advertizing hoardings, dumps, baking, printing, carpet washing and what not.
Then there is a rather large enclosed parcel of land with sheds and wasteland. The encroachments on this area started as temporary at first but are now taking permanent shape.
It is beyond the scope of the administration of an educational institution to supervise or develop land and put it to better use. Academics are best left to do what they are supposed to be good at.
It has been established over the years that the college administration is hardly in a position, financially or physically, to get this area vacated and developed.
This particular piece of land waits to be developed into a commercial complex, housing shops and restaurants on the ground and first floor and desperately needed parking facilities on the upper floors.
This kind of work is indeed out of the scope of the academic staff of the college. Gen Khalid Maqbool has been rightly advised to reconstitute a Board of Governors for the Trust. But it must include people of vision and credibility and they must be assigned the job of maximizing income for the college. The college should then be put to proper use.
The Dyal Singh College Library has carried a lot of respect among educationists and scholars for nearly a century. It is sad to note that no effort was made to restore the number of books lost in a fire a few years ago. The delay may come as a blessing in disguise. A whole new computerized library with CDs and Internet connections with major international libraries could give a new direction to this institution nearing its centenary.
MANZUR AHMAD
Lahore
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