| November 12, 2002 | Tuesday | Ramazan 6, 1423 |
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Prosecution service
Fake encounter in New Delhi
Bumpy road to democracy
Canadian visa
Co-education
Can we boycott US goods?
Women’s ward without a woman doctor
Iqbal Manzil
Crude transportation contract
Beggars in Karachi
Constitutional amendments
IT IS rather hard to imagine what it would have taken to convince Pakistan’s military strategists to agree to spend $1.5 billion on the purchase of Patriot missiles from the US. The facts about the Patriot are pretty unconvincing.
In the 1991 Gulf war, most of the 39 Iraqi Scuds made it to Israel as Patriot failed to intercept them.
The US forces themselves could not intercept Scuds, and when they did, the debris from both the Patriot and the Scud rained on their own troops, killing many.
In that theatre, Iraq launched its Scuds from a distance of 400 miles and provided Israeli/US Patriots more than eight minutes to respond in conjunction with US satellites, advanced radar and GPS system. The general conclusion was that the Patriots were as much of a dud as the Scud missile itself.
Since then, Raytheon and the US DOD appear to have spent about $1.5 billion to improve the performance of the Patriots, but both Israel and the US have since moved away from a Patriot-based solution.
Patriot missiles were designed as anti-aircraft and anti-cruise missile devices. The concept of using them against tactical ballistic missiles (ranges of 100-1,000km) was tried in the Gulf war but it could not prove itself.
In Pakistan’s situation, Indian missile launches will give Pakistan less than two minutes of reaction time, that is if Pakistan had means to know that a launch has taken place. Pakistan, however, has not acquired such means yet.
Even the Israeli Arrow missile defence system and the US’s most advanced ballistic missile defence initiative cannot intercept an oncoming assault within this timeframe despite their eye-in-the-sky satellite systems and their highly sensitive radars. Israel’s Arrow system requires at least three minutes to react, and the US system takes over four minutes — a respectable margin given these countries’ geo-political and threat scenarios.
It may be that the US is using this sale of Patriot missiles as a display of its support of Pakistan while Pakistan is receiving for $1.5 billion a technology that has failed to work.
That should work for the Raytheon and the US both ways. US may even attempt to convince Pakistan that with such an “advanced” missile defence system, Pakistan should cool its effort towards improving its nuclear and missile programmes.
I think that $1.5 billion should be enough to build more home-grown deterrence in the form of longer-range missiles and more deterring and potent nuclear ammunition.
SHAMS NAQVI
California, USA
PROSECUTION is considered to be one of the pillars of the judicial system. In spite of this, here in Pakistan the prosecution service has always suffered for lack of facilities to its members for proper functioning and also because of the absence of a promotion incentive.
A person inducted into service for sessions trials as district attorney/public prosecutor has to retire on the same post. Similar is the case with legal inspectors recruited for prosecution in lower courts. The former is under the law department and the latter under the police.
The law department has no interest in the prosecution service whereas the police department is misusing the post for its own designs. This situation, no doubt, affects adversely the purpose and functions of the prosecution.
This government has taken an initiative by creating a separate prosecution service. After necessary approval from the cabinet, the matter is under process with the police cell of the home department for the formation of relevant rules and regulations.
However, I want to bring it to the notice of the concerned authorities that the spirit and philosophy behind the creation of the prosecution service is being destroyed at this stage. Instead of separating it from the police, efforts are being made to hijack it and keep it permanently with them.
It is learnt that only the legal inspectors, working in the police department and having no nexus with sessions trials, are being inducted as prosecutors, while assistant/deputy district attorneys, permanently functioning as public prosecutors and possessing vast experience, are being ignored.
Not only that attorneys are being deprived of their genuine right, the government exchequer is also being overburdened with undue expenditure by creating a superfluous parallel line of a large number of new incumbents.
It is felt that the purpose of the prosecution service can only be served through its affiliation with the advocate-general’s office and by taking the assistant/deputy district attorneys and serving public prosecutors as prosecutors in the said service.
MUHAMMAD AKRAM KHAN
Faisalabad
THE Northern Alliance of Afghanistan handed over Pakistani prisoners to India last year. Since then, the prisoners are being killed one after another in fake encounters by the Indian law-enforcement agencies in various parts of India as an evidence that Pakistan is committing terrorism in its various parts and in Kashmir.
The number of such fake encounters has been fast rising, specially since Dec 13, 2001, when the Indian parliament was attacked by some alleged militants. However, the latest incident in which police killed two people in an “encounter” in New Delhi and later claimed that the two dead were Pakistanis has exposed to the world India’s real designs.
The allegation has also sparked a controversy in India as a witness, who happens to be a doctor, has told the media that the incident was a fake encounter. Those killed were said to carrying no weapons and had already been dazed when attacked by the police. The Indian government, however, has presented documents to prove that the doctor is a liar. The witness has told a noted Indian journalist that his life is now in danger.
One can now very well understand that how much Indian war-mongers want to keep the pot boiling and to divert public attention from the core issue of Kashmir.
May I ask Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee why he has been unable to do anything to eliminate poverty in South Asia about which he talked so much during the Agra summit? It is time his government made efforts to solve the problems of Indian people, whose number is estimated to cross 1.5 billion by 2050.
The government should stop building weapons of mass destruction and should, instead, give its people basic necessities of life. It should also learn a lesson from the fate of the former Soviet Union, which kept itself engaged in the Afghan war for over a decade and disintegrated eventually. The same could happen to India if its forces extend their occupation of Kashmir any longer.
SHAH AFFAN
North York, Canada
I HAVE read the letter, ‘Bumpy road to democracy’ (Nov 8), by Rudy Shankar with a pinch of salt. By and large, the Indians take much pride in the democratic dispensation established in their country since independence. On the other hand, Pakistan has been ruled for a longer period by the military than by elected governments.
The foremost reason for this is the unresolved issue of Kashmir. Pakistan, right from its inception, has had to allocate a large chunk of its budget for maintaining proportionately strong armed forces because of the constant Indian threat, particularly along the Line of Control. Thus, India is indirectly responsible for a host of economic problems in Pakistan.
So, to quote Mr Shankar, “a middle class with increasing purchasing power” could not emerge in Pakistan to tread on the bumpy road to democracy. Unlike India, which has a large number of people from the middle class, Pakistan has only two classes — the haves and the have-nots.
But the question arises: what has India, the so-called largest democracy in the world, given to its people in terms of progress and prosperity? It has certainly not solved the problems of population explosion, hunger, diseases, poverty, political instability and security.
So what good is such a democracy? I have heard that, In India, many people are born on footpaths, for they do not have any home. They then grow and die there. At least, the state of affairs is not certainly so appalling in Pakistan, despite several military interventions.
GULZAR WAZIR
Peshawar
THROUGH these columns, I would like to ask the Canadian High Commission as to how long it will take them to issue my landing papers.
My husband went to Canada as an immigrant in February 2000 and applied for my sponsorship in September 2001.
After my medical checkup in May 2002, I received a letter in August, asking for the recent pay slips and income evidence of my husband in Canada.
After that I did not receive any letter. All the formalities have been completed and only landing papers are to come. Can the authorities concerned let me know when this process will complete.
SHAIZA ALI
Hyderabad
I endorse the views expressed by Asfandyar Farrokh in his letter (Nov 7) and would support any plan to make co-education mandatory.
I came to Pakistan in the early ’80s after having had co-ed schooling in Africa. That was the heyday of the Zia era and his so-called Islamization was in full swing.
However, in the girls college that I attended in Karachi, the sole topic of conversation was always ‘boys’ and it was not uncommon to see burqa-clad students slipping out on their dates.
All this puzzled me because in a co-ed environment, I was unaccustomed to seeing boys as anything other than fellow students.
Thanks to Zia’s policy of segregation, Pakistani society has evolved in a warped manner, and men and women do not know how to behave towards each other. Obviously, the general lack of education in our society, too, also played its negative role.
To those who call co-education un-Islamic, I can only say that we have been interpreting Islam in our own way.
All over the world there is an arrangement in mosques so that women can also pray therein. But in Pakistan, for the most part, there is no such arrangement.
If men and women can pray together in Makkah, why cannot they receive education together?
NAELA HASAN
Oakville, Canada
THIS refers to Moeen Faruqi’s (Oct 27) & S. A. Bilgrami’s (Nov 3) letters, “Boycott of US goods”.
Boycott! Well, easier said than done. How can this be done in a country where US/Jewish-backed/owned food chains are a status symbol?
What about our national media, let alone the international medial, according to which our homes cannot be designated as “home sweet home” until and unless they are furnished by the appliances and machines manufactured by US multinational companies?
Their carbonated mineral water sponsors our cricket and musical groups’ events every now and then. The criterion of success among our models/ actors/actresses is that whether he/she regularly appears in advertisements of MNCs’ branded soap, shampoo or tea.
And what about our women who will not look beautiful unless they use their prescribed fairness creams?
While buying US goods, we tend to forget that it’s our money that is benefiting these MNCs, and is increasing the US military and economic might eventually. We cannot help buying US goods unless we promote our local industry.
CIRET FATIMA
Rawalpindi
While I write this letter, it is the fifth day after the admission of my sister to the Female Medical C ward of the Government Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar. I have yet to see a woman doctor to attend to patients in this ward.
A large number of women doctors are jobless while some of them are serving in private hospitals on nominal salaries. It is strange that government hospitals do not employ them though it needs them.
Women patients do not feel comfortable with male doctors. It is, therefore, necessary to have women doctors, at least in women wards.
I hope that the concerned authorities would take the necessary measures in this respect.
MOHAMMAD YASIN KHAN
Peshawar
IT IS sad to see an archaeological site or national heritage being in neglect, but I was sadder to see the condition of Iqbal Manzil in Sialkot.
The dilapidated state of the house of the Poet of the East, Allama Mohammad Iqbal, seems to symbolize our respect for our poets and artists.
Iqbal was not just another poet. He is our most celebrated poet who was a known political personality of his time as well.
We all respect and love him immensely but small gestures like preserving his birthplace and belongings in a good condition would go a long way in passing this love on to the posterity.
S.HARIS HASSAN
Karachi
THIS is with reference to an article by Ardeshir Cowasjee regarding the execution of crude transportation contract of refineries with the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (Oct 27).
The apprehensions expressed by the writer are not based on ground realities. The entire transportation of crude oil was entrusted to the National Tanker Company (NTC), a joint venture of the PNSC and PERAC in 1981.
The NTC’s performance during the last 20 years has remained very satisfactor from the angles of both reliability and cost-effectiveness. The award of contract of affreightment was done in the national interest to support the PNSC within the ambit of decisions of the National Security Council and the cabinet committee on ports and shipping.
After the NTC had been merged with the PNSC, business was accordingly transferred to them. In order to improve the performance and to bring more efficiency in the operations of the PNSC, it was decided by the cabinet committee on ports and shipping and the National Security Council that the PNSC should enter into a long-term contract with the refineries.
The PNSC and the refineries, accordingly, negotiated and finalized the contract on the freight rate okayed by the ECC. The new rate is linked with AFRA and thus it is more competitive than the earlier cost-plus formula. The transportation of crude oil by the PNSC under a long-term contract meets the strategic objectives of ensuring security and reliability of our petroleum supplies through the national carrier.
PRO, Ministry of Petroleum
Islamabad
THIS refers to the letters by Syed Adnan Saeed (Oct 14) and Malik Murad Ali (Oct 18) about the increasing number of beggars in Karachi.
It has been rightly pointed out by Mr Ali that the number of beggars in Lahore, Islamabad and other cities is by far extremely low. The only reason seems to be better economic opportunities in Karachi for all professions which have paved the way for en masse migration of beggars to our city. It is an ugly fact that beggary has become a very organized and full-time profession.
I am not so much surprised at the increased number of beggars in Karachi. I am actually more surprised and shocked by the indifferent attitude of the government agencies towards the problem. Nothing concrete has been done by the successive governments yet and it is high time beggary was curbed in our country.
I am afraid that if the increase in the number of beggars is not arrested now, this trend coupled with the continuous increase in our poverty figures will result in a situation when there will be more beggars on our streets than the general public.
SHAHID ANWAR
Karachi
THE Legal Framework Order 2002 was promulgated to provide for a smooth and orderly transition of power to representatives of the people of Pakistan.
Article 1 (2) of the LFO provides that this order shall come into force at once. Article 2 thereof provides for summoning of the first meeting of the newly-elected National Assembly, provincial assemblies and election of members of the Senate. Art 3 thereof provides for amendments to the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973. Article 3 describes the manner and the extent to which the Constitution of Pakistan stands amended.
It is being said that with the promulgation of the LFO, amendments to the constitution described in Article 3 of the LFO have become part of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 and it does not need ratification from representatives of the people of Pakistan, i.e., members of parliament elected through the Oct 10 election.
A constitution of a state in the words of the US Supreme Court (in the case of Troy V Yelle 170 A.L.R. 1425) is a solemn mandate by the people themselves directed to the various branches of the government.
In another case reported as Fairhope Single Tax Corporation V. Melville 193 Ala. 289, the US Supreme Court observed that a constitution was a charter of government deriving its whole authority from the governed.
From the above declaration it appears that a constitution is a law having its mandate from the people themselves who are being governed by the constitution. Thus a single person governing the state cannot make a constitution for its people. Only the people whom he is governing can make or amend the constitution. A constitution or its amendment must take its mandate from the people who are being governed by it.
The Constitution of Pakistan having been made by representatives of the people of Pakistan cannot be amended without having mandate from the representatives of the people. This is why amendments made to the constitution by Gen Zia in 1985 through the Revival of Constitution Order, 1985, was got validated by representatives of the people of Pakistan in parliament through the Eighth Amendment Act, 1985.
Therefore amendments made by Gen Pervez Musharraf to the Constitution of Pakistan cannot have mandate from the Supreme Court which is not a representative body of the people of Pakistan. Any amendment to the constitution must have mandate from representatives of the people.
In the absence of representatives of the people such amendments may hold the field, but as soon as representatives of the people are in office, further continuity of the amendments needs validation from them.
MIAN AAMER
Islamabad
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