| December 6, 2002 | Friday | Shawwal 1,1423 |
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It’s time Muslims stopped complaining
All the king’s men
Truant students
Heading towards Talibanization
Sense of responsibility
‘Praying for Pakistan’
Public transport
Driving licence office
Reduction in research budget
CPLC: setting the record straight
ONE good thing done by the Nawaz government was to revert to Sunday as weekly holiday. It was a pragmatic decision because previously our traders and industrialists used to remain cut off from the outside world for three consecutive days a week.
Now, faced with the task of keeping his fragile government intact, Prime Minister Mir Jafarullah Khan Jamali is about to succumb to the pressure from the MMA to switch over again to Friday as the weekly holiday.
It seems that Mr Jamali does not consider this change of any significance, but let me tell him that this is just the beginning of many such ‘harmless’ demands to be put up by the MMA. After some time, these non-issues would combine to form a big issue haunting those many people who did not vote for the MMA in the general election.
Even after more than 55 years of existence of our country, we are experimenting with things like the weekly holiday while problems such as soaring unemployment, deteriorating health care and education remain unattended.
PARVEZ RAHIM
Karachi
THIS is with reference to the editorial on the weekly holiday (Dec 3). It is a well-known fact that a large majority of the people in this country have always wanted Friday as weekly holiday. Yet one prime minister had, without consulting anyone, changed it to Sunday.
Now that our recently-elected prime minister has only hinted at his intention to accede to the desire of the majority, the small minority has started making a hue and cry against it.
The argument of exporters and traders that they would be cut off from the West for three days in a week is too naive. In this modern age of communications, we remain in contact with the entire world all the times.
Is it not a fact that it is night in the Western hemisphere when it is day in ours? So, we are never open at the same time whether it is a holiday or not. Yet this does not affect our business relations.
I request the prime minister not to bow down to the pressures of a minority.
MUHAMMAD NAJMI
Karachi
HOW can the prime minister promise to revert to the Friday holiday just to win the votes that he needs to keep himself in office?
Does the Pakistani nation deserve to be treated this way? It is a pity that national interests are being ignored for the sake of personal interests?
Friday holiday, if adopted, will not only disconnect us with the rest of the world for three consecutive days in a week but also send the world all kinds of wrong signals. How can we progress then? Such a decision would devastate our already ailing economy.
Islam does not ask us to close our businesses for the whole day on Friday. We have been asked to do so only at the time of prayers on that day.
I would request the prime minister not to take such a decision without considering its impact on the economy and the future of the country. Pakistan must come first.
M. SAQUIB KHWAJA
Karachi
I DO not think that the sanctity of Friday is violated in any way if it continues to remain a working day.
As far as attendance at Friday prayers is concerned, it has been observed that more people join the Friday congregation now than in the days when Friday was the weekly holiday.
On the other hand, if Friday is declared a closed day, it would have an adverse effect on the economy, particularly on our exports.
ABU KHURSHEED M. ARIFF
Karach
I SHARE the views expressed by S. A. Khokhar in his letter, ‘It’s time Muslims stopped complaining’.
His outburst about the actions and reactions of the Muslims over the atrocities which they are made to endure across the globe is justified. Being such a huge community, the Muslims need to do a lot more than simply whine and complain.
The most significant issue is that of the disputed Palestine territory.
The core of the scenario is the immense support Israel has of the United States which not only regards Israel as its closest ally but is also turning a deaf ear to the cries of the poor Palestinians.
The real problem is that the Muslim nations are afraid of raising a voice against the oppression of Israel as they think that it would ‘annoy’ George W. Bush.
But the fact cannot be ignored which Mr Khokhar has aptly mentioned that we are a gold-mine for the US, with 75 per cent of the world’s oil resources. While most of the Muslim nations have joined the on-going war against terrorism, we should try to face the reality.
It is high time we took some real action against the oppressors.
Eventually the Israelis, the Americans and even the Indians with their attitude towards the Kashmiris will have to retreat.
BUTOOL RIZVI
Karachi
THE political goings-on in the country after the general election in October have promoted me to write this letter.
I sincerely believed that Gen Musharraf was going to preside over a free and fair election but, much to my chagrin, just the opposite happened.
The general encouraged pre-election rigging. Also, the election results were suspect as people who were supporting parties other than the king’s party were threatened with dire consequences unless they changed their stance.
For this purpose, the governors of two provinces, as well as other members, were used to put pressure on candidates to change their loyalties and join the king’s party: and what a party of officially-selected losers it is, comprising political turncoats, NAB suspects, corrupt defaulters, some with little integrity, limited intellect and not much else to recommend them! So much for the general’s oft-repeated claim of wanting to introduce clean politics and start afresh after the election.
I am sure that the world is laughing at our shenanigans. It has already been said by EU observers that the election was seriously flawed but this finding has fallen on deaf ears and forward blocs have been encouraged just to ensure that the king’s party’s nominee for the PM’s slot won this race.
We now have a situation in poor and hapless Sindh where the majority party, PPP, is not being permitted to form government, whereas the officially acceptable majority parties have formed governments in the other three provinces.
The GNA (with only 14 seats) requested the government to postpone the Sindh Assembly session, and the government acceded to its request, ignoring the call from all the other parties that the assembly should be convened immediately. What next?
The general and his cohorts should keep out of the political picture and let the politicians get on with the job as interfering will only encourage horse-trading and corruption, the very things the general had set out to eliminate.
M. ZIA ISPAHANI
Karachi
EVERY morning, while going to my workplace, I drive on Abul Hasan Ispahani Road in Gulshan-i-Iqbal. The road has six educational institutions from primary to postgraduate levels.
Each morning I see uniformed college students leaving their college premises when classes start. While some of them loiter around with cigarettes in their hands, others are seen at pan shops.
Some students belong to a private college and some others to a government college. They reflect the decadent administrations of their colleges which seem to possess an utter disregard to their social and moral responsibilities.
It also proves that having a well-built, flashy premises with a couple of security guards is no substitute for a sound administration and discipline.
Are these ‘cradles of learning’ bringing up future leaders or simply irresponsible shirkers? Will authorities in the education department fix the matters in these so-called educational institutions?
AFIA ZAHOOR
Karachi
The very first orders issued by the governments of the NWFP and Balochistan — stopping public transport at prayers’ timings and banning liquor — show where we are heading now for.
Who doesn’t know that prayers can be offered even on the back of a camel while travelling? Prayers can also be shortened as provided by the rule of Qasr. Similarly, prayers can be offered while lying in bed and by making signs by those who are sick.
As far as the other directive is concerned, ironically liquor is already banned not only in Balochistan but also in the entire country.
The MMA, by issuing such orders, is just playing on the innocence and ignorance of the people with a view to enlarging its vote bank for future elections.
This is only a beginning and we should be prepared for some more steps, including a ban on co-education and women workers in offices, treatment of women patients by male doctors, and restrictions on music and cultural shows.
However, the most surprising aspect is the conduct of otherwise quite enlightened political and military leaders, premier Jamali and Gen Musharraf, who have yielded to such measures ostensibly to save democracy but, in fact, to save their own seats.
By no stretch of imagination can such acts of accommodating the MMA be termed patriotic or in the best interest of Pakistan. Are the prime minister and the general keeping ‘Pakistan first’ by giving in to the MMA’s demands of this kind?
COL RIAZ JAFRI (RETD)
Rawalpindi
AFTER a custodial death owing to torture in the police custody in South Korea, the country’s justice minister, Kim Jung Kil, and prosecutor-general Lee Myung Jae, resigned from their offices, accepting their vicarious responsibility (Time, Nov 18).
South Korea is one of those countries which attained independence much later than we did, but it has, nevertheless, developed institutions to an extent where ministers have the moral courage to resign from their offices for the offences committed by their subordinates.
JUSTICE (R) SALAHUDDIN MIRZA
Karachi
THIS has reference to Hafizur Rahman’s column, ‘Praying for Pakistan’ (Nov 20).
On the leader’s frequent visits to Makkah and Madina for praying with tearful eyes for the unity, safety and progress of the country, the writer has posed a question: will Allah be moved by their entreaties and grant these three gifts as a special favour? My simple and forthright answer is a big ‘no’, because Allah knows that all of them without exception are seasoned crocodiles.
The next question of the writer is: why do apparently saintly men and women suffer and patently satanic men and women flourish? In my opinion, it is so because all the Pakistanis, both men and women, are classic hypocrites who have mastered the art of projecting themselves as innocent lambs which they are not.
Those who openly indulge in satanic rituals do not portray themselves as saints, which is a virtue — being truthful, a quality ordained by Allah Who pardons them to flourish.
The majority of the people, including the rulers, believe that Pakistan is a most-favoured country in the eyes of Allah.
This is nothing short of a wishful thinking because Allah rewards those who tackle their problems by using their heads and hands and not by collecting eight million people from far and at Raiwind every year for purely prayer ritual spread over five days (two days for journey and three days for prayers) for the unity, safety and progress of Pakistan and the Ummah.
Then they disperse from Raiwind after having wasted approximately 3.2 million man-hours without doing any constructive work, except prayers.
K.A. WAHID BUTT
Lahore
KARACHI is an international city and also the country’s biggest city with a population of over 10 million. The majority of the commuters depend on the city’s public transport.
Buses/coaches on most routes run with great speed to overtake other buses/coaches. Obviously, this results in serious accidents. Mostly drivers run away and often the public sets the bus/coach on fire. This is human as well as a national loss.
I earnestly request the government to arrange a network of transport, as well as roads, to save the public from accidents and overcrowding in buses/coaches.
GHULAM SHABBIR
Karachi
THIS is to express my surprise at the working of the driving licence office which the Clifton traffic police operate.
I simply walked in with my licence to get it computerized, and was dazzled with the diligence of the staff. From the information counter to the person responsible for the lamination of the licence, I found everyone helpful.
For the first time I felt that I can get my work done without having to rely on someone else.
AMBREEN AZMAT
Karachi
IN 1999 when Gen Musharraf took over power, he always emphasized the importance of education, particularly research. He was very sad whenever he mentioned that only Japan produces more PhDs than the entire Muslim world.
A report published on Nov 22 has thrown me into deep pain and anguish. According to the report, one of the internationally-recognized universities of Pakistan has got only one million rupees budget for research for the year 2002.
I am talking about the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. It has also been mentioned in the report that the military government has announced a hefty federal education budget of Rs2.5 billion for 2002. What has gone wrong and where it has gone wrong must be revealed.
The other thing of major concern is that bureaucrats or former generals run the public-sector universities. In my opinion senior professors should be assigned this job.
DR G. M. AWAN
Karachi
THIS refers to Tariq Jamil’s letter, ‘CPLC: the background’ (Nov 29). It is most unfortunate that the history of the CPLC is being wrongly presented by individuals who had no role to play in its formation. The letter seems to have been initiated by vested interests.
To set the record straight, it is stated that in February-March 1989 Maher Alavi, at a citizen reception in Bagh-i-Jinnah in honour of the then governor of Sindh, Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim, floated the idea for such a body.
It was the vision of the governor that he crafted the Citizens Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) out of this idea. He then established the CPLC at only four police stations, i.e. Clifton, Bahadurabad, Ferozabad and SITE, on Sept 1, 1989, through a commissioner’s notification.
Contrary to the claim of Tariq Jamil, Nazim F. Haji was not even a member of the CPLC at the time of its formation. Also, at that time none of the above individuals had anything to do with the SICORLO, as this grouping came about much later and had nothing to do with the CPLC.
It was on the grand success of the working of the CPLC from its outset, with the Ferozabad committee taking the lead, the convener of which was none other than Jameel Yusuf, that the governor was encouraged to institutionalize the concept of the CPLC by amending the police rules. It was only then that the governor chose to establish the CPLC’s central reporting cell at the Governor’s House to first liaise with all Karachi police stations and later the entire province of Sindh.
It was here that Mr Haji was invited to join Mr Yusuf leaving the titles of chief and joint chief being of equal status and rank, to be chosen among themselves. Therefore, the question of Mr Yusuf replacing Mr Haji did not arise, as he simply continued in his office.
The CPLC today comprises 37 members working as a family and is a credible citizen’s institution of the highest integrity and repute. It has remained totally apolitical over the past 13 years. Its only fault being that it refuses to become politicized, nor does it bow to extraneous influences.
Mr Jamil’s proposals to replace the “present set” of the CPLC with a new one as they have been there for 14 years and to fix their term at three years are strange. Would he also suggest that all experienced doctors, researchers, lawyers be replaced with a “new set” every decade?
Mr Yusuf twice resigned from his position in 1994 and 1996 but his resignations were not accepted. I agree that no person is indispensable but experience is indispensable. I am confident that if, at any time, the citizens of Karachi show a lack of confidence in Mr Yusuf or any other member of the CPLC team, and feel that they can be served better by someone else, he/they will quit immediately.
AZHAR ELAHI
District East Chief, CPLC,
Karachi
I ENDORSE the views expressed in the editorial, ‘Rocking the CPLC boat’ (Nov 26).
There can be no two opinions about the working, reputation and results of the Citizen Police Liaison Committee, specially under the leadership of Jameel Yusuf. However, we must realize that, when we talk of building institutions and preserving them, we must not institutionalize the personalities.
Every institution needs change and change for the better. We can never be sure that we have the best unless there is a change and we have the option of comparing performance of any institutions or persons of two eras.
I do not suggest that we throw Jameel Yusuf out of the CPLC and forget him. What we should do is to keep the gentleman and draw upon his invaluable expertise in a different capacity. Maybe, Mr Yusuf can put in the National Public Safety Commission where, in fact, he may be far more useful to the country by working at the national level.
I would also strongly recommend to the government of Sindh to restructure the CPLC by making appropriate changes to the law governing the CPLC. Thirteen years is too long a period for any institution in Pakistan to keep going well under the same set of rules and procedures.
There has to be a change in consultation with the concerned citizens from the various fields of specialization and expertise. Until then, maintaining the status quo would be a better choice.
MUMTAZ A. PIRACHA
Karachi
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