Indo-Pakistan peace initiative

I AM happy that some movement towards peace is being made between India and Pakistan. The recent overtures of the Indian and Pakistan prime ministers are a step in the right direction.

Years and years of mutual hostility has given nothing to the two states. As a matter of fact, the mass poverty and deprivation affecting both states has been exacerbated by their mindless enmity. The people of India and Pakistan are perhaps the worst-treated and most-humiliated set of people in the world.

Over the years, all sorts of selfish politicians and religious extremists on both sides of the border have tried to scuttle peace efforts for their own petty gains. Indians and Pakistanis have become a laughing stock of the world community owing to their endless blame-game.

It is high time the people in India and Pakistan realized the cruel game being played by the selfish politicians and extremists. Any person promoting hatred amongst the people on the basis of religion or blind-nationalism should be sidelined. The people, specially the youths, need to play an active role in preventing such elements from leading the subcontinent to a nuclear holocaust.

The Pakistan-India leaders need to watch out for the attempts likely to be made by the extremists to sabotage the peace process. What the people of India and Pakistan really want is a dignified life rather than the present fear, poverty, chaos and degradation.

I hope the young people in the two countries become a real catalyst for peace, harmony and tolerance. The time to act is now.

RAZA KHAN

Lahore

Prime Minister Jamali’s offer of six trust-building steps to India is sure to be lauded by the people of the two countries for the restoration of cordiality prior to top level parleys.

I would venture to suggest one more step, vital one, and that is to prevail upon India to reopen the Indian Consulate in Karachi to facilitate travel between the two countries, free from hassles.

Numerous senior citizens are very keen and anxious for a reunion with their near and dear ones long separated, before their final sojourn to the eternal world. It is known to the authorities in both the countries that a vast majority of such people reside in the province of Sindh, specially in Karachi.

It is hoped that the authorities concerned in both countries will give a serious consideration to the suggestion saving the hazards of travelling to Islamabad for obtaining visas before undertaking journey from Karachi.

USMAN KHAN

Karachi

Need for Sargodha airport

SARGODHA is an old town of pre-partition days and was elevated to district headquarters during the British era. The Punjab government raised its status to a division after a few years of the creation of Pakistan. It lies almost at the junction point, linking the industrial city of Faisalabad and the backward districts of Jhang, Khushab and Mianwali.

Sargodha was named the city of ‘Shaheens’ and was awarded ‘Hilal-i-Istaqlal’ during the 1965 war with India in recognition of the valiant rebuttal of the PAF to the IAF aggressors and the courage displayed by the citizens of this great town.

Apart from becoming a hub of industrial activities, the area has earned a name for its agriculture and dairy products. The export of high quality of oranges of this area is very well-known at home and abroad. Unfortunately, this important town has been deprived of an airlink with either Islamabad or Karachi, the only seaport of the country.

PIA and some other private airlines operate between Karachi and Islamabad linking even the smaller towns located in the interior of the country. A civilian airport was constructed near Bhagtanwalla a few years ago, but no flight was planned or operated to link this town with Islamabad or Karachi on one pretext or another.

It is a happy augury that the government is now engaged in planning and executing various projects for the people of Pakistan. It is, therefore, suggested that the authorities concerned be directed to plan and execute air flights linking Sargodha with Islamabad and Karachi via Multan / Bahawalpur / Sukkur, or through any other suitable air route, keeping in view commercial considerations of the airlines.

It will not only meet the long outstanding demand of the people of the area to enhance development activities, but also bring them at par with the other privileged cities / towns of the country.

LT-COL (Retd) MUKHTAR AHMED

Karachi

Condition of National Highway

THIS is to draw the attention of the authorities concerned to the deteriorating condition of the National Highway, as well as to the procedure adopted for its repair and maintenance.

The case in point is that of the Sangjani-Tarnol portion of the highway which is nowadays under repair and from where the southeast-bound traffic is diverted. The heavy traffic has damaged the lanes of both the bounds. Long-awaited repair work was started early this month.

So now both the heavy trucks and the routine traffic share a single road, not to mention motorists’ habit of unnecessary overtakes. And one great reason of any accident is this overtaking in the shared lane in a single diversion. This shared lane is a high-speed lane, which needs little repair work. But the heavy traffic, if not taken into consideration, will further damage the lane. This, in turn, increases the cost of repair and accentuates mental tension of a disciplined driver.

Secondly, the recent increase in the heavy traffic is reflective of the insufficient utilization of the railway network. A good administration tries to maximize the railway utilization and thus minimizes the burden on highways. This is necessary from the standpoint of reducing pollution.

My suggestions in this regard are:

1. Heavy traffic should not share the high-speed lane. This traffic can be managed by reserving the left shoulder of the under-construction road for it.

2. The day-long traffic flux trend can help to allocate timings for the heavy traffic which is practical and an efficient traffic management.

3. Measures be taken to popularize railway cargo and passenger services.

4. Not all the buses be allowed on the roads. Here “all” refers to existing ones.

5. The speed of repair work should not be at the mercy of night shifts.

REHAN JAMSHED

Rawalpindi

From Manila to Baghdad

FIRST it was Bechtel, now another US multinational, Halliburton, with a very strong connection with the US administration, who has been given the “responsibility” for Iraq’s oil. Even the few members of the US Congress who are perhaps not on the payroll of the US multinationals are raising questions.

These modern-day East India companies are certainly liberating Iraq’s oilfields! Since Dick Cheney has vested interest in Halliburton, he must be saying to himself, “Splendid Little War”, like the former US ambassador said after winning the war against Spain (1898). A war that was ignited by the Fox channel as they falsely accused the Spaniards of the destruction of the US battleship, Maine. Like the weapons of mass destruction (WMD), an independent party never verified the cause of the incident.

The US then pursued the war with the same noble objective of “liberation”. So it “liberated” Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines from Spain. Cuba was then turned into a naval base and a playground for the wealthy Americans. The American Tobacco Company and the Havemeyer sugar interests dominated its economy. The “liberated” Philippines was forced to accept the benefits of the “Anglo-Saxon” civilization, as they were considered to be backward people, “to take up the white man’s burden”, as Rudyard Kipling put it in a poem addressed primarily to the Americans.

When the Filipinos sought their own “liberation” from the US, it cost the lives of over 500,000 people, resembling the casualties in the combined Gulf wars. Puerto Rico was declared as a jungle, its citizens were entitled to the protection of the US but not classified as US citizens. The anomaly echoes the Guantanamo Bay. Given the evidence of history repeating itself, we can only ponder on the terrible fate that awaits the Iraqis.

YAMIN ZAKARIA

London, UK

Company secretary’s qualifications

THIS refers to the news appearing on March 18 regarding the qualifications for a company secretary. To be precise, company secretaryship is not the field of specialization of chartered and management accountants or any degree-holders, rather it is an area of specialization of “chartered secretaries”.

The SECP decision to exclude the chartered secretaries from the prescribed qualifications for a company secretary is incorrect and seems to be a deliberate attempt to favour the chartered and management accountants who do not qualify for this job at all. This act of the SECP would allow the accountants to encroach upon our profession and is in no way technically viable. Chartered accountants have misled the people and the government.

The late finance minister, Mohammad Shoaib, who was himself an accountant by profession, while addressing the congress of accountants in 1966 said: “The accountants have failed the country”. These remarks speak of themselves. I can only suggest that before siding with anyone, one should listen to the other side also.

The other important matter to be considered by the competent authority is that the qualifications for a company secretary had already been laid down by the SECP in the Code of Corporate Governance issued by them during the tenure of the previous chairman, Mr Khalid Mirza, after whose departure this provision has been deleted without a legitimate cause. The reason is obvious. The omission is intended to serve the vested interest. This must be investigated.

In response to the call by the SECP, I would, therefore, suggest that chartered secretary should be included in the prescribed qualifications for a company secretary, by an amendment to the Companies (General Provisions And Forms) Rules 1985.

ABDUL RASHEED HABIB

Karachi

Awareness of mental health

RECENT letters in Dawn about Roohi Bano’s mental health are indicative of the lack of awareness of mental health issues in our society. In Pakistan, there is a general lack of awareness about the nature and causes of mental illness. And those suffering from mental illnesses are stigmatized and, sometimes, even subjected to physical torture.

Dawn reported on May 7 that an amount of Rs26.3 billion had been earmarked for different health programmes for the next five years. The programmes no doubt include important health issues like EPI, AIDS, malaria, but not a single rupee has been set aside for mental health.

If we apply WHO’s criterion for the burden of mental diseases, over 10 per cent of our population suffers from one or the other mental illness. These illnesses require as much attention as other health programmes. The federal and the provincial governments are, therefore, requested to launch national and provincial programmes for the promotion of mental health.

Because no priority is assigned to mental health, the government agencies and local and foreign donors do not consider creation of facilities for curing mental illnesses as an urgent need of the community. With government’s active involvement in mental health issues, this general apathy may gradually decrease.

A. KHAN

Karachi

Urdu University

URDU College was recently upgraded to the status of a university, apparently in a bid to promote higher learning in the Urdu language.

It, however, appears that even this institution has not fully appreciated the importance of our national language; new signboards and posters mention the name of the institution as “Federal Urdu University of Arts and Sciences” in Urdu script. All but one of these terms have a clear and commonly understood translation available. Can’t we term it as “Wafaqi Urdu Jamia Baraye Funoon aur Sciences”?

Will the authorities concerned comment on this basic matter, particularly the honourable chairman of this university’s senate who was publicly lamenting the poor status of Urdu translations at a meeting?

NOMAN AHMED

Karachi

Mauripur Road

YOUR reporter deserves appreciation for the in-depth study of the Mauripur Road traffic blockades.

The traffic police are responsible for the misery of the people. You are helpless if you get stuck up between the chaotic traffic jungles just because the traffic police seem to be least bothered about it.

The remedy lies in having an alternative route alongside the Pir Sahib’s mazaar.

PRO BONO PUBLICO

Karachi

PTV and regional languages

THIS refers to a letter published in your issue of May 9 on the above subject.

PTV does not telecast programmes in any particular language or a regional language. Its telecast consists of a variety of programmes in various languages. It does not allocate its time entirely to a specific language. The programmes are telecast keeping in view the interest of the masses. Being an electronic media, it caters programming to all provinces.

In order to extend its telecast, PTV is launching a channel dedicated to our culture and languages. All PTV centres will contribute their regional language programmes respectively.

The new channel will start its transmission shortly. However, the suggestions and opinion from PTV viewers and critics are always welcome for the improvement of our presentation.

ALI AKBAR ABBASI

Controller Public Relations, PTV,

Islamabad

Decorum and democracy

THE opposition ought not to create a raucous environment in the house and hinder the business of lawmaking. This energy should be focused towards their peers across the isle and the conviction used to enlist them in returning the country to rule of law.

Who can’t see that insistence on wearing uniform while sitting in the president’s chair is as unbecoming as wearing shoes in a mosque. Is Gen Musharraf arguing that the day he takes off the uniform, his chief of army staff will bring a squad of commandos and throw him out of the president’s house? What nonsense.

If the parliamentarians sitting in the treasury seats do not acknowledge the importance of rule of law for the security and unity of the country, they need a dose of loyalty and patriotism. Political means are still available to expose them in the court of the people. This is the game of democracy. People are the stakeholders and unto them politicians have to return.

TAUQIR GHANI

Irvine, CA, USA

Unemployed youths

youths in Pakistan are disappointed as ever. Will the incumbent regime address their issues? There are no jobs at all. Can anybody think of the disappointment they face owing to joblessness despite being qualified?

All of them are not resourceful enough to have links with some high-ups to get an entry into practical life. Where should they go?

SHAHZAD LODHI

Islamabad

English as medium of instruction

A LOT of letters have appeared in these columns in the recent past both for and against English being the medium of instruction in schools in Pakistan. The assertions contained in various letters are by and large enriching, rational and thought-provoking. However, let us not be venomous or vitriolic in cynicism of any one language. Let us also not rave and rage in word.

Language is simply a vehicle of expression and communication and, therefore, there should be no bigotry. Emerson rightly said: “Language is a city to the building of which every human being brought a stone.”

I am not biased in favour of English but let us call a spade a spade. English is the modern-day “Esperanto”, the universal language. To study at a school here in the United States, one has to qualify TOEFL, which is a prerequisite to admission and so also other tests like SAT, GRE and USMLE. Obviously, all these tests are conducted in English. Students from South Asia enjoy a huge advantage as compared to the many non-English-speaking foreign students who have to face a big impediment, at least, initially.

Although I am proficient in Urdu, when I have to communicate with a Chinese, Spanish, French, German or Russian or even an Iranian or an Arab, we tend to speak in English which is a common denominator. Interesting as it is, neither my counterparts nor I have English as my mother tongue.

The crux of the matter is that English happens to be the language spoken by the people who are being perceived to be colonizing in outlook and endeavouring to hegemonize the world. We dub these Western countries perfidious and clever and I am not here to defend them. If we have to overhaul all this, then it becomes all the more imperative to learn and understand their language. Remember, the Americans in the recent past inducted into their army Arabic-speaking personnel, both to make dents and, at the same time, to make bridges of understanding once it came to that.

Here in the US for the benefit of foreigners and new settlers, ESL (English as a second language) classes are conducted for free at different schools and are very well attended. Let me, therefore, humbly submit that English be continued to be taught in Pakistani schools as a compulsory subject, at least until such time that facilities are made available to translate latest science and technology books into Urdu almost instantly. This would enable Pakistan to forge ahead into the 21st century more vigorously.

China, France, Germany, Russia, Japan, etc., where a lot of original research is conducted, use their own language and jargon and surely it takes concerted efforts and timeframe to make it there. Urdu is virtually the “lingua franca” of Pakistan or at least the most widely-comprehended language, and then there are those beautiful regional languages like Sindhi, Balochi, Punjabi, Seraiki and Pushto.

Basic knowledge of regional languages is good for national cohesion and integrity and, therefore, should be learnt in an environment of kinship and magnanimity and not one at the expense of the other. Like any other freedom, an individual should have the freedom and the privilege of studying through either medium of instruction — English or Urdu.

DR ASIF SAEED

Topeka, Kansas, USA