| August 14, 2003 | Thursday | Jumadi-us-Sani 15, 1424 |
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Heart surgery in Pakistan
Pakistan missions abroad
2003: the year of Madar-i-Millat
Imposing ban on entertainment
‘Beyond VIP sops’
Pesticides in soft drinks?
Consumer protection
Benazir’s conviction
TODAY the nation is celebrating 56th anniversary of independence. It is, therefore, a great day to celebrate and take stock of our achievements and failures, particularly since the army took over on Oct 12, 1999, removing the elected prime minister, Mr Nawaz Sharif.
The army, under the leadership of Gen Pervez Musharraf, once again held the 1973 Constitution in abeyance temporarily and suspended the National and Provincial Assemblies, as well as the Senate. The general cited the arbitrary and unconstitutional mode of governance by the civilian government as the reasons for the ouster of Mr Sharif.
The deposed prime minister was further accused of widespread corruption and nepotism, endangering the national security. He had, in fact, taken undue advantage of his heavy mandate in the National Assembly and allowed his personal interest to influence his official conduct and decision.
The political and constitutional affairs and economic conditions at the time of the army’s takeover were the same as they are today. Since Pakistan is once again standing at the cross-roads, I take the liberty to quote relevant passages hereunder from the speech of the then Chief Executive, Gen Pervez Musharraf, delivered on Oct 17, 1999 (Dawn Oct 18), the contents of which are equally true today:
“Pakistan today stands at the crossroads of its destiny — a destiny which is in our hands to make or break. Fifty-two years ago, we started with a beacon of hope and today that beacon is no more and we stand in darkness. There is despondency, and hopelessness surrounding us with no light visible anywhere around. The slidedown has been gradual but has rapidly accelerated in the last many years.
“Today, we have reached a stage where our economy has crumbled, our credibility is lost, stage intuitions lie and demolished; provincial disharmony has caused cracks in the federation, and people who were once brothers are now at each other’s throat.
“In sum, we have lost our honour, our dignity, our respect in the comity of nations. Is this the democracy our Quaid-i-Azam had envisaged? Is this the way to enter the new millennium?
“Quite clearly, what Pakistan has experienced in the recent years has been merely a label of democracy, not the essence of it.Our people were never emancipated from the yoke of despotism. I shall not allow the people to be taken back to the era of sham democracy but to a true one. And I promise you I will Insha Allah.
“My dear countrymen, the choice before us on 12th October was between saving the body (that is the nation) at the cost of losing a limb (which is the Constitution) or saving the limb and losing the whole body. The Constitution is but a part of the nation. Therefore, I chose to save the nation and yet took care not to sacrifice the Constitution. The Constitution has only been temporarily held in abeyance. This is not martial law, only another path towards democracy. The armed forces have no intentions to stay in charge any longer than is absolutely necessary to pave the way for the democracy to flourish in Pakistan.
“Good governance is the pre-requisite to achieve these objectives. In the past, our governments have ruled the people. It is time now for the governments to serve the people.”
Sir, you had also, then, warned the army with your words of wisdom and advice based on past experience, as contained in your editorial of the same date (Oct 17, 1999) under the caption “In months, not years”, the relevant portions of which are quite true today and read as under:
“We should not lose sight of the lessons of our own history. Prolonged deviations from the democratic path have invariably led to more problems than have been solved. Ayub Khan’s rule was a long deviation from democracy. Yahya Khan’s was shorter but far more destructive. Zia’s rule was also justified on the grounds of accountability and Islamization. All these stretches of military rule proved disastrous for Pakistan. The present military rulers must guard against the dangers of moving in the same direction.
“Political power has its own dynamics and its own corrupting influences. The army should know this because this has been its own experience in the past. For its own sake it should avoid going down the same path again. The restoration of the democracy should thus be quick and should be envisaged in terms of months rather than years. This should be so not only because of the pressures being put by the international community but because, even without others reading us lectures on the subject, our own best interests dictate the same.”
But sadly, regrettably and unfortunately, Gen Musharraf himself, much against his solemn pledge given to the nation, followed in the footsteps of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in arbitrarily, unilaterally and arrogantly giving preference and perception for his personal over institutional mode of governance by re-writing the 1973 Constitution through the much-maligned and bitterly criticized LFO at the costs of restoration of democracy, sovereignty of parliament, independence of judiciary and image of the country in the comity of nations, resultantly placing the nation to the worst form of political and constitutional crisis in the history of the country. May God save the Quaid-i-Azam’s Pakistan.
SYED IQBAL AHMAD
Karachi
WHILE I appreciate the coverage of Pakistani child Noor’s heart surgery in India, as well as the hospitality and the care received there, we should view all this in a proper perspective.
I am a Board Certified United States trained sub-specialty surgeon who has been reading these stories in our newspapers from time to time over the past few decades. The press never asks the president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the principals and deans of the numerous medical colleges all over Pakistan, and now the elected governments and its ministers, their role in providing these facilities in Pakistan. It will be incorrect to say that we don’t have trained surgeons and doctors.
About two years ago, even in the famed Cleveland Clinic, there were four post-fellowship trained cardiac surgeons at the same time. In the United States system, it would mean that these bright Pakistanis have finished their training of five years of general surgery and three years of Cardio Thoracic Surgery Fellowship and were then gaining further experience by working at the most advanced centre for cardiac surgery in the world.
In order to develop such expertise in our country, the wheel does not have to be reinvented. The simple law is to encourage and support these highly qualified and trained surgeons to return without bureaucratic hurdles and set them up at centres of excellence, maybe public-private partnerships all over the country, and then to train new surgeons under proper training programmes. There are, of course, some very well qualified and competent cardiac surgeons in Pakistan who are providing excellent services. They can explain why this type of surgery was not possible in Pakistan, and suggest the remedy.
All sections of our society have to own responsibility for the lack of such services. The training of surgeons should not be taken lightly in Pakistan.
The above comments apply to all branches of surgery and sub-specialties. Seniority is not the valid criterion for promotions or becoming principals and deans of medical colleges. It should be performance, competence, administrative ability and the capacity to bring about changes with a long-lasting impact on the institutions, society, patients and medical profession.
DR ZIA UR RAHMAN KHAN
President, Pakistan America Institute, Aurora, Ohio, USA
I couldn’t agree more with former ambassador Ghayoor Ahmad’s criticism of Pakistan missions abroad (“Some grey areas in foreign policy” (Dawn, August 9).
Feeling homesick, I foolishly tried to contact the Pakistani consulate in Hamburg, thinking they might be able to put me in touch with other Pakistanis in that city. But I was expecting wonders. After an increasingly doomed conversation, all they could come up with was, why didn’t I call mosques to get the information I wanted?
Aghast, I called the embassy in Berlin, where at first, a friendly but completely clueless lady suggested — guess what — that I call the consulate, of course. At which I asked to be put through to the ambassador. He was very polite, and said he would have a word with the consulate in Hamburg, and they would get in touch with me. That was four months ago. No one has contacted me as yet, and I suspect no one ever will.
I also realized, to my horror, that there is no Pakistani ladies club, or any other Pakistani organization — and I don’t mean mosques — for expatriates, as almost every other country has. Pakistanis by and large tend to be fragmented, suspicious and derisive about each other and generally narrow-minded and intolerant. Probably the embassies and consulates just reflect the wider Pakistani society, in which case, small wonder their performance is so bad. But seriously, embassy and consulate personnel badly need training in how they should be promoting the country’s interests by networking with expatriates and the intelligentsia to create a community because that’s a prerequisite for lobbying and very importantly, cooperating with journalists like myself who write for the German media to try to dispel the very negative image that Pakistan has here, to take but one western country.
Another dead-end was my suggestion along these lines to President Musharraf, or whoever opens his email. I never got a reply. Pakistanis have to learn that unless they treat each other with respect, others couldn’t be bothered to do so. Hopefully all these things have been discussed at the recent envoys’ conference.
PALVASHA V. HASSELL
Gr.Wulfhagen, Uetersen, Germany
IN his letter (Aug 8), Mr K. Murad Bey commends Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali for declaring 2003 as the year of Madar-i-Millat. The question before us all is: are Gen Musharraf and Mr Jamali acting upon the principles and practices of our great lady?
Mere declarations and political rhetoric contribute no more than paying lip-service to Miss Fatima Jinnah. It is an established fact that Miss Jinnah fought against the dictatorship of Ayub Khan, and that she advocated the cause of democracy. In the election held in 1964, when only 80,000 basic democrats were given the right of franchise, she took on the dictator with full force at her disposal. In the process she struggled hard to bring democracy back to her countrymen.
She apprised the people of their democratic rights and privileges. She highlighted how democratic norms were trampled upon by the military regime. Also, how the institution of democracy was derailed on Oct 7, 1958.
Our present political setup is far from being democratic. It is in fact the continuation of military rule. The basic structure of the Constitution has been tampered with. This is not what Miss Jinnah stood for. The cosmetic measures taken by Gen Musharraf and his government to restore democracy have made us a laughing-stock, both at home and abroad. The Commonwealth has repeatedly been declining to take our country back as its member.
I only wish that instead of spending our time and energy on showmanship, we follow in the foot prints of Miss Jinnah, in letter and in spirit, to the greater glory of God.
AKHTAR KHAN
Karachi
I TOTALLY agree to what Dr Hamida Khuhro has said in her letter published recently in your newspaper. The reason that the authorities are giving for putting a ban on Indian channels is weird. It carries no weight at all.
But then again, our government is eager to establish good ties with India for which negotiations are going on. Even the controversial Lahore-Delhi bus service has been restored. Players, as well as the people of both the neighbouring countries, want the cricketing ties to be restored soon as well. Then, why are our officials putting a ban on Indian channels which are providing nothing but entertainment?
If the authorities think that the channels such as Zee, Sony or Star Plus are spreading vulgarity, then they must first put a ban on various English movie channels that the cable operators are showing. And if they claim that there is a problem for sponsorship and advertisements, I am sorry to say that the condition of the ads is pathetic in our local channels. In a drama of 50 minutes, one has to watch more advertisements than the play itself. And as such the people switch over to other channels that provide them with better entertainment.
I would like to suggest the authorities to reconsider their decision and lift the ban on Indian channels.
SANA REHMAN
Karachi
THANK you for your editorial of Aug 9. It was not very pleasing to see Gen Musharraf along with his aide passing on a roll of biscuits to a flood-affected boy. It may have made an excellent PR exercise but it bordered on ridiculousness. It was revolting. Indeed it was like making fun of the people’s misery. It only shows how detached the general is from the ground realities.
Similarly, the front-page advertisements asking for people’s donation towards relief fund with the picture of Sindh chief minister on top was also a futile attempt at self-promotion.
God help a nation where superficiality reigns supreme and stress is more on form than substance.
ASLAM MINHAS
Karachi
THE readers might have come to know about the presence of pesticides in the Pepsi Cola and Coca-Cola in India. This is lethal to human life and the people have taken a very strong stand on this issue. They have asked the companies producing these drinks to quit.
An interesting aspect of this issue is that when the same drinks were tested in the United States, no trace of any pesticide was found in them. But the same brands bottled in India contained alarmingly high contents of residues like Chlorpyrifos 42 times higher than EEC norms, DDT and Malathion 87 times high and Lindane 21 times higher than normal.
According to European Economic Community standard norms of maximum pesticide contents is 0.0005mg per litre of drinking water.
This negligence in the exercise of proper control on ingredient testing can expose our countrymen to terminal diseases like cancer, damage to nervous and reproductive system, severe disruption to immune system and increase in blood related problems among children. The contaminated waste water discharged into sewerage lines is reported to contain high organicfertilizer which is causing spread of cancer through agriculture.
I would, therefore, urge the authorities to look into the matter and carry out an independent laboratory test to find out the real state of the drinks.
ALI ASHRAF KHAN
Karachi
THIS refers to Anila Abbas’s letter “Consumer Protection” (July 28) regarding the price of X-alatan eye drops at Rs1,100 a bottle. She is absolutely right.
I can buy this drug in Canada, for example, for two dollars or Rs80 for the same-sized bottle under a drug plan which costs $20 a month, which further includes all my medical requirements under prescription.
The price per bottle of the eye drops can certainly be reduced in Pakistan if a suitable mechanism for checks on costs is made by a strong consumer protection agency.
AZRA SAEED
Ontario, Canada
THE news of Ms Benazir Bhutto’s sentence by a Swiss court was disclosed at a press conference addressed by Sheikh Rashid Ahmad. In his zeal for giving the news a political spin, the minister forgot that by lynching a woman who was Pakistan’s first ever elected woman prime minister, he was actually damaging the country’s reputation and insulting the people who elected her.
Instead of putting balm on their wounds, he derived pleasure from the hurt feelings of the downtrodden people of Sindh and Balochistan and aggravated their sense of deprivation by declaring that the money to be recovered from the Swiss banks would be spent on the flood- affected areas.
It may be recalled that some years back the same person had promised the people that all the debts (around $35 billion) of the country would be paid off by the stashed away money of Ms Benazir Bhutto. The promise has yet to see the light of the day. Then it was claimed that the chairperson has 36 accounts in the Swiss banks. Now they claim that there are 62 accounts in her name wherein $11 million are deposited.
After the dissolution of the second government of Ms Benazir Bhutto and the assumption of office by Mr Nawaz Sharif in 1997, the government of Pakistan went on a witch-hunt to find out ways and means to nail down the leadership of the PPP. A Swiss judge by the name of Denial Devaud was approached by Pakistan to incriminate the former prime minister in a money laundering case.The then chairman of the Accountability Bureau, Saif-ur-Rahman, provided him with forged documents and perjured statements to ensure that Ms Benazir Bhutto is ousted from national politics forever. The authorities then spent around $50 million to obtain fake documents to build up a case against her.
Despite many requests the chairperson was denied access to the evidence material that has been accepted in judge Devaud’s court, which itself was an outright denial of justice. During the same period, her assets and bank accounts were frozen even without a single charge yet framed against her. Encouraged by the response from Daniel Devaud, a similar case was filed in the Accountability Bureau of Lahore by Saif-ur-Rahman. During the trial, which ended up in sentencing the chairperson and her husband for seven years, Daniel Devaud worked in close coordination with the Pakistani authorities and provided the courts with all the necessary documents to support the prosecution. He attested and certified them.
Eventually, the case was challenged in the Supreme Court where the full bench set aside the sentence of Lahore Court calling it prejudiced and biased, and sent it for retrial. The judge who gave the sentence had to resign.
After four years of no news, the verdict on July 30 came as a shock. The defendants were never heard, nor asked to appear before the trying magistrate. It is strange that Mr Devaud had been in correspondence with the government of Pakistan for almost six years but did not deem it necessary to issue notices to Ms Bhutto to Asif Zardari violating all norms of due process of law.
Moreover, the day the decision was handed down, leaves many question marks, because that was the last day of judge Daniel Devaud’s tenure. An appeal before the appellate Court of Switzerland is being filed against the judgment and much revelations can be expected.
FAUZIA WAHAB
MNA and Central Coordinator, Human Rights Cell, PPP,
Karachi
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