| September 27, 2003 | Saturday | Rajab 29, 1424 |
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Islamabad graveyard
Will new provinces do any good?
We and Indian Muslims
Nadra’s performance
Advice to Yashwant
Institution of ombudsman
Investment prospects
Road without footpaths
Women’s status In Islam
Politics of dams
Beggars in Capital city
‘The whole truth’
America’s friend: rulers or the people?
THE world is disappointed because US President George W. Bush neither apologized to the UN for ignoring it in Iraq, nor pleaded for its support. Instead, he vigorously defended American actions, and gently chided the UN for betraying its own stated principles.
The two most remarkable things about the speech were each contained in a single sentence. One was Bush’s characteristically un-illusioned message about the Arab-Israeli war. He made clear that a Palestinian state is not an entitlement, to be carved out of Israel no matter how atrociously the Palestinians behave. Rather, the Palestinian people deserve their own state, and they will gain that state by embracing new leaders committed to reform, to fighting terror, and to building peace.
The other remarkable statement was the president’s hint about the next front in the war on terror: Iran and its drive for nuclear weapons. Here, and once again, Mr Bush is calling on the UN to live up to its own past resolutions and to enforce existing international agreements: once again he is declaring that the US will enforce them even if the United Nations chooses to do nothing.
America’s detractors in the world sneeringly call President Bush a cowboy. Not quite. But he does resemble a familiar western character: the brave man who organizes his neighbours to defend law and preserve order when the police are too cowardly “or too corrupt” to do the job.
RAHIM PANJWANI
Karachi
THE speech delivered by President Bush to the members of the United Nations was an example of shamelessness. He invaded Iraq ignoring what the other members of the UN were saying, and now, setting aside all the scruples, he is asking the same organization to come forward and help to rebuild Iraq.
As if this act of foolish behaviour was not enough, he is asking the world to forget the past. If forgetting the past is so easy, can he forget 9/11 and stop his stupid war against the Muslims, to please Israel?
I am not an American, thank God, but I pity those who elected a ‘person’ like George W. Bush as their president.
PROF SHAUKAT MAHMOOD
Lahore
A GRAVEYARD is not only a place for burying the dead, it is a place which surviving relatives visit every now and then, specially on death anniversaries, Eid and other occasions, to pay respects to and to pray for their loved ones who have died.
I visit Islamabad Graveyard in H-sector several times in a year. When I went there a few weeks ago with my family on the death anniversary of my mother, I was appalled at the neglected condition of the graveyard, specially the southern section where the graves of those who died many years ago lie.
Grass and prickly bushes four to five metres long covered the area here, so much so that they blocked the footpaths and hid the tombstones, making it very difficult for me to find my mother’s grave. I had to hire the services of one of the grave keepers who then cleared the unwanted vegetation and found my mother’s grave. I needed his service also in clearing the pathway and the unkept vegetation around my father-in-law’s grave. He charged Rs50 per grave.
The soil on top of my mother’s grave had sunk in.
The gravekeeper said he would charge Rs250 for fixing it. One of my sisters-in-law pay one of the gravekeepers Rs250 a month for the routine upkeep of her father’s grave, but the condition of his grave is no better than my mother’s.
Instead of leaving the graveyard in a peaceful and serene mood, we left the place in disgust, with our clothes soiled and torn slightly by the bushes, cursing the Capital Development Authority, in particular the Directorate of Municipal Administration which looks after graveyards, for its inefficiency.
It is not that the CDA has many graveyards to look after. There is at the moment only the Islamabad graveyard, with a new one coming up in G-sector. If the condition of a graveyard still in use is already this bad, I hate to imagine what condition the Islamabad graveyard could be in once its capacity is full and the new graveyard in G-sector opens for burial.
With a little effort, work and maintenance I am sure the CDA can turn Islamabad Graveyard into a neat and serene place befitting the purpose for which it exists.
USMAN TARIQ
Islamabad
CREATION of new provinces has been touted as a solution to alleviating the worries of smaller units about Punjab’s power and domination. This is characteristic of our bankrupt mentality. We do not like the reality and, therefore, wish that it disappears. We are perhaps the only people who believe in magical thinking when it comes to serious national affairs.
These elements have a knack for such bright ideas. However, I would suggest, please pause and think if changing East Bengal to East Pakistan solved anything. We hate reality but accept made-up myth with enthusiasm. We would all like to believe that our ancestor came from Makkah and Madinah, via an express camel caravan, that our languages have nothing to do with Sanskrit and our culture has no link with the Indian subcontinent.
Will the army cease to be Punjab-dominated or the generals’ attitude would change if they are told that they now belonged to a different province?
Will Kalabgh somehow be more benign if its name is changed to Safedbagh or Sabzbagh?
SAIFULLAH NIZAMANI
Via email
IT was disappointing to read Raza Naeem’s letter “Please leave Indian Muslims alone” (Sept 23).
Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s herculean task of creating Pakistan in the face of fierce opposition from the Hindus deserves a far better description than “Jinnah’s separatism”. The fact remains that the Pakistan movement was supported by all the Indian Muslims, even though most of them knew that they would never be able to migrate to the new land. The Indian Muslims whom I have met have shown nothing but sincere patriotism for their country, and deserve to be treated better than the Gujarati Muslims.
I earnestly hope that my Pakistani brethren will stop looking backwards, and start coming up with ideas and actions to improve our own lives. Respect for the Indian Muslims and other Muslim minorities in the world will only improve when Muslim nations like Pakistan can get their act together by working honestly and sincerely. Nobody respects people who blame their weaknesses on their ancestors.
BASHIR MIRZA
Via email
IT has been close to three months when I sent a message through an email, followed by reminders, to Nadra to get the details of application procedure and necessary forms for new computerized national identity cards for myself, my father and my wife plus two of my three children who have now turned 18 years of age. As usual with any other government department, I have received no response to date.
Before leaving Karachi in January 2000, I recall we had filled out some forms in the year 1998 or 1999 which were said to be for census, as well as computerized identity cards, that were distributed door to door by the staff from the armed forces and the completed forms were collected by the same team of workers after 8-10 days.
We never heard anything from any government department about those forms, which contained complete relevant information for the issuance of identity cards, besides details for census purposes. In fact, that data can be used for the issuance of a driving licence (of course, only after proper driving examination) and passport also.
Here in Dallas, Texas, last week my daughter got her driving permit — which is also the person’s primary identification card and that data is used for all other purposes also) — in about 20 minutes, with no prior appointment. While I was shopping in a store next door, she came after me to the store holding her driving permit/identity card in her hand. I hope this is enough to wake up some souls in Nadra.
MUHAMMAD NAVED JAMAL
Karachi
INDIAN Foreign Minister Y. S. Sinha is cordially advised to take lessons to improve his diplomatic expressions, suiting to the position where he seems to have been placed under the BJP regime.
Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s statement to Canadian newspaper or TV was tossed to him for comment in the BBC’s Hindi programme Aaap kee Baat BBC ke Sath. Mr Sinha dismissed it in one word: “Nonsense”, in Hindi Bakwas hai.
A foreign minister is supposed to be a polished man in choosing his words to make even the bitterest public statement. Mr Sinha, on the contrary, seems to know only the colloquial language and nothing else. Or he should admit that his acrimony against Pakistan overspills at times in presenting high embarrassment to Indian diplomats. He has also recently been rough in talking about our Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri.
Mr Sinha should realize that he said these words against the president of another country and on protocol he is nowhere near him. Hope he will behave next time.
M. M. KHAN
Karachi
THE Sindh Local Government Ordinance 2001, which otherwise aims at good governance and elimination of corruption, has somehow curtailed the role of the ombudsman, Sindh, through the institution of the district ombudsman envisaged in the Ordinance.
The idea of placing the district ombudsman under the nazim and the minister for local government is repugnant to the concept of ombudsman itself and, if implemented, would make mockery of this institution, erode its authority, fibre and independence.
The scheme is also expensive and uncalled-for as it would involve expenditure of billions of rupees over the years for maintenance of offices of 105 district ombudsmen throughout the country. All this seems to be of little use when district ombudsmen, shorn of their independent status, will be taking orders from the nazim and the minister.
The worthy legislators were, perhaps, not in the know of the fact that a number of regional offices of provincial ombudsman have been functioning in the country and more can be established, as and when necessary, which can competently take cognizance of maladministration and corruption and provide relief to the suffering people.
In our country where corruption and inefficiency are rampant, particularly in government agencies to the utter frustration and hardship of the people, it is imperative that the institution of ombudsman, introduced a decade ago, should be appropriately strengthened and empowered to enable it to fulfil its mission in the public interest.
MOHAMMAD ALEEM
SHAIKH
Karachi
PRIVATIZATION Minister Dr Hafiz Shaikh is wondering as to why the Pakistanis working abroad and foreigners were not investing in Pakistan. Well, I think the Pakistanis working abroad and the foreigners are very eager to invest in Pakistan but they are waiting for the day when Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz and Investment Board Chairman Humayun Akhtar bring their own money — at present invested abroad — to Pakistan and invest that in their own homeland. This will enable both the Pakistanis and the foreigners to have confidence in the policies of Mr Aziz and Mr Akhtar.
I have buried my cash in the ground rather than invest it into any scheme. The day Shaukat Aziz’s money comes in Pakistan, I will dig mine and run to put it into any bond, bank or national savings.
M. YOUSAF
Gujranwala
I AM writing about the re-carpeting being done on an emergency basis of Allama Shabbir Usmani Road. This is being done as the road leads to the house of the prime minister in Block 13-D of Gulshan-i-Iqbal.
While the speed with which this road is being re-carpeted by the city government is impressive, two aspects seem to have been overlooked. The first is that there is no footpath on this road, though it has very heavy pedestrian traffic.
Another problem is that the road is in a residential area which is very quickly being commercialized despite protests by the area residents. Some action should be taken in this regard.
IQBAL AHMAD
Karachi
IN the recent controversy over the interpretation of Qawwamoon in the Aayah-i-Shareefa Arrejal-o-Qawwamoon A La Nissa, Dr Mahnaz Fatima has made a reference to an irshad of the Fifth Ordained Imam (A.S.). I have before me 1) the exegesis (tafseer) attributed to Imam Hassan Askari (A.S.), but not confirmed, as well as the translation with tafseer by 2) Mullah Fatehullah Kashani, rendered into Urdu, 3) Maulana Maqbool Ahmed, 4) Maulana Farman Ali, 5) Mir Ahmed Ali, 6) Maulana Imdad Husain Kazmi, 7) Maulana Mohsin Ali Najafi, 8) Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi, 9) Allama Abdullah Yusuf Ali, 10) Maulana Abdul Majid Daryabadi, 11) Muhammad Ali Lahori and 12) Professor Ahmed Ali, and also the biography of the Fifth and Sixth ordained Imams (A.S.) entitled As-Sadeqain by Fauq Bilgrami, which also contains many general quotations from the Imams but could not find the elucidation in question of the Aayah-i-Shareefa. Of course, this is an infinitesimally incomplete and inadequate list.
It would be greatly appreciated if the learned doctor could enlighten us with the wording of the Imam’s irshad and the name of the narrator.
S. IRTIZA HUSAIN
Karachi
FOR several months I have been observing the interest of the president of Pakistan in building dams and a canal system. My question is, do we really need Thal Canal and Kalabagh and Bhasha dams at this time when we have had a record rainfall this year in Pakistan?
I think the issue of Kalabagh dam and Thal Canal is being raised at this time just to divert the attention of the public from the LFO which has become a litmus test for the president to prove if he really is interested in “real” democracy of which he so keenly talks about in his addresses to the nation.
MOHAMMAD NOMAN
Karachi
ISLAMABAD appears to be a city of beggars. Here either you find the posh cars of big beggars or little kids rushing to the windows of cars as soon as the red light appears. These kids, specially young girls, create very ugly and painful scenes.
Instead of going to some school or vocational training, here they are wasting their childhood and youth, never to become a normal person. The gangs of these youngsters are dropped by some organized mafia which appears stronger than the government as many fancy cars with official flags etc bypass them every five minutes.
The traffic corners of Islamabad falsify all the tall claims of the government and NGOs. No serious attempts are being taken to curb child labour, as begging is perhaps the worst form of child labour. Similarly, no serious attempts are being made for mass literacy. We have only talks, talks and empty talks.
PROF ANWAR-UL-HAQUE
Islamabad
THIS refers to the opinion piece headlined “The whole truth” (Sept 24) by Hafizur Rahman on Justice Kayani. The correct name of his book was “NOT the whole truth.”
HAMID BUTT
Pahang, Malaysia
PRESIDENT Pervez Musharraf’s persistence in describing the Indian and Israeli atrocities against a large number of people living under their control in Indian-occupied Kashmir and in Israel as “state-sponsored” terrorism is beyond the comprehension of today’s US and other main media moguls. For them any armed struggle, whether being waged for a right or wrong cause, is terrorism — a definition which is not fully agreed to by most of the Muslim world.
It does not mean that the president does not have a point, or he should not advocate these causes. The problem is that the Muslim world wrongly thinks that the US and Israel are two entities while, in fact, they are “virtually one”. When we realize this, it will be easier to deal with them.
The president also might find himself entrapped if he thinks he is a friend of the US. Some of the voices heard from US official sources often praise him for helping the US, but show a general contempt towards a common Pakistani, and towards the clear interests of Pakistan. The exclusion of Pakistanis from the Green Lottery, generic refusals of US visas to Pakistani youngsters, continued refusal to provide the key military equipment, etc, are some examples
The president and the prime minister must voice Pakistan’s concerns about all these issues during their visits to the US, though the writing on the wall is clear: Pakistan will be pressured to its limits, and its nuclear doctrine tested, probably within next five years, as the US’s Iraqi agenda has to crystallize first, to allow it to fully open up new hot fronts.
President Musharraf would do well to advise the US media, as well US officials, that he does not accept the notion that he and his corps commanders are the only friends of the US in Pakistan. They are merely, and forcibly, representing Pakistan. Thus, each Pakistani deserves the same praise and rewards that the US might think of for its good allies.
He should also let democracy roll onto the right tracks. Right now, Pakistan is not considered a democratic state. On the other hand, India continues to score points, though it is only its Hindu majority which is behind the so-called secular democracy, enjoying a Hindutva in its democratic disguise. All the actions of Indian Hindu fundamentalists and their leaders are against Indian Muslims, against Pakistan, and against the Muslim world at large.
HASHIM SYED MOHAMMAD BIN QASIM
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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