| November 7, 2003 | Friday | Ramazan 11, 1424 |
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KESC complaint system
‘25 years of papacy’
Kashmir issue and national unity
Humbling of America
Builder’s apathy
Oil-pier II Project
Mochi Gate
Unemployed engineers
Performance of PTCL
Whither merit?
I REFER to the article “Hindus and Muslims” (Nov 2) by Mr Ardeshir Cowasjee. This article is a very commendable effort made by Mr Cowasjee wherein light has been thrown on history distorted by the British rule under the policy of divide and rule. I want to add another piece of research done by Dr Pande and is reported in Islam and Indian Culture, Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, Patna, 1987.
One of the greatest charges against Aurangzeb is of the demolition of the Vishwanath temple in Banaras (Varanasi). That was a fact but Dr Pande unravelled the reason for it. “While Aurangzeb was passing near Varanasi on his way to Bengal, the Hindu rajas in his retinue requested that if the halt was made for a day, their ranis may go to Varanasi, have a dip in the Ganges and pay their homage to Lord Vishwanath. Aurangzeb readily agreed.
“Army pickets were posted on the five-mile-long route to Varanasi. The ranis made journey on the palkis. They took their dip in the Ganges and went to the Vishwanath temple to pay their homage. After offering puja all the ranis returned except one, the Maharani of Kutch. A thorough search was made of the temple precincts but the rani was not to be found anywhere.
“When Aurangzeb came to know of this, he was very much enraged. He sent his senior officers to search for the rani. Ultimately they discovered that a statue of Ganesh which was fixed in the wall was a movable one. When the statue was moved, they saw a flight of stairs that led to the basement. To their horror they found the missing rani dishonoured and crying, deprived of all her ornaments. The basement was just beneath Lord Vishwanath’s seat.”
The rajas demanded salutary action, and Aurangzeb ordered that as the sacred precincts have been despoiled, Lord Vishwanath may be moved to some other place, the temple be razed to the ground and the mahant (head priest) be arrested and punished.
MOHAMMED CHORWADIA
Chicago, Ill, USA
I DO not wish to criticize the KESC management for their inability to come up to the expectations of its consumers. This has been the subject matter of discussion too often.
But I would like to point out the non-existence of a monitoring system, at least at the lower rungs of the ladder, which is a vital component of the controlling mechanism.
To illustrate the point I would quote the example of the complaint centre designated as Subdivision IV, with jurisdiction of a very large area, namely KDA Scheme 33. The complaint centre was provided with two telephones (Nos. 4968377 and 4968399) to facilitate the lodging of complaints by the consumers.
On Oct 8 I rang up both the numbers to lodge a complaint but the taped voice conveyed that the telephones had temporarily been closed, which means utter neglect to arrange payment of telephone bills in time, a symptom of inherent defect in the “system”. Even routine matters are dealt with in such a fashion, let alone non-routine matters.
I drew the attention of the managing director’s secretariat, the chief engineer’s office and the executive engineer concerned to the matter, but to no avail. For about a week the communication link remained suspended and, subsequently, only one telephone, 4968399, has become operational. Till date the second telephone remains disconnected.
I request the managing director to look into this not-so-trivial a matter and censure all the persons concerned so that negligence is curbed, and the communication link remains operational all the while.
GHOLAM HASNAIN
Karachi
THIS refers to Dr Iffat Idris’s article “25 years of papacy” (Oct 23). I am concerned about certain wrong statements made by her.
While Dr Idris has written a whole lot of good about the Pope, about him being frail, yet undergoing strenuous work, about the public profile the Pope has given to the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Church. The writer goes on to say, “Does the Pope deserve the many accolades that are being showered on him?” Yes, he does deserve the accolades. In fact, Dr Idris has very much praised the Pope for his work but in the same breath she puts a question to the contrary! Is this not a contradiction?
Dr Idris further says that the Pope has refused to permit the use of birth control and abortion. For her information, both these methods of prevention of birth amount to murder. Islam too does not permit abortion. Only when a mother’s life is in danger can abortion be permitted. So, what is doctor trying to say?
She accuses catholic priests of child abuse. Fine, I have newspaper clippings which say such incidents also take place among religious men and children of other religions. To err is human.
She says: “The cardinals — all sharing the Pope’s conservative views — will elect his successor. Hence the Pope has ensured that even after his departure his beliefs will continue to determine Vatican policy.” This is a very serious and a blatant accusation Dr Idris has made against the Pope, and she owes an apology to him.
LAWRENCE PINTO
Islamabad
IN its official response to Pakistan’s counter- proposals concerning the implementation of confidence-building measures, and almost as an aside, India has firmly closed the door to any negotiations on the Kashmir issue by saying that “Jammu and Kashmir is not a disputed territory. The only issue that remains to be resolved for a final settlement of J&K is the question of Pakistan’s illegal occupation of a portion of the state.”
This dispute is unlikely to be resolved by either Pakistan or India. In today’s unipolar world the solution lies with
the whims and policy imperatives of those who preside in the distant White House. Geopolitical compulsions are often grounded in shifting sands.
Much will depend on the outcome of elections in (India and) the US, along with a host of other factors, not the
least being the Palestine imbroglio, the control of Middle East oil reserves and the unfinished wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
However distant these imponderables may seem, they will, in sum, determine the degree of influence that the United States will bring to bear upon both Pakistan and India.
For the present, India is on a better wicket. For us discretion should certainly be the better part of valour. Unity is what we need most, not the shenanigans and arrests we see in our Assembly in Islamabad.
S. ASIF MAJEED
Karachi
IT is a win-win situation for the Muslim world. If the US takes the beating in Iraq, it will be forced to abandon war as an option to deal with the Muslim unrest around the globe. Signs are that the message has already been picked up by one branch of the Bush administration, and diplomacy is becoming a preferred choice in Sudan and Iran. However, even if the US goes through its convoluted ‘democratizing process’ in Iraq, the ones to rule will be Islamists and not the so-called secularist Baathists.
The ripple effect of downing of one single army helicopter registering the biggest casualty figures in Iraq, after Bush declared victory six months ago, when Americans splashed world TV screens with the symbolic pulling down of Saddam’s statue in a Baghdad suburb, is now visible in the editorial and op-ed pages of the world print media.
The neo-con Jewish American solution of preemptive armed strikes against defenceless Muslim nations is being solely blamed for getting Bush into the quagmire in the first place.
America fought Israel’s war with Saddam, though giving it spin colours of fight against WMD and Islamic terrorism. Billions wasted down the line, while more than 30,000 innocent civilians died in the illegal invasion of a UN member-nation. Bush antagonized the entire Muslim world, where anti-American anger resulted in a rare unity at the OIC summit in Malaysia when Mahathir Mohamad singled out Jews as ruling the world by proxy and getting others to fight and die for their vested interests.
After the Bush iftar party at the White House, to soothe the nerves of American Muslims, US embassies around the world are for the first time welcoming Muslims into their parlous with laid-out iftar feasts and prayer mats for the Maghreb prayers.
This is humbling of the arrogant America, if symbolism has any meaningful role to play in this disastrous presidency of a weak Bush, surrounded by his Jewish advisers, by restoring sanity to America’s relations with the Muslims and Islam, both within America and without.
GHULAM MUHAMMED
Mumbai, India
My younger sister committed a blunder by booking two shops in Rufi Shopping Mall, Gulistan-i-Jauhar, against full payment, in 1998. The builders promised to give possession of the shops in 36 months, but they have not done so yet. Their excuse is that they do not have funds to finish this project.
On the other hand, estate agents in the locality say that this project will take another eight to 10 years, as there is a dispute over the land between the KDA and the Faisal Cantonment Board in a court of law.
On my numerous visits to the site office, seeking refund of the amount, I was given unsatisfactory replies by the staff of the builders, while the project director/site-in-charge was not available. I went to the government property registration office near Civic Centre to inquire about the status of the project. The official concerned, instead of helping me, simply directed me to a lawyer of the builders, sitting in the lobby, who had no definite and positive information or possibly he also was there to distract me.
Finally, I submitted an application, dated Aug 22, to the builders for refund of the amount in the light of the prevailing situation, but they asked me to wait for another two to three years.
I appeal to the Sindh chief minister and other authorities concerned to save us from the cruel acts of the builders.
AZIZ MUHAMMAD KHAN
Karachi
I AM writing this letter in respect of the Oil-pier II Project of the Karachi Port Trust.
During the years 1973-76 I was an Unctad adviser at the Arab Maritime Academy in Alexandria. I was assigned a consultative task in respect of the Abu Dhabi National Tanker Company and I had the opportunity to be master of VLCC Dalma. We took an interesting and exciting trans-atlantic voyage to and from the Gulf of Mexico. I well remember the very strong currents in the Florida Straits.
I had the opportunity to serve the government of Singapore (Lee Kuan Yew’s Singapore) and organize and set up the Neptune Orient Lines. I studied in detail a very useful and time- and cost-saving installation, Imodco Buoy, during my Unctad assignment, covering the Scandinavian coast and ports.
Many years ago I wrote in Dawn, strongly suggesting that the Karachi Port Trust policy and decision-makers should seriously study and consider setting up and laying moorings and oil pipelines on the sea-bed. These pipelines were to connect with heavy pipelines on the shore, leading to heavy oil tanks on the shore.
I remember that as far back as 1963 I suggested to the Chittagong Port Trust that a serious planning could greatly assist in acquiring and setting up an Imodco-Buoy and in completing sea-bed heavy/strong oil pipelines. When such an installation was completed, crude oil tankers with dead-weight up to VLCC tonnage could secure at the Imodco Buoy and discharge the full cargo of 200,000 plus tons of fuel oil, using the pipeline which would be laid on the sea-bed.
M.J. SAYEED
Karachi
UNDER the headline “A Hyde Park of our very own’ by Saeed Malik (Oct 12) was a beautiful picture of Mochi Gate, Lahore.
This Mochi Gate is a part of my life. As a student I would attend most of the big meetings held there. These were addressed by religio-political parties and leading political personalities. They included Jawaharlal Nehru, Lala Lajpat Rai, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Dr Saifuddin Kitchloo, Shaikh Abdullah of Kashmir, Sir Fazli Hussain, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Nawab Nasrullah Khan, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Maulvi Farid Ahmad, Masihur Rahman and Ataur Rahman.
There is also a list of eminent ulema, writers and leaders who have graced the Mochi Gate while rendering great services to Islam and the Muslims. They include Syed Ataullah Shah Bukhari, Maulana Abul Ala Maudoodi, Maulana Habibur Rehman Ludhyanvi, Maulana Mazhar Ali Azhar, Sahibzada Faizul Hassan, Allama Hafiz Kifayat Hussain, Maulana Dawood Ghaznavi, and Agha Shorish Kashmiri.
ADVOCATE NOORUL HAQ
QURESHI
Multan
IN Pakistan there are very few institutions which cater to technical education needs. These days one sees lots of advertisements asking engineers and other technical people to apply for vacancies in various concerns, but they put some ominous conditions for eligibility. First, they demand 10 to 15 years’ experience. Secondly, they also demand extra qualifications such as an engineering degree with MBA or an engineering degree with law.
When doctors acquire degrees from medical colleges/universities, they do house job in different hospitals. Thus, they get not only a sufficient remuneration but also get an opportunity to practise their professional skills. After completion of their house job, they have attained enough experience and face no problems in either getting a good job or establishing a private clinic.
But where should the engineers go? In our country’s engineering universities, we study 75 per cent theory and do the so-called 25 per cent practicals. There are in our country no institutions to appoint fresh engineers for apprenticeship.
I ask the authorities concerned as to what fresh engineers should do to get a job.
ENGR. SAJJAD KHAN
Swat
I WOULD like to draw the attention of the higher authorities towards the uncalled-for attitude of the PTCL’s Orangi Telephone Exchange. My telephone (6661863) has not been working since August 28. Despite repeated complaints both at the local Orangi exchange and at the hotline number 0800-44544, the phone still remains inoperative. I have even informed the offices of the DG Operations and GM but to no avail.
What is the use of printing costly ads in the newspapers when a single phone cannot be made operational in two months? Sixty days are more than enough time to rectify any fault provided that the zeal to do work is there.
SYED AMIN SHAH
Karachi
THE defence minister was pleased to inform the National Assembly that 416 persons had been employed in PIA and CAA. They are both regular and contract employees.
The mode of employment was not disclosed for obvious reasons. A son or a daughter of a commoner has no right to get employment in the two national organizations. It seems it is the right of only the influential people and the rich to get lucrative jobs.
In our country, influence remains the main criterion for getting a higher position in government organizations. Where does the claim of “merit” as a criterion for selection go? We will continue to suffer from inefficiency and indiscipline in the presence of recommendation, bribery and nepotism.
MIRAJUL HAQ
Karachi
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