| November 18, 2003 | Tuesday | Ramazan 22, 1424 |
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Why we don’t need army rule
Bush’s claims & American people
Traffic chaos: a suggestion
Matters of accountancy
Bugging of high commission
Pensioners of PCSIR
NFC award
Poverty and child labour
Whither merit?
Honour killings and Jirga system
WHEN the PTCL announced cuts in nationwide and overseas call rates, it expertly modified its metering categories of “half rate” and “quarter rate” to minimize the impact it would have on its revenues.
The new tariffs put up by the company focus on the prime-time rates only. The reductions have not been translated into the off-peak half-rate and quarter-rate categories that have always been an obvious choice for the budget-conscious subscriber. The off-peak categories have instead been renamed “Evening Time” and “Night Time”, with no obvious changes in tariffs as compared to the previous rates.
The new rates hence fail to appeal to the common subscriber and will be of a greater impact to the corporate customer only. The corporate customer can already avail himself of a greater tariff reduction through the virtual private network services offered by the PTCL, whereby one can have up to 25 per cent discounts on group connections.
According to the PTCL, 47.4 per cent of its clientele belong to the below-Rs600-per-month -usage category, whereas those spending over Rs3,000 are seven per cent of the total 3.8 million subscribers. A cut in the prime-time tariffs is thus not an attractive offer to the majority of the subscribers.
The focus of the tariff reductions should have been on a change in the current distance zones of 80km and 160km plus because even the closest two major cities are more than 160km apart — Peshawar-Islamabad at 180km. This puts calls between relatively close cities (e.g. Islamabad-Lahore about 300km or Peshawar-Islamabad) equal to that of far apart cities like Karachi-Islamabad (over 1,000km).
Had the PTCL introduced an intermediate distance belt for, say, cities within 500km, it would have greatly increased its traffic volume between these cities.
Further, a cut of Rs100 in line rents and substantial cuts in new connection charges are a commendable decision but the increase in the local call duration from five minutes to 10 minutes from 10pm to 7am raises some questions on its rationale. It is absurd to expect subscribers to wait till late night to avail themselves of such an insignificant decrease in tariff, that too for local calls. Offering cost cuts in time zones that do not affect the majority users will not impress any of its customers.
A record of how network usage varies in the various distance belts would have shown how actually the proposed rates are affecting subscribers and identified their preferences. Regions with a greater to and fro traffic could have been identified and places in one common tariff zone and those with low traffic in another low tariff zone to encourage people to call more.
Cities with greater telephonic interaction (e.g. Lahore-Islamabad) could be offered special packages to derive more revenue out of them. Instead of relying on fixed multi-metering, a descending per-minute tariff could be used that subsequently zeroes off the longer one talks. If one analyses services such as AT&T, one sees a large variety of call plans from fixed-cost unlimited calls to regional plans that aim at “connecting people” and encouraging them to call more.
UMER ASIF
Via email
NO time is good for military rule. Especially now when the world seems to be changing fast and taking strides in all the fields, we as a nation cannot afford military officers at the helm of affairs, making decisions on important national and international issues.
Fast-paced international diplomacy, the WTO, new technologies, emerging alliances, changing policies of major countries the world over and aggressive initiatives being taken by the neighbouring countries cannot be handled by the armymen, lacking in expertise, specially at a time when the people of the civilized world do not seem to be looking kindly at uniformed men doing jobs meant for civilians.
All at this crucial time, we cannot be consuming all our energies in fighting undemocratic governments in an attempt to find the right system of government for us, something that should have been settled a long time ago, in accordance with the 1973 Constitution which does provide for such a democratic system.
We as a nation have to take important decisions. We have to make up our minds once and for all as to what kind of country we want for ourselves and our future generations. What kind of society do we want to live in? What kind of legacy do we want to leave behind? We have to take decisions and have to take them quickly, for we are already lagging far behind the international community on many counts.
Taking these decisions won’t be that difficult if we look back just for a moment and see what we have achieved and lost so far. How many opportunities did we have to build a strong nation, a strong country and how did we squander them? How did we let bigotry and hatred seep into our society? How did we divide our people on the basis of nationality, religion, gender, caste and creed? Why haven’t we been able to do justice to all the nationalities, to all the provinces and to all the people of the country?
There are more questions which we have to answer. Why do we have some privileged and some less privileged people? How have we destroyed all the institutions necessary to build a strong society? How can we tolerate army rule in this century and still claim to be a part of the democratic world?
The time has come to make decisions and then implement them. The choice is ours.
AZIZ NAREJO
Corpus Christi, TX, USA
ONE lie that a person tells may lead to dozens of lies to cover the first one. The new spin President Bush has now come out with, in an interview with David Frost, is to press the point that the US had to move against Saddam Hussein to bolster the United Nation’s credibility, whose resolutions were flouted by the Iraqi dictator again and again. Saddam was asked to disarm and he was not prepared to disarm.
In millions of households around the world, where this interview will be seen, normal families will come out with three major points of dissension:
One, what about a 50-year record of Israeli defiance of UN resolutions and why is the US not worried that Israel is as dangerous as Saddam could be?
Second, what about Bush himself, who blatantly robbed the august UN of all credibility when he invaded Iraq, without a shade of shame that the US and the UK both are undermining an international organization that has been identified with the 50 long years of peace in the world?
Third, at least now Bush should have some sensitivity to admit that there was nothing to disarm and the US was barking up the wrong tree.
In fact, Bush has exposed the ugly face of America that had remained hidden for over a full century. He has done more damage to the soul and spirit of America that had been held up as a beacon of hope for the world at large. People thought the days of early settlers and their genocide of the native Americans was a bad dream and America had come a long way with its remarkable self-civilizing metamorphosis. That illusion has now evaporated. America is now being regarded by the rest of the world as the evil that must be faced and countered. George W. Bush Jr. will go down in history as the worst enemy of American people who has dragged them into a war with the rest of the world, that they may win in physical sense, but would surely lose in real terms.
GHULAM MUHAMMED
Mumbai, India
IT is my belief and observation that 90 per cent of our people have a strong desire for the rule of law but are deterred by the less than 10 per cent who go against the law. I am talking here basically about traffic. If you have a lawn and you want it cleaned up for an occasion, you cannot do so merely by a puff; you have to collect the fallen leaves and straws and then mow the lawn. The same is true of our traffic. I have a scheme that I would call “quarantine.” The city and its traffic have grown rapidly. The controlling authority has scarce resources — short of staff which is under paid. My concept of “quarantine” is this:
You select one major route (say that of the Star Line that runs from Sohrab Goth to Tower), provide it with all the requirements and give it proper stops, traffic signs, road markings and so on. This route would act as a training ground — a sort of pilot project — for the people as well as the traffic personnel. This practical demonstration of good and civilized traffic on one route will help change the people’s attitude toward traffic rules and discipline. Once this concept of “quarantine” is successful along one route, it can be extended to the rest of the city in phases, selecting one route at a time. The same concept can be extended to other areas of the city administration. For instance a police station could be “quarantined” in similar fashion.
The provincial governments could “quarantine” their capitals for the improvement of administration, and the federal government could do the same. Every problem may be challenging, but we have to start somewhere, some way. Let that way be the way of “quarantine” — the way of removing the fallen leaves and straws from the law one by one and then mowing it for the special occasion — “the rule of law.”
TAHIR ZAMAN
Karachi
THIS refers to the article “Winds of change in the field of accountancy” by Mr Dilawar Hussain (Dawn’s Economic & Business Review, Nov 3).
There is a misconception that companies are seeking to de-list themselves from the stock exchanges, primarily because of added costs of compliance with the Code of Corporate Governance issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) — an impression also conveyed in the above-mentioned article.
Recently, an independent study carried out at the behest of the SECP for assessing the impact of the Code of Corporate Governance examined this aspect. The study revealed that out of the 23 companies that had got themselves de-listed since March 2002, only four mentioned the increasing cost burden of complying with the provisions of the code as one of the reasons for de-listing. In fact, most of the companies that got de-listed suffered from limited share float, illiquid shares, persistent losses and lack of ability to pay dividends.
Realizing the importance of dissemination of correct information to the public, this letter is an attempt to correct the misunderstanding about the additional costs of complying with the Code as one of the major reasons for de-listing.
Our staff reporter adds: The 24 companies that got themselves de-listed since March 2002 represent the largest number of delistings in any single year. The problems of limited share float, illiquid shares, persistent losses and lack of ability to pay dividends” have been decades-old problems of scores of listed companies. Yet most companies have opted to delist following the promulgation of the Code of corporate governance. An interesting coincidence, perhaps?
SARAH PARVEZ
Islamabad
THE muted response of the government of Pakistan to the bugging of its high commission in London by the British secret service MI5 is not understandable. As a sovereign state Pakistan has the right to demand a public apology, as well as compensation, for this unethical act of the British government.
Until such conditions are met, Pakistan should withdraw its high commissioner from Britain. The UK government did not take any time to expel Pakistan from the Commonwealth as a result of the military takeover in Pakistan. Had Pakistan been the accused in the bugging of the British high commission in Islamabad, we would have been overwhelmed with condemnation from the world over and punished with sanctions by now.
Why are we so meek and submissive? Are we so much indebted to Britain that we can easily compromise on this issue of national security? The government owes a full explanation to the people of Pakistan on this serious lapse of security, and the people are justified in demanding a befitting response to the British government’s act which contradicts diplomatic norms and civilized behaviour.
TANWEER ABBAS
Mississauga, Ontario,
Canada
IT is a matter of great concern that the pensioners of the PCSIR have not yet received the benefit of the 15 per cent relief announced by the government in the budget of 2003-2004, although the regular employees and pensioners of all other government departments have already benefited from it.
The hard-hit pensioners of the PCSIR are still waiting anxiously to get the relief before Eidul Fitr.
I request the prime minister and the finance minister to order quick redressal of our grievance.
M. IKRAM QURESHI
Lahore
THIS is with reference to the recent reconstitution of the National Finance Commission. According to article 160 of the Constitution, there must be an NFC to decide the parameters within which the financial resources and revenues are to be shared between the federation and the provinces.
According to the Constitution, the NFC life expires in five years and after that it should be reconstituted. The last NFC expired in 2002 but it has been reconstituted now, after a delay of over one year. As a result, the budget for the financial year 2003-04 was made in the light of the 1997 NFC award.
One hopes our financial matters will get a top priority in future.
SHAHZAD MEMON
Hyderabad
THIS is with reference to the news item “23m child labourers in country” (Nov 15) that says nearly 23 million children between five and 15 years of age are working as child labourers in Pakistan.
It is quite depressing that instead of going to school, these children have to work at such a young age. They are made to work very hard for meagre salaries. There are in our country no laws to protect the children from abuse, or to regulate their pay, working hours and conditions. The parents are compelled to send their children to work because of poverty.
Merely banning child labour is not a wise solution to this serious problem. Unless and until poverty is eradicated from our society, there is no way we can eliminate the menace of child labour.
Unfortunately, poverty and unemployment are on the rise. Despite the accumulation of huge foreign reserves, the benefits have not trickled down to the common man. The population of the country is increasing at an alarming rate, so is the number of child labourers year after year.
We should set our priorities right. Nukes and missiles will not feed empty stomachs, nor will they bring peace and stability in the region.
Instead of spending huge amounts on defence, the government should divert our resources towards economic development. Unless we take such a step, we will never be able to get rid of menaces such as that of child labour, nor will we be able to eradicate poverty.
ANIL KHAN LUNI
Karachi
THIS is with reference to Mr Mirajul Haq’s letter “Whither merit?” (Nov 7).
The induction of 416 persons into Pakistan International Airlines and the CAA, as told by the defence minister to the National Assembly, but without following the mode of appointment, shows that only rich and influential people have the right to get lucrative jobs, as stated by Mr Haq.
Recently, the Sindh High Court conducted a written test for the posts of judicial magistrates and civil judges, and interviews are yet to be held. However, distortion and repeated change of names in the list of candidates, who have passed the written test, is another example of violation of merit.
PIA and the Civil Aviation Authority are not the only national organizations where such malpractice is going on. Bribery and nepotism have also found their way into sacred institutions like the courts of law. It really makes the claim of merit hallowed.
Mr Haq is right when he says: “In our country, influence remains the main criterion for getting a higher position.”
ABRO HYDER ALI
Larkana
EVERY day we read shocking news about social evils and heinous crimes. The increase in such happenings is attributed mainly to inaction on the part of law and justice organizations, and to the continuation of the tribal system.
In this regard, it is newspapers, radio and television which have a vital role to play. The other day, a talk-show on Karo-kari was telecast by a private channel. The focal point of the discussion was that such killings/decisions handed out by jirgas held by tribal chieftains/sardars were against the law, as well as against Shariat.
In rebuttal was cited the need felt by the Raj to enact a law — section 304 of the PPC — whereby leniency in awarding punishment to the culprits having committed the crime under ‘sudden and grave provocation’ was recognized.
The unfortunate interpretation of the term ‘sudden and grave provocation’ covering an act of so-called honour killing by certain individuals at their whim is nothing but an act of depriving the superior courts of their constitutional right and an indication of wilful ignorance of fundamental rights and obligations, all in the name of culture.
The Constitution and the law of the land do not allow any sardar to exercise any judicial powers and perform acts ancillary thereto. The System of Sardari (Abolition) Act 1976 (Act No: XL of 1976) is still on the statute book and any contravention of its provisions invites penalty. So far, no notice of such violations has been taken by any judicial forum. On the contrary, the craze of pre-fixing the title of sardar to the names of certain bureaucrats is on the rise.
This encourages one to seek justice from the jirga system rather than from the courts on the ground that the latter adopt a lengthy procedure. Supporters of the jirga system deliberately create disruption in the existing judicial system through various tactics. Instead of bringing about improvement, they virtually hinder implementation of verdicts of the courts and attempt to coerce the successful party into agreeing to a private faisla.
It will be a service to humanity if sociologists and advocates of supremacy of law rise to the occasion and address the issue.
M.R. SOOMRO
Larkana
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