Power rate cut

DERA GHAZI KHAN, Nov 20: Tension mounted further on Thursday over occupation of a part of Dera Ghazi Khan’s central Eidgah by a group as the district government and police were not taking any measures to resolve the issue.

Some activists of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam had started constructing a seminary in the premises of Eidgah around two months ago. They had the support of Eidgah’s custodian Mufti Qazi Shamsudin, and patronage of the district government and city police.

Most members of Eidgah’s steering committee opposed the move. They were of the view that the premises should only be used for offering Eid prayers.

District Council member Usman Farooq has alleged that Zubair Bhati of Jamiat Tulaba-i-Islam, who is in charge of newly-constructed seminary, enjoys the support of District Nazim Jamal Khan Leghari. “Zubair’s brother Zulfiqar is a member of the district council and a close associate of Jamal Leghari. DSP (city) Maqbool Kamboh is also protecting him,” he said.

The dissident members started taking out processions on every Friday to protest against the ‘illegal occupation and misuse of Eidgah land’ with the support of the Jamaat-i-Islami.

Eidgah custodian Mufti Qazi Shamsudin told Dawn that 14 kanal was purchased by Anjuman Himayat-i-Islam in 1932 for the establishment of a central Eidgah in city. Tribal chief Ghous Bakhsh Mazari had provided funds for the construction of the Eidgah. It was completed in 1354 AH.

He said the seminary was set up on the part of Eidgah, which had been reserved for the construction of a mosque, rooms and lavatories.

A few days ago, some students of the Government College, with the help of JTI activists, thrashed Assistant Professor Qazi Sultan Farooq when he was delivering lecture. Qazi Farooq is stated to be a sympathizer of the Jamaat-i-Islami.

Police registered case against 20 students and IJT activists but no one could be arrested so far.

The teaching staff of the college had been boycotting classes since Nov 19 and demanding arrest of the accused.

Office-bearers of the Punjab Professors and Lecturers Association have alleged that Qazi Farooq was thrashed at the behest of Zubair Bhatti. They threatened to launch a province-wide protest if the accused were not arrested immediately.

Pleasing Europeans?

ONE should always be a little sceptical when an American president criticizes Israel. On Wednesday, in an uncharacteristically tough tone, President George Bush asked Israel to stop building “walls and fences” because that could “prejudice” the final peace settlement. On three other points he was equally blunt: Israel must stop building new settlements, dismantle the illegal ones, and end “the daily humiliation of the Palestinian people.” The remarks were made in London and clearly were directed at large sections of public opinion in Europe, where there is a strong sentiment against Israeli atrocities in the occupied territories and where legislators and leaders are not as beholden to Zionist money and influence as those in the US. It should also be noted that Mr Bush coupled his critical remarks on the Israeli fence with a renewed call for the replacement of Yasser Arafat as the supreme Palestinian leader. Hence the need for caution while welcoming Mr Bush’s comments. One only wishes that what the US president said is not going to be a one-time affair and that the principles behind these tough-sounding remarks will guide American policy towards the Middle East in the future.

It is evident that Israel does not think that there is much substance in Mr Bush’s remarks and it knows that it can continue to bank on American support. Within hours of the Bush speech, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said his government would continue to build the wall. The decision, he said, was “clear and unequivocal.” The same remains the Israeli position on settlements. The roadmap, unveiled by Mr Bush on April 30, calls for a halt to all settlement activity and the demolition of those built after March 2001. However, Israel continues to press ahead. The peace process remains dormant, because Ariel Sharon not only refuses to talk; he has raised extraneous issues and managed to get America round to its view that Yasser Arafat needs to be “removed.” This has only served to confound the real issue — the need for Israel to vacate its illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. If what Mr Bush said in London is forgotten once he crosses the Atlantic back, any pressure on Israel to abandon the building of the wall and begin negotiations with the Palestinian Authority in earnest will prove ephemeral.

Afghan challenge

THE UN’s suspension of its demining operations in Afghanistan does not augur well for a country riddled with millions of mines. The world body’s decision comes in the wake of the tragic killing of one of its aid workers of French origin over the weekend and the snatching of a UN vehicle at gunpoint on Monday in Ghazni, south of Kabul. The two incidents show once again the extent of insecurity in the country beyond Kabul, which has become relatively safe since the deployment of the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Time and again it has been argued that the scope and the mandate of ISAF — or some such multinational peacekeeping force — should be widened to enable it to be deployed across Afghanistan. This will ensure a minimum of unhindered activity by various NGOs and UN agencies, on whose work a majority of Afghans depend for subsistence.

Afghanistan today needs all the assistance it can get from the international community to recover from the devastating effects of two decades of war and civil war that have left its physical and social infrastructure in a shambles. The first priority of the government in Kabul and ISAF should be to rebuild the country’s damaged infrastructure and provide succour to the people. To return life to a semblance of normality, the warlords need to be somehow neutralized and prevented from causing trouble. The recent attacks on international relief agencies and NGO personnel, who have no agenda other than to help the destitute, point to the law of the jungle being the rule of the day in Afghanistan. It is the responsibility of the nations that pledged moral and material aid to the ravaged country at Berlin two years ago to see to it that some degree of peace and security returns to Afghanistan sooner rather than later.