| December 29, 2003 | Monday | Ziqa’ad 5, 1424 |
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What electricity consumers ignore
In defence of Musharraf
Sales tax-registered persons
‘An unhealthy dependence’
Imparting quality education
Eradicating stray dogs
Govt-MMA accord
Complaint to CDA
‘An emerging India’
Using rivers
CNICs — a bottomless pit
ONE fails to understand the outburst of protests in the Muslim World against the decision by President Chirac to ban the veil for Muslim students studying in France. The ban is also on Christian and Jewish students for display of the cross and wearing of skull cap by orthodox Jews, respectively.
If the Saudis and other Muslim nations can enforce the wearing of the veil or “abaya” by non-Muslims, how can they object when others enforce similar restrictions?
France, a secular state, has evolved this policy for all students, so as to help it raise a more coherent and liberal generation. This restriction is not applicable to students outside the school or college/university premises.
In any case, a family or individual who migrates to another nation must make himself acceptable socially and learn the language of the host state. It is also incumbent upon all immigrants to avoid any cultural segregation and make themselves acceptable.
In Europe and the US, the state is secular and has no religion. If such conditions are not acceptable to the immigrants, they have the right to return to their countries of origin.
Muslim majority countries in name, but are Islamic states, the fact remains that they do not qualify as such. Monarchy and dictatorial/ martial rule are not allowed in Islam. The only form of governance which is akin to Islamic concept is rule of democracy.
Although Pakistan’s Constitution requires that all laws repugnant to the holy Quran and Sunnat should be revoked, the tragedy is that in practice this does not happen. The practice of karo-kari, a traditional pre-Islamic pagan tribal ritual, practised by a male-dominated society, continues without any threat or fear of accountability.
The National Assembly, which has over 80 members from various religious parties under the banner of the MMA, witnessed the shooting down of a bill ironically proposed by a Hindu MNA, that aimed to pass a law prohibiting the pre-Islamic pagan practice of karo-kari.
Women continue to be denied any share of ancestral property, although this is elaborated in the holy Quran. Feudals continue to marry their daughters and sisters to the Quran, to retain their land-holdings and get away with making a mockery of Islam.
Hypocrisy, illiteracy and dictatorial rule are predominant in the Islamic world. The sole exception is Malaysia, where Islam is practised as a religion and not as a ritual.
An Islamic state is purely a secular state that allows freedom of expression and religious practice by an individual. It is incumbent upon an Islamic government to cater for the welfare of its population, and provide health care, education and rule of law.
In Pakistan, the state takes care of only the welfare of those who are paid to serve the masses, namely, the bureaucracy and armed forces. The recent announcement of Punjab’s chief minister to provide housing for all government servants baffles my imagination.
This government wants the private sector to provide education, health, security services, roads, airports, etc., whilst it builds palatial palaces, officer’s messes, state guest houses and housing societies like DHA for the ruling elite.
TAHIR HASSAN
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
THE minister for water & power, Aftab Sherpao (as earlier the previous Wapda chairman, Gen Zulfikar Khan) has tried to show in the Senate that the escalation in electricity costs since 1999 has been less than 17 per cent, while the costs of other utilities/services (air fares, railway fares, postage, gas, petrol, phone line-rent, etc.) have increased by 50 to 135 per cent over the same period.
This welcome control on the irrational mushrooming of electricity rates is because of the good work being done by Nepra, the electricity power regulator and a few interveners who regularly participate in tariff hearings. The utility companies are, under law, required to demonstrate prudence (a rare commodity in this country), and are not allowed to pass on to consumers the profligate costs of maladministration and corruption.
Among the factors that have been repeatedly identified as contributing to the imprudent expenditure of Wapda/KESC are excessive technical and commercial (theft) losses, inefficient operation and maintenance practices, non-recovery of dues, especially from the government, Fata, etc., and crippling fuel and IPP contracts.
Consumers have refused to pay for the 25 per cent of electricity that is being stolen from the KESC. On the other hand, fuel-cost hikes are ‘passed through’ to consumers during quarterly Nepra reviews.
Most consumers feel the pinch of high electricity rates, but seem to ignore the well-publicized periodic invitations in the press from Nepra to come forward and ventilate their grievances at tariff hearings. Like the man who kept praying to God for a multi-million-dollar prize in a lottery, but neglected to buy a ticket for the same, Pakistani citizens feel that their civic and environmental problems will get solved by merely whining and complaining at dinner parties, social gatherings and other get-togethers.
It should be an eye-opener for all of us that the transparent Nepra process has been able to keep a lid on imprudent cost increases, with the assistance of a few consumers and advocacy groups that participate and fight. Just imagine how much more could be done if other citizens joined in the fray.
Life continues to deteriorate in this country not because the bad guys are doing the wrong things (after all, that’s what they are supposed to do), but because the good guys don’t have the time and interest to do the right things and stop the bad guys.
ROLAND DeSOUZA
Karachi
I WOKE up last Thursday morning to a TV report dissecting the recent attack on President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s life. Pakistan was painted as an anarchic society; the president described as a leader at the helm of a trembling government on the verge of collapse. Gen Musharraf, much to my chagrin, was depicted as an unpopular leader with no support base in the country — caught in the middle between the religious parties on the one hand and secular politicians on the other.
No doubt, Gen Musharraf has been facing some serious opposition from both these political factions, but to characterize our country as one on the verge of collapse and our president as someone worthy of absolutely no support base is nothing but a blatant display of naivete by a news reporter focusing on the negative.
My reaction was to dismiss it as such. But the report continued to haunt my thoughts the rest of the day. What must the average American viewer think of Pakistan when he sees something like this? And why is it that every time I tell a colleague at work that my parents are visiting Pakistan for the holidays, his eyes glare at me as if I were crazy to be acting cheerful at work when I should be solemn at home, praying for my family’s safety?
Blaming the foreign media for these misperceptions, however, only goes so far. We, the silent majority, are equally to blame. I was fortunate enough to attend President Musharraf’s address to the Pakistani New York community this past fall. In marked contrast to so many of his predecessors, he laid out the facts. And the facts speak for themselves: a declining foreign debt, a burgeoning stock market, etc, etc.
You can disagree with some of his policies, perhaps even most of them. I for one certainly do not agree with everything he says or does. But you cannot disagree with the man’s intentions and sincerity of purpose. And you can’t discount the progress he has made.
OMER ISMAIL
New York, NY, USA
EVERY now and then the Central Board of Revenue is taking some necessary measure to increase the number of sales tax-registered persons but hindrances are created by multinational companies in the sales made to a registered person.
Under the Sales Tax Act 1990, a registered retailer is required to charge 15 per cent sales tax on the supplies made to an end-consumer, but 15 per cent sales tax is paid by that retailer on purchases made by him. This means that no money is required to be deposited in government treasury except for differences due to inventory fluctuation which are subsequently adjusted in the future month’s sales tax return.
Uni-Lever Pakistan Ltd has a policy that sales will not be made to a registered retailer at 15 per cent, instead 18 per cent sales tax will be charged from a registered retailer. This policy led to straight three per cent amount being paid extra from the pocket of a registered retailer and which is in contravention of section 3 of the Sales Tax Act 1990, whereby further tax at three per cent will not be charged from the registered person.
When companies are creating problems in making sales to a registered person, how can one expect an unregistered person to come forward and get himself registered?
I request the sales tax department to look into this matter as to why three per cent additional sales tax is being charged from the registered retailer by Uni-Lever Pakistan Ltd.
AAMIR HASSAN ALI
Karachi
THIS refers to the article “An unhealthy dependence” By Dr Iffat Idris (December 25).
There is a wide gap between the government of Britain and the government of Pakistan. If people make up the governments, all one needs is to look at both nations and see if we are equal and if we behave equal.
Let us only take education as a criterion of being a “healthy dependence” government. How do we compare? I am sure we all are aware of the statistics on education in Pakistan.
To build institutions, one needs to build the people. President Gen Musharraf, in my opinion, is trying to do just that. If we can only figure out ways to help him, we can be compared fairly to the governments of Britain and the US and will not be dependent on someone who is trying to make us dependent.
WASEEM SUFI
Via email
THIS is apropos of the government’s recent initiative to hire foreign faculty to teach at local universities, with the objective of improving the standard of education in the country.
Hiring foreign teachers will be very expensive and a burden on our economy. A better idea is to concentrate on streamlining our resources in the educational sector.
We have with us a wealth of highly qualified university professors and teachers with PhD degrees in their various fields. These teachers, if provided with the required modern resources, can impart quality education.
The virtual medium of Internet education only requires a simple infrastructure, with the only requirement being access to a computer and the Internet.
The government seems to have already taken a step in this direction by initiating a Virtual University project, which is a valuable teaching method. According to the prospectus of the university, it has teachers with PhD degrees in various disciplines, who can impart quality education at par with the international standard.
The government should concentrate on building up this university and creating awareness about it, as it provides a uniform system of education to students in all parts of the country by overcoming the boundaries of time and space. If steered in the correct direction, this is a model of how modern technology can benefit Pakistan and its students within the available resources.
I hope the government will realize this and, instead of hiring foreign teaching staff, will concentrate on improving the educational system.
KHURRAM ZIA KHAN
Rawalpindi
WITH reference to Mr Mumtaz Piracha’s complaint of dog-bites, the following are some of the suggestions to grapple with the issue:
1. Get each locality together and plan action to eradicate stray dogs form the entire city. Options are poison, guns, capture and export to dog-eating countries.
2. A body should be formed and a proper plan chalked out after consultation with the area nazim to help with the contacts in the embassies.
The time has come when Pakistani communities in cities should get together and help eradicate issues like the menace of stray dogs.
3. Issues must be kept to simple nuisance ones as the logistics becomes too difficult as issues get tangled with policymakers, local police and administrative departments.
4. The government cannot solve all issues for whatever reasons or motives. Some issues can be handled on a self-help basis. Waiting for something to happen or to be done by someone else has never borne fruit.
5. Issues must be handled by all concerned. Remember to get into social and nuisance issues only.
DR OMER KIANI
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
THE agreement between the government and the MMA on the LFO issue in which the former acceded to almost all demands of the latter is an indicator of unfortunate things to come. Who is to say that the MMA will not renege on its promise of not being a party to opposing a vote of confidence for President Musharraf?
Moreover, the religious parties emboldened by their victory will again demand imposition of Shariat laws and standing up to the Americans, which can only spell trouble for Pakistan’s national interests.
In the face of two recent attacks on the president’s life: one through the introduction of the horrific tactics of suicide bombing heretofore unknown in Pakistan, the strengthening of the religious parties in parliament taken together with the new determination of the terrorists is an ominous development.
Had President Musharraf been firm and resolute in his crackdown on the terrorist groups and had he considered graduation from madressahs inadequate to satisfy the graduation requirement for election to parliament, he would not be facing the double-barrelled attacks from the religious quarters.
Pakistan stands at a crossroads today. Should President Musharraf fail and the religious right prevails, the nuclear capabilities of Pakistan will undoubtedly be neutralized, making this country subservient to the whims of India which no Pakistani, including the mullahs who have little use for nationalism, would want.
M. HAIDER
New Jersey, USA
THIS is with reference to the delay in the development of sectors D-12 and E-12 of Islamabad. This is so in spite of the fact that people purchased plots in these sectors and paid development charges to the CDA many years ago.
The CDA charges a transfer fee when a property, which only exists on paper, is sold/resold in these sectors. There is no place in the world where this type of practice exists.
Many doctors, engineers and businessmen have been investing money in the areas for many years, but in vain.
The CDA chairman is requested to ensure development of these areas without any further delay.
MUZAFFAR GILL
Islamabad
IN a otherwise factual article “An Emerging India”, Mr Shahid Javed Burki has inadvertently missed the contents of a recently released and much commented upon report by the reputable American firm of Bankers Goldman Sachs.
The report points to India’s eventual emergence as an economic superpower by 2030. India would have by then overtaken Japan and the European Union in terms of GDP.
The Indian economy would be the third largest in the world. Only America and China would be ahead of India. Contents of this report has been published in the west European press and put on the electronic media.
SHANTI MADLANI
London, UK
THE end of the five-year war in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zaire has revived the river transportation on the 1700-kilometre-long stretch from the capital Kinshasa to Kisangani (Dawn, Dec 16).
What is stopping us from using our rivers for transportation from Karachi to Kashmir? S. NAYYAR IQBAL RAZA
Karachi
OUR MNAs sleep-walked through the National Registration Act, 1973, without studying the expense and trouble it would cause. The government and the public have spent billions of rupees and millions of man-hours on NICs.
Petty officials and policemen have extorted billions in bribes to issue NICs to genuine and bogus applicants, to amend them, to replace the lost ones, and from those who cannot show them on demand. Millions of dollars have been spent on computers and photographic equipment.
The NIC scheme did not stop millions of Afghan refugees from pouring in, nor did it check tens of thousands of illegal immigrants coming in through India. Law and order has gone to the dogs.
The NICs have not added to our prosperity. We have got so used to them that we forget that before this scheme we had healthy economic growth. To quote Raaz Allahabadi:
Itney maanoos sayyaad sey ho gayey,
gar rihaayi mileygi to mar jaayengey
India has done well without NICs.
Perhaps NICs have some utility. But the balance is heavily against them. In a poor country, there are far better uses for this money and effort. For example, this money can be spent on upgrading our police force, on improving the surveillance of our borders, and on modernizing birth registration. More than 70 million Pakistani children were born after 1973, and should have been issued birth certificates under international commitments made by us.
In 1996, the government decided on a computerised national citizens’ database, and signed a contract for Rs2.13 billion for computers. This project has been mindlessly continued by succeeding governments. It is hard to stop an administrative juggernaut when so many profit by it.
In 1998, there were 61 million people aged 18 or more. After 30 years, the government proudly announces that 30 million ID cards have been issued. This leaves 31 million people who can be harassed by policemen and petty officialdom for not having a card.
Twenty-three years ago, in a letter dated April 10, 1980, to the interior ministry, I pointed out the futility of this scheme. All my forebodings have proved correct. Twenty-three years from now, we will still be chasing this bureaucratic mirage.
The crowning insult is to announce that the old cards will become ineffective after January 2004, according to the latest report in the press. When will we cut our losses, and stop pouring time and money into this bottomless pit?
SAMEE-UL-HASAN
Karachi
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