| 05 January 2004 | Monday | 12 Ziqa'ad 1424 |
The curse of feudalism
Pornographic explosion
Taking a cue from euro
A sample of national attitude
UN resolutions on Kashmir
Foreign faculty
Expectations from Saarc summit
Rewarding the dutiful
Re-routing flights
Parking lots on Karachi roads
Research in Muslim world
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Democracy is a slow and painful process that takes decades to perfect. In Pakistan, democracy has never been given a chance to evolve. We have been caught up in military rules and selected democracy in between.
Since the creation of Pakistan in 1947, we have had four military dictators and leaders like Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif who hijacked the democratic process and were in reality a byproduct of martial law. They say history repeats itself. In our case maybe it repeats a little too often.
The recent decision of General Musharraf to give up his uniform for the sake of reintroducing democracy is a far cry from what needs to be done to start the democratic process. First, it has not been made clear what giving up the uniform really means.
He is in all probability an honest and sincere person, but he is not suited for this job to lead the country. He is a soldier and we need to separate state from the military before we can start to become a democratic society. The army should be there to defend our nation from the "outside" forces and in case of war.
Politicians should make policies and take economic decisions. In Pakistan, a political class has never been given a chance to evolve. We have been given the impression of a democracy of selected individuals who have come in through the backdoor, aided by the military rulers of the time. Bhutto came in as a foreign minister during a martial law and took over as a democratic leader. Nawaz Sharif came in as a finance minister during General Zia's martial law and hijacked the Muslim League to establish himself as a democratic leader.
Now, as time progresses, we will witness an evolution of a new leader. A leader who will no doubt be a byproduct of yet another military rule. It will give birth to yet another drama in the history of our nation.
If General Musharraf were really serious about restoration of democracy he would surrender the reins of power and let the democratic process begin. But this goes against his training as a soldier. Only time will tell what tomorrow unfolds and where we go from there.
SARDAR TARIQ AHMAD
Nashville, TN, USA
(2)
It is our (Pakistanis') fate that democracy in Pakistan is represented and discussed by those who do not even bother to appear in parliament to vote because of their childish and arrogant attitudes. This simply illustrates why Pakistan still faces political problems frequently such as infringement upon the rights of one political leader or individual by the other.
It is extremely disheartening to read that the president got 374 "yes" votes against 215 absent, 112 abstentions and one "no" vote. Although I support President Musharraf's policies, I believe that members of parliament in any case must appear as they are under a duty to let parliament work civilly.
In order to raise the values of politics in Pakistan our representatives need to be representing us even if it seems of little use.
The absentee MPs are doing nothing by boycotting parliament and they should retire from this profession to give a chance to those who are capable of reforming the country.
ZAYED ZAHEER
London, UK
The curse of feudalism
The new year has begun but one wonders if it will bring a positive change in the life of the common man. Most people have expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of President Pervez Musharraf and feel they have been let down by yet another leader.
A lot was expected from him because most people believe that only a military figure can change the fate of this country.
The majority of the people think that since a prime minister has to take all party members - the majority of whom belong to the feudal class - into his/her confidence, he/she has to make compromises and may not bring about radical changes needed in the country. While a military leader can bring about change in the country as lot of power is vested in him. These perceptions about a military leader are false as a military leader is also as helpless as a prime minister.
In Pakistan there is a nexus between the army, bureaucrats and feudal lords. A system has been created over decades which cannot be changed by a single leader. We live in a feudal system and it is reflected in our society. An armyman is allocated land worth millions of rupees. Thus, a new feudal class is being created by allocating such lands. It reminds one of the British rule when land was allocated for services provided to the British.
We need to abolish the feudal system if we ever wish to prosper. Unfortunately, our prime minister thinks feudalism does not exist in Pakistan.
Discriminatory laws like Hudood laws will prevail in the country as long as we have narrow-minded feudal lords in our assemblies. I am quite sure that President Musharraf wants to repeal such laws but may have been advised not to take such a step as he will have to face the wrath of religious parties. No wonder he backtracked from his words to make changes in the blasphemy laws.
Unless we abolish feudalism from our society, there will be no change in the track which we are following.
ANIL KHAN LUNI
Karachi
Pornographic explosion
In the past few years severe damage has been done to the moral fabric of our nation in general and our youth in particular. Our society is traditionally rooted in Islamic values such as respect for women, as we see them as mothers, sisters, daughters and wives.
The spread of Internet cafes and easy accessibility of youngsters to pornographic sites featuring women as an entertainment product has led to a debasement of our younger generation.
Accessing pornography has never been easier. VCDs with sexually explicit contents are common in the market, cable television has enhanced exposure by showing a variety of movies of varied contents, if not sexually explicit.
The combination of cable television, Internet and VCDs is a temptation far too great for even mature people.
The higher authorities concerned are requested to take remedial measures before a whole generation is destroyed because of our negligence.
I recommend the following measures:
1. To ensure state censorship of pornographic sites on the Internet by forcing the Internet service providers to install surfwatch, surfnanny or other such programmes that filter these sites before providing them to the population in general.
2. To eradicate VCDs that feature sexually explicit contents by conducting random raids on shops which distribute movies.
3. To set up public complaint offices where offenders can be reported and action taken against individuals on provision of evidence.
4. To set up a department to educate youngsters about the harmful influences of such practices.
5. To force the cable operators to remove channels featuring sexual contents and also to block programmes featuring nudity or semi-nudity.
DR TARIQ SULTAN TANAULI
Karachi
Taking a cue from euro
The euro is an upsurging currency against the dollar in the world. However, the dollar still has no danger from the euro.
Since capitalism took over in the world economy, the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer. This is a major drawback of this system.
The currency of a country shows the economic status of that country. The euro is the combined currency for international trade within the European Union and internationally. It has prevented the markets on macro level from lots of deficiencies like difficult access to other markets, immobilization of goods, unstable prices and smuggling.
That is why the euro has a good future. The European Union has ruled out the role of the dollar from their economies so that they can trade in healthy and productive manner. As a result, anyone can see the euro status against the dollar now.
The dollar seems to be unfortunate after the 9/11 even which upset the US economy as well. It was good thinking by a EU think-tank to introduce a new currency to get rid of the dollar's ascendancy. Because of dollar's fluctuations the whole world economy suffered.
Pakistan, too, should follow suit because the less we depend on the dollar the better for our economy. For this we need to make a union (Saarc) like the EU so that our region gets full advantages of a single currency and becomes integrated.
A regional economic body, if formed, will erode the dominance of the dollar, international organizations and the US in our country. Many international organizations, under the command of the US, are sucking the blood of developing and poor countries in the name of free market economy.
KAMRAN SAEED
Lahore
A sample of national attitude
The commissioning of the Expressway connecting Hino Chowrangi on Korangi Road and Sharea Faisal through Baloch Colony was a great relief to millions of Karachiites residing in DHA, Clifton, Qayyumabad, Azam Basti, Korangi and areas along Shaheed-i-Millat Road.
While the traffic on the Expressway has been soaring over the years, one thing remains unchanged, i.e. the zero flow of electricity to all the roadside tubelights from Baloch Colony to the corner of Khayaban-i-Ittehad and the National Highway.
It is a pity that the KESC/city government has neglected their duty for so long, besides no resident of any of the above-mentioned areas having pointed out and pursued this lapse the rectification of which could make their and their loved ones' road travel safe in a country where deaths on the road are among one of the highest in the world.
It is a sample of our national attitude of keeping our eyes closed and waiting for the ultimate without doing our duty? I hope such problems will be taken up vigorously by all citizens of our country.
SHAIKH ZAHIRUDDIN
Karachi
UN resolutions on Kashmir
This refers to Muhammad Saad Khan's letter "Musharraf's Kashmir initiative" (January 3) wherein he says the UN resolutions require Pakistan to withdraw its forces from Azad Kashmir, which will then be followed by Indian withdrawal.
Mr Khan appears to have succumbed to the Indian propaganda that the resolution calling for a plebiscite could never be implemented owing to Pakistan's failure to withdraw its forces. The UNCIP (United Nations Commission on India & Pakistan) resolution of August 13, 1948, section B (1), also states that when Pakistani forces are being withdrawn from ''the State of Jammu & Kashmir, the Government of India agrees to begin to withdraw the bulk of their forces from the State in stages to be agreed upon by the (UN) Commission".
In other words, though Pakistan was to take the first step, immediately thereafter India agreed to respond and there was to be a simultaneous staged withdrawal. This is where India blocked the process by demanding a complete Pakistani withdrawal and even demanded that forces in the Northern Areas be replaced by Indian troops.
A meeting between the representatives from both sides and the UN Security Council president, General A. G. L. McNaughton, over the modalities of the withdrawal ended in a deadlock. General McNaughton reported to the UNSC on December 22, 1949, that "there should be an agreed programme of progressive demilitarization .... so as not to cause fear at any point of time to the people on either side of the Cease Fire Line....., and to the minimum on each side compatible for local law & order....". India blocked this process throughout.
Subsequent UNSC resolutions dealt with issues on how to follow up the earlier resolutions, all evaded by India. Between 1948 and 1957 there were two UNCIP resolutions and 11 UNSC resolutions.
Nehru dilly-dallied throughout. In 1953 he demanded that the UN representative for monitoring the withdrawal be replaced by a locally agreed representative to avoid involvement of what he called "big power politics" in the region.
The UNSC draft resolution of February 21, 1957, noted demilitarization had not been achieved and called for use of a temporary UN force in connection with demilitarization. This was vetoed by the USSR. The UNSC draft resolution of June 22, 1962, called for both sides to settle the dispute in accordance with Article 33 and relevant provisions of the UN charter. It was also vetoed by the USSR.
In the UNSC 1,117th meeting on May 18, 1964, summarizing the debate on Kashmir, the UNSC president stated that "the India-Pakistan question remains on the agenda of the Security Council", notwithstanding present-day assertions that the resolutions are "outdated".
RAFI AHMED
Karachi
Foreign faculty
This refers to the letter "Hiring foreign faculty" and the report "Ogra chief's salary under attack in Senate" (Dec 20).
I am an engineer and have been working for consultant firms for eight years. I have observed that on IDA-financed projects, i.e. of the World Bank, the ADB and others, the key personnel are hired from outside Pakistan but technical experts are made available from within the country. These experts are as qualified as foreigners.
The salary package, with all facilities, that is provided to foreigners comes to more than a million rupees a month. I ask the senators why they do not discuss the hiring of foreigners.
A.A. CHANDANI
Tharparkar
Expectations from Saarc summit
With the 12th Saarc summit scheduled to begin tomorrow (January 4), the eyes of more than a billion people of South Asia gaze for better future prospects.
This can be attainable provided the two big nations in the region - Pakistan and India - strive more for accommodation and contribute more towards confidence-building measures.
Leaders of both countries have started finding ways to harness the recently generated goodwill and I believe that the summit can see some more "drastic" measures such as India agreeing to discuss laying of a gas pipeline through Pakistan and Pakistan agreeing to hand over some of the persons per list of 20 absconders provided by India.
These two measures, I am sure, would eliminate to a large extent the mutual distrust of last 56 years. Let us hope that newspaper columnists cite the people of both countries as "friendly neighbours" instead of "arch nuclear rivals".
P.C. RASTOGI
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Rewarding the dutiful
This is with reference to the letter by Brigadier A. S. Nasir (January 2) regarding the security personnel who sacrificed their lives during a suicide attack on the president in Rawalpindi on December 25.
It is surprising that nothing has been published in Pakistan newspapers about these young men who gave their lives to save the life of the president. Had they been in the West, they would have probably been treated differently.
They were heroes, and we should pay tribute to them for being dutiful.
I think the president should honour these young men with posthumous medals for their national responsibility and outstanding courage.
DR ASHRAF KHAN
Hackensack, NJ, USA
Re-routing flights
As many flights to and from Islamabad have been cancelled and some others have been re-routed for January 3 and 4 for specific hours in order to ensure strict security during the 12th Saarc summit beginning today in the federal capital.
Of course, we understand the need of high security in this regard but I wonder how our government will compensate the loss of a person who wants to reach Islamabad or depart from there in case of any emergency during these specific hours?
NABIHA GUL
Karachi
Parking lots on Karachi roads
I was pleased to read in your newspaper that the Karachi nazim has decided to beautify I. I. Chundrigar Road, with the help of financial institutions.
I have been commuting through I. I. Chundrigar Road for the last 12 years and have never found an appropriate parking spot on this road. Drivers are at the mercy of a strong parking mafia that not only charges a good sum of money for a one-time parking but also mishandles cars. Subsequently, double-parking results in unnecessary traffic fines, adding to the miseries of the general public.
The issue of parking is one of the most important challenges that must be overcome while beautifying I. I. Chundrigar Road. If one takes a view of the road from atop the Habib Bank Plaza, a vast unused area of the Pakistan Railways can be seen.
It is suggested that the authorities coordinate with the Pakistan Railways to carve out huge parking spaces adjacent to the whole stretch of the road beginning from the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) office all the way to Tower.
The Pakistan Railways can set up parking plazas throughout its premises parallel to I. I. Chundrigar Road and the amount collected as fees can be used to re-arrange the train tracks.
AHMER N. JAKARTAWALA
Karachi
Research in Muslim world
Please refer to a news item in Dawn of December 27 regarding a $11.61 million budget approved by the 11th general assembly of the Organization of Islamic Conference.
The fund has been okayed for Comstec (Committee for Scientific and Technological Cooperation) for the next two years.
The news report quoted the minister for science and technology as saying that the Islamic countries were "lagging behind the West in every field of life, the OIC member-countries were spending only 0.1 to 0.2 per cent of their small GDPs on scientific research. On the other hand, they were spending as much as seven per cent of their GDPs on defence and contributed less than one per cent to the world's scientific literature".
Moreover, he said that "95 per cent of the new scientific development in the world is being made by the developed countries".
The allocation of mere $11.61 million for scientific research will not make any significant difference in the Muslim world. Therefore, the budget allocated seems no more than a symbolic gesture.
TANWEER HUSSAIN
Darmstadt, Germany
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