| 13 January 2004 | Tuesday | 20 Ziqa'ad 1424 |
Preparing for Indian tour
Heavy vehicles on Karachi roads
Child abuse and media
The many shades of 'stand-up'
Why tuition culture is taking root
Leadership's responsibility
Saarc: access to information
Absence of teachers
Seeking degrees
Scholarships
Learning from Afghan constitution
'Academic wrangling'
Kurram Agency
Occupied land
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This refers to Mr Pervez Hoodbhoy's article "Rethinking plebiscite" (December 29). Saying that the passage of five decades and changed geopolitical circumstances, including the lately emerging Kashmiris' demands for independence, he rules out a plebiscite.
The right of self-determination is an inherent birthright of every people. It cannot, therefore, lapse, whatever the reason. Moreover, to ensure justice, both Indian and Pakistan troops should be replaced by UN peace forces on both sides of the LoC.
Conscious as New Delhi is that the Kashmiris hate their plight and consider the Indians as aliens is the reason why New Delhi is against holding plebiscite; the fear of genocide against the thinly-spread-out Muslims at the hands of the Hindus has been the pretext to avoid the plebiscite.
If one goes by the indications like the CIA fabricating a new map of J & K showing the Indian-held territory east of the LoC as "the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir" and the rest as "Pakistan-controlled areas of Kashmir, it would seem that the powers-that-be have made up their minds to settle the Kashmir dispute according to some agenda of their own, ignoring the wishes of the Kashmiris.
It is hard to understand how on earth J & K, described by the UNSC as a territory over which the sovereign rights belong only to the Kashmiris, can be given to India on a silver platter just because the CIA is an agency of the superpower. That would mean that 80,000 people martyred by the Indians forces in 14 years was in vain.
Taking advantage of the new map of the CIA, an Indian spokesman once briefed reporters that the Indian parliament had passed resolution claiming that J&K was an integral part of India and that the next time talks were held over Kashmir, they would be about the areas under Pakistan's control.
Any settlement of the Kashmir issue which makes the LoC the northern extension of the Indo-Pakistan border will be rejected by the Kashmiris. Neither Pakistan nor India can have any claim on any part of J & K, without the consent of the Kashmiris.
However, New Delhi's rulers can earn a name for themselves in history if they respond positively to the advice Mr A. R. Kumar, an Indo-American of Logan, Utah, US, has given in Dawn of February 10, 1998, under the heading "Pakistan-India amity" in the last para: "All should realize that India cannot be forced out of Kashmir - they will withdraw honourably if at all it comes to that." Whether the New Delhi rulers want to be reckoned as giants or pygmies, the choice is theirs.
JALAL AHMED
Karachi
Preparing for Indian tour
I disagree with Naima Aslam Khan ("Victory at Wellington", January 10) that it was only Shoaib Akhtar's performance that won the Test match for Pakistan. I think it was a team effort.
No doubt, Akhtar's effort was remarkable due to which the match took a complete U-turn in favour of Pakistan, but as is usually the case Pakistan's weak batting also clicked, especially in the second innings. How many times in Pakistan's cricket history have we managed to score more than 250 runs in the fourth innings to win a match comfortably outside Pakistan?
I agree with Ms Khan's points regarding preparation for the upcoming Indian tour. I understand, there are cricket experts already busy planning game strategies considering Pakistan's strengths and weaknesses. The Indians are on a high after their great performance against the powerful Aussies in Australia. We really need to think hard if we want to perform better than the Indian team's present strength and morale.
We must consider the following:
1. The wickets will play an important role and the outcome of the series will depend a lot on the type of wickets prepared.
2. Shaoib Akhtar's fitness will be critical. He should be played and rested according to his and the team's requirement.
3. Despite good and consistent batting performance from some of the young ones, our batting is still vulnerable. We either need Yousuf Youhana or Inzamamul Haq to change gear and play a critical 'sheet-anchor' role in the middle-order during this series.
AMYN LAKHANI
Karachi
Heavy vehicles on Karachi roads
One cannot deny the fact that roads in Karachi are not meant for heavy-duty vehicles like oil tankers, water tankers, container trailers and hosts of others that are seen moving in all parts of the city 24 hours a day and creating hazardous conditions for the public.
Irrespective of the time factor, these vehicles are using roads in the city and killing innocent people, without any fear of law or punishment. Your subscribers read such news every day. These heavy vehicles, usually with registrations from cities other than Karachi, just to save a few thousand rupees make maximum use of roads in the city, damaging them to the utmost inconvenience of those who pay road taxes every year.
It is always a merry time for these vehicles, as the authorities concerned do not check them under the specific law, if in existence, in the context of registration requirements.
Not long ago such vehicles were not allowed to be on the roads during rush hours in the morning and the evening by creating a time-zone factor. No such arrangements are seen. Whether the government has removed them or it is a unilateral action of the owners of these vehicles in total defiance of the law is not known to anyone. Whatever the case may be, the plying of heavy vehicles during rush hours is one of themajor causes of serious road accidents in which precious lives are lost. It is time the authorities concerned took steps to provide safety to the people of Karachi.
M ASIF DAR
Karachi
Child abuse and media
It is more than shocking to read in newspapers that a girl of three years of age was recently married to a seven-year-old boy in Sindh. It is worse that the Pakistan government machinery is doing nothing and our politicians are just fighting over petty issues of a personal nature. Where are the courts? Where are the police? Where are the religious and political leaders?
While living in the West, I have observed that the media keeps tabs on the government and pushes the social and political agenda, but in Pakistan the media is not playing its due role in mitigating the social ills that our society is increasingly facing. I can well imagine what would happen if something of this nature happened in Canada where I am currently residing.
We don't have laws that can protect a child from abuse. I wonder if we even have a definition of child abuse in the first place. Though the above example of abuse is of an extreme nature, there are many forms of abuse which children in our society face on a daily basis. Our children do face corporal punishment in schools, mosques and at homes. Moreover, our religious and political leaders have a 'who cares' attitude towards these social ills.
We not only need laws which can protect those who are weaker, especially children and women in our society, but also require a strong commitment on the part of society as a whole. We can't progress socially and economically unless every segment of society plays its due role.
SHAKEEL NIZAMANI
Toronto, Canada
The many shades of 'stand-up'
This refers to the letter "The many shades of 'stand-up'" (January 11) by Mr Omar R. Quraishi. If Mr Quraishi had looked up the meanings of 'stand-up' in the Webster's Dictionary, I am sure his confusion would have been removed.
First, Mr Bush is an American and looking up the meanings of phrases delivered by an American in British sources like the Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries, and Wordsworth's work is unjust.
Secondly, the use of the word "guy", whose literal meaning is "a rope that holds things together firmly", in the sense of "a man or a boy" clearly reflects the quality of being firm.
The primary and secondary meanings of "stand-up" as an adjective are "standing upright or erect" and "high, stiff and without monologues". The use of this phrase to mean "of a comedian delivering jokes continuously in a standing position" is pure Americanism.
Also, it requires specifying words like "performer", "comedian", "artists" and so on, and not a general term like "guy", which infers the reflection of only the primary or secondary meanings.
SYED ABDUL RAFAY
Hyderabad
Why tuition culture is taking root
With reference to the letter "Tuition culture" (January 12) by Shahzeem Bhayani, I would like to comment that a sensible approach for understanding any problem is to address its root cause.
The root cause for the proliferation of tuition culture is unemployment. The other reason is that teachers are not paid what they deserve. So, they embark upon opening tuition centres and giving private tuitions. In fact, it has become an easy source of minting money.
Some unscrupulous people have also stepped into this high growth sector. They presume that it's the only orphan child which you can exploit to the extreme. Nobody will account for this. Even the government will not come to the rescue.
In fact, it turns out that the government is also a party to this (allocating peanuts from the budget to the education sector) by not taking any policy measures to reduce unemployment.
To put the house in order, the government needs to address the issue of unemployment and concerns of the teachers.
GHULAM HYDER SHAIKH
Karachi
Leadership's responsibility
Talk of accepting or not accepting as a permanent border the Line of Control to resolve the Kashmir issue seems inappropriate. I do like the idea of prompt election of new legislatures in both Azad Kashmir and the Indian-held Kashmir, with then a joint or merged parliament to be loosely overseen by both Pakistan and India during a transition period. This, in turn, should lead to a non-religious but political amalgamation aimed at achieving political and economic freedom for all Kashmiris as a future independent nation-state.
The people of Kashmir need a unified economy which, in turn, is smoothly integrated into and accepted by the economies of all nations of South Asia, great and small. Tourism in Kashmir will be strong once again if a unified Kashmir is created.
Right now positive leadership on the part of both President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is critical to any future peace talks aimed at resolving the Kashmir dispute. These men must lead, not follow, public opinion.
The fact that a start toward some degree of democracy in Afghanistan is under way is good news, and should reflect well inside and to all Pakistanis who can understand world and regional affairs without resort to religious fanaticism.
But the religious sects within Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and Iraq, for starters, must be allowed to peacefully and safely practice their own beliefs as well. The whole concept of religious freedom is especially critical to finding and maintaining a lasting peace in what hopefully will become a unified free nation of Kashmir with right of dual citizenship to be a free choice with either Pakistan or India.
GEORGE L. SINGLETON
Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Saarc: access to information
This refers to the section on information and communication in the Saarc Islamabad declaration. It is regrettable that certain crucial provisions are missing from the declaration. The governments of the South Asian region should have at least committed themselves to:
1. Free access to information through availability of publications across all borders.
2. An assurance that television channels of other countries will not be banned.
3. An end to propaganda in the official media channels.
4. An end to stereotypical depiction of citizens of other countries whose culture or religion may be different.
5. Regular and objective coverage of all member countries.
Experience shows that special slots such as those proposed in the declaration - Saarc Roundup and Saarc News - have little viewership and interest.
ZOHRA YUSUF
Karachi
Absence of teachers
This is apropos of the report "Report reveals irregularities: varsity promotions, appointments" (January 5).
I am a student at the department of International Relations, University of Peshawar. You will be shocked to know that from December 1 to 20 the department only had one teacher out of the seven faculty members. Two of the teachers were on a tour in China, three female teachers were on leave all at the same time, while one of the teachers who recently returned from studying abroad has not given any lectures in the last six months.
This clearly shows severe administrative weakness in the affairs of the department. The chairman of the department is often busy handling extra-curricular activities of the university.
We, the students of the department, request the chancellor to take timely action against those responsible and accountable for irregularities.
CONCERNED STUDENTS
Peshawar
Seeking degrees
We did our BCS (Hons) from the Hamdard University, Faisalabad campus, three years ago, but we have not yet received our degrees. This has put us in an awkward situation as we cannot apply for jobs in the absence of degrees.
When we ask the university administration when they are holding the convocation, their pet reply is that it will be held soon.
But the registrar of the Hamdard University, Karachi, says that the chairman of the Hamdard University, Faisalabad campus, has not paid their dues, because of which the Karachi campus is not providing them with degrees.
It is a pity that because of their internal tussle, we are made to suffer. With the Sindh education ministry help us get our degrees?
UMAR IKRAM
Faisalabad
Scholarships
It is good that Ecnec has approved a Rs4.26 billion scheme for overseas PhD scholarships. But the question is: what will this do? Is it aimed at getting more PhDs with public money? The fact is no PhD wants to serve any public institution unless matching incentives are ensured. This way the government spends money to drain out the brain.
I suggest that Dr Attaur Rehman should consider stopping PhDs from public money. Offer Rs25,000 as foreign university PhD allowance and Rs10,000 as local university PhD allowance across the board. See the results.
NIGHAT JABBAR KHARAL
Karachi
Learning from Afghan constitution
It is of much solace for many around the globe that Afghanistan has successfully adopted a new constitution. I went through its salient features and found that we, in Pakistan, can learn a lot from this.
President General Pervez Musharraf has been very keen to talk about checks and balances. He should see the checks and balances introduced in the constitution of Afghanistan. The Afghan president will be answerable to parliament, and all the appointments made by president would need ratification of parliament.
The other important lesson is declaration of regional languages as official languages in the regions where they are spoken. Pakistan should also reconsider the treatment it is meting out to the languages its own people speak. Our regional languages, though spoken by vast numbers of people, have no official status.
I hope we learn something from our next-door neighbour.
SAFEER ULLAH KHAN
Islamabad
'Academic wrangling'
This refers to Dr Shahida Wazarat's letter (January 11) regarding mismanagement of Karachi University affairs. How is Karachi University expected to survive in the years to come? We read about and remember the time when Professor A. B. A Haleem, pro-vice chancellor of Aligarh University, the arsenal of Muslim India, was sent to Karachi to establish the university, and now it has been reduced to its current state.
Educational institutions can't be left at the mercy of adventurists who have their own agenda. Education, just as religious institutions, has failed to find due respect in Pakistan.
I urge the Sindh governor, who is also the chancellor of Karachi University, to take immediate and serious notice of what Dr Shahida Wizarat has said, and to act swiftly.
ALI ASHRAF KHAN
Karachi
Kurram Agency
According to a news item, Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed upon opening a third trade route at Qila Ghulam Khan, 15 kilometres north of Miranshah in the Waziristan agency, bordering Khost.
When Afghanistan was invaded by the Soviets in December 1979, Kurram Agency became an important route for human and material supply to ouster the Soviet forces from the country.
What I don't understand is why they ignored this important route when it came to the economic development of the area. Through these columns I request the two MNAs of Khurram Agency to explain what they are going to do about this.
DR GHAYUR AYUB
Islamabad
Occupied land
I made two appeals to President Musharraf, the first on June 11 and the second on November 29 last year. Although the president has time and again given an assurance that justice will be done, my case seems to have escaped his attention.
The army held on to my land, situated at Mauza Charrar in Lahore, and though it was claimed to be required for defence purposes, it has not been put to any use, except that plots have been sold to civilians who have built their houses.
If that is a "defence purpose", my land should be restored to me so that I too can build a house.
SHAHID K. DHAR
Islamabad
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