| 01 February 2004 | Sunday | 09 Zilhaj 1424 |
Debriefing of nuclear scientists
Camp office for Indian visa
Women lawmakers' responsibility
Law college tuition fees
Leave Basant alone
Remembering Hamid Jatoi
OGDC's working
Ban on student unions
US visa
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Reports from the World Health Organization indicate serious concerns for human health, as well as for agriculture and the poultry industry, due to the outbreak of avian (bird) flu. It is important for the general public to understand the reasons for this concern.
The human influenza virus changes its form and hence its virulence from time to time. Every few years the virus changes into an entirely different strain. Since the population has no defensive antibodies against the new strain, the disease results in severe manifestation. Older persons and those with weak immune systems obviously suffer the most, while the young and healthy recover. This is why the elderly and those with heart or lung disease are advised to receive the flu vaccine annually since it only covers for the current strain.
Avian flu is fast coming up on the world scene. The virus of avian flu resembles that of human flu but affects only birds, causing them to bleed internally and drop dead. The virus is excreted in birds' faeces which easily disperse into the environment and spread to other birds, be they chickens, other domesticated or migratory birds. The virus can survive in tissues and faeces of diseased birds for long periods of time at normal to freezing temperatures.
The avian flu virus does not normally cause disease in humans; however, if inhaled by persons already infected with the human flu virus, it may incorporate itself into the genome of the human virus, producing a mutant strain which can then spread from person to person, potentially causing a severe disease of epidemic proportions. Already more and more people have got infected with this new strain of virus (known as H5N1) in Southeast Asia, and several deaths have been reported. WHO sends out daily bulletins on its developments.
For obvious reasons birds cannot be vaccinated. The only way to eliminate the virus is to cull (destroy) birds. In Holland in 2003 there was an outbreak among poultry with a highly infectious strain H7N7. Within a week 30 million poultry were culled. Similarly, in Vietnam and Hong Kong birds are being rapidly culled. Culling must be done scientifically, and operators must be fully protected with masks, gowns and gloves.
The general-secretary of the Pakistan Poultry Association in his letter to Dawn (January 24) assures us that "research studies indicate that birds and broilers are not infected with any disease". The scientific community in Pakistan must know where and what kind of "research studies" have been conducted. Only WHO's-authenticated studies have any credibility in any country in the world.
DR NASEEM SALAHUDDIN
President, Infectious Disease Society of Pakistan, Karachi
(2)
I draw your attention to a very serious matter that is making us a laughing stock of the international scientific communities. A deluge of statements and counter-statements are being made by competent people or otherwise in the print and electronic media on bird flu - a matter that calls for proper knowledge and technological expertise.
Avian influenza is nothing new and occurs all over the world. It is not difficult for poultry farmers themselves to protect their flocks through pre-emptive measures like foolproof quarantine and biological security on their own premises.
Instead of creating unnecessary panic and aimlessly discussing the issue in the media, what is most urgently required of our public health sector is that it should acquire the latest diagnostic techniques based on isolation and precise identification of the virus. How will the infection be diagnosed and confirmed in case the virus does cross over the species' barrier and infect human beings which it is capable of doing under conditions that are beyond our frontiers?
Whatever information is currently available may not be generally applicable since it is based on work done in veterinary laboratories and specifically pertains to poultry.
DR M. S. JAFFERY
Ex-president, Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council, Karachi
Debriefing of nuclear scientists
This refers to the ongoing debriefing of nuclear scientists which should immediately be stopped. This is no way of treating men who have done years of service to the nation. We should trust our heroes. No one can make a nuclear bomb without scientists and engineers.
The government should honour Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan for his untiring efforts to make the motherland strong, and should immediately bring an end to the debriefing of our scientists.
MUHAMMAD SOHAIB
Rawalpindi
(2)
As a supporter of President Pervez Musharraf and his handling of Pakistan after 9/11, I am thoroughly disgusted at the way his government is treating our esteemed scientists. It is very disheartening to hear that nuclear scientists are being blamed for the alleged proliferation of nuclear technology.
It is totally inconceivable for any Pakistani to believe that scientists will proliferate nuclear technology without either covert or overt approval from the government and the military high-ups.
SHARIQ ATA
Lake in the hills, IL., USA
(3)
One couldn't resist admiring the letter "Courtesy isn't always the best policy" by Mr A. B. Shahid (January 26).
Not only has he comprehensively brought facts to the attention of the readership but also suggested how the government can effectively direct this international media propaganda towards real proliferators of nuclear technology.
Although President Pervez Musharraf has made it abundantly clear in an interview in Davos that the metallurgy involved in such proliferation can safely point fingers towards Europe, is it not ironical that while one of our neighbours honours its scientists by making one of them president, we detain our national heroes for questioning?
ABDUL SALAM DADABHOY
Karachi
Camp office for Indian visa
It is a matter of great relief to know that India and Pakistan have mutually agreed to open camp visa offices in Karachi and Mumbai to help people acquire visas. Credit goes to President General Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee whose wisdom of finding a solution to Kashmir through peaceful means has started showing results.
For opening the camp visa office in Karachi, the president of the Federation of Pakistan Chamber and Commerce (FPCCI) has offered the premises of the Federation House situated near Clifton. The offer has been turned down by Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Shivshankar Menon with thanks. According to Mr Menon, the camp visa office will be opened in a hotel in Karachi.
I have a few suggestions to make to the Indian High Commissioner in connection with opening of the camp visa office and issuance of Indian visas:
1. The FPCCI offer should be reviewed by the high commissioner because the space required to deal with the expected crowd of visa seekers is available in the compound of the Federation House. Any hotel in Karachi will not be able to accommodate the rush of visa applicants.
2. Separate counters for the submission of visa applications should be set up for people belonging to the age group of 60 and above.
3. Visa applications of women who are Indian born and have obtained Pakistani citizenship after marrying Pakistanis should be given priority and visas should be issued to them and their spouse/children.
4. Immediate issuance of visas to businessmen must be ensured, instead of processing their applications in three weeks.
5. Visa applications of people intending to visit India for treatment should be given priority.
It is also important that the Karachi administration provides security to the staff of the Indian camp visa office, and the government should ensure that personnel of different security agencies do not harass visa seekers outside the visa office.
M. RAFIQUE ZAKARIA
Karachi
Women lawmakers' responsibility
It is disheartening that at a time when there are more than 60 women legislators in parliament, crimes against women continue unabated. Over the years there has been a surge in the number of crimes committed against women.
In our milieu it is not uncommon that women are treated as possessions/commodities. Violent/heinous crimes against women occur through the length and breadth of the country, but they are commoner in rural and far-flung areas.
Although in urban areas where the literacy rate is higher, men have discarded anti-women tribal and feudal customs and traditions to a great extent, reports on abuse of women appear in the press frequently. It is women living in the rural areas, however, who are subjected to the worst kinds of violent repression.
There are in our society many forms of violence against women; they are beaten up, burnt alive, raped and killed. The most gruesome aspect of the problem is that women are often killed in the name of honour. In the rural areas women are not given their proper status and rights which have been accorded to them by Islam. Women cannot even marry of their own choice. The case in point is that of Shaista Almani, a schoolteacher, who was made to suffer miseries because she chose to marry according to her wishes. This sorry state of affairs reflects very badly on the moral fabric of society.
The correct proportion of such crimes cannot be ascertained as many cases go unreported and only a few victims manage to reach the electronic media and the press. Even if a case is registered, criminals go scot-free as law-enforcement agencies deal quite leniently with them.
While the electronic media and the press should continue to highlight the plight of women, the women lawmakers must also rise to the occasion and fight for the rights of the women of Pakistan. They must make efforts to outlaw all barbaric practices such as karo-kari. They can either spend their stints without doing anything, or do something to better the conditions in which women are forced to live. The choice is theirs.
NASIR JAMAL
Karachi
Law college tuition fees
The tuition fees of law colleges have been more than doubled recently in Sindh, causing unrest among the students.
The high fee structure makes it difficult for poor students to continue their studies. The facts and figures about the exorbitant fees in the law colleges of Sindh are given below:
Previous Present
The exorbitant fees are bound to deprive many students of access to law education and will add to their miseries, as they are already groaning under the weight of the rising cost of living. If we want to increase the literacy rate to lead the country to progress and prosperity, the students should not be denied their right to receive law education. This can happen only when the unaffordable fee structure is withdrawn.
LLB Part-I Rs5,190 Rs12,000
LLB Part-II Rs5,150 Rs16,000
LLB Part-III Rs6,140 Rs18,000
Dr Atta-ur-Rehman, chairman of the Higher Education Commission, once promised to bring the cost of education to an affordable level. Will he ensure that the fees are revised downwards so that those willing to become lawyers could join the law colleges?
AZHAR AZAD MUGHAL
Jacobabad
Leave Basant alone
Reference your editorial (January 18) suggesting to "please leave people alone as long as they don't break the law or threaten anyone. If you have to stage sit-ins, do it for worthier causes. Many more people are killed or injured than countless Basants put together. Please hold sit-ins against rapacious transporters and reckless drivers. Please help impound buses and wagons that take lives. Please let the people enjoy the small pleasures of a life that is often bleak and soul-destroying".
Coincidentally I received an email with the title "It's no wonder", and it goes like this:
In light of the many perversions and jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different. It's intended to get you thinking. Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show, and Jane Clayson asked her: "How could God let something like this (regarding 9/11) happen?" Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response.
She said: "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"
In light of recent events, terrorist attacks, school shootings, etc., I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered and her body was found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.
Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says: Thou shalt not kill, you shalt not steal, and love your neighbour as yourself. And we said OK.
Then Dr Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.
Then someone said teachers and principals better not discipline our children when they misbehave. The school administrators said no faculty member in this school better touch a student when they misbehave because we don't want any bad publicity, and we surely don't want to be sued (there's a big difference between disciplining, touching, beating, smacking, humiliating, kicking, etc). And we said OK.
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out.
I think it has a great deal to do with "we reap what we sow".
While your editorial rightly suggests to voice public opinion against many other atrocities, which end up killing more people than Basant, it does not justify allowing people to go killing during Basant stupidities. As regards the other dimension of the morality attached with Basant, I am sure the email quoted above give some food for thought to the saner elements of our society.
NAZIM F. HAJI
Karachi
Remembering Hamid Jatoi
Abdul Hamid Jatoi, who died on January 11, was a rebel among Sindh's feudal politicians. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto called him a maverick.
He drew Bhutto's ire in 1972 owing to differences on some political issues and went into hiding. The Sindh police raided Mr Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi's house in Karachi's Sindhi Muslim Housing Society, suspecting that Mr Abdul Hamid had been sheltered by his kinsman. Mr Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi was minister for communications in Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's first cabinet. He arrived in Karachi from Islamabad the next day.
I, in my official position as director in the regional information office of the Press Information Department in Karachi, called on Mr Jatoi in his railway saloon at the Cantonment Railway Station. He was visibly agitated over the violation of the sanctity of a Baloch sardar's private house. He asked me to arrange a press conference where he would announce his decision to resign from his cabinet post.
I immediately informed Mr Bhutto, then president and chief martial law administrator. Within minutes I received a message from Mr Jatoi that there would be no press conference and no mention was to be made about his intention to resign.
After some time Mr Jatoi and Mr Mumtaz Ali Bhutto changed their positions. Mr Jatoi was appointed chief minister of Sindh and Mr Mumtaz Ali Bhutto occupied the position vacated by Mr Jatoi.
SYED AFZAL HUSAIN ZAIDI
Islamabad
OGDC's working
I applied for a minimum share certificate of the Oil and Gas Department Corporation which I received from their registrar, M/s Noble Computers, Karachi. But this certificate contained very serious typing/ computer errors. The address on my share application was Al-Ameera Centre, Sharae Iraq, but the share certificate mentioned it as "Al-Ameen Centre, Sehaar Iqbal" which cannot be the name of a road.
I am shocked that the OGDC's official registrar of shares, M/s Noble Computers, committed gross negligence as they ignored the NIC which accompanied the application for share certificates.
Now the general public (OGDC's shareholders) would have to face inconvenience in visiting the office of the registrar for seeking rectification. The error in address would have deprived me of any dividend or requisite correspondence. I trust that the OGDC will take corrective action in this regard.
ABDUL SAEED KHAN GHORI
Karachi
Ban on student unions
This is with reference to the frequent eruptions of violence on the campus of the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. A student of the Department of History recently lost his life in a firing incident on the campus. So far many students have lost their lives in student clashes in different educational institutions of Pakistan.
Since 1984 when the student unions were banned, violence has increased in educational institutions. The question is: if teachers, lawyers, traders, labourers and others have the right to vote and choose their own representatives, why have the students been deprived of their right?
This is a fact that before 1984 there were only two or three main student organizations. But after the ban on the student unions, many student groups were formed on the basis of religion, ethnicity, etc. These groups are supported by various political parties for their vested interests.
The only solution to this problem lies in lifting the ban on the student unions and allowing them to hold elections regularly. Elected student representatives, thus elected, should be responsible both for solving the problems of the students and for ensuring peace on the campuses.
HAFIZ TAWEER AHMED
Islamabad
US visa
I want to draw the attention of US Ambassador Ms Nancy Powell to the inordinate delay in the issuance of a visa to me. I was interviewed for J1 visa on July 10, 2003, at the US embassy in Islamabad, and my case was sent for additional administrative processing. It has been more than six months but I have not yet received my visa.
I request the ambassador to look into my case and do the needful, otherwise my prospects for doing postgraduation in the US and the amount and time I have spent on this whole process will all go in vain.
DR YOUSAF ALI SHAIKH
Karachi
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