| 13 March 2004 | Saturday | 21 Muharram 1425 |
Bush's election tactics
Import of cars
Medical varsities on ad hoc basis
Ending terrorism
Healing Gujarat's wounds
Clarification
Muslim voters and BJP
Police duty at stadium
Checkpost
Tax limits
Women's day
Calling cards
Sugarcane juice
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This is with reference to the news item "Qazi sets terms for cooperation" (March 10).
According to the report, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has held out an assurance to the Muttahida Majilis-i-Amal (MMA) that his government will neither repeal the Hudood ordinances nor effect any changes in the laws.
In my letter "Hudood laws & govt-MMA deal" (January 25), I had expressed the apprehension that perhaps a covert deal had been struck between the government and MMA in which the latter had been assured that the government would not support any movement against the Hudood laws. This apprehension has come out to be true and it is quite unfortunate that political consideration have been given preference over women's rights.
The problem for President General Pervez Musharraf is that during the elections he ensured that the Pakistan People's Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-N did not emerge as victors, which resulted in a vacuum only to be filled by religious parties; hence the mullah-military alliance. The MMA claims to be in opposition but their connivance with the government over the passage of the 17th Amendment is proof that an alliance between the government and MMA does exist and they only claim to be in opposition to win public support.
The predicament facing President Musharraf is that he envisages Pakistan as a moderate Islamic country but, at the same time, cannot help striking deals with religious parties. Women are victims of such deals as the sole priority of the religious parties is to confine women within the four walls of the house. They are against women acquiring education and wish to have a Taliban-like government in Pakistan. President Musharraf is taking advantage of such a scenario as he has been able to convince people at home and abroad that if he is removed from power, Pakistan will be subjugated by extremists.
It is now clear that for the time being at least there will be no repeal of the Hudood laws and the law of Qisas, both of which are used as a weapon against women. Furthermore, there will be no legislation against the so-called honour killings. There will also be no stopping of religious parties to enforce the Hisba Act.
General Zia promulgated discriminatory laws such as the Hudood ordinances to please the mullahs and prolong his rule while General Musharraf is reluctant to do away with them, again to please the clergy.
ANIL KHAN LUNI
Karachi
(2)
While the prime minister has assured the Jamaat-i-Islami chief that his government will not repeal the Hudood laws, Punjab Minister for Women's and Human Rights Ashifa Riaz Fatiyana has said at a press conference in Lahore (Dawn report, March 12) that the government wants to repeal the Hudood laws and that a bill in this regard will be presented in the National Assembly soon.
In view of these contradictory statements, one is justified in believing that the government is not interested in ameliorating the lot of women in Pakistan.
MUHAMMAD FAROOQ
Karachi
Bush's election tactics
This is with reference to the letter "Bush's elections tactics" (March 2) by Mr Shah Affan.
I respectfully rebut everything that Mr Affan has said in his letter. The CIA, under its authority, can even withhold information from the president of the United States. But apparently Mr Affan knows exactly what the CIA is doing, and claims that the CIA knows the location of Osama bin Laden and he will be caught in this election year.
The view that every good thing in the US has to happen in the election year is preposterous and laughable. The president of the United States has no special magical powers by which he can steer the events in the world to his advantage and can wait for the election year to come to exploit them.
American people are neither ignorant nor dumb when it comes to international politics or events. Because of President Bush's foreign policies, his approval ratings have gone down to 49 per cent from 87 per cent after the 9/11 attacks. But, of course, there are many people who believe what President Bush is doing is the right thing for the US, but to say that they are ignorant is highly unfair.
Mr Affan further says: "This time people from across the world should try to educate the American public about the nefarious designs of the Bush administration. They should arrange some time on the American media to let the people of America know the facts." It is shameful to generalize things like that. Against the mainstream media in the US, there is a very strong and powerful alternate media which influences as many people as the mainstream media does, if not more. There are lively political discussions on every subject across the country. Graduate schools of international studies and politics hold seminars, forums, talks on every subject, event, issue one can think of. Most of these graduate schools have their own TV channels giving American people pros and cons of their country's foreign policies.
Mr Affan need not worry about educating the American people. Come the election time (November 2004), they will make the right choice.
KHURRAM HANEEF
New Jersey, USA
Import of cars
The case for reconditioned cars and a reduction in duty must be evaluated on the basis of a research report just published in a national daily. The report is only about Karachi.
According to the report, there are 630,000 private cars and 56,000 taxis in the city. Most of the taxis are 30 years old. There are 22,400 buses, most of which are 26-40 years old. According to experts, Karachi immediately needs 6,000 buses.
A careful examination of the report reveals that most cars on the roads are very old, because the total number of the cars manufactured during the last 10 years in the country was less than 150,000. Thus, at least 500,000 cars which are more than 10 years old need to be replaced. The need for the whole country can well be imagined.
Most cars are owned by middle class/white-collar people who can never buy a new car being sold by the car manufacturing mafia at two times the international prices. This also applies to the need for buses for the common man.
The only remedy thus left is to allow import of reconditioned cars and buses at zero duty for the benefit of the 140 million people. If a high duty is applied, it will defeat the purpose.
This is all the more important because of the fact that car manufacturers have their production fully booked for about two years, and on these bookings they have already taken advance money from the rich. Some of them are not even taking new bookings. Some are giving 18 months of delivery time and charging Rs100,000 on money through their dealers. So, they do not have to worry at all that their production will suffer as they are shouting these days.
If the government wants to help the car manufacturers, they should be allowed to import good quality components from the international market at a reduced duty to produce good quality cars. This is necessary because local parts are of poor quality. The manufacturers of parts also form a cartel to supply poor components at high prices because the import of parts is banned.
The time has come, as said by the World Bank, for Pakistan to come out of influential lobbies for the benefit of the people.
M. ANWER JANNIA
Karachi
Medical varsities on ad hoc basis
The opinion expressed in your esteemed daily (February 21) on the above subject needs serious consideration by the government.
The standard of medical education, which has deteriorated during the last decade, cannot improve by just designating a medical college as a university and appointing a junior person as its vice-chancellor. On the contrary, this process will further deteriorate the system because it will deprive the government of senior and experienced teachers.
If the government has any interest in improving the system of medical education, it should declare all medical universities as centres of excellence and utilize the services of experienced and senior teachers. The medical universities should only be responsible for postgraduate education and research.
The under-graduate medical education should continue to be the responsibility of medical colleges. Moreover, any shortage of facilities in these colleges should be addressed to improve the standard of medical education.
DR NIGHAT PARVEEN
Karachi
Ending terrorism
In his publication Rogue State, Mr William Blum asks as to what the United States can do to end terrorism directed against it.
He says: "If I were the president, I could stop terrorist attacks against the United States in a few days. Permanently. I would first apologize to all the widows and orphans, the tortured and impoverished, and all the many millions of other victims of American imperialism. Then I would announce, in all sincerity, to every corner of the world, that America's global interventions have come to an end, and inform Israel that it is no longer the 51st state of the USA but henceforth oddly enough a foreign country. I would then reduce the military budget by at least 90 per cent and use the savings to pay reparations to the victims. There would be more than enough money. One year's military budget of $330 billion is equal to more than $18,000 an hour for every hour since Jesus Christ was born."
And, in the end, Mr Blum very meekly admits: "That's what I do on my first three days in the White House. On the fourth day. I'd be assassinated."
M. SHAH NAWAZ KHAN
Karachi
Healing Gujarat's wounds
A crowd of 200 gathered to watch the live telecast of the India-Australia Test series in a remote village near Bhavnagar in Gujarat. As Parthiv Patel, a Gujarati from Ahmedabad, smashed the Australian bowling around, the crowd roared "Amaro dikro" (our boy). There was a feeling of pride that a son of Gujarat was representing India and playing well. There wasn't a similar celebration the next day when Baroda native, Irfan Pathan, shook up the Australian batting line-up. After all, Pathan, the son of a muezzin, isn't a Gujarati, but a Muslim.
The post-Godhra riots in Gujarat have destroyed the fragile harmony that existed in Gujarat. While Gujarat prides itself on being the state of Mahatma Gandhi, the champion of peace, there has always been a degree of resentment between the Hindus and Muslims in the state. Every Gujarati child is told how Mahmud of Ghazni raided the Somanth temple on numerous occasions. Muslim children in Gujarat look upon Arab raiders as heroes. The hatred is built up from grass-roots level.
Gujarat has literally been divided on communal lines since the 2002 riots. Hindus and Muslims live in separate colonies and even separate parts of towns. These ghettos have turned the land of Gandhi into the land of Godse (Gandhi's assassin). Hindus and Muslims don't even study in the same schools anymore. The scene is very reminiscent of Northern Ireland, where centuries-old hatred lives on between Catholics and Protestants.
"We are very proud of what happened in 2002," says Mohit Patel (name changed). "After all the Muslims needed to be taught a lesson." The rape of women, foeticides and burning of old people were all "means to an end". A Bombay-based advertising agency was forced to withdraw a television commercial of a popular table salt, which showed an honest Muslim taxi driver.
They were told that the product would never sell in Gujarat and would be boycotted if the advertisement was shown in Gujarat. The two communities even live in separate villages. They boycott each other's shops, vehicles and businesses. All this is happening with the blessings of the ruling political party, which is using the common people of Gujarat as pawns for dubious political objectives.
As much as the two communities in Gujarat would like to deny it, they have common ancestors. Hindus in Gujarat are as much a progeny of Mohammad bin Qasim and Babar as Muslims are. The communities are very much of the same ethnic stock. They speak the same language and have a culture that is almost the same, barring food habits. The sooner the people of the state realize that they are being manipulated for the dubious political ambitions of men in power, the better. In the not-so-distant past, every house in Gujarat had a framed photo of Mahatma Gandhi in the living room. It's Gandhi's message of peace and brotherhood that the Gujaratis need to heed.
There's a silver lining in every cloud. "We are a business minded people and money counts more for us than anything else," exclaimed Ravi Mehta, a resident of Surat in southern Gujarat. For the economy to grow and business to boom, Gujarat needs trust, understanding and respect among all its communities. Commerce and industry, the backbone of Gujarat, can bring the people back together.
The Gandhians (many claim to be so in Gujarat) need to take initiative in bringing the people together. If the community leaders can meet on a regular basis, confidence will be built.
AJAY KAMALAKARAN
Editor-in-Chief, The Sakhalin Times, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia
Clarification
This refers to the news items "Body set up to oversee KBCA" (February 1) and "20-member body to oversee KBCA working" (March 11) in which I have been wrongly called a professor of the NED University.
It is clarified that I worked as dean, faculty of agriculture & planning, at the university during the period when the Dawood College of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, was affiliated with the university till 1999 when I retired from service as a professor of the agriculture department of the college.
KAUSAR BASHIR AHMAD
Karachi
Muslim voters and BJP
This refers to the letter "BJP and Muslim voters" (March 12) by Mr Saifuddin E. Contractor. I fail to understand his reasoning. I am a bit surprised that he as a Pakistani is expecting strict adherence to secularism by Indians when Pakistan itself is not a secular country. I am not sure why these double standards are there in place.
On top of that, he wants an undertaking from the BJP government saying that it will never make India a Hindu state. I personally don't think that India will ever be a Hindu state. But one fails to understand as to with what moral standing the writer can expect India not to be so. When you yourself find it hard to be like a secular, why do you want an undertaking from others?
ANIL DUBEY
Via email
Police duty at stadium
In most matches we have noticed that there are always a few miscreants who take the law into their own hands and create a disturbance. The police who are supposed to ensure law and order are posted along the front rows close to the fence. These police constables start watching the match and the miscreants get a free hand as nobody is looking at them.
My suggestion to the police department is to post constables and officers in the back and the middle rows. These officers on duty will be able to see the miscreants and nab them immediately.
JAMEEL HUSSAIN
Karachi
Checkpost
On the Super Highway, 30km from Karachi, a police checkpost has been working for a long time to ensure that no stolen/hijacked car is smuggled out the city. For this, cars are forcibly stopped by constables, blocking the highway.
To this day, not a single stolen car has been impounded. In fact, the checkpost seems to have been set up to only extract money on one pretext or another. A responsible police officer has told me that the real purpose of the checkpost is to collect funds for a political party. Will some honest officer look into this matter and do the needful?
AMJAD KHAN ABRO
Hyderabad
Tax limits
While wishing every success to the new CBR chairman, I give the following quotation for his reading pleasure:
"In levying taxes and in shearing sheep it is well to stop when you get down to the skin."- Austin O'Malley
MIR TABASSUM MAIRAJ
Islamabad
Women's day
Like in the past, we observed International Women's Day on March 8 this year, too, by holding seminars, debates, walks, etc., demanding respect and equality for our womenfolk.
Despite all these activities, the majority of women in Pakistan are subjected to torture and physical and emotional abuses. They are still considered second-rate citizens. 'Women burnt alive' and 'women killed in the name of honour' are some of the everyday news. The birth of a girl is still considered a shame and burden in rural areas of the country.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan should take concrete steps to eliminate this inhuman attitude against women. They should take up any case which is at their disposal. Above all, the women must themselves recognize their rights and status in society.
IFRAH KHALID GHAURI
Lahore
Calling cards
Telecom companies have introduced calling cards in Pakistan. These cards are very useful for people who do not have the facility of dialling mobile phones from their Pakistan Telecommunication Company landline. However, I have a bad experience with Callmate calling cards as these are restricted to certain mobile numbers and the new series of Mobilink, i.e. 0300-25, cannot be dialled through them.
I have tried to complain against it to their helpline, but I am really disappointed to find that sometimes the helpline is unanswered and sometimes the helpline people are helpless in this regard.
The relevant authorities are urged to look into the matter and oblige at their earliest convenience.
IRFAN SHAIKH
Karachi
Sugarcane juice
I want to draw the attention of the relevant authorities to sugarcane juice being sold in Karachi. It has been observed that sugarcane stems are not washed at any stage, from the farm to the fruit market to the machine. They are kept at dirty places throughout the transit.
If sugarcane stems are not washed properly, anyone can understand how harmful its consumption can be for human health.
The authorities are urged to ensure that the people are protected against such products.
M. AZHAR SHEIKH
Karachi
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