| 19 March 2004 | Friday | 27 Muharram 1425 |
Police and the common citizen
Military and civilian domains
Basic of basics
'Waziristan, on fire again'
Iraq: past and present
Wastage of public money
Cricket tactics
Extras in ODIs
Trade officers' posting
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There is something in the air that has set right political thinking in India and Pakistan. Allegations of cross-border terrorism, blaming Pakistan for everything that went wrong in India, etc., have given way to peace initiatives stemming from the realization that peace will lead to and consolidate progress and prosperity in India.
The truth probably lies in the fact that it was corporate America, corporate India and the right signals from Pakistan, coupled with US foreign policy inclusive of its monumental blunders, and the threat of nuclear weapons on both sides leading to the evacuation of foreign embassy staff and foreign businessmen from India and Pakistan that finally tilted the scales towards peace.
Prime Minister Vajpayee has always wanted good relations with Pakistan and took a hard line only after the Kargil episode. It was Vajpayee who visited Pakistan as foreign minister, and later by bus to Lahore in 1999 to sign the Lahore Declaration and visited the Minar-i-Pakistan where he signed the visitors books pledging to live in peace with and respect Pakistan's territorial integrity.
Pakistan's U-turn in its policy in Afghanistan following 9/11, its support to the US in the so- called war on terror and the subsequent crackdown on jihadi organizations, coupled with strict control on cross-border attacks by insurgents certainly helped as did President Musharraf's repeated peace offers to India, the unilateral declaration of ceasefire on the Line of Control and a commitment to prevent Pakistan territory from being used for terrorist attacks on India. This was well received and India reciprocated.
President Musharraf went a step further around the time of the successful Saarc summit to even consider giving up Pakistan's position on Kashmir based on the UN resolutions provided there was a bilateral settlement on the Kashmir issue to the satisfaction of all parties.
Both sides agreed to talk on Kashmir so as to reach a settlement and, in the meantime, agreed to promote the improvement of mutual good relations flowing from travel, trade, tourism, cultural exchanges and initiate confidence-building measures.
Good sense has finally prevailed on both governments and people. We heard the most welcome statement of all from India's hawkish Deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani that a policy of give-and-take could also be pursued in the overall interest of peace and even India would be prepared to take a second look at the resolution passed by the Indian parliament that Kashmir was an integral and inalienable part of India.
It is doubtful if the Congress government in India or any political government in Pakistan could have gone so far in the quest for peace and a settlement of the Kashmir dispute.
Whether it will reach a speedy conclusion will depend much on how much the ultimate sovereigns of their destiny - the people of the two countries - want and one can only hope that the governments in both countries will nudge along this peace process and not disrupt it.
India and Pakistan have so much in common. The wounds of partition leading to two independent nations with different ideologies must be healed. Principles of democracy, rule of law, tolerance, equality, freedom of speech and expression are enshrined in Islamic ideals, as well as in secularism.
The search for a settlement on Kashmir, which is the core issue, must mainly and necessarily involve the wishes of the people of Kashmir. Politics in the two countries must not be allowed to dominate or interfere in the search for a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute. Once this is achieved, democracy will take roots in Pakistan, a country which was born with the power of speech, power of the pen and power of vote.
LIAQUAT MERCHANT
Karachi
Police and the common citizen
Do law and justice really enjoy an upper hand in Quaid's Pakistan? Corruption, nepotism and favouritism had earlier split the country. The same ills have the potential to further divide this land as well. Corruption is a tree whose roots grow from the top. Corruption in high places is the main reason for corruption at the lower levels.
No ruler has ever taken any serious step to reform the police culture. A good police force can bring the crime rate down from 99 per cent to one per cent. Honesty of one policeman out of a thousand cannot deliver justice to the masses.
Change in the police culture is the prerequisite for delivering justice. Law and justice cannot prevail without restructuring the police system that is the mother of all crimes. Delivery of justice is not possible without a complete overhaul of the police department.
Exemplary punishments for corrupt policemen are mandatory if we want justice to reach the people. Getting justice without bribery and 'sifarash' is impossible. Patronage and encouragement by police make an accused a criminal.
Criminals are patronized by bureaucrats and politicians who get them relief from the law-enforcers. A complainant with an empty pocket and no influence is called a habitual complainant.
Generally, greedy and corrupt officials are vested with the responsibility of investigations. The fear of loss of life and property and that of being involved in fake suits deters common people from suing or standing witness. Unbecoming conduct of the police and open threats from criminals and delay in justice force people to give up or make compromise.
The police service is being seen as a profitable business and not as a national service. The police patronize and encourage crimes. Dangerous criminals and touts receive VIP treatment from them. The police treat a case according to the status of the complainant. Corruption has weakened the law. Dishonest and irresponsible investigation has shut all doors of justice to the common people.
Where will honesty stand when the police are demanding a price for each of its move? Even politicians do not extend any assistance to a poor and powerless person who does not have some votes in his pocket for them.
How can a country exist if it cannot deliver justice? Corrupt elements have crossed all limits. The country has become a police state and the police deceive the masses by their conventional tactics. Dishonest officers defend corrupt officials.
A POOR AND HELPLESS CITIZEN
Lahore
Military and civilian domains
This is apropos of Mr Khalid Hassan Mahmood's letter "Military and civilian domains" (March 7). I have the same feelings and respect for the armed forces as expressed by Dr Obaidullah (February 22).
Dr Obaidullah suggests that armed forces' personnel should not be inducted into civilian departments. I think there is nothing wrong in letting military personnel work in civilian departments as long as they do not draw/claim deputation allowance for the additional responsibilities. It is not fair for any person to enjoy extra benefits and perks. This is a burden on the national exchequer and falls under the purview of financial indiscipline and mismanagement.
If a person wants to wants to join any civilian department, he should be transferred there for good on the basis of merit and expertise. His lien with his parent department must cease to exist. There is no logic in his reporting back to the parent department. Let others come forward to serve the nation. It is the height of madness that one enjoys two positions while others cry for employment.
The military and civil bureaucracy have no authority or powers to make laws on their own. They are required to follow, implement and execute orders, duly approved by parliament.
Any person who sacrifices his life for defending the frontiers of the country deserves rewards and benefits. The nation is duty-bound to look after his family with full respect and honour, but allotment of land/plots at throwaway prices to serving high-ranking military officers and civil bureaucracy hardly has any logic.
Discussions on military and civilians domains are useless unless we have a constitution which has not repeatedly been amended by a single person under the "doctrine of necessity".
The solution lies in holding free and fair elections under the supervision of parliament. There is a need to rewrite the constitution so that it guarantees justice, protection to life and liberty of all citizens, irrespective of status or rank.
TAJ MUHAMMAD
Karachi
Basic of basics
One deludes oneself if one were to gloss over the inescapable imperative that no well-integrated human progress is possible in any society, particularly in the sluggish Third World, unless a statistically significant portion of such societies guards and acts upon basic values.
For in the civilization that has evolved after the trauma of World War II, yet again drawing further impetus from the Cold War, basic values are all but dead. Who is responsible for this state of affairs?
None else but politicians in the garb of Machiavelli and diplomats out to overreach Talleyrand.
One would only wish that they would realize that there are some absolute principles ordained by nature which cannot be violated. Let none forget that the moment one of these absolutes is assaulted, the wheels of accountability of the Supreme Power start grinding to dispense justice.
The modalities of these short and long-term dispensations lie in the realm of the Supreme Being, but one thing is certain - the process is unfailing. History is replete with such instances; for the Believers the Holy Scriptures place a seal of unquestionable authenticity on some of these happenings.
With stakes as high as today, not excluding the possibility of a huge annihilating nuclear catastrophe, the relatively miniscule number of functionaries who strut the corridors of power but hold the destiny of this whole planet in their hands must sit up and take notice before it is too late.
Is there anything they can do? Yes, and it is so disarmingly simple - renew the mortar in the shaky cornerstones of all societies: Truth in thought and unswerving justice in action.
Remember, platitudes of those in power and the wailing whine from the opposition will not get the world anywhere.
M.J.AS'AD
Karachi
'Waziristan, on fire again'
Mr Roedad Khan has rung a warning bell in his article "Waziristan, on fire again" (March 15). This requires immediate notice of all Pakistanis, particularly members of the National Assembly and the Senate.
The fight against terrorism is indeed laudable, but the Waziristan operation is not a fight against terrorism but a war on our own population. I hope that before plunging further into the game, the risks involved will be comprehensively considered.
The British were not able to quell these tribesmen and it was the Quaid's policy which arrested this problem. Let us not raise this again for the Americans or Osama or Mulla Omer.
Mr Roedad Khan, it appears, has left his article incomplete because he has not indicated the pitfalls and dangers which he can see in undertaking this operation.
MAHER H. ALAVI
Karachi
Iraq: past and present
This is with reference to the report "Warm welcome to royal visitors" (Dawn Fifty Years Ago Today, March 13) saying that over half a million Karachi citizens accorded a royal welcome to King Faisal of Iraq and Crown Prince Abdullah.
The report if seen against the backdrop of the present predicament of Iraq shows that the history of that country is replete with political turmoil and misfortunes despite the fact that providence has endowed it with vast and unmatched natural resources and rich heritage.
When the Ottoman Empire was dismembered following World War I, the boundaries of the present-day Iraq were drawn. They bore little resemblance to the then province of the Ottomans. As an arrangement "mandate", the Arab countries were carved out into areas of influence under Britain and France.
Amir Faysal and Amir Abdullah, sons of Sharif Hussain, were established as kings of Syria and Jordan, respectively. But King Faysal on account of his confrontation with France was subsequently nominated king of Iraq. His rule in Iraq was full of political upheavals and revolts but by playing one antagonist with the other he was successful in holding the reins firmly in his hands.
King Faysal-I died in mysterious circumstances in Switzerland in September 1933, leaving behind his son Ghazi as heir-apparent. King Ghazi being young and inexperienced without his father's tact and tenacity could not wield influence on motley tribes. Without political parties to channel their activities through constitutional processes, people resorted to extra-constitutional or violent methods, making his period full of revolts and counter-revolts.
In 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, King Ghazi was killed in a car accident. His son Faysal II ascended the throne. He being minor, aged 4, his uncle Prince Abdullah was appointed regent and served in this capacity for the next 14 years.
But even after King Faysal II's taking over power, the former regent, who become crown prince, continued to control political events from behind the scenes. The struggle for power among leaders continued with increasing intensity until the downfall of the monarchy in 1958.
The main reasons behind the revolt were social unrest as, despite material progress, the monarchy failed to win public support and in particular confidence of the younger generation.
The older generation embarked on an unpopular foreign policy, including an alliance with Britain through participation in the Baghdad Pact. On July 14, 1958, the revolutionary forces, headed by Brig Kassem, captured the capital Baghdad and proclaimed Iraq a republic. The leading members of the royal house, including King Faysal II and Crown Prince Abdullah, were executed.
MANZOOR H. KURESHI
Karachi
Wastage of public money
Unprecedented increases in taxes and the resulting increase in the prices of essential commodities have taken place since the military takeover in 1999. It is also during this period that the finance minister and the Central Board of Revenue have been proudly claiming credit for an unprecedented increase in revenue collection, without mentioning the proportionate increase in the misery of the common man.
Taxpayers' money is being squandered on non- developmental expenditure such as building a monument worth Rs430 million in Islamabad, doubling the pay and perks of the parliamentarians, expanding the federal and provincials cabinets, setting up various committees for giving additional benefits to scores of parliamentarians, importing a fleet of bullet-proof cars, and beautifying VIP routes and areas where VIP and VVIP live.
To a great extent, our present taxation and expenditure patterns can be compared with that of the period before the French revolution when the financial wizards and the rulers were not only taken by surprise due to ignorance of the then ground realities and a false sense of security provided by a few hundred nobles. But it was too late to take any corrective measures.
If corrective measures are not immediately taken and implemented, the people
ultimately will hold our worthy president and his team responsible for this unprecedented levy of exorbitant taxes, the resulting price increases hurting the common man, and the wasteful expenditure of tax money.
ABDUL HAMEED
Wah Cantonment
Cricket tactics
In the second India-Pakistan One-Day International, India was reduced to its tailenders at eight wickets down with 46 runs required off 24 balls for victory. The tailenders slashed their bats at everything, knowing this was their only chance. They got away with a couple of lucky shots streaking to the boundary and came nearer to victory with 14 runs to make off 12 balls. They gallantly tried till their last wicket fell.
I do not understand why the Pakistani batsmen could not try the same tactics in the finishing overs of the first one-dayer in Karachi, instead of Moin Khan waiting for the last ball to try to hit a six. Even in the last over when nine runs were required, if the batsmen lost their wicket in the attempt, there were still two batsmen left, including Shoaib Akhtar who was capable of flashing the bat, and there was a chance of making it.
RAFI AHMED
Karachi
Extras in ODIs
In the first One-Day International, 20 no-balls and 10 wides from our bowlers gave India five extra overs. Simple arithmetic tells us we gave them 65 extra runs; 30 extras plus another 35 runs that must have been made by the Indians in the extra overs (they made 349 runs at seven runs per over).
This is indeed a bane, and adequate measures should be taken to curb it. An effective measure would be to fine the offending bowler.
YUSUF ALI
Karachi
Trade officers' posting
The names of trade officers for posting abroad were published in Dawn on March 16. One could hardly believe that the role of nepotism would become so blatant in this country despite the placing of emphasis on merit by the president after October 1999.
One may well ask: where are the experienced and talented officers of the Export Promotion Bureau and the Ministry of Commerce? Why are people from all different provincial and federal departments in the list, and what do they know about trade promotion and investment?
The commerce and trade officers are supposed to have a 50 per cent quota in foreign trade postings. This rule has been violated as out of the 18 officers nominated for foreign posting, only three are C&T Officers.
Tariq Iqbal Puri does not count as a C&T officer but as a special Foreign Office officer at large as he has hardly even served in Pakistan. The three officers of the Export Promotion Bureau have been allocated Dhaka, Almaty and Sao Paolo.
Why is their experience not being properly exploited at more important stations like New York, Brussels, Geneva, Montreal, Kuala Lumpur, Moscow and New Delhi, where officers from sundry departments having nothing to do with trade promotion are being posted?
For a non-C&T officer posted abroad, it usually takes two years before he or she can get the hang of the job and become familiar with the requirements of the industry back in Pakistan. By that time, they are about to be posted back and their spouses are on shopping sprees. Then we ask ourselves, why is it that Indian business does so well abroad? Obviously, because officers in Indian embassies abroad are posted on merit, experience and output, not on sifarish.
OFFICER OF THE COMMERCE & TRADE GROUP
Government of Pakistan, Lahore
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