| 09 April 2004 | Friday | 18 Safar 1425 |
India-Pakistan rapprochement
Pakistan Steel affairs
Jagjit's concert
Reading out rights
Bank scheme: investor's woes
When Bhutto was hanged
A grandfather's appeal
Broken road
Challenge
Need for a bus terminal
Curriculum in Pakistan
Animal rights
Encroachments
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In his two-part article (March 22 and 23), Mr Javed Jabbar has deplored the poor image of Pakistan abroad. Having spent my working life in the foreign service I can vouch for the fact that in the last 50 years the image of Pakistan abroad has never been as awful as it is today.
I do not believe that this is a public relations failure, and throwing money at the problem is no solution. The remedy is internal. In more than half a century of existence, we have not succeeded in evolving a functioning political system. Pakistan was achieved by democratic methods.
But the first attack on an evolving democracy came as early as 1953 when governor-general Ghulam Mohammed dismissed prime minister Khwaja Nazimuddin who commanded a majority in the National Assembly. There was no strong protest from the parliamentarians, many of whom later joined the command cabinet of Mohammad Ali Bogra: an early indication of the quality of our political class.
Although it had taken nine long years, a constitution acceptable to both wings of Pakistan was adopted in 1956. There was much rejoicing. When plans for holding elections under the constitution were fairly advanced, the civil-military clique in power swung into action.
Iskander Mirza abrogated the constitution and imposed martial law. As in the case of the Nazimuddin dismissal, the political parties were unwilling or unable to launch a protest movement. Thus began a process that was to destroy the rule of law, civil society and good governance.
With the collapse of the Ayub government, the authoritarian constitution which he had imposed was consigned to the rubbish bin. The Yahya regime brought about the break-up of Pakistan and the return to power of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The hopes that his return aroused were not fulfilled.
He was dictatorial by nature and the only Pakistani ruler who established a kind of concentration camp (Dalai) for recalcitrant politicians and other opponents.
Alleged election rigging brought about his downfall and prepared the ground for the military coup that brought Ziaul Haq into power. An unprincipled operator, General Zia announced that Pakistan had been created in the name of Islam and he would now bring about establishment of an Islamic state.
Acting according to form, none of the political parties chose to join issue with him on the genesis of the Pakistan Movement. Obscurantist political formations which had opposed the creation of Pakistan and later created a phony Pakistan ideology now joined Zia to give a veneer of legitimacy to his regime.
Zia's death in an air crash brought in two pseudo-democratic regimes. Their vision was no other than to remain in power for ever. Benazir Bhutto who had the benefit of a foreign education did nothing to get rid of the anti-woman and other repressive laws enforced in the Zia years.
Nawaz Sharif went further and attempted to make Pakistan a Shariat state. His role models were the mini-states of the Gulf. Our political failures have been matched by military failures. How, then, can our image abroad be other than what it is?
Pakistan was never intended to be an authoritarian state or a benighted theocracy. The vast majority of our citizens are Muslims and we shall always remain a Muslim state. Until we give up the pretence of Islamization and amend our Constitution to reflect the democratic and secular ideals of the Pakistan movement, our image abroad and conditions at home will never improve.
BIRJIS HASAN KHAN
Karachi
India-Pakistan rapprochement
General Khalid Arif did everything in his persuasive ability to dampen the 'favourable winds of change' he supposedly espouses (April 7). He could have built an excellent case for rapprochement between India and Pakistan, what with the ongoing and encouraging people-to-people contacts and the recognition that at the end of the day, South Asian countries have to work together to better their lot. No other power is going to come to help one or the other country just because it would be a nice thing to do.
General Arif could not resist falling back on tired tactics of the past and provocation. He said Mr. Vajpayee needs to do more to convince Pakistan of his sincerity. Where has the good general been? What was the road trip to Lahore all about? Does he care to talk about our military's preoccupation at that very time? What is the point of repeating lame arguments, which have been exposed to be false?
Why is it that the Pakistani establishment, General Arif included, has to append the redundant phrase "including the one on Kashmir" to statements calling for the resolution of all disputes between India and Pakistan? The road map of simultaneously resolving problems and introducing confidence- building measures is totally unrealistic. Unless the two parties can first learn to be civilized to each other, and neighbourly, there is no way they will trust each other to reach any agreement, period.
It is time for us all to recognize that the world is tired of our two South Asian countries' constant bickering. It is time to forget old animosities and prejudices and make a determined push for civilized behaviour towards each other. Trying to score oratorical points is foolish.
DR SARDUL MINHAS
Anaheim Hills, CA., USA
Pakistan Steel affairs
In 1967, a German firm had offered to set up a steel mill with a capacity of over 0.8 million ton per year, based on Kalabagh iron ore. It was to cost of Rs1.54 billion, including foreign loans from a consortium of European banks). But in 1968, for certain political reasons, president Ayub Khan accepted the Russian offer of technical and financial aid for this Kalabagh steel mill project, and the German offer was shelved.
Subsequently, a strong lobby succeeded in shifting this project to Karachi in 1974, based on imported iron ore from far-off countries like Australia, Brazil. Pakistan Steel was commissioned in 1984, formally in 1985, at a fabulous cost of Rs24.7 billion, followed by investment of several billion more because of outdated Russian technology.
Since 1984, average steel production per year of Pakistan Steel is less than that offered by the German firm, and its operating losses, excluding initial investment, exceed Rs20 billion, including that converted into equity of the government and public sector banks perforce.
To make the PS profitable, exorbitant duties and taxes are levied on imported steel in various forms, steel import by others is subject to NOC from PS, prices of steel are increased arbitrarily as required (300 per cent increase since January 2003 as advertised by steel buyers association a few days back), and now PS has been given the steel billet import monopoly to earn more.
All available funds are being allocated for the expansion of the Pakistan Steel, which requires import of three times the iron ore being used presently while confirmed unlimited usable iron ores found in Balochistan, Punjab and the NWFP have been ignored since the early 1970s.
Consequently, the prices of hundreds of essential products based on steel have increased, millions of dollars are spent on the iron ore import a large number of people have been retrenched in the mining and transportation sectors.
ENGR. ARSHAD MEHMOOD
Lahore
Jagjit's concert
On April 4, a concert was arranged by the Kinnaird College Old Students to collect funds for the college. Jagjit Singh was invited to sing for the occasion. The event was organized at the DHA Golf Club. I gladly took the bitter pill of spending Rs3,000 for the event. However, many of the arrangements were very, very disappointing and some are below:
Parking was more than a mile away from the club and guests were forced to take coasters to the venue. This particular arrangement was absurd especially because (i) there were only two coasters doing the shuttling between the parking area and the venue and (ii) there was no mention of such an arrangement on the cards or marketing material.
It took our party more than 30 minutes to get to the venue from the parking. The return journey, at 1.30am, was even longer, with a number of elder guests seen limping to their far away cars.
Adnan Siddiqui, as the host of the show, was almost murderous in his mispronunciations. Recording of the event's second half forced ultra-bright lights to be placed directly upon the audience and no heed was given to repeated requests for the lights to be switched off.
The washrooms at the venue had no running water. However, the sound system allowed us to thoroughly enjoy the nice selection of ghazals and geets sung by the maestro.
SYED AZMAT ALI
Karachi
Reading out rights
Whenever a arrest is made in the West the police officials read out the following the rights to the accused: "You have the right to remain silent. Anything which you say may be used against you in the court of law...". In the West police officials are considered as good as any other eyewitness and statements made to them are accepted by the courts.
According to section 162 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, no statement made by any person to police officer in the course of investigation can be used for any purpose at any inquiry or trial in respect of any offence under investigation at the time when such statement was made. Thus, our police officials cannot read out the rights as practised in the West as anything said to police by the accused cannot be used against him in a court of law.
The British while formulating the laws for the subcontinent realized that the local police could not be trusted and grave injustice would be done if statements made by an accused to police was used against him in courts.
It is quite unfortunate that even after the passage of a century, the perception about the police has not changed, if it has not become ever poorer. It can only be hoped that some day our police officials become as trustworthy as in the West.
ANIL KHAN LUNI
Karachi
Bank scheme: investor's woes
Pakistanis have witnessed some of the world's most spectacular scams in the banking business. No wonder investors are hesitant to go allout despite good macro economic indicators.
Some have burnt their fingers in the finance corporations back in the 1980s; some have been victims of the BCCI collapse, others got trapped in the frozen dollar accounts in 1998, and now there is a silent community that is slowly discovering that it actually suffered on account of a scheme launched by one of the country's most prestigious banks back in the late '90s.
Through an aggressive advertising campaign, the bank enticed thousands of investors to invest in their scheme that promised to triple the investment in seven-and-a-half years.
However, the receipts issued by the bank did not exhibit any such commitment and, instead, it was tactfully worded with a script which implied that the return would be payable on a profit-sharing basis. On query, the banker explained that it was owing to the implications related to the use of word interest due to the Supreme Court's ruling at the time.
Later, in the face of declining interest rates, the bank took a U-turn on the commitment and when I recently approached them to claim my investment that was supposed to have been tripled on maturity, I was shocked to find out that the amount had not even doubled.
On further inquires, I learnt that at some point in time the bank had chosen to announce periodic interest rate earnings at its own discretion, which were initially for a six-month period, then quarterly and now the rates were determined and applied on a monthly basis.
It is a pity that a one-month term deposit made at the same bank today would earn 1.5 per cent yearly interest, and the same funds in the scheme are earning merely 0.5 per cent yearly, thanks to the bank's discretion.
I wonder why the State Bank and the ministry of finance are silent on such a big fiasco due to which thousands of small investors are suffering and particularly when some courageous investors have even moved a court of law. The bank seems to have played with words (a small asterisk with diminutive remarks in a corner saying "On profit sharing basis").
It is interesting to note that even if we accept the profit and loss sharing basis, the bank is certainly making far higher profits than 0.5 per cent being earned by the investors of this scheme. I urge the State Bank to take serious notice of the matter.
MOHAMMED ASAD RAZA
Karachi
When Bhutto was hanged
This refers to Mr Siddique Malik's letter (April 6). Mr Bhutto has often been described as an evil genius by some. There is no doubt that he is adored and hated alike by a lot of people, but his charisma lives on.
Mr Bhutto's greatest achievement may be his contribution to the nuclear capability of Pakistan, while his lust for power led him to the part he played in the dismemberment of Pakistan,now a tragic part of our history.
The murder of Nawab Muhammad Ahmad Khan was not "drummed up charge", as observed by Mr Malik. The file with remarks in the handwriting of Mr Bhutto was produced during the trial, besides other material evidence. A long trial by the high court and later by the Supreme Court was conducted. We cannot just brush aside the final decision of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Mr Bhutto's hanging was a turning point in our history, where the chief executive of a country was hanged for a crime he committed for the first time.
We had a long history where the downtrodden were easily hanged and the influential always got away, no matter how heinous the crime. It shook the whole country for once that everyone is responsible for his deeds, no matter what position he holds.
LT-COL (retd) HASAN A. GHAFOOR
Karachi
A grandfather's appeal
I am a grandfather of two little children and often face the problem of taking them to a park where they can ride their tricycles and bicycles and also play with a football or simply throw ball at each other.
Over the past years the Defence and Clifton residential areas in Karachi may have come up with a number of parks, but sadly almost all of them are mostly for jogging and walking purposes. Taking cycles or balls inside the parks is discouraged and, at instances, physically stopped.
I understand that most children would ride cycles on the track meant for jogging and walking purposes, but then we should have areas in parks designated for such purposes or have some parks built specially for children and their related activities. Otherwise, these same children would be forced to play in the streets, which will be dangerous.
I request the authorities concerned and President General Parvez Musharraf to look into this matter as we need healthy minds and healthy bodies for a healthy Pakistan. And children are the future of Pakistan. Please do something.
CONCERNED GRANDFATHER
Karachi
Broken road
I want to draw the attention of the relevant authorities to the deplorable condition of a portion of Gill Road near the entrance to the Gujranwala railway station. There are puddles everywhere and the road is broken at every single pace.
People from Satellite Town, People's Colony, Fareed Town and Sialkot Road use Gill Road to reach the station. They all have to bear the brunt of bone-rattling rides.
EHTESHAM MEHMOOD
Gujranwala
Challenge
MNA Imran Khan has challenged President General Pervez Musharraf to a television debate (April 5).Would the general, who is already very fond of giving interviews, accept the challenge and provide his 140 million people with the rare chance of watching this debate?
HATIM ALVIE
Islamabad
Need for a bus terminal
I am a resident of Mirpurkhas and feel that the Karachi administration would do well to learn something from this small town. Mirpurkhas has a bus terminal outside the city where buses from Karachi, Hyderabad and other parts of the country come and drop/pick up passengers. This saves the city from these large buses coming into the main city area and causing traffic problems and chaos.
Why can't Karachi also build something like this on the Super Highway and the National Highway?
USMAN AHMAD
Mirpurkhas
Curriculum in Pakistan
I am studying at a university in the United Kingdom. In one of my modules on curriculum, I presented the elementary level textbooks (class 1 to 8) to my classmates for discussion on curriculum in Pakistan.
The question we were discussing was how a curriculum can help in shaping a society and culture. My classmates are from the Asia-Pacific region (China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.)
I also presented to them the statements of different politicians on what they think a curriculum should be. They wanted to know of the phrase "Islamic curriculum". I didn't know the answer to this question myself. I told them that according to our politicians as far as is evident from their statements and the printed textbooks, they want more religious extremism in the textbooks.
I felt sorry I could not portray a very rosy picture of the Pakistani education system to my classmates. They felt sorry for the children in Pakistan and those who are studying the curriculum designed by different government education ministries and textbook boards. In fact, they felt sorry for me.
ASAHR J. KHOKHAR
Leeds, UK
Animal rights
It has been observed that rights of animals, including donkeys, mules and horses, used for transportation, are often neglected. These animals look underfed and their general health is pitiable.
Nylon cord used for their reins injures their skin and causes wounds that fester. I urge animal rights' organizations to take note of these animals' poor health and make sure that they are well taken care of.
The animals used for carriage of vegetables, fruits, etc, are not freed for a moment. After some time, they should be released to rest. Overloading should be strictly checked. Due to pulling heavy loads like bricks and concrete, animals get injured and in the summer season the wounds cause them great distress.
HAKEEM PIR S.A. SHAH WALI ALLAH
Lahore
Encroachments
The city administration should note that new encroachments have started appearing on both sides of the National Highway near the Landhi crossing in Karachi. As this area has been earmarked for a flyover/interchange, one can see that these encroachments, which at this stage are rather minimal, will cause problems for planners when construction starts. It is time to nip this problem in the bud.
AHMAD MASOOD
Karachi
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