| 18 April 2004 | Sunday | 27 Safar 1425 |
Economic growth and protectionism
Teaching in mother tongue
Military's role in freedom movement
A man of many parts
Cricket: Pakistani team's performance
The Wana operation
Courses at Shah Latif University
Don't raise park fees
Defeatist attitude
Eradicating malaria
Green bus service
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This is apropos of the letter under the above headline (April 10). Washington has maintained for decades that the Jewish settlements on the Palestinian territory are a big 'hurdle to peace'. However, during Ariel Sharon's visit to Washington, President Bush has now suddenly made a policy shift, saying that Israel might keep 'some' of the Arab land it had captured in the 1967 war. This latest US move flies in the face of UN Resolution 242 that was supported by the US in September 1967, and which underlines that Israel must return territories it occupied in the 1967 war.
President Bush's 'war on terror' stipulates that "either you are with us or against us", and now Iraqi Shia leader Al Sadr is "wanted dead or alive". Instead of first fighting the causes of terror, the US is fighting terror with terror. Such a policy is not only a double-speak but also irrational.
Israel's occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and southern Lebanon (it unilaterally withdrew from southern Lebanon some time back) violates UN resolutions, its annexation of Jerusalem and the Golan Heights violates the UN charter, and its colonization activities in the occupied territories violate the Geneva conventions. Instead of intervening to prevent Israel from these unlawful acts, Washington aids and abets Tel Aviv. It is also known that Israel has stockpiled weapons of mass murder, including nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, but the US has no objection to this.
About six years ago the Pakistani intellectual and Dawn columnist, Dr Eqbal Ahmed, had said, "American double standard angers them (Palestinians). Moreover, they sense the great danger of living in Israel's shadow of nuclear weapons."
It has also been observed that the Sept 11 events have weakened the Palestinian struggle for an independent homeland. The worst aspect of 9/11 was that the Palestinian cause was transformed into an issue of terrorists, who were involved in suicide operations against Israel, and Ariel Sharon was transformed into a hero.
The late King Hussein of Jordan urged Arab states to stand up against double standards, in apparent criticism of the sharp contrast in the US position toward Iraq and Israel. He said: "Arab states should adopt one speech to clarify to the whole world that global interests necessitate the adoption of standards in all cases." Arabs argue that Washington has not taken the same tough stand against Israel, which has sabotaged the Middle East peace process sponsored by the United States.
If the US wants to combat terrorism, why does it not condemn state terrorism perpetrated by India and Israel? Apparently, the US and the UK, the so-called flag-bearers of noble causes in the world today, will only do what is in their own interest - whether it is ethical or unethical.
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has cautioned Russia against dealing with countries which Washington suspects of supporting terrorism, but he is conveniently quiet when US-supplied gunships to Israel wreak havoc on beleaguered Palestinians. On top of that Israel is rewarded with about four billion dollars a year.
Professor Malcolm Chalmers, Bradford University, says: "In the case of Iraq the driving force is not what the UN said, but what the major powers and the US see as their priorities. There are other countries which have not complied with international treaties. Israel has been supported by America. It's a reflection of the modern world in which the US is the only power with the military might to enforce resolutions."
PROFESSOR (DR) P. NASIR
Gujrat
Economic growth and protectionism
An India-based firm that provides software services to American and European companies, has just announced that it has topped the one-billion-dollar mark. This is an amazing achievement for a software service company. The stock price is hovering around $90 per share and hundreds of the firm's employees are now millionaires.
On the other hand, Pakistan's software firms barely make $1 million in revenue and the top ones have never crossed $5 million. This is a monumental difference that needs careful soul-searching as to what is fundamentally wrong with our industry. This actually takes us into the mentality of the private sector, a mentality of protectionism.
Protectionism comes from complacency, which comes from limited vision. If the company's focus is just to hit a one-million-dollar mark, then that target will limit goals, strategy and effort. Everything follows in from here on since they first want to earn one million dollars only. Once there, protectionism kicks in to sustain and fight the competition off rather than grow further. This mentality exists in most parts of our private sector and is the primary reason for our poor performance.
It took the Indian firm 20 years to reach the one-billion-dollar mark. So even if someone dreams big enough, they know it is a 20-year cycle. The key is to have a focus on that and not on achieving and protecting the one-million-dollar turf. This is true for any industry and not just software.
The new Safta agreement, in line with the WTO, has the private sector up in arms because now external forces beyond their control are going to chip off the monopoly built in the local market over the years. Countries like India, China, Malaysia and Korea see Pakistan as an attractive consumer market. As for the last 20 years we have not invested in innovation, quality and efficiency, we cannot compete with them. However, this time there is nobody to protect us from natural global economic expansion. This mentality of limited vision, short-term gains and protectionism iswhat has kept us behind and unless we shed it off, some external factors are eventually going to bring us down.
The need of the hour is to start investing in research, innovation and efficiency to fight the competition and deploy technology to achieve that. There are companies that are doing exactly that but only a handful. I wish them well and hope that others see and learn.
NAUMAN SHEIKH
Mequon, WI., USA
Teaching in mother tongue
World Mother Tongue Day was celebrated on February 21. According to Unesco, the most suitable language for teaching basic concepts is the mother tongue. But on the same day the Punjab education minister declared that English would be made a compulsory subject from class 1 in the government-run Urdu medium schools in the province. Now the small children will have to learn at least two languages - Urdu and English - right from class 1.
If we could teach small children in their mother tongues, this would helped them understand concepts better. But the Punjab education minister thinks that the decision to adopt English from class 1 will help improve the quality of education. One wonders how the quality of education will improve when a child does not understand what he is being taught.
In Pakistan less than two per cent people speak English. The use of English divides the people into two groups: the one that speaks the language and the other that doesn't. During the past 50 years, English has remained the elite language and has created a gap between them.
The best way to end this unfortunate state of affairs would be to set up schools at three levels, each of five years' duration. At the primary school level, children should be taught basic subjects like Urdu, arithmetic, geography and Islamiat. At the high school level, English, history, geography, mathematics, general science, Urdu and Islamiat would be appropriate subjects. The third level would be the college where students should complete their degree courses in five years. A degree of 15 years of education is recognized internationally. Postgraduate studies should only be conducted at the universities.
This is a serious national issue and needs careful deliberations by experts.
FAQIR AHMED PARACHA
Peshawar
Military's role in freedom movement
This letter is in response to the statement of PPP MNA Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan ("Opposition lashes out at NSC bill", April 7).
He asked in parliament: "What role did our army play in Pakistan's independence? ... These armymen were saluting the Union Jack till August 13, 1947... Pakistan was created by politicians and the army has no role in its establishment."
I would like to draw Mr Aitzaz Ahsan's attention to his own words in his very own publication Indus Saga by the Oxford University Press. He has acknowledged the fact that the military men of Indus initiated the freedom movement. He has cited the incidents of the Meerut uprising by soldiers on May 9, 1857, and admitted the valour of Punjab and Baloch regiments in other movements in Chapter 22. He has stated and saluted the rebellion by armymen in 1857 against all odds erected by the British Raj. He states: "Despite these pre-emptive actions and despite their aversion to their erstwhile tormention (by) - the Poorbias and Dilli walas - many Indus units rebelled." He has then even mentioned names of regiments and platoons from Ferozepur to Mardan, Sailkot to Multan and Peshawar to Ambala whose soldiers wrote the first chapter of the freedom movement with their own blood.
He has even affirmed the incident of the 25th Bengal Infantry in detail from M. Athar Tahir's book The Punjab Portrait. In this incident, 300 soldiers were shot and buried in a grave in Ajnak on July 30, 1857. The remaining 45 were blown away from the mouth of cannons at the Lahore Garrison the next day.
This contradiction reminds me of William Cowper's following verse:
He blamed and protested, but joined the plan,
He shared in the plunder, but pitied the man.
KHURRAM AFZAL MALIK
Lahore
A man of many parts
Peter Ustinov, who died recently, was a man of many parts. Few may know of his political views. He was a guest speaker at the 2003 Congress of the International Press Institute at Salzburg, Austria, where he said in his speech:
'When George Bush came into power after the terrible shock of 9/11, he suddenly said: "Anyone who is not for us is against us," with a kind of hermetic conviction which boded ill because nobody can say that in the modern world. There are far too many nuances and life is far too interesting to say that. You cannot put everybody against you because they are not for you. That is an absurdity. Then it was followed almost immediately by a declaration of war on terrorism, which I maintain is nonsense because war and terrorism are intrinsically the same things, except that terrorism is the war of the dispossessed and war is the terrorism of the powerful.
'In the invasion of Iraq, it started out with an air attack, which had the sobriquet "Shock and Awe". I suppose it was intended to hit only the bad guys and then it was expected that the good guys would come out with flowers to welcome the invader. I do not know how anybody with any experience in the world could have had such expectations. I am amazed that it happened. The confusion which reigns in Iraq today is indicative of the fact that they prepared themselves for war in the most efficient kind of way but made no provisions for what happened afterwards.'
SADAF SIDDIQUI
Lahore
Cricket: Pakistani team's performance
Prior to the arrival of the Indian cricket squad on Pakistani soil, Pakistani cricket symbolics were on high-fly claiming traditional victory of Pakistanis against the Indians in Pakistan. Coach Javed Miandad gave the childish statement that players like Irfan Pathan are found on every street of Pakistan. Captain Inzamamul Haq, who failed to show the desired captaincy skills in the entire series, claimed that the Pakistani bowling attack was far better than India's. Shoaib Akhtar said he would go flat-out against the Indians but he was found struggling to maintain a good line and length.
Even after losing the five ODI-match series, the coach and the captain were claiming that they would have the upper hand in the Test series. Since the beginning of the first Test match, Inzamam continuously kept asserting that they would perform at par with the Indians. Yet, one after the other, all such claims were proved wrong.
Full marks go to the Indian cricket players. They went for the series with confidence, strategy and with the attitude that they had to win every match on Pakistani soil. All the players continuously performed well whenever needed with both ball and bat.
Individual (Pakistani) cricketers may possess outstanding skills with bat and ball, but to produce competitive results at the international level, they have to grasp the game's professional demands.
The series has ended, but one thing is for sure: it has brought the people of India and Pakistan together and removed a lot of misunderstandings. It has also provided a great opportunity to the two great nations of the subcontinent to understand each other. Full credit also goes to the Pakistani and Indian media, particularly TV satellite channels, which during the entire series projected the game very positively and promoted healthy cricket.
It is also hoped that more cricket will be played between the two countries and cricket lovers will be able to see more thrilling matches in the region. SYED ATIQ UL HASSAN
Sydney, South NSW, Australia
The Wana operation
The inaccuracies in the letter by Hafiz M. Idrees, President, Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, Punjab (April 10) are only too obvious.
While referring to the foreigners hiding in the tribal areas, he says that "these people have never committed any crime against Pakistani laws nor have they harmed the interests of the country". Who, then, has been shooting at Pakistan Army convoys?
Having "fought against Russian forces in Afghanistan during the last quarter of the previous century" does not entitle one to attack Pakistani soldiers and create hurdles in the way of Pakistan's foreign policy.
SIDDIQUE MALIK
Louisville, KY, USA
Courses at Shah Latif University
The zoology department recently established at the Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, offers only a bachelor's degree programme.
When the Quaid-i-Azam University was established in Islamabad, it offered only PhD and MPhil degree programmes. Even the master's degree programme was started many years later.
Similarly, the physics department at the Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, was established in 1988. It also first offered only a master's degree programme. The bachelor's programme has begun from the current year.
Again, the department of Urdu, which was established in 1989, first offered a master's degree programme, and is starting a bachelor's degree programme from this year.
The department of Sindhi, which was established in 1990, first offered PhD, MPhil and master's degree programmes, and a bachelor's degree programme has not yet been instituted. It seems strange that the zoology department should begin with a bachelor's programme. If it is not possible for the university administration to have PhD and MPhil courses, at least a master's degree programme can be started in this department.
ABDUL REHMAN SOOMRO
Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur
Don't raise park fees
Experience has shown that Mariam Javed's suggestion (April 16) of raising park fees to keep out undesirable elements from entering Karachi's parks is not practicable. The whole concept of charging fees for parks is faulted as citizens already pay for this facility in their municipal taxes.
Also, people cannot be stopped from entering parks once they have paid the fees, hence the problems witnessed at Nisar Shaheed and other parks in the city. A better approach would be for area residents to be mobilized to adopt parks in their locality and then pay for their upkeep by keeping costs low and raising funds.
I am told that a local business house has floated the idea of meeting 50 per cent of the costs involved with developing parks if the other half is raised by residents of the area. More involvement of the people is needed, which does not seem to be forthcoming.
NADEEM UR REHMAN
Karachi
Defeatist attitude
Winning hearts by showing sportsmanship and courage is one thing but losing without putting up a fight is quite another. The defeatist attitude and spineless performance of Pakistani cricketers have to change if they want to regain their place among the cricket-playing countries.
HARIS AZIZ
Lahore
Eradicating malaria
Dr Sarwar Zuberi proved that women in our society can excel, and should be recognized if they have the will and they work honestly. The day after her death, on the page opposite to her obituary (Dawn) there was a news item that the city government is going to buy insecticides to use as sprays.
Some years ago four cases of cerebral malaria in children were presented at a clinical meeting. They were all residents of Saddar. At the time of partition Karachi was malaria-free and nobody used mosquito nettings or mosquito repellent. In Burma the British army lost more soldiers to malaria than on the battleground. It was compulsory to enforce preventive measures in all cantonments.
In 2004 the concept of preventive medicine in Karachi is non-existent, and treatment is the key word. The city government health employees only run medical colleges, hospitals and dispensaries. Mosquito breeding grounds are seen all over Karachi that are ignored with sheer indifference. Even in supposed-to-be posh areas like Clifton and Defence Society, the breeding grounds of mosquitoes are perpetuated by stagnant water in the storm water drains and overflowing gutters.
Mosquito larva can be killed easily by draining these breeding grounds or simply spreading kerosene over the surface. These measures will have a nominal cost as compared to the cost of treating malaria.
Eradication of malaria in Karachi will greatly benefit the residents of this city and be a great tribute to the services of Dr Zuberi.
NIZAM UL HASAN
Karachi
Green bus service
Green buses have become a comfortable means of public transportation in Karachi, especially these days when the city is in the grip of a heatwave. But it is surprising to know that no green bus goes to the Korangi Crossing area, where many educational institutions are located.
I request the authorities concerned to start a Green bus service on this route for Korangi and Landhi commuters.
IMRAN SIAL
Karachi
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