| 14 May 2004 | Friday | 23 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425 |
Security in Gwadar
Sindh Assembly library
A British citizen's feat
PIA passengers' plight
Doctor-housewives
Sectarian madness yet again
Mango tree mortality
Deportation of Shahbaz
Time to act
Improving standard of education
Robbers on the prowl
An unanswered question
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It was very nice to know that Mr Siddique Malik read my response to his letter with interest and felt it important to respond (April 28). However, I would like to point out where he misunderstood and misinterpreted me.
I, and for that reason any person with any honour of humanity, can definitely not support the Baathist and Saddam regime or not be glad at its end. No one can forget or forgive the ruthless killings, tortures and loss of basic rights in all those years.
In fact, Saddam's regime is one of the worst nightmares of Muslim history. But the fact is, whatever is now happening in Iraq is not a dream we had, either. To cast aside the bad and bring in worse is not a thing we should accept.
Yes, when in 1989, I was in Iraq for a pilgrimage in Saddam's regime, I remember the fear and ban on religious acts. I remember a taxi driver who was the sole survivor in his village because when Saddam's men came to slaughter his villagers, he was miles away in his taxi.
But I also remember the pictures I saw in the newspapers after the US attack, of a man sitting alone, surrounded by the coffins of his entire family members, because when US missiles hit his house, he was not at home. And I also wonder how come the US, the "flag-bearer of freedom", last September, allowed its Governing Council in Iraq to impose a ban on the Arab satellite TV stations Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya from covering government activities for two weeks as a warning, stating that these two stations are "considered to have violated the rules and criteria that the media should respect to continue to work in Iraq"? Why do we hear of news of US soldiers taking newsmen and mediamen into custody? And Iraqi men in the forces are still being forced to drop bombs on their own people, with refusal leading to trouble.
We can hear about such injustices these days, because this time it is the international media taking an interest and getting involved. The problem is the Iraqi people have been thrown from the hands of one dictator into the hands of another.
While we who could have prevented both Saddam and US invasion are here arguing which era has been proved worse.
SYEDA AASIA BATOOL
Mirpurkhas
(2)
When the American public was told that Iraqis were the embodiment of evil, they accepted the pronouncement without question. Now when they are confronted with the harrowing pictures of torture and humiliation of Iraqi prisoners, they are aghast.
Mercilessly crushing a militarily much weaker nation, destroying its houses and killing its citizens on one pretext after the other, is a crime against humanity that is far more heinous than the occasionally exposed maltreatment of combatant prisoners.
What about the wretched inmates of Guantanamo Bay? Has any impartial agency been permitted to investigate how many of them had actually anything to do with Al Qaeda or terrorism or were merely sons of poor peasants who were sent to the madressahs simply because the education there was free? Can anyone imagine the pain and anguish of the parents and relatives of these prisoners?
FERZANA RAOOF
Islamabad
Security in Gwadar
We may accuse the Balochistan government of inadequate security arrangements for the Chinese engineers at Gwadar. But in view of the prevailing situation where terrorists are ready to kill themselves, can any system of security be foolproof? Of course not, but some of the fury statements in the recent past by prominent politicians of Balochistan should also be kept in mind.
Only last month Nawab Akbar Bugti said that they would drown all those who were building Gwadar port. Mr Ataullah Mengal sounded even more rash and angry when he said that no investor would go alive if investment in Gwadar was made against the wishes of the Baloch people.
Now when it has already been decided at the highest level not to undertake important national projects like the Kalabagh Dam without the consensus of the provinces, especially the explicit consent of the province in which the project is based, why were Baloch leaders not taken into confidence before undertaking the Gwadar scheme? Efforts at the highest political level are required to persuade Baloch sardars and political leaders to let the project go ahead smoothly in the national interest.
A convention may be called at Quetta, which should be attended by the prime minister who happens to be a Baloch, and other leading national and local leaders, where a detailed briefing on the Gwadar project may be given with a view to educating the Baloch leaders and the people about the far-reaching economic benefits that would accrue to Pakistan in general and Balochistan in particular from projects like the one at Gwadar.
DR ZAINAB RIZVI
Lahore
Sindh Assembly library
The other day, while searching for a reference book, I had an opportunity to visit the Sindh Assembly's library situated on the first floor of the assembly building.
I was extremely dismayed to find the library in a very pathetic condition, as no book worth reading was available, let alone the reference book I was searching for. On inquiry, I was told that for ages the library's stocks have not been updated.
A great many books and documents/manuscripts for the period prior to the One Unit that were shifted to Lahore, being the capital of West Pakistan, could also not be retrieved even after repeated efforts, though more than 30 years have lapsed since the One Unit was undone.
I still recollect the magnificence of the assembly library up to the '40s when a person like Agha Badaruddin Durrani, a bibliophile himself, served as speaker of assembly.
In those days, I remember, the honourable members of the assembly used the library frequently and as a result it always remained updated and efficient. Besides, it housed numerous rare books and manuscripts preserved since the British takeover of Sindh in 1843.
The entire record prior to One Unit, which was shifted to Lahore as a consequence of the new set-up, should automatically have been restored to the Sindh Assembly. But unfortunately this has not been done, thereby depriving the people of this province of their inheritance.
I request the authorities in right earnest to approach the government of Punjab to arrange for transfer of all records shifted from the Sindh Assembly.
DR ALI AKBAR M. DHAKAN
Karachi
A British citizen's feat
It is a matter of regret that an event which took place on April 25, 2004, and would have made us - Pakistanis, Sindhis and the women community - proud went unreported in the Pakistan press and on the local TV channels. Only Bubai's Khaleej Times reported it in detail.
On that day a British citizen of Pakistan descent, Ms Anoushka Kachelo, 24, became the youngest woman to walk the last degree to the North Pole after hauling 55 kilos across more than 80km of the frozen continent.
Speaking from the North Pole Anoushka said: "I'm literally on the top of the world! I'm so proud to be here and hope I will in some way be inspiration to other Pakistani women, as well as raising awareness of three charities that are close to my heart."
She further said: "I hope to dispel the belief that Asian women are downtrodden, especially in the light of recent media coverage in the UK." Through this and another expedition, the South Pole which she plans for, she will be raising money for the three charities which are dear to her.
Ms Kachelo, the people of Pakistan and Sindh salute you. You are an inspiration to the women of Pakistan who are trying to break out of their male-dominated bondage.
Can some reader throw more light on this intrepid lady? Is she from the same Kachelo family of Mirpurkhas - the growers of the finest mangoes in Pakistan?
A. REHMAN
Hyderabad
PIA passengers' plight
PIA is our national airline. As such, it is expected that it would recruit and post only efficient, hardworking, honest, friendly and cooperative persons, especially at the counters issuing boarding cards for international flights, to keep the national image high. Their primary concern must be service and assistance to the passengers on whose patronage PIA exists and thrives.
On April 25 my son and his wife, both of whom had come to Pakistan from America recently, were scheduled to fly to Tokyo by PK 852 ETD 1940 hours. They held economy plus tickets and on the date they reported at Karachi's Quaid-i-Azam International Airport boarding counters at 17:00 hours while we waited outside.
They carried with them three suitcases/bags. The official at the counter objected to three suitcases/bags and advised them to buy another suitcase, take out some stuff from these suitcases/bags and fill the fourth suitcase with them or pay $480 instead.
I request the PIA authorities to investigate the matter and inform the public as to since when two passengers with three suitcases are required to carry four suitcases and what is the logic behind it. Moreover, if this is a requirement, why are passengers not informed of it at the time of buying /reserving tickets?
ABDUL HAKIM
Karachi
Doctor-housewives
I have noticed a very disturbing trend in the Pakistani-American community, particularly among male doctors. They marry Pakistani doctors. But most of the latter then become housewives and never practise. Consider the following stark reality.
Pakistan has a low doctor/persons ration of 1/1,800 (UN recommendation is 1/1,000 for developing nations). Pakistan spends about six million rupees on each trained doctor.
It trains only about 1,300 doctors a year, 500 of these newly-trained doctors leave the country and go to practise abroad and about 200, particularly lady doctors, stop practising (source: Principal, the Frontier Medical College).
Although we should be concerned about the number of trained doctors who do not practise, I particularly would like to mention female graduates who marry and come to the US and/or Canada.
I know of only handful of married Pakistani women doctors who practise. This trend exists because of many reasons, cultural and otherwise. Why is it considered prestigious to have a doctor-housewife. Why not marry a journalist, artist, teacher, etc?
At the same time, I am told, many parents push girls to go into medicine, so they can claim a relatively better suitor in future. And what better suitor than a doctor "settled" abroad?
JAWAID SHAIKH
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Sectarian madness yet again
About five weeks after terrorists killed 47 Shia processionists in Quetta, a suicide bomber last Friday blew himself up in the Hyderi Mosque inside the compound of the Sindh Madressatul Islam, Karachi.
More than 360 men, women and children have been massacred in sectarian attacks since 1995 in Pakistan. The poisonous ivy of religious intolerance has been allowed to flourish for far too long to be eradicated soon.
Seemingly, the government is either helpless to deal with those who murder in the name of religion or lacks the will to stand up to sectarianism.
An official report prepared by intelligence agencies in 1995 showed that the number of madaris had risen to 8,000 from about 150 in 1957 and 868 in 1975. Thousands of madaris sprang up in the late 1970s and the early 1980s when General Ziaul Haq started pampering and patronizing religious groups to create a constituency for himself.
The root cause of sectarianism is the lack of tolerance in our society. The year 1995 was the United Nations Year of Tolerance. The objectives of observing this day were to create awareness of issues of tolerance and to develop long-term plans to promote tolerance.
It was, however, nothing more than a ceremonial slogan, as evidenced by the barbarities committed in the Balkans, Burundi, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda and Sudan, to name a few.
A letter to the editor (May 8) has suggested: "The state should stop grading its citizens. Only secularism could gradually end this barbarism." Government authorities, instead of facing the reality, blame outsiders, hidden hands or militant groups, and describe such killings as the work of Al Qaeda or as simply an act of terrorism to destabilize the country.
However, Dawn's editorial of May 10 exposed the hollowness of the government's claims by stating that "on every such occasion the government leaders have been loud in their promises to trace out the culprits, mete out exemplary punishment and to root out terrorism.
But now it is plain that the authorities have lost all credibility and the people view their statements as of no more than empty rhetoric."
PROFESSOR (DR) P. NASIR
Gujrat
Mango tree mortality
With reference to the letter "Sudden death of mango trees" (May 8) by Professor A. Qadeer Malik Khanzada, I would like to add that plant disease specialists have different opinions, but I think the sudden death of mango trees is a complicated case that emerged due to a combined attack of anthracnose, stem blight or die back, root rot, tip die back, leaf blight, bacterial leaf spot and malformation diseases, which are responsible for the decline (dying of trees).
More or less, all mango varieties are reported to be susceptible to most of the above diseases. Mango growers also neglect their orchards and take an interest only at the time of deciding the contract rate and period. Contractors try to recover the money spent and obtain high profits at low cost of production, but do not think about the health and life of mango trees.
Even growers avoid irrigating their orchards when required; interculturing and manure applications are also not carried out in time.
M. MITHAL JISKANI
Assistant Professor, Plant Pathology, Faculty of Crop Protection, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam
Deportation of Shahbaz
I Support most of the policies of General Musharraf. But I was very disappointed in the way the Shahbaz Sharif affair was handled. Why did the government detain reporters who were accompanying Mr Sharif on his return flight? The BBC aired a story which stated that a BBC reporter had had his camera and tapes confiscated, and that he had been detained too.
The world's impression of Pakistan as a country with an authoritarian regime (in addition to all the other drawbacks) was reinforced.
Another blunder was to keep a private TV channel from airing an interview with Shahbaz Sharif. Is the government finally trying to put restrictions on TV channels? I hope not.
In the BBC report, Pakistani riot police were shown throwing back stones that the protesters had thrown at the police. Nowhere in the world does the riot police throw stones, etc., back. Why is the government so afraid of Mr Shahbaz Sharif?
FAWWAD SHAFI
Karachi
Time to act
Pakistan is reported to have been re-elected to the United Nation Commission on Human Rights against one Asian seat. Moreover, Pakistan has been an active member of the commission. It is a coincidence that outrages and inhuman offences have been reported to be committed by the US soldiers in Iraq have just come to light.
Pakistan can play a role and table a resolution proposing an international inquiry into the abuses reportedly committed by US servicemen.
MAJID BURFAT
Hyderabad
Improving standard of education
I want to bring the following facts to the notice of the Sindh education secretary. Three years back your department started the programme of free distribution of books among poor and needy children.
A commendable job though, it appears you have not tried to monitor whether these books are being delivered to those who really need them. Besides, they need books for science, Sindhi, Pakistan Studies and grammar - all compulsory subjects - but these have not yet been given to them.
These students also need pens, slates, pencils and paper along with the books. These should also be provided to them so that they can get on with their studies without any constraint.
Also, parent-teacher associations or school management committees have failed to achieve their intended objectives. The chairmen of these committees do not take care of the schools and the money that comes into the accounts of the schools is never spent on their development.
In view of this state of affairs, it is suggested that to improve the standard of education the teachers should be authorized to control and spend this money on schools' welfare. and if a teacher fails to performs his duty in this regard, he must be held accountable.
DOST MOHAMMAD DASHTI
Khairpur
Robbers on the prowl
This is apropos of the letter "Robbers on the prowl" (May 10). My aunt who lives in the last lane of N Block in North Nazimabad, Karachi, was also a victim of robbery. Four robbers barged into her house and took away jewellry, prize bonds, etc.
Besides, for the past many months motorcyclists have been snatching money from people in blocks L, M, and N. They stalk people from three closely located banks to their residences and snatch money at gunpoint.
I myself have been a victim and know a few people, including my neighbour, who have been recently robbed this way. All of us were carrying big amounts when we were looted. Most residents of the surrounding blocks hold accounts in these banks and their ride back home from the banks has now become risky.
I agree that security needs to be beefed up in the area. Street-lights are also needed in the last few streets of the N block.
RESIDENT
Karachi
An unanswered question
Son: Father, how is it that in Muslim-dominated Pakistan mosques have become unsafe whereas in Hindu-dominated India this is not so?
Father: I don't know, son.
F.U. AHMAD
Karachi
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