| 27 May 2004 | Thursday | 07 Rabi-us-Saani 1425 |
Powers of tax ombudsman
Indian secularism
'Day dawns, we awake, we yawn'
Urdu as Punjab's mother tongue
Wana surrender - by whom?
People and politics
Flabby civil bureaucracy
Phone fault
Needed: more than an apology
Contract teachers
Mass transit for Karachi
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In my article "Shifting social paradigms" (February 9) I tried to emphasize the point that social change cannot be legislated by law but can only be brought about by a process of social evolution and progress, which takes time.
I tried to explain that laws reflect the values, customs and beliefs held supreme in society and that laws cannot impose a certain morality on society. Any attempt to do so is likely to exacerbate the situation and produce a whole new set of problems.
Recently, a court ruled that the divorce decree issued by Balakh Sher Mahar to Shaista Almani was invalid since it had been procured under duress by tribal chiefs. It thus nullified the divorce decree and restored the marriage of the couple.
This was not only against tribal and social customs but also against religious practice. Few, if any, paused to consider the ripple effect of this verdict. For many this was the end of the fairy tale, the couple presumably destined to live happily ever after. But for those familiar with tribal psyche, this merely marked the opening of a Pandora's box.
On May 21, virtually all Sindhi newspapers carried banner headlines reporting commencement of lethal hostilities between the Mahar and Almani tribes.
On just the first day of this feud, five men lost their lives, seven women were abducted, many were injured, villages were set on fire and homes destroyed, large bands of heavily armed men roamed the highways and stopped and searched vehicles at will to seek out men of the opposing tribe and there were reports of many abductions.
More trouble is on the way as heavily armed Mahars and Almanis from all over Sindh are collecting in Ghotki. The government has been forced to call in the Rangers and police from adjoining districts and set up hundreds of pickets all over the district. Life for the ordinary citizen of the area has become a nightmare. This is just the beginning.
This happens when a misguided, foolish attempt is made to wipe out centuries-old customs and conventions to appease westernized sensibilities and perceptions of the Clifton cavalry, who have become self-appointed saviours of women all over Pakistan.
Compared to the coverage reserved for the trials and tribulations of the star-crossed lovers and the frenzy of the press and media to claim credit for bringing the case to public attention, the press and media, apart from the Sindhi press, have paid only routine attention to the ongoing bloodshed in Ghotki.
This is not surprising since the press and media generally pander to the urban elite who are not interested in such minor incidents as murder and abduction in remote rural Sindh as long as women have the right to marry according to their own choice, regardless of the consequences.
There is undeniably a need to bring ancient tribal customs and beliefs in line with progressive and modern perceptions of morality and justice, but this is not the way to do it.
The process of evolving a modern, progressive morality can be somewhat expedited by greater emphasis on education and enlightenment but if it is rushed too much, then the events unfolding in Ghotki today will become an everyday occurrence.
Another court recently saw it fit to ban the settlement of disputes in tribal jirgas. Time will, no doubt, prove that this verdict too will open up a new can of worms. In the past not a single tribal dispute of this nature or severity has ever been settled in court.
Having clipped the wings of tribal chiefs, it will be interesting to see whether the legal and administrative machinery can cope with the crisis brewing in Ghotki and whether a durable peace can be restored without resort to the ancient tribal ways. I, for one, have my doubts. But for the sake of all involved and the people of Ghotki in general, I hope sanity prevails.
AMEER BUKSH BHUTTO
Member, Executive Committee, Sindh National Front, Karachi
Powers of tax ombudsman
This has reference to the letter "Powers of tax ombudsman" (May 23). The president had ruled in the case of Chenab Fibers Ltd, Faisalabad, that the federal tax ombudsman (FTO) had no jurisdiction to investigate matters relating to assessment of income or wealth, determination of tax or duty liability, etc., when the legal remedy of appeal and review or revision was available under the relevant legislation. The writer of the letter has mentioned that the jurisdiction of the FTO was effectively curtailed.
The writer appears not to be conversant with the provisions of the FTO Ordinance 2000 which bars the jurisdiction of the FTO in such matters where the legal remedy of appeal is available.
The president has simply clarified the already existing statutory provisions and has not curtailed the jurisdiction of the FTO. Rather the president simply clarified the existing status of the FTO's jurisdiction.
The writer ought to have realized that the office of the FTO is a creature of the FTO Ordinance 2000 itself and the apparent excess of jurisdiction was rightly corrected by the president.
The writer should not be disappointed because apart from such matters where a legal remedy is available, there is much to be done by the FTO, whose jurisdiction extends to all the procedural deviations and not to the substantive provisions of law.
The proposal by the writer to confer jurisdiction upon the FTO to adjudicate questions of law where, in the opinion of the taxpayer, the order passed by an income tax functionary is void and without jurisdiction is not sound one.
It is based on the stated justification that small taxpayers have meagre resources and can't fight against the injustice of the department in the superior courts.
The writer has further proposed that the taxpayer, as well as the department, may file an appeal against such order of the FTO only with the Supreme Court. An appeal before the Supreme Court is not only very costly, but the Supreme Court is an apex judicial forum while the FTO is an "administrative forum".
In fact, the remedy with the FTO being of an administrative nature, the appeal remedy has rightly been conferred upon the highest administrative authority, i.e., the president.
CHAMAN LAL OAD
Karachi
Indian secularism
India has a Muslim president (nominated to the post by a Hindu prime minister) while its new prime minister is a Sikh. In a country in which the majority belongs to the Hindu faith, this marks an extraordinary success for secularism.
Even in America and the UK, a non-Christian has never become the chief executive. The significance of this great achievement increases when viewed in the backdrop of the harsh reality that a large segment of the Indian population lives in poverty and is uneducated.
High standards of living for all citizens is a goal that every country must strive to attain. However, India has proved that democracy is a precursor to economic stability and an educated society, not the other way around. India's success in the field of economy and education is remarkable, too, and this is recognized worldwide.
What do those not just in Pakistan but throughout the Third World who use the excuse of poverty and a low rate of education in justifying a non-democratic system have to say now? India has become a shining (no offence to the BJP) example of democracy.
India's institutions of secular democracy have evolved to a level where they have survived the rule of a religiously biased party. It is anybody's guess what will happen to our way of life if the MMA gains control of the federal government.
It is only when the majority stands up for the rights of the minorities that a society achieves equality for all citizens, a pre-requisite for progress and justice.
However, it must be acknowledged that the BJP government blemished India's commitment to secularism. It had started to rewrite school history textbooks in an attempt to brainwash the children. We have already seen the poisonous effects of this fanatical approach in Afghanistan.
It is hoped that the new Indian government will quickly launch efforts to undo this damage to the national treasure that is a national treasure in every country, i.e., the country's children.
SIDDIQUE MALIK
Louisville, KY, USA
'Day dawns, we awake, we yawn'
I had a feeling that somehow the headline of Mr Ardeshir Cowasjee's column "Day dawns, we awake, we yawn" (May 16) is incomplete. He should have added - "and we go back to sleep". But even his incomplete title explains our general behaviour. Someone once said that those who choose to sleep forgo the opportunity to be awake.
It is not only our Muslim brothers and sisters in this great country who sleep - and continue to sleep - 50 to 60 Muslim countries, with over a billion equally poor souls, do the same.
Pakistan's one arm was cut off by India and nobody in the Muslim world raised an eyebrow. Afghanistan was destroyed by the Soviet Union, which by its own follies - and some solace to Afghans - had to face dismemberment itself. With the exception of Pakistan, nobody even breathed a protest.
America forced Iraq to destroy Iran. They had to avenge the humiliation of American hostages taken by Khomeini's Iran. About a quarter of a million Iranians, more than half of them able-bodied men, were massacred by Iraqi guns and missiles in eight years of war.
Then came the destruction of Iraq itself. Twice it was battered by America. The Muslim world kept looking at this stone-facedly. They thought that they were punishing Saddam Hussein.
After his capture, we found that Iraq was being punished. The next target may be Iran and Syria. Muslim blood is being spilled in Kashmir and Palestine. What have they done? What can you do about it?
S. M. KAZIM NAQVI
Karachi
Urdu as Punjab's mother tongue
Mr Mushir Anwar (Dawn, May 7) says that the debate on Urdu-Punjabi which started in 1909 "ultimately culminated in Hafiz Mamhud Sheerani's epochal book "Punjab mein Urdu" which provided the scientific basis to the strong and revolutionary claim that Urdu was the mother tongue of Punjab, because it was Punjab that had "mothered it."
1. Sheerani's book was published in 1928 and it never claimed that Urdu was the mother tongue of Punjab.
2. Sheerani, in his article 'Punjab mein Qadeem Urdu Adab... 1935' (reproduced by Akhbar-i-Urdu, Islamabad, March-April, 2004.. P 21-22), says: Punjabi was the medium of instruction at the earlier stages or primary level... (at a later stage) same status was given to Urdu and for that purpose both the courses were put together. For instance perhaps the Urdu courses of Khaliq Bari and Hamd Bari were also taught side by side with the Punjabi books Wahid Bari and Baziq Bari.
3. The East India Company occupied the Punjab in 1846 and with that Urdu was given official status (Sheerani in his article cited above).
4. One wonders how Sheerani's approach could be taken as scientific because he has not taken into consideration the potential of the two languages. Moreover, he has not compared the vastness of the vocabulary of Punjabi with the limited vocabulary of Lashkari Urdu.
RAFIULSHAN JARRAL
Gujranwala
Wana surrender - by whom?
I was stunned to see an image in the national dailies some time back. It was of four globally-wanted, menacing-looking tribesmen - the fifth is still at large - with a satirical look on their faces, handing over - not surrendering - their 'gifts' of small arms, including a rusty sword, to a senior army commander somewhere in Wana, South Waziristan. And we still declare Muslims can't be pitched against Muslims.
In the last 57 years, the army and its allied agencies have launched several covert and overt operations in the three of the present provinces and the former eastern wing, inhabited by none but Muslims.
Although our forces suffered casualties in the recent Wana operation, these have been underplayed presumably because a powerful religious group is backing the tribesmen and playing a one-side facilitator in the rapprochement between the tribesmen and the army. The question is, are we trying to create a permanent constituency for such a religious group?
The fact that many tribesmen from the Fata territories are conducting attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan is a matter to be taken note of by our policymakers and legislators.
We know it through various ways - the latest being the crossing over to our side by the coalition forces and telling our troops that they have been under fire from this side of the border.
This means the coalition forces would not sit back for a long time and count their dead. They simply cannot wait for our hobnobbing with the jirga people to end.
We can turn this situation in our favour by establishing Pakistan's writ in the Fata territories, which at present harbour criminals, kidnappers, assassins, international terrorists from all over the world, including Pakistan. There should be no more leniency with these tribesmen who conveniently find sanctuaries, along with an unknown number of jihadis, in these federally-protected territories.
The area should be fully integrated with Pakistan. No one is above the law, not even commander Nek Mohammad and scores of other misguided people who must be controlled before they bring misfortune on Pakistan, as has happened in Afghanistan and Iraq.
KUNWAR KHALID YUNUS
Karachi
People and politics
The NSC bill was passed on the Senate floor within three minutes, reducing parliament to a toothless tiger. Parliament has chosen to hang itself by its own rope.
Our government changed its policy by almost 180 degrees to take back the title of mujahideen from tribal people and declared them foreign fighters launching the Wana operation.
Shahbaz Sharif was deported in violation of the Supreme Court orders. Both the government and Mr Sharif consider themselves winners. The only losers were democracy and the judiciary in this drama named after Shakespeare's play Much ado about nothing.
After taking a mandate from people the various parties have merged into the Quaid's League for expediency. It is an artificial union imposed from above and it is useless to find a principle behind this merger. The Quaid's League, the name, annoys me more than activities of these politicians.
General Musharraf is concentrating all powers in his office and establishing a new system which stands almost at surreal odds with the definition of democracy given by Abraham Lincoln.
Our alienated masses are indifferent to this political circus. Politics is a world that exists outside their reach as they are busy in battling with the heat and the wheat crisis.
NIZAMUDDIN DEHLIVI
Jaranwala
Flabby civil bureaucracy
The decision of the GHQ to reduce the size of the army by 50,000 suggests a similar operation in the civil bureaucracy. Here the ratio between the teeth and the tail is 1 to 22.
Some time ago the government had appointed a committee under the chairmanship of Mr A. G. N. Kazi, an eminent administrator, to suggest measures to improve the mobility and efficiency of the civil administration. It was reported that the committee recommended reducing the basic pay-scales from 22 to 11.
This measure would make the ratio between the teeth and the tail 1 to 11. In the process, the civil bureaucracy would shed its unnecessary weight and cut red tape and dispense with an army of naib qasids and clerks. The report is gathering dust in the establishment division.
SYED AFZAAL HUSAIN ZAIDI
Islamabad
Phone fault
My telephone 6955330 has been out of order since May 2. I made a number of complaints to the North Karachi telephone exchange, the main complaint centre and the hotline at Islamabad, but in vain.
I hope the PTCL authorities will look into the matter for early redressal of the complaint.
MURTUZA KHAN
Karachi
Needed: more than an apology
The abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US soldiers at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad represents an unequivocal and inadmissible contrast with the principles of a great democracy. The horrible tortures and humiliations to which many Iraqi prisoners were subjected are crimes, because even in war there are rules to be respected.
The Muslims are outraged and deceived because the US appears to be imposing the same type of life upon Iraqi society that they said they were going to rescue them from. It's the very opposite of what they said they were going to do.
Mr Bush's words of regret to the Arab people did not go far enough. The president must take bigger steps to heal the wounds and diminish the hatred being caused by the war.
We need to pray for the victims of these acts of torture and for those who committed them, so that they recognize what they have done before the US justice system, which I hope will run its course.
We need also to unite ourselves in prayer for those who are kidnapped in Iraq, for those who risk their lives, and for those who lose it in carrying out their duty.
It's time the world recognized that the war initiated by the US deception about the existence of weapons of mass destruction was a moral failure.
PAUL KOKOSKI
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Contract teachers
The news that government employees will be given a raise in the next budget is welcome. But college lecturers employed on a contract basis in Punjab are not happy at all; they will get no raise.
In the current budget too, the permanent employees were given a 15 per cent raise, but ad hoc lecturers were ignored. May I ask the chief minister of Punjab, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, how he can fulfil his dream of an "educated Punjab" with deprived teachers?
AHMED RAZA TAHIR
Bahawalnagar
Mass transit for Karachi
Lately our civil authorities are taking interest in another feasibility of a mass transit system. I would like the relevant authorities to consider the overhead monorail system designed and commissioned by Malaysian engineers and technicians for Kuala Lumpur, opposite the Twin Towers (news dated 23.4.02).
We should now seriously start working on such an important project in collaboration with Malaysia or any other friendly country.
SALEEM ATHAR
Karachi
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