| 14 June 2004 | Monday | 25 Rabi-us-Saani 1425 |
Women tennis players'
Police behaviour
Nathiagali violations
Law & order situation
Preventing mountain road accidents
No electricity in village
Stem cell research
Night power shutdowns
Enlightened restraint
Relief to Hyderabad
New phone connections
Healthcare system
A dirty beach
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The agriculture sector, despite the vital role it plays in the national economy, has not yet been given the importance it deserved. As a result, the desired progress could not be achieved in the farming sector in terms of increased yields. We cannot lose sight of the fact that it is on the success of the agriculture sector that industry depends.
It is urged upon the government to consider the following measures which would go a long way in boosting the country's agricultural output:
1. Urgent attention should be paid towards land reforms. All big land holdings should be taken over without any exception.
2. All surplus land should be distributed among small cultivators or unemployed persons for farming. This arrangement can work on lease, cooperative basis or sale/allotment.
3. Agro-industries should be developed near villages. A basic infrastructure for development may be provided under an organized programme.
4. Poultry, cattle and fish farming should be encouraged and maximum incentives be given to this sector. Unemployed people, especially in villages, need to be encouraged to take up these professions by providing them with technical expertise and financial assistance.
5. The government should launch a comprehensive village development programme aimed at improving the living conditions in villages by providing all basic amenities and simultaneously promoting the cottage and other regional industries.
This will not only help in checking the flow of population towards urban centres but will also prompt the people in cities to live in properly developed villages.
6. Fertile land should not be wasted by unduly expanding the territorial limits of cities. Urbanization must be stopped somewhere. There is no doubt that green fields and orchards are more valuable than the lofty yet barren buildings of expanding cities.
RASHEED ASGHAR
Lahore
Women tennis players'
A team of three Pakistani tennis players has left on an Indian tour. It is a useful tour for the young Pakistanis who will definitely be able to earn valuable ranking points.
They will get another chance when they play in satellite tournaments at home in August - in all probability, two are likely to be held in Lahore while one each will be played in Karachi and Islamabad. All this will lead to a likely strengthening of the Pakistan team for the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania tournament against New Zealand in September.
So far so good. But what pains me as a woman player from Pakistan is the total neglect of my fellow women. After all, I sweat as much as any man while playing tennis.
Should women players, like me, be left to fend for themselves. As a mass communication student of the Punjab University, I have been winning the university title. For what? Surely not just to display the trophies on a shelf? I want to improve. I want to excel. I want to know my limitations on the tennis court.
Given the recent India-Pakistan cricket series and the successful South Asian Federation Games in which a large Indian contingent participated, sporting ties between the two countries seem to be at their best.
Then there is talk of combined games of the two Punjabs. Under these circumstances, an opportunity to women players would go a long way to improve the standard of women's sports in Pakistan.
I would like to mention the names of athletes like Gulnaz, Sumera, Naseem and Busrha. They all did well against their stronger rivals from India. Winning an SAF Games medal for Gulnaz must have been the greatest moment in her life. But how did it happen? Because they were able to compete.
Playing in each other's country is a positive step. A player carries the pride and honour of his country across the border. But should this honour be reserved only for men? This is what disturbs me. May be, in future the All-India Tennis Association would also invite women players from Pakistan, even if it is at the university level. A Punjab University vs Delhi University women's tennis competition would be a new beginning in this direction.
NABILA HAQ
Lahore
Police behaviour
On June 2, a teenager, Asif Tufail, was shot in the leg by an infuriated policeman with his official rifle. After committing this act of terrorism he drove away on his motorcycle. His three companions, instead of taking the injured youth to a hospital, kept on thrashing him despite his bleeding leg. personnel.
Last year, a second-year student was shot dead in Ichhra by the police. Another youth was killed in front of his brother. Recently, a youth was shot dead in Chuhung and his body thrown in a nullah by the police.
Two little girls were gang-raped and subsequently killed by policemen in Karachi. Two women were abducted and raped by policemen in Multan. It is reported that the suicide bomber, who killed 24 people and injured more than 40 others offering Friday prayers in the Imambargah Ali Raza in Karachi was a policeman whose antecedents and character were verified by the police department before selection.
Many young men and women die every day in police custody under mysterious circumstances. A senior officer of the health department died in police custody in March. A senior officer of the DMG group while performing his duty was subjected to severe physical abuse and handcuffed by the police.
Earlier, the SHO Narowal deliberately misbehaved with a civil judge. The latter got him arrested but his senior officer appeared on the scene with a heavy police contingent and forcibly secured his "release". Almost daily cases of such lawlessness and highhandedness of the police are reported in newspapers.
Police personnel are recruited by senior officials of their department after verifying their antecedents through their own channels. Surely, these recruits are physically checked, their mental condition and attitude examined and also cleared by psychologists.
These officials are, therefore, fully responsible for their deeds and misdeeds and must be held accountable for the atrocious attitude of the police towards the citizens.
MUHAMMAD NAZIR CHAHAL
Kila Didar Singh
Nathiagali violations
This letter is in reference to one published in your newspaper on June 10 ("Nathiagali violation"). I am a frequent visitor to the area and know several people who own property and palatial houses there.
While Nathiagali is in much better condition than, say, Murree, over the years it has seen a decline in its natural beauty. There seem to be several reasons for this. One is that contrary to what people might think, trees are routinely cut in and around Nathiagali, and the local Galiyat authorities take no action.
In the summer, Nathiagali gets its fair share of tourists and visitors but so far there are a few, if any, facilities for them, such as public toilets. On the other hand, the natural beauty of the area is spoiled by the construction of tiled walkways which seem completely out of place and extremely gaudy.
Contrary to what people in the rest of the country might think, lush green and verdant Nathiagali has a water distribution problem which is almost as serious as the one in Karachi.
The problem has to do with storage. While it does rain a lot in the region, there are very few storage facilities and much of the water ends up running down the hillsides. In fact, some residents have to bring water to their homes through tankers, not different from what happens in cities like Karachi.
The Galiyat authorities have failed to set up any properly functioning solid waste disposal system. The result is that garbage is dumped freely and waste can be seen littered on many of its mountain sides.
In fact, a walk past the main Nathiagali bazaar will show the extent of this problem. However, this is now affecting also the residential properties above the bazaar, all because the local authorities have failed to put in place a proper waste disposal system.
Will the NWFP government or someone in authority please look into this situation and save this hill station from becoming another Murree?
Ali Ahmed
Islamabad
Law & order situation
The law and order is the concern of every responsible citizen. After every bomb blast, suicide attack or gunning down of innocent people, statements are made and compensation announced. Investigative committees made and most of the culprits are caught and go on long trials. Isn't prevention better than cure?
I suggest that the number of police personnel posted outside mosques and other public access buildings be increased. And at least one of the policemen should carry wireless, enabling him to quickly get in touch with the police emergency cell. Emphasis should also be laid on effective body scanning.
These suggestions are over and above the obvious need for area surveillance and effective intelligence gathering by police, which presently seem to be uncoordinated at the local level.
Inattention, ineffective execution of duty should be made punishable immediately. Mere suspension of duty won't do any good at all. There is also the need for the chain of command to be made effective, so that the in-charges themselves can make on the spot checks to curb dereliction of duty. Office timings need to be reduced to the barest essential minimum. These suggestions would be a move in the right direction.
DAUD ANSARI
Karachi
Preventing mountain road accidents
Having had personal experience of frequent travel in mountainous areas in commercial vehicles (bus, taxi, van) and once even in a truck, I am confident that avoidable mountain road tragedies can be averted by enforcing a very simply rule:
"Go down the slope in the same gear in which you climbed it". Invariably, most drivers, even of private cars, fall prey to the temptation of saving couple of ounces of fuel by disengaging the engine and allowing the vehicle to roll free.
This is the reason that vehicles meet with accidents while coming down the steep slope, hardly ever when climbing. It is also worth noting that it is often passenger buses that fall in ravines, while heavily loaded cargo trucks seldom do.
Maybe this is because truck drivers are not in mortal haste or are not offered commissions if they save some fuel. I always felt my spine freeze whenever I saw the driver put the vehicle in "neutral" and let it roll on a steep slope.
If I could not prevent myself from asking him not to do so, I was laughed, once even by the driver of a government car who advised me not to come to hilly tracts.
What happens is that a vehicle, loaded or otherwise, has no power when the engine's cut or is in neutral and the driver has no control over it. Reliance on brakes to slow down or stop a vehicle, particularly one that is naively loaded, is a fallacy which our drivers refuse to admit.
It is their belief that even if driving at 80kmph or more, they can bring their vehicle to an immediate stop on any road in the plains or the hills. No one has ever told any driver that a car with four tyres has a ground contact of only 16-to-20 inches at most, while a six-wheeler has a maximum grip of 40 inches.
More wheels with wider tyres are provided in vehicles according to the weight carried by them and the road- grip required. An inflated football filled with air can be easily kicked into movement or stopped dead. But the same ball when filled with sand will not permit such liberty.
How can a fast moving vehicle, particularly one loaded with passengers, be expected to stop when it is free of the restraining low-gear power of the engine? Even if the brakes are in top-class condition and the driver manages to reduce or stop the turning of wheels, how will the road-grip of only a few inches hold the huge and heavy mass of a bus from continuing in its momentum and skidding down with its human cargo into the valley of death?
Let police educate the drivers in general never to disengage the engine while coming down an incline.
DR SAYEDAIN JAFFERY
Karachi
No electricity in village
The village of Pail Bina Khan in the Sohawa tehsil of the Jhelum district still lacks electricity, despite the fact that surrounding villages within a radius of less than a kilometre have enjoyed electricity for the past 20 years. The poor people of the Pail Bina Khan village suffer in the intense summer heat and cold winters due to lack of electricity.
For the past two years, I have been sending emails to chief minister and the governor of Punjab besides corresponding with the district Nazim of Jhelum but have not received a single reply from anyone. I wonder if they even bother to read their emails.
I hope that maybe after the publication of this letter, someone in authority can look into this matter urgently and let me know why our village has not been electrified so far and more importantly when can we expect to receive electricity.
KHURSHID PERVEZ
Coventry, UK
Stem cell research
This is concerning recent news reports that the world's first stem cell bank has opened in Britain. There is no doubt that genetic science has great potential for either serving or degrading humanity but its proper use requires moral reflection and the establishment of moral limits.
There are many uses of genetic engineering, such as 'somatic cell' therapy that are morally acceptable. In this instance a genetically determined malfunction in a particular kind of human body cell is corrected using genetically-altered cells. The goal here is to serve human life and human dignity.
"Germ-line" therapy performed on early human embryos is more problematic because it alters the basic genetic constitution of the person and of his or her future offspring.
This type of therapy requires using reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization to produce embryos in the laboratory where they can be observed and manipulated.
Here, a relationship of domination of researchers over their embryonic subjects exists which not only opens the door to new threats against life but is contrary to the dignity and equality that must be common to parents and children.
Genetic screening used for the deliberate destruction of human embryos can never be justified because here we are dealing with murder. All governments have a moral obligation to protect human life in all phases of its existence from conception to natural death.
PAUL KOKOSKI
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Night power shutdowns
For over two months the KESC has been having shutdowns almost daily and many a time during a day in all middle-class localities. The power shutdowns during night, and that too for long hours, are painful.
Offices and industrial staff cannot work to their full efficiency, students cannot concentrate on their studies, and senior citizens at home are put to discomfort.
Let us hope the KESC higher-ups will soon solve this recurring problem in the interest of the public.
SALEEM ATHAR
Karachi
Enlightened restraint
Reference General Musharraf's article, Islam has always practised "enlightened restraint". 'Enlightened moderation' is but a byproduct.
AZMAT KHAN
Karachi
Relief to Hyderabad
The recent water crisis in Hyderabad has badly affected the pace of life, including the livelihood of businessmen and traders. It is requested that some relief be given to traders of Hyderabad who have suffered over the past month through no fault of their own.
The downturn in business activity has resulted in losses amounting to millions of rupees which can be marginally offset by tax relief. A similar package should be offered to taxi and rickshaw drivers in the form of relief on Motor Vehicle Tax.
AJMAL VAKIL
Hyderabad
New phone connections
The PTCL Muzaffargarh authorities look the other way while their employees run PCOs in the city in collaboration with their relatives. There are always some vacant points in the exchange that can be used to run these PCOs without registering any consumption.
Consequently, it is the effort of PTCL staff not to let any expansion take place in the system so that more and more people are forced to use these PCOs.
It is no wonder, therefore, that even developed colonies in Muzaffargarh like Khwaja Farid Colony do not have distribution points (DPs) available for new telephone connections.
Add to this the PTCL staff's alleged complicity with mobile phone companies and the prospects for local people getting fixed phone connections have been reduced to zero.
The government is requested to do something and order the PTCL officials not to thwart local expansion plans and to give connections to applicants without delay.
MUHAMMAD YAQUB
Muzaffargarh
Healthcare system
The healthcare system in the country presents a grim and dismal scenario. People have gone through much suffering and for a long time. Their patience has resulted in more suffering and it is going on unabated.
The whole social fabric is in tatters. But medical practice being an accomplice in this anarchy and hypocrisy, exploitation is rampant. Is the PMA conscious of its obligation to the suffering humanity? Like any other association, I am sure, they have looked after the interest of their members, but they have a responsibility to the public too.
Are the PMA and medical professionals aware of the huge burden borne by the sufferers at the cost of the former's prosperity? The flourishing consultancy and diagnostic services need a serious review. Is this practice of collusion justified and legal? Should this be allowed to continue? There is no justification for pampering the pharmaceutical companies.
It's time for men and women of healing to ponder on the system and show magnanimity by effecting a purposeful change.
DR NASEEM A. SIDDIQUI
Karachi
A dirty beach
I whole-heartedly endorse the observations made in the Karachi Notebook (June 7) under the subheading, 'A dirty beach' and wonder if the city district government will take note of it.
One of the more disturbing aspects of this story is, as described by Karachian, the emergence of shanty huts as resting places for camels and horses all along Clifton beach.
These act as a major deterrent to those wanting to visit the beach with their families. The sooner these are removed the better. There is already a dearth of places of recreation in the city.
Will the Karachi nazim please do something about this?
K.M. IHSANULLAH
Karachi
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