| 15 July 2004 | Thursday | 26 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425 |
Reviewing Hudood ordinances
Saving youngsters from smoking
Fencing of LoC
Rawalpindi Cantonment
'Verdict on the wall'
Troops for Iraq
Call for justice
Violation of law
Unattended problems
Vehicle hijacking in Karachi
Robbery on KU campus
Jamali's exit
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Most people have high expectations of Mr Shaukat Aziz. They have even gone to the extent of saying that perhaps he as prime minister might make Pakistan another "Asian tiger".
The business community definitely seems excited about the prospect of his becoming prime minister of Pakistan. Whether or not a prime minister whose hands are tied by Article 58-2(b) of the Constitution and who lacks genuine political support in the country may be able to bring about drastic changes requires an in-depth analysis. In my opinion, Mr Shaukat Aziz will face the following three main problems:
First, the alarming rate at which our population is increasing will require his immediate attention. Pakistan is the seventh most populous state in the world, with one of the highest population growth rates.
No matter how many industries we set up and how many economic development programmes we initiate, unless the rapid birth rate is checked, we cannot check the growing unemployment and poverty.
It cannot be expected of Mr Aziz to take any effective steps to curb the population rate as he will face stiff resistance from religious parties. They will declare him as a US agent who wishes a decrease in the population rate so that the Muslims could be outnumbered.
Second, Mr Aziz will have to ensure that funds allocated for development projects are not misused or siphoned off. The legislators and the local government representatives have been vested with the power to utilize development funds.
It is an open secret that many lawmakers, especially those belonging to the ruling party, had corruption cases pending against them, which were not either proceeded with or disposed of in their favour once they chose to be on the side of the president.
Whether Mr Shaukat Aziz will be able to prevent legislators from squandering public money and getting involved in corrupt practices is a million-dollar question. Third, the future prime minister will have to deal with the acute shortage of development funds.
A large chunk of the budget is allocated to defence every year. With the president belonging to the military, it cannot be expected that there will be a decrease in the defence budget in the near future.
The defence budget has never been discussed by the elected representatives of the nation in parliament. After the nuclear explosions by Pakistan in May 1998, it was said that our defences had become impregnable; if that's the case, then why cannot we decrease the defence budget? As a nation we have to decide as to whether we wish to be militarily or economically strong.
Both cannot happen at the same time. We can become economically strong and then militarily strong, but not vice versa. With a petty amount allocated for development projects, even an economic wizard like Mr Aziz cannot do much.
It is feared that Mr Aziz may not be able to overcome the above-mentioned problems. A system has been created over decades which cannot be changed by a single individual, no matter how sincere he may be.
Politics is a game in which compromises have to be made. And once a person starts making compromises, there is no end to it. One slowly starts to lose track of the path which he initially intends to follow.
The only difference between Mr Jamali and Mr Aziz will be that the latter will be more presentable in the international community. If anyone expects more, no doubt he lives in a fool's paradise.
ANIL KHAN LUNI
Karachi
Reviewing Hudood ordinances
There is recently some movement among government circles to re-examine the Hudood ordinances and to modify or repeal its unsavoury portions. This effort, in whatever spirit it is undertaken, must be appreciated and encouraged by our intelligentsia at all levels.
Our politico-religious parties want to confuse the legal and humanitarian issues by engaging in rhetoric rather than debate, terming this reformation as anti-Islamic. These parties and their followers should study the ordinances for themselves and their implications, especially regarding crimes against women.
They must also collect statistics from all over the country about the number of incidents of gang-rape and humiliation of women over a decade before and a decade after the promulgation of these laws. They might also visit our jails and count the number of female detainees held unjustly on account of the laws.
They might also do a dozen other things which may open their eyes to the fact that these ordinances were an attempt to create a hodge-podge of Islamic and secular legal systems, without the environment and pre-conditions necessary for application of "Islamic" laws.
These ordinances were passed by a pseudo-assembly at the will of a misguided person, all in the name of Islam. If such laws create miseries and hardships for the already oppressed albeit religious people of our society who believe in God and the Day of Judgment, then doesn't it take higher priority to reform it than pulling down billboards and throwing paint at soft drink ads?
It is mentioned many times in the Holy Scriptures, "Don't they ever consider?" The first revelation in Islam commanded "To Read" but who has time to read when it is so much fun to chant slogans and destroy public and private property?
SAQIB HARRIS
Islamabad
Saving youngsters from smoking
A doctor recently advised a smoker, 59, suffering from a serious lung problem, to stop smoking and have some tests done. Feeling like a fish out of water, the patient lamented that he started smoking by taking a few puffs from a friend's cigarette at a wayside restaurant on his 17th birthday.
The few puffs turned into a few cigarettes and then packs. Two years later, his uncle saw him smoking and advised him to quit. He promised he would and tried many times, but his attempts were feeble and he failed; had he been stronger-willed, he would have quit then, and the present problem might not have occurred.
Smoking can cause cancer, but now it appears it could also cause heart problems even to passive smokers, particularly family members. Even if no serious problems occur after years of smoking, irritants like smoker's cough, unpleasant breath and stained teeth remain and harm general health. So why not go for the blessing of fresh air, instead of smoking?
In spite of being unnecessary, harmful and wasteful, why do so many smoke? The main reasons appear to be: many start young by imitating adults - it seems the proper thing to do, or to show off, or inducement by unwise friends. Once they start it, smoking continues for the rest of their lives, often regretting, but finding it difficult to quit.
Therefore, young people must receive special attention. Adults who smoke but would like to save youngsters from smoking could either quit or try not to be seen smoking. Guardians must make youngsters aware of its harmful effects, and explain there is nothing to show off by smoking. So why not try gaining recognition in sports, intellectual pursuits or the arts?
RAMZAN ALI LAZIL
Karachi
Fencing of LoC
India has nearly completed the iron fencing of the Line of Control by violating the accords between the two countries. The statement of the Indian foreign minister regarding the tacit support of Pakistan gives birth to many questions.
International powers, as well as India, wish that the LoC should transform into a permanent border but Pakistan and the Kashmiri people always rejected this unjust proposal.
Kashmir is called the jugular vein of Pakistan and it is a well-established fact that a just solution of Kashmir is linked to the prosperity of the country and well-being of its inhabitants.
It is highly surprising that India has taken such a big step regarding Kashmir - our core issue - but our government, as well as the opposition, has not taken any reciprocal step yet. The overlooking of this issue by the opposition in particular is condemnable.
Though Kashmir has become a very complex issue, it does not mean that we give up our just demand based on principles recognized by the UN. Now, while the ICJ branded Israeli barrier illegal and called for it to be pulled down, it is the foremost responsibility of the Pakistan government that it should raise the said issue in all international forums, including the ICJ, and force India to dismantle the fence.
Also, I would like to request the government, in general, and the opposition, in particular, that they must fulfil their official responsibilities entrusted by the people.
S.M. AWAIS BIN WASI
Islamabad
Rawalpindi Cantonment
The Rawalpindi Cantonment area, once regarded as a prestigious abode of retired defence officers, is gradually turning into a slum because of lack of sanitation, traffic congestions and narrow roads which are in bad shape.
The population has increased many times but the civil administration and the two cantonment boards - RCB and CCB - have never thought of widening the roads or making overhead bridges and underpasses.
These bottlenecks exist because of heavy vehicular rush, with the traffic policemen doing little to ease the congestion caused by stuck-up vehicles or errant drivers.
Moreover, bifurcation of the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board has created further problems for the people. The Punjab chief minister and the governor who regularly visit Rawalpindi have done nothing to lessen the miseries of the Pindiites. In contrast, four underpasses and overhead bridges were commissioned in Lahore within a span of three/four months.
The widening of the road from Race Course ground to the airport is going on at a snail's speed. Committee Chowk underpass and Kutchery Chowk traffic plans still remain on paper, without implementation.
The Gawalmandi bridge over Leh nullah is another example of the inefficiency of the local administration. Would the CM ensure completion of development work in Rawalpindi?
SUNAWAR CHAUDHRY
Rawalpindi
'Verdict on the wall'
This refers to the editorial "Verdict on the wall" (July 11). In the wake of Intifada II that erupted about four years ago after Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visited Al Aqsa, Palestinian suicide bombings were unleashed.
To prevent the suicide bombers from entering Israel, Sharon ordered in June last year the construction of a 700-km wall dubbed as a "security barrier," along the length of the West Bank.
The two ends of the wall already under construction, with an additional section along the length of the Jordan valley, will be joined. The wall is firming up Israeli control in areas it occupied during the 1967 war.
Eventually, it aims at sealing off the whole of West Bank as it has already done with the Gaza Strip. Jeff Hapler, a documenter of Israeli expansion, has said that Sharon's intent is clear.
Israel wants a two-state solution based on Bantustan along the lines of those South Africa tried to create during the apartheid era. They call it a country but it won't be a country. It will be a ghetto.
The Palestinians have already condemned the wall. The UN has termed it an illegal "creeping annexation" of Palestinian territory and demanded to tear it down, but Israel refuses to do so.
US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice has also criticized the construction of the fence, so have the EU and Russia. About 400,000 of these Palestinians living to the east of the wall will need to cross it to get to their farms, jobs and services.
In response to a petition filed by residents and rights groups, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled in the last week of June that the current path of the barrier violates the rights of tens of thousands of Palestinians living near Jerusalem.
The judgment means modification will have to be made to a 40-kilometre stretch of the barrier to the north and the west of Jerusalem. Dawn's editorial (July 2) commented that this ruling only legitimizes "this (wall) monstrosity, it does nothing to stop its construction."
Now the International Court of Justice, comprising 15 members with the American judge dissenting, has delivered a sweeping indictment of Israel's controversial barrier, declaring it to be illegal and calling for parts to be torn down. If the barrier became permanent, it would be tantamount to 'de facto annexation' of occupied land.
As expected the US, which has vetoed Security Council resolution against the Jewish sate in the past, dismissed the court's intervention. President Bush pointed out that the world court was not the right place to settle the issue. He refused to accept the verdict even before Sharon defied it and ordered continuation of the work on the wall.
Qalqilya city mayor Marouf Zahran has recently said: "This (wall) is not about security but about confiscating our lands and destroying our livelihoods. Ultimately it is about driving us out of our towns and villages, and out of the West Bank."
Ariel Sharon has denied the wall is intended to define the borders of a Palestinian state ahead of the implementation of the American "roadmap". He asserts: "A fence is not a political border.
It is not a security border but rather another means to assist in the war against terror, and greatly assist in stopping illegal aliens." Who is going to believe it?
PROFESSOR (DR) P. NASIR
Gujrat
Troops for Iraq
Two conflicting headlines in Dawn of July 14 read as follows: "Pakistan may join force in Iraq to protect UN staff," says US and diplomatic sources, and "Pakistan not sending troops to Iraq," says Information Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmed.
Which version is correct and is to be believed? In my considered opinion Pakistan should not send troops to Iraq even under the UN umbrella for the simple reason that we have enough problems at home and there is no further need for complicating them.
Iraq is heading for a civil war and the occupiers are going to use the sectarian and ethnic divisions in that country to divide it. At least, that is what they would like to happen and control Iraq. But the powers that be should know that "man proposes and God disposes."
Mr President, let us for a change think of Pakistan 'first' and clean up the mess at home.
NAZIM F. HAJI
Karachi
Call for justice
On June 12 my younger son, Asghar Khan, was seriously injured when four people fired at him near a police picket in Maaniabad, Domel tehsil, Bannu district, on the Indus Highway. His lungs and liver were badly damaged.
I lodged an FIR (No. 103) with the Domel police, naming Abdullah, s/o Shahzad Khan, Taj Ali, s/o Ajab Khan, Ajab Khan, s/o Mir Abbas Khan, and Shahzad Khan as assailants who all belong to Sheikh Peao Qila village in Bannu district.
Since then, the victim's family members are being threatened by the assailants, three of whom are still roaming about in the village freely, challenging our very existence.
Through these columns I appeal to NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani and the inspector-general of police to issue strict instructions to the relevant authorities to arrest the culprits and to ensure speedy justice in the case.
SHAHNAWAZ KHAN
Sheikh Peao Qila, Bannu
Violation of law
It was around 8pm on July 11 (near Siddiq Centre) in Lahore when a limousine was seen on a road with all its windows and the back windscreen covered with curtains of some deep (black or blue) colour. Looking at it for a minute or two on the road was extremely suffocating for me.
It is impossible to imagine what was going on inside the vehicle: murder, kidnapping, torturing? The question is: are such things allowed by the law of the land? If not, how could a transport carrying a government number plate do this on the road in the open?
SENIOR CITIZEN
Lahore
Unattended problems
Lahore's Johar Town main boulevard which leads to Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital is still without streetlights, exposing the residents as well as commuters to security hazards. One feels insecure on this road after the sunset.
Moreover, there is only one main park in the entire Johar Town opposite Main Plaza Market. It also needs attention of the authorities concerned. The park is without a fence and lights.
This makes it an ideal place for stray dogs and drug addicts at night. Thus, this huge public resort becomes useless after the sunset. The authorities are requested to do the needful.
DR MUHAMMAD JAVAID
Lahore
Vehicle hijacking in Karachi
This is with reference to the letter "Vehicle hijacking in Karachi" (July 5) by Mirza Aslam Beg. He aptly says that the law-enforcement authorities have failed to control vehicle hijacking and theft in the city.
It is frustrating that a large number of people are deprived of their vehicles daily, but the authorities do not do anything to come to their rescue. No wonder their collaboration with the culprits are suspected by everyone.
Karachiites have been suffering for a long time due to crimes such as daylight robberies, car jackings, sectarian killings, kidnappings for ransom, murders and bomb blasts even at places of worship. The car jacking mafia has made life miserable for them.
However, I disagree with Mr Beg's assumption that the citizens of this city have failed to raise their voice against it. People have been voicing their concerns in this respect from time to time, but no one at the helm of affairs pays any heed to their cries. Who is not aware that Balochistan and Afghanistan are a safe haven for hijacked or stolen vehicles?
Mere statements cannot control this lawlessness. Stern and prompt punitive actions are required not only against those who are committing these criminal activities, but also against those who are responsible for checking theses acts.
SYED IMRAN ALI
Karachi
Robbery on KU campus
A few days back, while I was going from the HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry towards Girls Hostel of Karachi University, two men robbed me at gunpoint of my belongings, including my mobile phone worth Rs10,000, in front of a rangers officer's residence where tight security is supposed to be ensured.
This has traumatized me and all other students living in the hostel. They no more feel secure on the campus. There is no proper lighting system along the road leading to the hostel. The university administration is requested to look into this incident and ensure round-the-clock security on the campus.
BUSHRA AHMAD SAEED
PHD student, HEJ-RIC, University of Karachi
Jamali's exit
Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali bent so much that in the end he was unable to stand.
AFZAL RAHIM
Islamabad
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