| 22 July 2004 | Thursday | 04 Jamadi-us-Saani 1425 |
'Can a bigot be cultured?'
Car makers and dealers
Ruling on Israel's wall
Medical universities
Ensuring better healthcare
The next US president
GP fund cases
Institutionalized corruption
Black polythene bags
Honouring a visitor
Sukkur gas
Groundwater availability
The missing point
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Apart from facing relentless and ruthless brutalities for the last 15 years Kashmiris have to put up with all kinds of indignities and bureaucratic hurdles designed to humiliate them. For instance, the visa procedures applicable to Kashmiris are astonishingly discriminatory.
The bonhomie generated by the peace process and the extensive official-level talks have not brought any relief to poor beleaguered Kashmiris on either side of the LoC. What further contributes to their disenchantment and disaffection is that they have no say in the dialogue process or in the CBMs (confidence- building measures).
There is one particular matter to which I solicit the attention of Pakistan's Foreign Office and the Indian high Ccommission in Pakistan. In October-November 2003 (on India's laudable initiative) an agreement was reached between the two countries under which senior citizens (aged 65 and above) are permitted to cross the Wagah/Attari border post on foot without any conditions.
Much to the chagrin of the Kashmiris in Pakistan, India's high commission is not allowing this to senior citizens intending to visit their relatives in Kashmir (on visas issued by the high commission on the authority of the Department of Kashmir Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India). This authority itself is granted after going through a through and protracted procedure to vet the visa applicant.
The denial of this facility to Kashmiris is not only unfair and illogical but also discriminatory. The Indian high commission's stance seems to contradict what Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh said recently, that "Pakistan- India relations no longer lie in the past but in the future".
Please do not add to the sufferings and indignities of Kashmiris. Please treat them as human beings and their senior citizens worthy of some respect. In fact, once a visa has been issued, there seems no justification or logic to restrict it to a particular mode of travel.
Presently travel is allowed either by rail, bus or by air. It would bring joy and happiness to all the visa holders if they are allowed to travel according to their own convenience.
It is beyond comprehension why the two civilized countries, now committed to peace and harmony, should not follow universal practices and procedures. Let ordinary innocent folk enjoy a few moments of cheer.
MUHAMMAD ASLAM
Lahore
'Can a bigot be cultured?'
This is with reference to Dr Zia-us-Samad's letter 'Can a bigot be cultured' (July 9). Dr Samad's defence cannot condone Dante's savage imagery and sacrilegious portrayal of Islam. The duty of art, as Hegel said, is "to render visible the divine". Hence, it should aim to please the senses as well as the soul.
Ecclesiastics, writers and poets throughout western thought have voiced their opinions against Islam but no where, at least to my knowledge, has the depiction been so savage and unsavoury.
The sciences and the arts, indeed philosophical thought, developed to great heights under Islam. However, Dante was unable to see the finer points of Islam with an open mind which a cultured mind should have done.
He did not even appreciate that it was Islam which gave the world the concept of the truly free spirit having freedom from all particularities and dependencies and only "making the abstract One the absolute object of attention and devotion, the only aim of reality making the unconditioned the condition of existence" (Hegel).
The word 'learned' has also been used for Dante. Here I would like to draw attention to Kant's remarks which clarify the issue of being learned completely. A dull and narrow-minded person who lacks proper judgment, to quote Kant, "may be improved by tuition even so far as to deserve the epithet of learned.
But as such persons frequently labour under a deficiency in the faculty of judgment, it is not uncommon to find men extremely learned who in the application of their science betray to a lamentable degree this irremediable want".
I am afraid Dante's dastardly portrayal of Islam has stigmatized his stanzas, till the end of time. I thank M.J. Akbar for opening the discussion which had worried me for the last so many years and also record my highest regards for the "late lamented professor Mr Hameed Ahmed Khan."
FAKIR S. AIZAZUDDIN
Karachi
Car makers and dealers
Mr Shaukat Aziz while announcing the current federal budget amended the SRO for local manufactured cars and imposed the condition of National Tax Number (NTN) for a bona fide purchaser/end-user for booking and taking delivery of such locally made cars.
Resultantly, a friend of mine got delivery of a car in only 10 days after booking. However, immediately after the announcement the investor/ profiteer become active for the withdrawal of the NTN condition.
This investor-mafia is really a chronic problem for the industry and the end-user. A mere perusal of Sunday's newspapers for the last two years can prove that thousands of brand new cars are being offered by the investors/profiteers, who have made billions of rupees without any stake or labour in the field.
The entire automobile industry and their authorized dealers have become virtually helpless in front of this influential lobby. In the last two years showrooms (not authorized) have mushroomed in every nook and corner of cities like Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and are full of latest model local made cars which are openly sold by these investors/profiteers. The authorized dealers are involved only for their booking and deliveries.
The condition of NTN smashed the entire network of investor/profiteer and genuine end-user started really enjoying the fruit by getting their deliveries in less than two weeks.
But the CBR could not resist the vested interest investor/ profiteer pressure and has withdrawn the condition of mandatory NTN certificate just in a day. Deliveries have immediately reverted to the investor / profiteer interest market, which is very unfortunate.
Because of the NTN condition the end-user got an opportunity to buy a car at a reasonable price. But it is ironic that the condition was immediately withdrawn by the CBR.
RAO AHMER BASHIR
Lahore
Ruling on Israel's wall
What's surprising about last week's ruling by the International Court of Justice against Israel's barrier in the West Bank is not the finding that it violates international law. Rather, it is the fact that the ruling is a forthright condemnation ordering that it be dismantled, along with payment of appropriate compensation.
Many observers assumed that pressure from the United States, some European countries and Israel would have forced the court into a narrower ruling. Instead, the court ruled in straightforward fashion saying "Israel is under an obligation to terminate its breach of international law, and under obligation to cease forthwith the construction of the wall being built in the occupied Palestinian territory".
The court went on to issue a comprehensive statement of the rights, infringed by the wall, to which Palestinians are entitled such as self-determination, freedom of movement, work, health and education. The ruling adds ethical suasion to an argument that seemed spontaneously obvious to many.
Historical precedents such as Hadrian's Wall, the Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall and (with obvious irony) the walling off of the Warsaw Ghetto all suggest the ultimate folly of such an action.
Israel says it is building the barrier as self-defence against attackers, but Palestinians call it an attempt to grab land. It is both. While the court recognized Israel's right to protect its citizens, it enjoined Israel to do so within the confines of international law.
The advisory ruling by the world court, in The Hague, Netherlands, is non-binding, but important. The court's ruling against the South African presence in Namibia in the 1970s is widely believed to have contributed to the imposition of sanctions against South Africa - which ended apartheid. The same positive result should happen this time.
GHULAM MUHIUDDIN
Lahore
Medical universities
This to disagree with the views expressed by Dr Alam from Chicago (July 6) and Prof Shoaib Tauheed of Karachi (July 11) on my letter (July 5). For the record, LUMHS has five faculties including the faculty of city medicine and public health.
The faculty of community medicine and public health has a basic function in any medical university and this is to address community health problems by conducting and organizing community-based research and training.
It offers courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels and undertakes preventive health education programmes. The department also trains lady health workers which then go out in the community and educate the general public on health issues.
The PMDC has allocated 200 teaching hours for anyone who is enrolled in an MBBS programme for community medicine teaching and training of MBBS students in class and community settings.
Besides, tests have been carried out to check arsenic levels in water samples. Clearly, this is a major public health issue and something that a medical university should become involved in.
Besides, conducting water tests can lead to measures being taken to reduce the level of pollution which can translate into reduced health costs and improved public health.
The water testing and public health laboratory at LUMHS can provide quality testing services nationwide. Also its geographical position helps in this since it is situated on the right bank of the Indus river, Sindh's main source of drinking water.
DR HUSSAIN BUX KOLACHI
Jamshoro
Ensuring better healthcare
This is with reference to Prof Tasnim Ahsan's letter (July 7) in response to mine (June 27). I admire the worthy doctor's courage in explicitly pointing out the "lack of funds, pilferage, bad management and poor work ethics" present in the existing system.
However, he seems to be unduly apprehensive when he says that this might pave the way for eventual privatization of the health sector. Privatization means a change from government or public ownership to private enterprise which mostly happens in cases of failed industrial units.
It appears highly unlikely that any business house or group of individuals would like to "purchase" a public hospital like the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre in Karachi, a facility meant mostly for the poor and underprivileged.
Hospitals like the JPMC get funds from (mostly anonymous) donors whose only concern seems to be to help the sick and the infirm. In the old tradition of Karachi, social uplift work was done primarily by the Parsis and Hindus. However, a pleasant and welcome change in modern times has been increased participation in philanthropy by all communities.
Healthcare, as we all know, is becoming increasingly expensive. It is getting out of reach for even the upper-middle class. The slogan of 'free treatment' must change to a more workable 'sharing-of-expenses' system where everyone contributes.
A just system should evolve where the very poor get 'nearly' free treatment while everyone else contributes on a scale in accordance with their resources. This system should also try to eliminate the rampant 'middle- man mafia' from public sector hospitals.
This system can only develop if there is participation from all parties, i.e. the government, donors and patients. It can be overseen by the appointment of independent and empowered watchdog committees. This in no way can be equated with privatization because it would not be profit driven.
PROF HASAN AZIZ
Karachi
The next US president
The big question these days in Washington is 'who will be next in the White House?' Some favour Senator Kerry while others want President Bush back in power. Does this all have any concern with Pakistan? Yes it surely does. Since 9/11, the foreign reserves of Pakistan have risen dramatically, mainly thanks to the Bush administration's support of President Musharraf.
Does this mean if Bush doesn't win this year, Pakistan will lose its US backing and will sanctions be re-imposed? No one can predict what will happen if Senator Kerry wins.
Many have their own perspective of President Bush. Many people believe that the war on Iraq was unnecessary. The Abu Ghraib scandal didn't help and since last year Mr Bush's popularity has fallen immensely.
So, keeping the Muslims and rest of the world in focus, probably Senator Kerry would be a better choice as he has an anti-war agenda and even has better policies on issues such as treatment of Muslims living in the US.
As election day nears, President Bush needs to play his trump card, i.e. he needs to somehow get hold of Osama bin Laden. For this the US government has started pressuring Pakistan. And if this happens, then it would strengthen Pakistan's friendship with the Bush administration.
ZOHAIR BAJWA
Lahore
GP fund cases
The General Provident Fund cases of government employees who retired in 2002 continue to linger in the Muzaffargarh District Accounts Office. There seems to be a deliberate attempt to thwart final payment of GP Fund clearly with ulterior motives like awaiting the death of a retiree so that the DAO officials can pocket his money.
This happened before when millions of rupees of employees' GP fund were embezzled by Muzaffargarh accounts officials some years ago. Despite repeated announcements by the accountant-general, Punjab, concerning speedy final payment of GP fund to the retirees, no change has been witnessed here at all.
MUHAMMAD VAKIL
Muzaffargarh
Institutionalized corruption
Both army and police officers are using a number of escort cars normally in a quiet city like Islamabad. If these people were posted at some really risky station, what would they do? Islamabad roads are often taken over by a number of army jeeps escorting an officer.
Are things really that bad? Maybe we should enforce a curfew then. What do I tell my children when they ask why there are armed jeeps on the roads? And if this is a luxury for the ruling party, a fringe benefit as it is called in official terms, can Pakistan afford it?
CONCERNED CITIZEN
Islamabad
Black polythene bags
Last I heard black polythene bags were banned as they were deemed to be carcinogenic (causing cancer). I visited Karachi's main electronics market in Saddar recently and was surprised to find that these black bags were being freely used by the shopkeepers.
The violation of the ban was happening with such impunity that one couldn't help but think that the authorities are deliberately looking the other way.
AFSAR KHAN
Karachi
Honouring a visitor
While reading Dawn I came across an interesting news item (July 11) which said that the Indian Punjab's chief secretary was planning to visit his native village and alma mater, a primary school soon.
The education department has recommended that the school be upgraded so that basic facilities like drinking water, a boundary wall and toilets lavatories are provided, before the arrival of the guest from India.
Previously, we would see development work taking place as a result of elections by an MPA, MNA or for a prime minister-in-waiting. Now they even happen in anticipation of a visit by a luminary from India.
HAFEEZ AKHTAR
Lahore
Sukkur gas
Reference the news item 'Gas supply to Sukkur suspended'(July 20), supply to certain parts of Sukkur city was suspended for only about an hour on July 19. Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) engineers were conducting a survey on the main pipeline supplying gas to the thermal power house.
They detected some severe leakages on July 19 in the Jamia Allahwali and Makrani Masjid (Bunder Road) areas. SSGC's main distribution pipelines network also exist parallel to the old supply main in this area and it had to be found whether these leakages were from the distribution network or from the supply mains.
For detection purpose the gas supply was shutdown at 6pm for Shaikh Sheen Mohallah, Shahi Bazaar, Miani Road and Bunder Road. After confirmation that leakages were from the supply main, supply to the distribution main was restored at 7.15pm. Due to peak gas load hours, some mohallas of the city received gas two to three hours later.
The system was completely normalized at 8.30pm and no further complaint was received. About 10 to 20 per cent of the total customers of Sukkur were partially affected because of the unavoidable situation.
INAYATULLAH ISMAIL ADIB
Manager, Corporate Communications SSGC, Sukkur
Groundwater availability
Millions of gallons of water are being pumped out every day throughout the world to fulfil the daily needs of human beings. Due to increase in impervious surfaces, rainwater runs off to the sea, thus increasing the sea level and further reducing the sea shore.
We all know how important ground water is for humans. To ensure that its supply does not run out, here are some suggestions:
(1) Multistoried building construction should be adopted in order to minimize covered area. This will also help preserve agricultural land which is decreasing due to the rapid speed of construction.
(2) The ground floor should be elevated. There should be a layer of loose 'bajri' or sand so that the ground level surface is porous and so that rainwater can seep through and add to the groundwater source.
(3) As far as possible new construction may be done in the areas which already have impervious surfaces.
SHAKEEL AHMED KHAN
Karachi
The missing point
Bush has many times claimed that the CIA's intelligence on Iraqi WMDs was flawed. How can he say this? Wasn't he aware that Dick Cheney used to visit the CIA office regularly, an unusual step for someone of his position, while the report was being prepared?
Z.A. KAZMI
Karachi
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