| 29 August 2004 | Sunday | 12 Rajab 1425 |
Cellular phone use
Chaudhri Rehmat Ali's remains
Nationalized colleges
Shipyard workers' grievances
Litany of military interventions
Reviving the KCR
Weather forecasting
Renewal of lease
Inflation
Haj medical mission
Foreign airlines
Funds for universities
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A delegation of the European Union Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, Common Security and Defence Policy, which was sent to both parts of Kashmir to help formulate future EU policy on the region and Kashmir, has made a very fair assessment of the situation in the tormented state (August 24).
Some of the observations regarding occupied Kashmir made in its report are:
a. The average of custodial killings of innocent Kashmiris stands at 17 a day.
b. One member, Mr David Bowe, noted: "Kashmir has been turned into the most beautiful prison in the world (by the 700,000 Indian troops)."
c. Another member, Mr Gahrton, said he failed to understand why India was antagonistic to the holding of a plebiscite as committed by the UN and the late Indian prime minister, Mr Nehru.
d. The Kashmiris, with Pakistan and India, must be involved in resolving the dispute; human rights abuses by the Indian troops must be stopped; ceasefire violations by India must stop, which has caused at least 1,000 deaths since early 2004; the Kashmiris' struggle is indigenous and must be respected. It also recommended that the POTA law be scrapped and the UN observers group be permitted entry by India.
It is noteworthy that Pakistan and the Kashmiris have also been saying the same thing. As we have unfortunately come to expect for the last 57 years, instead of reacting constructively to such an unbiased and positive proposal, India has withdrawn its assistance to future visits to the Valley by European parliamentary delegations.
Now, if we bear in mind the foregoing and the following facts, much as we would like to see a good resolution to this festering wound of South Asia and consequent peace and prosperity in the region - like the European Union itself - India's insincerity is all too evident.
Pakistan over the decades and the international community in recent years have had much difficulty in persuading India even to talk about Kashmir. And after talking and talking, the problem still remains.
After having agreed to a solution of the Siachen issue many years back, India failed to honour it. The Sir Creek issue has fared similarly.
The oft-repeated pleas by President Musharraf and other Pakistani leaders for having some kind of a time-frame for solving the issue of Kashmir has always been rejected by India. If after 57 years India wishes to keep the dialogue open-ended, it only shows it wants to prolong the stalemate.
In spite of having 700,000 troops and now Israeli high-tech fencing along the LoC, India continues to beat Pakistan with the stick of "cross-border terrorism," which demonstrates India's unfair approach.
In view of the these factors, it would only make sense to stop fooling ourselves that anything good can come out of the bilateral talks between the militarily unequal neighbours. Instead, strenuous efforts must be made to seek international mediation, as sensibly advised by the EU also, to defuse this nuclear flashpoint and end the misery of the poor Kashmiri people.
KHALID CHAUDHRY
Karachi
Cellular phone use
Cellular phones are important for people who need to stay in touch while on the move, but they aren't as friendly as most of us think. A cell phone is harmful in many ways.
For example, it can cause distractions that increase drivers' risk on the road. Its radiation can cause cancer and brain damage. It disrupts pacemakers and hearing-aids. Its use on plane interferes with a number of things such as needles on instruments that get unstable. It interferes with the compass which freezes or overshoots the actual magnetic bearing. The digital VOR bearing display shows errors of five degrees. VOR and ILS course indicator errors with and without a failure flag and the sensitivity of the localizer is reduced.
A report of the Civil Aviation Authority showed a number of aircraft safety-related incidents caused by cell phones which are: false warnings of unsafe conditions such as smoke; interruption of VHF and ICS communications; possibility of invoking emergency drills and false protection system warnings.
There are some follow-up recommendations by the CAA: (a) cell phones should remain switched off when one steps into the aircraft cabin, (b) notices be placed throughout the airport area advising people to switch off their phones, (c) agents at ticket counters should seek verbal verification from passengers about their cells.
Once the former UK prime minister, John Major, used his cell on board a plane to have a conversation with the Queen. Keeping safety in view, a steward took away the phone from him. He did not object.
But in our country people do not have the slightest idea about these hazards. Once a local oil company chairman got angry at being asked to switch off his phone. He not only disobeyed the flight attendant but raised a hue and cry.
A law on the use of mobile phones has been proposed in various countries to promote safety. We too need awareness in our country as 90 per cent of our educated people are still not aware of the risks of cell phones. In fact, they feel offended.
For safety, the regulatory authorities should continue to restrict the use of cell phones by passengers in the aircraft as detailed in leaflet 29 published by the European Joint Aviation Authorities.
NIGHAT BATOOL
Via email
Chaudhri Rehmat Ali's remains
This is with reference to Mr Kunwar Idris's letter (August 24) concerning bringing Chaudhri Rehmat Ali's mortal remains from Cambridge to Pakistan, after 55 years of his death. There can be no two opinions about bringing the mortal remains of a citizen of Pakistan who died in a foreign country and was buried there.
Chaudhri Rehmat Ali was the secretary of an organization of South Asian students studying at Cambridge, UK, at that time, who had earned prominence by issuing a leaflet, "Now or Never." While Chaudhri Rehmat Ali was secretary of the student organization, Mr Aslam Khan Khattak was the president. As is known to everybody in Pakistan, Mr Aslam Khan Khattak was governor of the North-West Frontier Province and later minister for interior in the federal cabinet of Pakistan. The laurels for issuance of the leaflet, "Now or Never," justifiably goes equally to both Chaudhri Rehmat Ali and Mr Aslam Khan Khattak.
The point raised by Mr Kunwar Idris is that when he visited Pakistan in 1951, Chaudhri Rehmat Ali, while expressing his displeasure at certain remarks of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, was said to have said that he could not live in "the parody of Pakistan Jinnah has created", nor would he like to be buried here. Such being the case, it would be in the fitness of things if we honoured the wishes of the departed man.
MAHMUD ALI
Islamabad
Nationalized colleges
I am surprised at the elitist attitude of Mr Ardeshir Cowasjee ("So much to do", Aug 1) who has rubbished the standard of education in Karachi's nationalized colleges like St. Joseph's Government College and St. Patrick's Government College. To simply say that the standard of education at these colleges plummeted once they were nationalized would be a gross misreading of events and an over-simplification of the problem.
I studied at St. Patrick's Government College from 1984 to 1988 and did my intermediate and BCom from there. In my opinion, the standard of education and the dedication of teachers were as good as what I had experienced earlier at St. Patrick's School, which was not nationalized. The only difference was the fee, which was about one-tenth of what I paid at the school.
It is true that there were problems in such institutions, but by an large the staff and atmosphere at the college were second to none in terms of the overall educational experience.
Standards at St. Patrick's actually began to fall in 1989 when the activists of a party which was based in the nearby Lines Area started to take over college activities.
In the case of St. Joseph's, standards are still quite high. Mr Cowasjee seems to have insulted the dedicated work a number of teachers have put into these institutions over the years.
It would be interesting to also point out that these teachers, most of whom were teachers from the previous Catholic Board-run institution, had mixed feelings about nationalization. While they were sad that they had been forced out of a well-run education system, at the same time they were happy because the government offered them job security and benefits in a manner that the Catholic Board could not contemplate.
NASIM GHANI
Karachi
Shipyard workers' grievances
This is with reference to the statement made by Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Tanveer Hussain Syed in a Senate session (Dawn, August 26) in which he termed the Karachi Shipyard a "white elephant". He further said that as the public sector shipyard had not received any order from any foreign country in the past many years, it had become a "dead horse". The question is: when no foreign orders for constructing ships have been received in the last many years, what has the defence ministry and other relevant authorities been doing in this regard?
The secretary was wrong in saying that shipyard employees had not held any protest demonstrations despite the non-payment of their salaries for the last four months. The fact is that they have been protesting against the non-payment of their dues through sit-ins outside the Sindh Assembly building, and members of the Labour Union of the Karachi Shipyard have staged hunger strikes outside the Karachi Press Club for over fours months. Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim once assured them that their demands would be entertained, but he has taken no action so far.
The families of the affected employees have been going through a hard time and find it difficult to make ends meet.
It was also sad to learn that the parliamentary defence secretary made no comment when, on a point of order, an MQM MNA alleged that the Naval Dockyard had encroached upon the Karachi Shipyard and there was a need to end the encroachment.
Can there be an end to this sorry state of affairs?
MUSHTAQUE RAJPAR
Karachi
Litany of military interventions
This is in reference to the article "Litany of military interventions" by Mr Ahsan Iqbal (Aug 26). The writer has given only one side of the picture, ignoring the role of politicians who brought about the military interventions.
Right from independence, the politicians sitting in the Constituent Assembly failed to frame a constitution for seven years. This long delay resulted in the dissolution of the assembly by governor-general Ghulam Mohammad on Oct 24, 1954, followed by Ayub Khan's martial law on Oct 7, 1958.
After a long period of martial law, we again witnessed the role of the politicians of the People's Party, who refused to recognize the victory of the Awami League in the general elections and accept Mujibur Rehman as prime minister, which led to the secession of East Pakistan in the year 1971.
Mr Bhutto for the sake of power sacrificed East Pakistan and remained in power from 1971 to 1977 until the elections in March 1977. He resorted to massive rigging of elections which set the whole country on fire and brought about army intervention by Ziaul Haq. He remained in power from 1977 to 1988.
Thereafter, Ms Benazir Bhutto's People's Party won the election held in November 1988 and she became prime minister. However, she was dismissed twice as prime minister on Aug 6, 1990, and Nov 5, 1996, on the ground of massive corruption and misuse of powers.
We have also seen the role of Mr Nawaz Sharif, who too failed to draw any lessons from his predecessor, and he too was dismissed twice - on April 18, 1993, and Oct 12, 1999, on account of misuse of powers and promotion of corruption. These three popular prime ministers had the opportunity to strengthen institutions like the judiciary, the election commission, the public service commission and the press. But they were busy in consolidating their power and imprisoning their opponents, besides promoting a culture of horse trading, defections, corruption and nepotism.
Our politicians sitting in the National Assembly have merely played the role of a rubber stamp for powerful prime ministers as mentioned above and approved bills without any discussion or debate in parliament. We have also witnessed occasional resort to physical assaults and abuses by members of the National Assembly. Our assemblies also do little legislative work, as most of the lawmaking has been done in the form of ordinances. Such is the record of our politicians. The question arises: are we fit for democracy?
A.S. PINGAR
Karachi
Reviving the KCR
There was a question whether the Pakistan Railways or the city district government would revive the Karachi Circular Railway. Your editorial of August 22 has curtly said that it was the Railways' responsibility to do so as it is the rightful owner of the KCR.
President Musharraf should have ordered the railways ministry to take necessary and urgent steps to revive the KCR. The city government, which did not exist at the time of the KCR's commissioning, has nothing to do with it. If the city father thinks that anything within the limits of Karachi belongs to the city government, he might lay a claim to the Governor's House too which is the residence/office of the federal government's representative.
The PR is also reluctant to restart the KCR as it faces a financial crunch. It will always suffer from a shortage of funds due to corrupt administrative staff who guzzle up billions every year. The PR has abandoned the KCR considering it to be not commercially viable.
Now, who says the KCR cannot be revived? It has been only five years that it was shut down. If there is a will, there is a way.
S. M. KAZIM NAQVI
Karachi
Weather forecasting
Today meteorology no longer falls in the realm of witchcraft or old wives' tales, but is a precious science which is reliable enough to forecast weather well in advance. As far back as World War II, German meteorologists could forecast weather down to the hour for military planning. However, those who failed to calculate accurately faced a firing squad.
Sixty years on, the working of this precious science still eludes our scientists and meteorologists, even though our economy, being agro-based, depends on weather. I am not suggesting a firing squad, but someone needs to be made accountable.
Precious foreign exchange has been invested in state-of-the-art, measuring equipment, but we have chiefs and senior meteorologists getting it wrong more often than not.
JAVED KHAN
Haripur, Hazara
Renewal of lease
It is unfortunate that renewal of lease process of immovable properties situated in the Saddar town area has been stopped for the last five years, causing problems to owners and dwellers. They cannot sell, transfer, buy, bifurcate and construct anything on their properties legally. In a situation where owners have died, the number of legal heirs is increasing, making the division of properties without lease renewal complicated and impossible.
The authorities concerned are requested to resume renewal of lease as it would not only benefit the frustrated people, but also bring revenue to the government.
RIAZ AHMED & 44 OWNERS
Plot No. RY-9 11/15, Hassan Ali Compound off I.I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi
Inflation
The annual inflation in Switzerland was recorded at 1.1 per cent. It should have been 0.9 per cent, but the addition of .2 per cent was caused on account of a rise in oil prices.
In contrast, Pakistan had a price hike of 50 per cent. Will our finance minister and prime minister note the difference?
RAFI NASIM
Lahore
Haj medical mission
This refers to the letter on Haj medical missions (Aug 8). Labelling a doctor or a pharmacist as "over-age" when he or she is only 45 years old for Haj medical mission duties is not fair at all.
There should be one yardstick for all. If a non-medical person can perform his/her assigned Haj duties irrespective of age, why restrict the medical mission contingent age to 45 years? Also, as pointed out in the letter, preference should be given to those doctors and paramedics who have served at the Haji camps. This will create a missionary zeal while serving Hajis at home or during the Haj.
I fully endorse the view that a doctor of 45 years and above is better able to understand and treat medical emergencies, especially when dealing with so many ailing and elderly hajis with limited resources and time.
I request those at the helm of affairs at the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Religious Affairs to review the age restriction of "below 45 years" for the Haj medical mission for 2004 and beyond.
SYED SULTAN ANWER
Karachi
Foreign airlines
Starting this November, Swiss, one of the last foreign airlines flying into Pakistan, will cancel all flights to Karachi. Over the last five years, foreign airlines have been cutting service to Pakistan, presumably because of a bureaucratic malaise at the CAA and the bogey of terrorism.
Shouldn't some senior heads roll over this feat of sheer ineptitude? Does the CAA have a plan for attracting airlines back to Karachi, formerly a regional hub? If this trend continues, the only way for Pakistanis to travel abroad will be via camel to Dubai.
ZIA AHMED
Burlington, MA., USA
Funds for universities
This refers to the news item that each of the public sector universities will get Rs3 billion to improve their working. Fortunately, two medical universities in Sindh, i.e., DUHS and LUMHS, are also entitled to get this handsome amount.
Vision is required to judiciously utilize the money to explore areas of importance for graduate and postgraduate studies, research, health delivery and restoration of public confidence in attached hospitals.
It is suggested that attached teaching hospitals should be under the direct control of university administrations.
PROF. SHOAIB TAUHEED
Head Of Physiology Department, Dow Medical College, DUHS, Karachi
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