| 26 September 2004 | Sunday | 10 Shaban 1425 |
Pakistan's ODI performance
Sindh's unemployed doctors
Islamabad's public representatives
Supply of F-16s
DHA school zone
Jamaat's stand over 'war on terror'
State Bank building
Prize bond draws
Tourism website
House owners vs tenants
Appeal to Nadra
Musharraf's credibility
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This is with reference to your editorial "Reforming the UN" (September 24). There is no doubt that enlargement of the UN Security Council is overdue. Its permanent members represent only 30 per cent of the world population. Major civilizations have no permanent seat, whereas western powers such as France, Britain (both from the EU) and the United States have three permanent seats out of the five.
The membership of the UN, which was 52 in 1945, has risen to 191. It is now time the world body increased the number of permanent members so that it becomes fully representative.
India being a major South Asian nation with a population of over one billion, Japan (population 127 million) and Germany (population 82.5 million) on their merit as major industrialized powers and Brazil (population 184 million) representing the South American continent deserve permanent seats.
Representation of the continent of Africa is conspicuous by its absence. It also merits a permanent seat. Nigeria (population 137 million), Egypt (population 76 million) or South Africa (population 43 million) should also be considered for a permanent seat on the Security Council.
As regards the right of veto given to the permanent members, it was provided to ensure that none of them would be outvoted on what one of them considered an issue of vital interest. It was probably necessary in the bi-polar world, but a reconstituted multi-civilizational Security Council would not need to exercise veto power.
FAQIR AHMED PARACHA
Peshawar
(2)
We have been lately reading the news of India, Japan and Germany trying to get permanent UN Security Council membership. In view of the poor state of the Muslim world despite its immense resources and a huge population accounting for one-fifth of humanity, there is need to represent it at the Security Council.
Pakistan is a country that can get the collective voice of the Muslim world heard through this forum. There is a strong case for Pakistan to run for permanent membership of the Security Council. It is an important Muslim country which is involved in crucial world affairs and has the capacity to lead the Muslim world being the sole Muslim nuclear power with a population now touching the 160 million mark. Pakistan has been playing an important role in fighting international terrorism and maintaining world peace in various regions of the world. It often contributes to UN peace-keeping forces.
I suggest the government should announce its intention to seek permanent SC membership and start canvassing to achieve this honour. We can easily get the favour of almost all Muslims countries and friends like China.
MUHAMMAD RIAZ KHAN
Karachi
Pakistan's ODI performance
Last Wednesday at the Rose Bowl, in the Champion's Trophy semifinal, this was the 14th occasion when Pakistan won the toss and chose to bat first in an ODI but failed to cross 150.
We have now done this more often than any other Test-playing nation. New Zealand have been there 11 times; India seven; West Indies, England and South Africa five each; Zimbabwe four; and Sri Lanka only once. Even Bangladesh have recorded this on only eight occasions (although admittedly they haven't played that many ODIs yet).
This leaves us at the top of a heap of incompetent batting displays in ODIs. We all have our crosses to bear, choosing to bat first and caving in is surely ours. Remember the last time we made 130-odd after winning the toss and batting? It's that mental scar we keep scratching, the one from the World Cup final 1999. But it's nothing to complain about. That's what you get from life on the edge. Add to that some baffling decisions, like winning the toss but not putting the opposition in on a seaming wicket with uneven bounce under a thick cloud cover on a cold September day in England, and you've got cricket-watching at its best - a feast of glorious uncertainties around every corner.
It may be a thrill-seeker's dream, but it does take its toll on the spirit. There is only so much yo-yoing one can endure, and every now and then you have to retreat into your corner and lick your wounds. Dimmed lights and rendition of soulful music with lyrical pathos - Iqbal Bano singing Faiz's Hum Daikhen Gey is an excellent choice - helps the mind recover quickly. The Pakistani fan cannot afford to be down for too long, because great victories will appear randomly, like shooting stars on a warm evening's sky, and with the same if not greater magic and beauty. And, as anyone who's watched a meteor shower in the night sky knows, there's no other place you'd rather be.
SAAD SHAFQAT
Karachi
Sindh's unemployed doctors
As a social worker and member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, I want to draw the attention of the high-ups of the Sindh health department, as well as of the Pakistan Medical Association, to the vulnerable situation in which unemployed doctors in Sindh have been placed.
Since 1998 no Sindh Public Service Commission examination has been held to select graduate doctors for employment. In 1998 the commission announced a limited number of seats (18 posts) for which more than 5,000 doctors appeared.
Every year the number of graduating doctors is swelling, with little or no opening for employment. Doctors work hard to obtain an MBBS degree, and then they spend more time obtaining post-graduate qualifications from institutions like the CPSP, while most of those who get through CSS, MBA and CA examinations find jobs and settle down.
Most doctors are working on a daily pittance in private hospitals while a few work on a monthly stipend of Rs3,000. And some of them are not paid enough to make ends meet. Many are still fighting for their bread and butter, having no option but to stick to poorly-paid jobs.
Ironically, with the monopoly of private hospitals in cities such as Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Nawabshah and Larkana, the situation is worsening day by day. Whenever there is an employment opportunity, the job applicant ratio comes to 12:2,000 on average.
This is also the reason why many a doctor says goodbye to the country and settles abroad. In Sindh the number of unemployed doctors at present exceeds 30,000.
I hope the chief minister and the governor of Sindh, both doctors, will realize the gravity of the situation and come to the rescue of both unemployed and underemployed doctors by immediately announcing a package for them.
FAZAL QADIR MEMON
Hyderabad
Islamabad's public representatives
Islamabad Capital Territory spreads over an area of 354 square miles. It is a small area which can be efficiently managed by public sector officials.
The Capital Development Authority handles all aspects of development and municipal management. It is headed by a board consisting of a chairman and four other members. It also has a large field staff of directors-general heading various directorates. The administration of Islamabad, a component unit of the Federation of Pakistan, is headed by a chief commissioner and an inspector-general of police.
Politically, Islamabad is represented by two members of the National Assembly and four senators. However, many citizens of the capital feel that their political representatives are indifferent and apathetic to their problems.
It is the duty of public representatives in the national or the provincial assemblies and the Senate to keep in regular touch with their respective areas and do their utmost to solve the problems of their constituencies. MNA and Federal Information Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, for instance, whose constituency is in Rawalpindi, is accessible to the people of his constituency, and he goes to their areas frequently to monitor the progress of development, including maintenance of roads, water supply and electricity.
Many other public representatives in the country also follow this course of action in their respective constituencies, with the apparent exception of the public representatives of Islamabad. Who then should the people of Islamabad turn to for resolution of their basic problems?
BASHEER ALI
Islamabad
Supply of F-16s
Islamabad Capital Territory spreads over an area of 354 square miles. It is a small area which can be efficiently managed by public sector officials.
The Capital Development Authority handles all aspects of development and municipal management. It is headed by a board consisting of a chairman and four other members. It also has a large field staff of directors-general heading various directorates. The administration of Islamabad, a component unit of the Federation of Pakistan, is headed by a chief commissioner and an inspector-general of police.
Politically, Islamabad is represented by two members of the National Assembly and four senators. However, many citizens of the capital feel that their political representatives are indifferent and apathetic to their problems.
It is the duty of public representatives in the national or the provincial assemblies and the Senate to keep in regular touch with their respective areas and do their utmost to solve the problems of their constituencies. MNA and Federal Information Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, for instance, whose constituency is in Rawalpindi, is accessible to the people of his constituency, and he goes to their areas frequently to monitor the progress of development, including maintenance of roads, water supply and electricity.
Many other public representatives in the country also follow this course of action in their respective constituencies, with the apparent exception of the public representatives of Islamabad. Who then should the people of Islamabad turn to for resolution of their basic problems?
BASHEER ALI
Islamabad
DHA school zone
Karachi's Defence is well planned in all aspects. There is, however, a problem which thousands of children face every day in Phase VIII, where school zones have been earmarked. In the morning, before the school hours, there is an unusual frenzy of cars driving at excessive speed and often dangerously crossing intersections. This causes accidents every now and then. Due to the absence of traffic constables at these times, traffic gets out of control. Sometimes students, too, are seen speeding, thus endangering the lives of others.
The DHA is requested to ensure road safety. A permanent police kiosk with an ambulance at hand is needed. A few police constables on motorcycles would be enough to persuade car drivers to follow the rules.
RAFI ADAMJEE
Karachi
Jamaat's stand over 'war on terror'
This is in response to a number of letters from the US in connection with an op-ed article by MMA President and Jamaat-i-Islami Amir Qazi Hussain Ahmad about Washington's campaign against Muslims in the garb of 9/11.
Letter-writers Siddique Malik and Esam Sohail (Sept 13) seem overly obsessed with CNN and Fox News propaganda, and ignorant about the ground realities. They cited a fictitious incident of the execution of women inside a stadium because they had not covered their faces and were going out for jobs. It was something known only to the US media and even the Afghans were unaware of such happenings, otherwise the families of the victims would have come out to seek compensation and other forms of relief after the fall of the Taliban.
The Taliban were known for establishing unprecedented peace and security; the murder rate dropped to zero and a lone woman could travel in the darkness of the night without fearing being robbed or raped. But the robberies and rape are the order of the day in Afghanistan after US and Northern Alliance forces replaced the Taliban.
The Taliban and Saddam may reportedly have killed their enemies but it had nothing to do with Islam since every ruler facing opposition resorts to such tactics to save his rule if he does not govern in accordance with the true spirit of Islam. The JI is on record as having pleaded with the Taliban on many occasions to make reforms for meeting present-day challenges and to thwart the venomous propaganda against them.
As far as Saddam's repression of political opponents is concerned, the entire Muslim world, including the Jamaat, condemned it. It is worth mentioning here that Qazi Hussain Ahmad headed a delegation which met Saddam during the first Gulf War and proposed before him an agenda for the unity of Ummah, including a peaceful and negotiated settlement of his disputes with political opponents, particularly on the discord with Kuwait.
The Jamaat has always condemned political victimization because the party has itself been made a victim by successive governments. The party has always pleaded for democratic freedoms which have been its foremost cause because human rights and freedom are the basic tenets of a true Islamic polity. The issue of civil liberties in the Muslim world is an independent subject and was out of the scope of the article by Qazi Hussain Ahmad.
AMEERUL AZIM
Secretary, information, Jamaat-i-Islami Pakistan
State Bank building
It was good to know from Dawn of Sept 5 that the Sindh government is acquiring the State Bank building adjacent to the New Sindh Secretariat to shift its offices from some of the barracks flanking the Sindh High Court building.
The barracks were built in a hurry during 1947-48 and were considered good for 15 to 20 years, but are now reduced to dangerous structures. The staff working in these offices feels insecure, and before any accident occurs, the Sindh government must expedite action to possess the State Bank building, to which, fortunately, the SBP has no objection.
Another option is that the Sindh government should make out a strong case to own the Income Tax building, which is mislocated and poorly maintained amid the Sindh government administrative complex, and shift all its offices from the dilapidating blocks to this building. The large open plot recovered after the demolition of the blocks can be gainfully utilized.
This will also enable the provincial government to implement, under the control of one authority, measures for security and fire-fighting that have so far remained neglected in the Income Tax building.
MOHAMMAD ALEEM SHAIKH
Karachi
Prize bond draws
Mr A. Ahmed's observations ("Prize bonds draw", Sept 4) merits serious consideration by policymakers at the State Bank of Pakistan, as well as in the federal ministry of finance, and should be endorsed by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
The people have the right to ask government functionaries to ensure that their hard-earned savings invested in the form of prize bonds bear fruit.
Incentives for investing in prize bonds will lose their appeal if appropriate measures are not taken to ensure transparency. The SBP must disclose the breakdown amount, with serial numbers, of prize bonds which are floated and those which remain with the government treasury. As such only the sold/circulated serial numbers of prize bonds should be included in the balloting to ensure transparency when draws are conducted.
M. ARSHAD LODHI
Karachi
Tourism website
I have recently (Sept 14) visited the official tourism website of the government of Pakistan (www.tourism. gov.pk). When I clicked on "Video Gallery", I was surprised to see that four icons were given (Punjab, NWFP, Balochistan and Kashmir, not Azad Kashmir) but Sindh was missing. About one year back, I had noticed the same situation.
Again, I clicked the "Image Gallery" icon and found that photographs relating to the NWFP and Punjab were available but Sindh and Balochistan were missing. Would some one explain the omission?
IMRAN KHAN SIAL
Karachi
House owners vs tenants
Mr Gheewala has stated (Aug 30) that houses are given on rent on 'pugree' and tenants are ejected without returning their deposit money. However, owners' version is the other way round. It is the owner who loses his constitutional rights of security/safety of property once a tenant refuses to vacate the property on expiry of the lease agreement.
He has to either undergo a lengthy and costly legal battle with the tenant, which allows ejectment only if the property is proved to be required for personal use, or strike a settlement with the tenant paying him a huge sum of money, whatever one may call it.
Apart from causing a lot of trouble to owners and tenants, this overburdens the judicial system, adding to the huge backlog of pending cases for years. The superior courts would be fully justified in taking suo motu notice of this anomaly and to rectify this by ordering a standard lease agreement form to be verified by union councils or town nazims or magistrates, who may authorize outright ejectment of the tenant if he refuses to vacate the premises peacefully after the expiry of the lease, settling the accounts.
S.M.H. RIZVI
Karachi
Appeal to Nadra
I am constrained to write a rather grim account of the performance of Nadra, which I have personally experienced in obtaining a National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP) for my son and myself. I am a Pakistani-born US national.
Our applications were accepted under receipt numbers 00849638 and 0089658 (dated February 21, 2004) and we were issued computer numbers ZR359442 and ZR359492, respectively. According to the Nadra record, these cards were dispatched on April 18, but unfortunately they have not been delivered yet at our permanent addresses in Pakistan and the US.
Rather than asking applicants to contact US consulates or other agencies, it should be the responsibility of Nadra to ensure that cards reach applicants. In this regard, my letters to Nadra have had no effect.
HUAMIRA ZAHID
New Jersey, NJ., USA
Musharraf's credibility
President General Pervez Musharraf said last year that he was a man of his word, and promised the nation that he would take off his army uniform before December 31, 2004. He also assured the people that he would not go back on his commitment.
But what we see now is disturbing. He says circumstances demand his continuation as army chief. He should have considered earlier whether circumstances would ever remain the same after one year and three months. I am afraid this is going to cost him his credibility.
HAMMAD ALI
Rawalpindi
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