| 01 January 2005 | Saturday | 19 Ziqa'ad 1425 |
Pakistan and relief efforts
Theocracy vs secularism
Cricket team's performance
Opposition's role
PIA customer relations
The tsunami tragedy
President and Constitution
Passport and religion
Crime rate in Sindh
Islamabad master plan
Wasted training?
DHA affairs
Railcars
To send a letter to the Editor
Click here
Venture capitalization, though relatively unknown, is gradually getting attention from our business people. Some individuals are running it on their own terms. I came across one such individual whose terms were no different from Shy lock's. I realized that ignorance of the subject is making people exploit others.
Surprisingly enough, the mention of venture capitalization is not there in the banking textbooks of Pakistan. Its basics are very close to interest-free banking. As an Islamic country, Pakistan should have introduced it as a regular product available at all banks.
Venture capitalization is a method of total project financing at any scale of operation. Once the figure of total financing is agreed upon between the venture capitalist and the project owner for two years, extendible by one year as an essential grace period in favour of the project owner and once the documents are signed by the project owner to assign his project - 100 per cent under control of the venture capitalist - the venture capitalist acquires the right of 51 per cent share in profit or loss.
The venture capitalist does not seek any further collateral as the project is already fully under his control. The venture capitalist allows the project owner to run the project according to his plans of things and provides funds to the project owner within the agreed ceiling, as and when the latter asks for funds.
Once the product goes on sale, liquidity generation from sales makes the project owner utilize that for his business needs and he does not seek more funds from the venture capitalist.
At the end of the first year, the project accounts are audited and the venture capitalist's account in the books of the project is effected by 51 per cent share of profit or loss whatever may be the situation.
The exercise is repeated also in the second year at the end of which the venture capitalist asks the project owner to buy back his project after repaying the outstanding amount of venture capital +/- profit or loss for two years.
If the project owner is not yet ready with his finances to repay the venture capital, he asks for a grace period of one year. At the end of the grace period, if the project owner is again not able to repay, then the venture capitalist has the right to sell the project to a third party on best bidding. The venture capitalist's control from the project then ends.
Although the whole operation seems so simple, yet individual venture capitalists exploit the situation, which they should not be allowed by introducing appropriate legislation for this business. A number of banks announcing their Islamic chapter of banking have not introduced venture capital products.
The tremendous scope of financing projects under venture capitalization is there after the ADB identified dysfunction of the SME bank towards SME project financing, and recommended to the government to disband the SME bank and reduce it to the level of any mercantile bank in the country.
M. M. KHAN
Karachi
Pakistan and relief efforts
Cheers for Mr Abdus Sattar Edhi and the Edhi Trust for starting a relief operation from Pakistan for the victims of last week's earthquake in Sri Lanka. It is unfortunate that our government has been able to commit only one planeload of relief supplies.
The presence of a Pakistan Navy ship in the Maldives was incidental and the fact that the chief of the naval staff has asked it to help in the relief effort was done on a request from the Maldives.
The attitude of both the Pakistan government and the people is regrettable. Even today, thousands of Pakistanis have the gift of sight, thanks to donations made by Sri Lankan individuals who allowed their eyes to be used for this purpose after their deaths.
We should repay their generosity more generously. Whether we like it or not, we are South Asians and we must learn to help people in our region instead of advocating lost causes in other parts of the world.
K. SIDDIQI
Karachi
(II)
The tragedy of the over 125,000 dead in South and Southeast Asia is truly overwhelming. TV channels like Sky News, the BBC and CNN have shown people all over the world, especially in the UK and many other western countries, donating money, clothes, medicines and blankets.
The governments of these countries, assisted by various charities and aid organizations, are helping to channel, organize and dispatch the aid to where it is most needed.
As a Pakistani I want to help these people but I have no idea of where to go or whom to approach. It would be a good idea if the government and NGOs set up a hotline where people could call and make donations. PTV and the local private channels should be used to publicize this number and the overall donation-collection effort.
LALARUKH EJAZ
Karachi
(III)
The Asian Tsunami death toll is expected to exceed 100,000 as many bodies have yet to be recovered from the disaster considered to be of unprecedented proportions. My heart goes out to people who have suffered, and it was the right thing to do on the part of Pakistan to send relief to the victims.
ANIL KHAN LUNI
Karachi
Theocracy vs secularism
The uproar in the Senate on the removal of the column of religion from the new machine-readable passport was pathetic but revealing. Senator Syed Hidayatullah of the MMA termed the omission a 'conspiracy' and prescribed exemplary punishment for those responsible.
Prof Ghafoor Ahmed, another MMA senator, said it was a "conspiracy to turn the country into a secular state". The next day a staged demonstration of party youths from madressahs, with placards, echoed rejection of the concept of a 'secular state'.
Before partition, top JI leaders had opposed Pakistan's creation and now their party wants to convert it into a dogmatic theocracy. Their references to democracy appear utterly inconsistent.
God has not given any authority to an individual or a group to force anyone to accept a religion, nor can such power be vested in the state to legislate. The infamous rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan, as well as the NWFP sample in Pakistan, symbolize wanton disregard of citizen's democratic rights.
Summarized extracts from the International Religious Freedom Report-2004, highlighted in a recent article by Shehar Bano Khan, were published in Dawn. The report laments Pakistan's failing record on human rights and civil liberties, deals with specific incidents of sectarianism, blasphemy cases, Hudood Ordinance injustices and the NWFP government's ruling that "future legislations would be in accordance with Sharia".
Hard-core Jamaat sympathy and support, based on religious and ideological homogeneity, to the Taliban and Al Qaeda is no secret. The MMA's overt acquiescence and studied indifference to the imposition of religious precepts, doctrines and declamations in their dominated governments of the NWFP and Balochistan have been noted with helplessness in Pakistan.
The seriousness of the situation demands that the ruling leadership forthwith eschew pussyfooting and declare that secular democracy for Pakistan, as advocated by the Quaid-i-Azam, shall remain our commitment and any attempt to the contrary will be resistd.
MUHAMMAD A.B.
Karachi
Cricket team's performance
Since coach Bob Woolmer has been hired, our team has done better in one-day matches, but in Test matches we have still a long way to go. The reason why our team couldn't perform in the first two Test matches in Australia was the poor scheduling for Test matches.
Over the last 10 years Pakistan has got not more than three Test matches in an entire series, and on most of the occasions our team plays two Test matches. Strong teams, for instance England, South Africa, Australia, West Indies and India, play four to five Test matches in a series and two to three series a year.
Pakistan has played more one-day cricket than Test cricket. This is why our team was seen struggling in the two Test matches. It is surprising that the PCB has not taken note of this, nor has it brought it to the notice of the ICC.
Until and unless Pakistan plays four to five matches against each of two to three good opponents every year, our players cannot develop consistency in their batting and bowling skills and the temperament required for playing Test cricket.
Secondly, it is useless to criticize the captain, the coach or the PCB chairman at this moment. A coach can only guide players; the rest depends on the players so far as the implementation of a strategy on the field is concerned. The players along with the captain have to take the initiative. The Australians are the best example of this kind of cricketing.
The PCB should devise a policy for the appointment of a captain and a coach on a long-term basis. Drastic changes in the team management and players after every two to three series will result in inconsistency and disarray. Long-term planning in terms of cricket scheduling is necessary to build up the team as a strong side in the world of cricket.
MANSOOR A. KHAN
Karachi
Opposition's role
The Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) have said that Gen Musharraf's presidency will become "unconstitutional" after Dec 31, and that they will launch a joint movement against the "unconstitutional president" (Dawn, Dec 30).
How will the presidency become unconstitutional after Dec 31 when the bill allowing Gen Pervez Musharraf to retain the office of chief of army staff beyond December 2004 has been passed by the two houses of parliament?
The national interest demands that Gen Musharraf should continue his dual charge until democracy is ingrained in our national psyche and the political and economic reforms initiated by him take root in the country.
There are more important fields where the opposition can play a constructive role, the foremost being promoting sectarian harmony, education and health. Agitating over the president's uniform and the deletion of the column of religion from the recently-introduced machine-readable passport is not wise in any way.
LT-COL (retd) SYED AHMED
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
PIA customer relations
Ever since we settled in the United States many years ago, we have dutifully flown PIA for our periodic visits to Pakistan, despite the minor and sometimes not so minor aggravations such as the need to produce photographs and copies of travel documents before departure from Pakistan back to the US.
However, on a recent trip to Pakistan, which started on Dec 8, so many incidents took place on PIA flights that our resolve to continue flying PIA on our future visits to Pakistan appears to have all but disappeared.
Passengers whose destination is Karachi prefer the one day on which PIA has a direct flight as it considerably reduces the total air time. We chose a direct flight to Karachi but after checking in were baffled to hear 'rumours' not officially confirmed until the pilot's opening greetings before the take-off that the flight was actually going via Lahore.
None of the PIA staff was forthcoming and provided no explanation for the change in the route. There was speculation that this change, which greatly inconvenienced 90 per cent of the Karachi-bound passengers, was made to accommodate the plans of some VIP or the loading of cargo.
On our return flight from Karachi via Islamabad, the plane was diverted to Lahore as it could not land in Islamabad due to heavy fog. The plane stayed on the ground for about eight hours and left Islamabad for Manchester after almost 15 hours from the start of the journey. During this time no solid food of any kind reached the many children and elderly and average passengers.
The weather is obviously beyond the control of PIA, but quite clearly foggy mornings are not a rarity in Islamabad and Lahore in the winter months from December to February.
During these months, the airline can schedule its flights for a little later in the day. If this is not logistically possible, at least there should be a modicum of planning to properly take care of passengers who may be stranded for long periods of time.
The redeeming quality of PIA service is its in-flight staff, particularly the polite and courteous airhostesses, but on this trip our experience was so overwhelmingly negative that even this positive aspect of the service could barely compensate for the overall disregard for customer relations.
MASOOD HAIDER
New Jersey, USA
The tsunami tragedy
Sunday's Asian tsunami that led to killer tidal waves that have claimed the lives of more than 120,000 people and devastated up to seven major coastal regions must have come as a shock to everyone around the world, particularly in Asian countries. It was frustrating to learn that more than 80 per cent of these lives could have been saved if a tsunami warning system had been in place in the Indian Ocean.
Reports have suggested that a discussion did take place on the installation of such a system, but the idea was abandoned mainly because of the cost involved and the assumption that the possibility of a tsunami in these regions was low.
A similar tsunami monitoring centre run by the United States has been operating in the Pacific ring around the Hawaiian Islands for the last 50 years and has contributed towards saving thousands of human lives.
Pakistan, one of the many coastal countries in and around the Indian Ocean, was fortunate enough to escape this catastrophe. However, given the nature and scope of the disaster, no country in the region is safe and no guarantees can be given against the possibility of a similar disaster in the future.
Pakistan must join up with other Asian countries and support and contribute to the investment needed to establish a tsunami monitoring system that encompasses a network of sensors to precisely monitor earthquakes and their oceanic implications.
KAMRAN A. SHAH
Karachi
President and Constitution
President Musharraf was going along all right in his speech to the nation (Dec 30) until he came to a point where he said: "I shall never violate the Constitution."
If honouring the sanctity of the Constitution was such a strong point, he would have been leading a retired life somewhere in a Defence area. In future, instead of trying to 'constitutionalize' himself, he should talk about his achievements and plans and I think that is what Pakistan needs today.
WG-CDR (retd) FARDAD ALI SHAH
Chitral
Passport and religion
It is beyond my comprehension why religion should be mentioned on a travel document. A passport indicates one's nationality; it has nothing to do with what religion one follows.
No one would be or should be ashamed of one's beliefs, but it has nothing to do with one's nationality. The hue and cry being raised by religious parties over the passport changes just goes to show how people can exploit religion for their vested interest.
JIBRAN SARFRAZ
Faisalabad
Crime rate in Sindh
It is amazing Sindh Home Minister Arif Siddiqui to claim that crime in Sindh, particularly in Karachi, has gone down in the past six or so months. It has in fact multiplied as there has been an increase in dacoities, cases of kidnapping and murder, etc.
At present the minister moves with 21 police and security personnel and in a procession of four vehicles. If the situation has improved, I suggest he cut this detail by half, if not eliminate it totally.
ANWAR MEHMOOD
Hyderabad
Islamabad master plan
It is heartening to know that the Capital Development Authority has hired, though belatedly, consultants to redo the master plan of Islamabad. Unless carried out with the utmost care, a disaster may be looming.
The eventual undoing of the Islamabad map will come from the rapidly encroaching colonies all around its outer limits. These unplanned slums, the creations of property dealers and shady investors, will eventually play havoc with the city's planned infrastructure and future expansion. Already the surrounding environment is being assaulted, with flora and fauna rapidly receding.
To see a picture of disaster, one has only to look at Rawalpindi and see how the multiplication of haphazard, unplanned colonies like Chur-harpal, Sadiqabad and Doks encircled, choked and ruined a once neat and clean city. It is necessary that we save the capital city and plan for its long-term future development.
M. AFZAAL KHAN
Islamabad
Wasted training?
This is in response to Mr Sayed G.B. Shah Bokhari's letter (Dec 29) regarding the wearing of shalwar-qameez by retired army personnel. Mr Bokhari seems to be of the opinion that this is something ignoble or that it should be restricted to the lower strata of society.
The Quaid chose to wear shalwar-qameez. I am guessing that by Mr Bokhari's standards, the Quaid was not in fact a "model citizen".
RAHEEL DURRANI
Via email
DHA affairs
In spite of the hue and cry raised by plot owners of Karachi's DHA Phase VIII, the authorities are indifferent to their plight. Army officers are brought into institutions such as the DHA with the claim that they are capable of better administration.
But to the utter dismay of all, the information desk/accounts section is manned by clerical staff with no responsible authority available to answer queries or settle issues. The office cannot accommodate more than 25 persons at a time, although there are long queues.
Plot owners request the corps commander to personally look into the matter and resolve our problems.
AHSAN KAMAL
Karachi
Railcars
Thousands of vehicles run daily between Karachi and Hyderabad on the Super Highway, with the inevitable noise and air pollution. The Pakistan Railways should run a non-stop railcar between Karachi and Hyderabad and vice versa. This will not only help reduce traffic congestion but also save fuel and time.
MUHAMMAD ROSHAN QURESHI
Karachi
You can also send letters to the Editor
Just send your message to the following address: letters@dawn.com
Make sure you include your full name, postal address, e-mail address, and in the case of Pakistan your day-time telephone number.