| 11 January 2005 | Tuesday | 29 Ziqa'ad 1425 |
'Changing attitudes'
Two-nation theory
How to govern ourselves?
Cricket team's performance
Baglihar dam and international arbitration
Rush for PhD degrees
Sharea Faisal Expressway
Sindh MPAs
Amendments to Constitution
Call to save mothers
Musharraf's promises
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President Gen Pervez Musharraf has reiterated that he wants Pakistan to become a modern state (Dawn, Jan 1). This is warranted in the wake of rising extremist tendencies in the world.
The president has also asserted that our ideology should be distinct from that of the West. Although almost all western societies are secular democracies, the reality on the ground is altogether different.
Western countries have always colonized and persecuted poor communities: Jews in Germany, the Red Indians in North America, the Aborgines in Australia, the blacks in the US. But never was this oppression so brazen as it has been in the aftermath of Sept 11. There is an ongoing assault by western media and intellectuals on Islam and Muslims.
The US president has termed his anti-terrorism drive a crusade and declares that "God wants people to be free". He appears to be referring to the Iranian way of life which many in the West consider restrictive.
After the re-election of President Bush, religious extremists have made it to the top level of the US government, and there is a growing influence of Christian fundamentalists in the country's politics.
The media is portraying a distorted picture of the Muslim faith. There is no dearth of those who claim to be experts on Muslim faith and society. In their zest to give vent to their anger against Muslims, these 'intellectuals' and even clergy have crossed all limits of propriety.
The so-called 'war on terrorism' has provided a pretext to many to carry forward this campaign against Islam. The attack on a train in Spain gave them an opportunity to acquire huge financial and military aid from the US and persecute Muslim immigrants from the Maghreb.
It is thus becoming increasingly difficult for Muslim governments to control extremist elements. The effect of this western bias is that moderates among the Muslims are losing out to the extremists, inflicting grave damage on the image of Islam.
MISBAH NOMANI
Karachi
'Changing attitudes'
This has reference to your editorial "Changing attitudes" (Jan 6). Lahore is where the Pakistan People's Party was launched by Mr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Mr Zardari made many friends amongst party workers when he was imprisoned in the Kot Lakhpat jail.
His taking a house in Lahore is welcome and he joins other politicians who also have a home in Lahore. Similarly, many political leaders from Lahore also maintain houses in Karachi. They do this not out of opulence, but because of the requirements of their ir political and social circles.
Bilawal House II in Lahore is meant to provide the party leadership, including Mr Zardari, space where it could hold party meetings, meet workers and establish contact with the people of the province.
The PPP is party of all classes and age groups. Being the largest political party in Pakistan, the PPP leadership has every right to reach out to the people at their doorstep to convey the message of Mr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Bilawal House II is part of the efforts by the party leadership to keep close liaison with the workers and the people of all provinces without any discrimination.
As for questioning the keeping of security guards, it should be seen in the perspective of the threats hurled at Mr Zardari by no less than those in key executive posts.
Taking protective security measures is hardly a show of opulence but the right of a human being. These security measures are indicative of a need, and are not "an exhibition of trappings of power".
As far as the incident at the opening ceremony of Bilawal House II is concerned, an internal inquiry is under way and time will tell as to who were behind the incident and what were their intentions.
TAJ HAIDER
Central Information Secretary, PPP, Karachi
Two-nation theory
I have read a number of letters on the subject of the two- nation theory, but the point raised in my letter "A love-hate relationship" (Nov 21) remains unanswered - as to why the Meo community from the then Rajputana state which decided to migrate to Pakistan soon after partition was forcibly thrown back to India. Where would we place them in our two-nation-theory philosophy?
What led our then premier to clearly ask the Indian government to allow refugees only from East Punjab, and a chilling no to those from Delhi and UP? Why in our school textbooks is it taught that Pakistan and the two-nation theory were meant for all Muslims living in India? Why even today an Indian Muslim, irrespective of gender, can be sent to prison in case of overstay?
Why cannot we bring back the 200,000 stranded Pakistanis from Bangladesh but are ready to accommodate millions of Afghans in Pakistan? Mr Rafique Zakaria has quoted in his recent book Indian Muslims - where they have gone wrong a Pakistani writer as saying:
"The damning argument against Pakistan is that it took a community, spread throughout the subcontinent, chopped it into several communities, gave it, first, one country and then two and left the others dangling in midair. People who once possessed the culture, customs and history of a whole subcontinent were left with neither a nation nor an idea of themselves, as a community.
"Pakistan was a double disaster for the Muslims in India: first they lost their sense of coherence and the political strength in the Indian Union along with their leadership and middle class which migrated to Pakistan...; secondly, they were forever damned in India for having voted for Pakistan and broken the unity...."
The same book quoted Mr Altaf Hussain when, unlike other Pakistani politicians, he publicly said that partition brought a great disaster to all three major faiths of the subcontinent.
KUNWAR KHALID YUNUS
Karachi
How to govern ourselves?
This refers to the statement of MNA Liaquat Baloch, deputy secretary-general of the MMA, which was published in Dawn recently. He said President Musharraf after getting approval for his uniform by parliament was going to impose martial law and then bring a "presidential type of government".
It is worth noting that Qazi Hussain Ahmad, chief of the Jamaat-i-Islami, before the birth of the present National Assembly, had publicly declared that the presidential system of America was much closer to Islamic polity (governance).
To call the US system a "presidential system" is a misnomer and gives an impression that it is one-man rule. The fact is that the US political system is a congressional system, where there are checks and balances on the authority of the president.
These checks and balances are exercised by the Congress which comprises the directly-elected strong Senate (each member has a term of six years and there are two senators for each state, big or small).
The US Supreme Court is a powerful body that can invalidate an act or a law if it is against the interest of the people. The US Constitution is a simple and short one.
Having been an MNA from 1988 to 1990, I have no hesitation in saying that our parliamentary system (I call it prime ministerial system) has failed many times, and now we should instead have a people-friendly national prescription such as America's which turned a civil war-torn nation into a superpower.
SYED MOHAMMAD ZAKERYA KAZMI
Karachi
Cricket team's performance
The way the Pakistan cricket team performed in the three Test matches in Australia was nothing short of disgraceful. It was a foregone conclusion that the Pakistanis would lose the series, but the way they played was gutless.
There is no doubt that ours is a most unreliable team. A lot can be said about the captain who has such a miserable expression always on his face. What inspiration can he give to the team?
The coach too who must be the highest paid coach in the business has failed to bring about positive changes in the team. The results speak for his efficiency. As regards the physio, in all crunch matches our "pride", the fastest bowler in the game today, is not there to help the team, besides other players who are mostly unfit when they are required most.
There is no motivation for the players to perform better as they get their contractual fixed amounts whether they perform or not. May I suggest that our team, since it is unique in the whole cricket-playing world, should have a different motivation to perform? The players should be paid according to their performance in batting, bowling and fielding.
S.S.BUKHAREE
Hamden, CT., USA
Baglihar dam and international arbitration
This refers to the news report "Baglihar dam talks collapse" (Jan 7). This development has left the way open for Islamabad to take the issue to the World Bank for arbitration under the Indus Waters Treaty.
The only way to resolve the water dispute is to approach the World Bank or the International Court of Justice. The case should also include construction of new dams and canals in the country because the existing dams and inter-basin canals, through which water is diverted from the Indus to the Punjab plains to make up for the loss of the Ravi, Sutlej and Bias, were also built after that treaty.
Sindh had agreed to these canals so that floodwater of the Indus could be diverted to the command areas of Ravi and Sutlej. But since their construction, these canals remain open for the whole year. One more canal is under construction in violation of international and national treaties.
The manner in which India has intensified work on the Baglihar dam by engaging more technical hands to complete the project in March has made the authorities in Pakistan speed up work on the Thal canal project.
There are reports that work on the Thal canal is being done at night under searchlights to complete it at the earliest. As there is an element of deception in the Indian designs that the Baglihar dam is simply a hydroelectric project, we in Sindh are similarly told that inter-basin canals are only flood canals. But who cares when these are being kept open the whole year? The unnatural water diversion has disturbed the entire aquatic eco-system of the region.
Excessive water withdrawal from the rivers of the Indus system in India, Afghanistan and Punjab plains has caused chaotic agriculture conditions and abject poverty in the lower Indus valley.
Earlier, when three rivers of the Indus system were given to India and Tarbela and Mangla dams were built, Sindh was not consulted. Once again, there are plans to make more dams on the Indus river system at Baglihar and Kalabagh. The Punjab chief minister visits Indian Punjab. But there is no guarantee of water availability for Sindh.
The whole scenario reminds us of a National Geographic special Last feast of the crocodiles in which drought-like conditions drive the African wildlife to shrinking pools of the Luvuvhu River.
One can understand the nature of water wars foreseen by former World Bank vice-president Ismail Serageldin in 1995 after seeing this documentary. "If the wars of this century were fought over oil, the wars of the next century will be fought over water," he warned. Having no oil has enormous ramifications for man. But man and other living beings cannot survive without water.
The National Geographic documentary records how thirsty and hungry animals and birds become easy prey to predators in their habitat. Those who survive come straight into the trap of crocodiles.
Strong herbivore and strong carnivore make alliances against weak species like we homo sapiens have made the "coalition of the willing" against those who are unwilling to accept manipulation by the powerful.
This game of life and death continues for days, with carcasses and skeletons spread everywhere. Several die and are hurt in the melee. There aren't any scavengers to clean the mess. Finally, when the river is dry, the last of the crocodiles also die.
MANZOOR CHANDIO
Karachi
Rush for PhD degrees
I found Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy's article "Reforming our universities" (Jan 3-4) very constructive and think that it can be of great value if the Higher Education Commission (HEC) is really interested in producing researchers and academicians of international standard in Pakistan.
What the HEC is trying to achieve through the incentives it is offering to those who would supervise prospective PhD candidates is understandable. Its package is attractive, and I do not find these incentives available to those who supervise PhD students in the UK.
Securing funding for PhD research in any developed country is very competitive affair. Candidates have to prove that they have the necessary past experience in research (which is usually gained at the master's level) and establish the present and future relevance of their research subjects.
The approach adopted by the HEC is "the more the merrier" which does not work in either scientific or social science researches. The best approach is "choose what is needed now and what is needed in the future".
The HEC needs to rethink its policy of producing worthless PhD degree holders. There are already hundreds of thousands of MA and MSc degree holders in Pakistan who cannot even produce a page of coherently argued prose in their area of study.
ASHAR J. KHOKHAR
Leeds, UK
Sharea Faisal Expressway
This has reference to the news item "Five mass transit corridors planned" (Dawn, Jan 5), which states "that a scheme is under consideration for construction of an overhead passage from Hotel Metropole to the airport on Sharea Faisal".
The best location for a surface expressway would be between the Drigh Road station and Daud Centre after dismantling the rail line and constructing a modern railway passenger terminal at the site of the Faisal air base.
An expressway supported on central pillars is unsafe as proved in recent earthquakes in Los Angeles, and exactly a year later in Kobe, Japan, although in Kobe the expressway was strengthened after the earthquake in Los Angeles.
Approach to port and Karachi city for goods traffic should be along the Northern Bypass. For over half a century railway engineers had designed and constructed such structures as butterfly type platform shelters.
The design was changed by a railway engineer who was one of the two Muslims in the world to have qualified as an associate member of the Institute of Structural Engineers, London, in 1926.
The other was an Egyptian. The revised design in steel is in shelters at Multan and Hyderabad stations and of the reinforced cement concrete at Kharian, D.G. Khan and Rajanpur stations.
H.A. HAJI
Karachi
Sindh MPAs
On the back page of Dawn of Jan 4 and next to the news report "Sindh to increase assembly members" was a large picture appropriately captioned "Poverty rising".
I am delighted that Dawn recognized and emphasized the direct relationship between the two. Between the teams of the two good 'doctors' that rule Sindh by proxy, we have developed a new meaning for the term hypocritic (sic) oath.
DR MERVYN HOSEIN
Karachi
Amendments to Constitution
Regarding the uniform controversy and Gen Musharraf's statement that he will never violate the Constitution, it is pertinent to note that the Constitution was first single-handedly amended (or engineered) to serve the general. Therefore, the assertion that "I will never violate the Constitution" becomes meaningless.
Instead of making promises and then breaking them, why not change the Constitution once and for all? This will allow the general to decide when to step down, how many offices to occupy and so on and so forth. It will save us from a lot of hypocrisy and double talk.
M. OMAR KHALID
Islamabad
Call to save mothers
A 35-year-old woman, mother of two children, was recently brought to a Karachi hospital by her husband. She was suffering from a problem many women face as a result of a complicated pregnancy, i.e., a 'fistula' in her lower genital tract.
Fistula is one of the most feared complications of pregnancy and generally strikes women in the lower socio-economic groups. Many commit suicide to get rid of this debilitating disorder and those who survive have to spend their lives facing its complications.
According to the World Health Organization, some three million women are suffering from this incapacitating illness. But this is not the only problem striking a pregnant woman.
Many other complications like long-term effects of haemorrhage, hypopituitarism, Sheehan's syndrome, surgical cutting of vagina, infections and many more are associated with pregnancy.
Maternal mortality rate in Pakistan is alarming. Some 30,000 women die every year of pregnancy-associated problems and another 375,000 fall victim to its complications making the figure almost half a million women every year.
According to governmental sources, about 500 per 100,000 die yearly compared with 30 per 100,000 in Malaysia, four in the US and only one per 200,000 in Japan and Sweden.
We are a proud nation to have developed nuclear arms and ammunitions to save our motherland but every 20 minutes we lose a precious mother, depriving the new born baby of maternal love and care.
JAVARIA SHOAIB
A medical student, Karachi
Musharraf's promises
President Gen Pervez Musharraf, in his speech to the nation on the eve of the New Year, brought up reasons to justify keeping his post of army chief. While highlighting achievements of the government in the last five years, he talked of progress in the economic sector, good governance and poverty alleviation, besides some other vital national issues.
In the general's speech, he referred to the promises he made to the nation. The first promise he made to the nation on assumption of office was to hold a general election within three years. The second promise he made was to relinquish his army chief's post by Dec 31.
Very proudly, Gen Musharraf declared that as an honourable person he was duty-bound to hold election on schedule to fulfil his promise to the nation. On his second promise, he took refuge under the umbrella of the "larger national interest" and the Constitution.
The nation's interests always stay vital, but it is a historically proven fact that when personal interests take precedence, the nation's interests always suffer.
WG-CDR (retd) ARIF MAJEED
Karachi
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