| 14 January 2005 | Friday | 03 Zilhaj 1425 |
'Institutions are sacred'
Religion column controversy
How soldiers become a broken force
'Tackling internal threats'
Piecemeal relief efforts for tsunami victims
Senior citizens and banks
Dangerous fishing
Gun culture
'The ifs & buts of history'
A broken promise
Car black marketing
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It has been said that democracy like other voluntary associations rests on a shared understanding of limits. Unfortunately in our society the concept of limits is conspicuous by its absence. The latest illustration is the way even the raison d'etre of Pakistan is sometimes dragged into sterile polemical disputation.
Never was Hegel's test of the greatness of a statesman better borne out than in the case of Mr Mohammad Ali Jinnah's achievement of Pakistan. In the words of Hegel, "The great man of the age is one who can put into words the will of his age; tell his age what its will is and accomplish it.
What he does is the heart and essence of his age; he actualizes his age." Pakistan owes its existence to Mr Jinnah's unerring reading of the historic yearnings of his people at the crossroads of history in the mid-20th century.
There have been many definitions of the touchstone, the criteria for what constitutes nationhood. Perhaps the most perceptive is the enunciation by the illustrious British liberal, Lord Acton, who maintained that ultimately, when all is said and done, "a people are a nation when they feel that they are a nation".
It was this conviction of nationhood that fuelled the Pakistan Movement and brought it to fruition. Theories, including the two-nation theory, are not as important as facts; the fact of the Pakistan Movement and the fact of Pakistani statehood.
That due regard for the sensitivities of our East Pakistani brethren was not shown is sadly true. However no state, repeat no state, in history has succeeded in retaining as an integral part of its body-politic a region separated by 1,000 miles of foreign territory.
Pakistan's inability to retain its eastern wing is therefore no evidence against its nationhood, although our policies towards East Pakistan left much to be desired.
In his most recent book The Idea of Pakistan", Mr Stephen Cohen, a South Asian specialist, says: "Indians including the liberal, secular Nehru fully expected Pakistan to fail and when it did not, they blamed the West for Pakistan's success.
Obsessed with and angry at Pakistan, some Indians wanted Pakistan to fail more than they wanted India to succeed and were willing to accept the cost of competing with Pakistan even if this hurt India."
What should matter most of all at this stage is the overriding need to make a success of Pakistan in the interest of the people of Pakistan, in the interest of Muslim political influence in South Asia and as an obligation imposed on us by the colossal sacrifices of millions rendered in the struggle for Pakistan.
In the Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies - Fall 1996, Professor Ralph Braibanti of Duke University said: "Pakistan has been pummelled by external events to a degree which no other (newly independent) state since 1945 has suffered. The enormity and persistence of the challenges faced by Pakistan and the resilience of the nation in surviving them evoke awe and admiration."
To further consolidate our nationhood, the broadest possible national consensus should be sought on major issues, foreign and domestic, giving special regard to the feelings and interests of the weaker groups, the smaller provinces and the minorities.
An example has to be set from the top downwards of the exercise of integrity in its broadest sense, entailing the accord of priority to social, collective, national interests over personal, group or party interests.
This is the basic touchstone on which the regime's credibility and legitimacy, an essential pre-requisite for fulfilling its challenging tasks, would be tested.
MAHDI MASUD
Karachi
'Institutions are sacred'
"Institutions are (more) sacred than individuals". So said Mr Justice Irshad Hassan Khan at a farewell function held on his retirement as chief election commissioner of Pakistan (Dawn, Jan 12). This is an ancient time-tested truth.
It is, however, necessary to recall that Mr Justice Irshad Hassan Khan, as chief justice of Pakistan, was the author of Senator Zafar Ali Shah's "historic" judgment dated May 12, 2000.
In this judgment, while condoning the military take over on the ground of necessity, the chief justice had proceeded to grant three years' time to Gen Musharraf and also empowered him to amend the 1973 Constitution. Nobody had asked for three years.
At the maximum, the then learned attorney general, Mr Aziz Munshi, had stated that, according to the report of the then chief election commissioner, the process of updating electoral rolls would take two years.
It is not understood why this statement was made by the learned attorney-general for until then the assemblies had only been suspended, with the obvious intent that they would be restored as soon as possible. Nonetheless, a three-year period was granted to a single individual to rule the country as he deemed fit, irrespective of the Constitution.
Not only that, the judgment went on to grant power to the general to amend the 1973 Constitution though there was absolutely no need for it, for the Constitution was to remain in abeyance for three long years.
Thus, the country was deprived of institutions for three long years and power conferred on a single individual to amend the Constitution, and this resulted in the infamous LFO.
Yes, Mr Justice Irshad Hassan Khan, we agree with you that institutions are more sacred than individuals, but apparently it took you four years and 246 days to recall this ancient truth.
JUSTICE (RETD) FAKHRUDDIN G. EBRAHIM
Karachi
Religion column controversy
The deletion of the religion column from machine-readable passports is a welcome step. This column must also be deleted from other documents such as the national identity cards, job applications and school, college and university records. The only valid reason for mentioning religion is for purposes of keeping statistical data.
Religion is basically a matter of personal belief. It makes no sense to advertise this information. Retaining the religion column on passports and other documents will lead to discrimination, and particularly after 9/11 when Muslims are already internationally discriminated against, we would be better off without this column. I hope the mullahs will stop putting pressure on the government on this issue.
MUHAMMAD S. ALVI
Lutherville, MD., USA
(II)
Religious parties are unnecessarily fussing about the deletion of the religion column from new passports. In fact they are looking for an excuse for street agitation, not caring for the fact that their doing so will disrupt the life of citizens and cause inconvenience to them.
The deletion of the religion column from passports will not make us non-Muslim; our faith in Islam is very strong and it will never change. The best solution is that it should be left to individuals whether they want this column on their passports or not.
Rather than worrying themselves about minor issues like the military uniform and the religion column, the religious parties should concentrate on preventing sectarian clashes and confronting those who are inciting ethnic hatred in the country.
ZAFAR ISRAR
Karachi
How soldiers become a broken force
"Faced with lengthy and gruelling deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US army reserve is rapidly turning into a broken force and may not be able to meet its operational requirements in future", said a US commander who also suggested a new form of compulsory military training for them in the US as a remedy (Dawn, Jan 7).
While the US commander's comment about his soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan turning into a broken force is true, his recommendation for a new form of compulsory military training as a remedial measure holds no ground as it is silent over the various reasons for soldiers becoming a broken force. The fact of the matter is that the US soldiers have never liked what they are doing.
Some soldiers, after completing their assignments, have filed law suits against the Pentagon for the period of their over- stay in Iraq. A few soldiers, after completing their assignments, have fled to Canada, with their families, seeking asylum. Several hundred US soldiers fighting civilians insurgency in Iraq have become psychiatric cases.
Having failed to find any WMDs for which they were brought in, the soldiers have lost the purpose of their presence in Iraq. The soldiers are well aware that the US decided to invade Iraq under adverse international circumstances in 2003.
Above all, US soldiers were sent to Afghanistan and Iraq not to fight their armies but civilians. Even the best of the soldiers the world over assigned to such duties anywhere may turn into a broken force for reasons of morality and discipline. So, some compulsory training is required, not for the soldier, but for their top brass.
Z.A. KAZMI
Karachi
'Tackling internal threats'
The editorial "Tackling internal threats" (Jan 12) makes extremely depressing reading. It points towards our grim domestic scene; the continuously deteriorating law and order situation; religious intolerance; deepening poverty and so on and so forth.
This was certainly not the Pakistan envisioned by our Quaid, nor the one for which countless people offered their lives. It is indeed tragic that a land so blessed by Allah Almighty in terms of its potential should suffer to be in the deplorable condition that we are in today.
Has this happened because the powerful few who had the opportunity of being at the helm of affairs sought to establish their supremacy rather than that of the nation, or are the citizens too equally responsible for this mess? We have this remarkable ability of being easily swayed by false promises and powerful rhetoric.
Obviously we never learnt any lesson by the breaking off of our eastern wing; for even after 33 years we are no closer to harmony amongst ourselves than we were in 1971. How many more broken parts is it going to take for us to come out of our languor and fully realize the gravity of our situation?
The world has so much to offer yet we choose to be mired in our self-created quagmire. No one is going to help us out of this unless we, collectively as a nation, help ourselves.
SADIA SIDDIQUE PECHUHO
Karachi
Piecemeal relief efforts for tsunami victims
Nearly three weeks after the Asian tsunami struck, Indonesia's death toll stands at 105,262 out of a total of more than 157,000 for the 13 nations affected. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called it an unprecedented global catastrophe needing a fitting response, saying that it would be hard to reach and care for the five million people rendered homeless by the disaster.
The UN health agency warned that 150,000 people were at an extreme risk of dying from preventable diseases unless clean drinking water and other basic needs were restored within days.
Aid pledges nearing $4 billion have already been made for the tsunami victims, but it seems they will not materialize in time because of a piecemeal approach that helping nations have adopted towards relief efforts.
Charities and international bodies say they fear that much of the money pledged so far to help the emergency in Asia may not materialize because governments traditionally renege on their humanitarian pledges.
Mr Kofi Annan has called on world leaders to honour their pledges of aid, citing failures to deliver fully on promised help after previous disasters such as the earthquake that hit the Iranian city of Bam in December 2003
UN officials have pointed out that some of the money is in the form of loans or has been earmarked for reconstruction over three to five years rather than allocated for immediate needs. Countries like the US may deduct from their total pledges the cost of military deployments - helicopters or ships they have put into use.
Then there are political handicaps. India's Dalits for instance, were forced out of relief camps by higher caste survivors and are being denied aid supplies. At the Keshavanpalayam village, Dalits had only flattened homes to show while survivors elsewhere enjoyed relief supplies such as food, medicines, sleeping mats and kerosene.
Indonesia told aid workers helping the tsunami victims in its worst-hit region, Aceh, not to venture beyond two large cities on Sumatra Island because of what it said were militant threats.
In Sri Lanka, Kofi Annan was stopped from visiting disaster areas controlled by the Tamil Tigers. In India's stricken Andaman and Nicobar Islands, aid workers complained the visit by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had put brakes on their attempts to reach the remote interior because officials were busy with his itinerary.
All this is extremely disappointing and makes one wonder if the world community has really come together to help the affected people.
PROFESSOR (DR) P. NASIR
Gujrat
Senior citizens and banks
Dawn of Jan 6 reports that the State Bank of Pakistan has created a special fund for micro-finance banks to borrow money from it. Will the State Bank clarify which are these micro-finance banks and whether any one of them has any special products to attract senior citizens who get very low return on their deposits in the leading scheduled banks, usually three to four per cent per annum?
The State Bank sells treasury bills at 4.16 per cent. Why should not the scheduled banks give at least 4.16 per cent to the senior citizens for their deposits in these banks?
Senior citizens would be glad if one of the big scheduled banks is authorized to deal in the government's higher-yielding Behbood certificates instead of through NSSS centres which are under-staffed and slow in processing.
I appeal to the government to study the many beneficial measures enforced in Holland for senior citizens, making it the country that currently gives the best deal to its seniors.
In any programme of poverty alleviation, senior citizens deserve special consideration in line with the UN's Millennium Gala for Older Persons. Pakistan had promised the UN to work for attaining these goals.
QUTUBUDDIN AZIZ
Karachi
Dangerous fishing
A documentary on PTV showed people fishing with the help of explosives, electric current and poisonous pesticides in the rivers Swat and Kabul in the Peshawar valley.
This practice is extremely dangerous for already diminishing fish stock and the ecology. The environment ministry, the NWFP EPA and other relavent authorities must take immediate notice of the situation and take stringet action against those who are indulging in such practices.
TANVEER ARIF
Karachi
Gun culture
Dawn carried a small but not insignificant news: "Man kills son" (Jan 2). For those who could not or would not read the Jacobabad tragedy, I quote: "A boy was killed by his father over some domestic dispute in the Kandhkot area on Saturday.
Khadim Khoso shot dead his son Akhtar, 15, in his house." What do guns do? Be it a hand-gun, a machine-gun or a field-gun, guns kill people.
There is a need to outlaw the possession of guns which tend to prod the holders to use them. As the military axiom goes, the best way to thwart an enemy attack is to cut its arms and ammunition supply lines. No guns, no ammunition, therefore, no fighting.
The moral of the story of murders is to take away the guns from the killers - existing or prospective - and make Pakistan a gun-free society.
S. M. KAZIM NAQVI
Karachi
'The ifs & buts of history'
Mr Irfan Husain in his Jan 8 column "The ifs and buts of history" says: "We cannot help being born black, white or yellow, any more than we can decide the faith into which we are born." This may be true of Pakistanis world wide, but Indians can decide which faith they want to follow.
I am an Indian citizen who loves America while living in the US. I was born in a Hindu middle class family in Delhi and some years after reaching adulthood I chose to be an Episcopalian. My parents are Hindu and among our fellow middle class relatives we have Catholics, Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus.
PROF ARUN KHANNA
Indianapolis, IN., USA
A broken promise
President Gen Pervez Musharraf has announced his decision to retain the offices of president and army chief. To build Pakistan as envisioned by the Quaid-i-Azam and Allama Iqbal, Gen Musharraf referred to the Quaid's speech which served his particular purpose. But he ignored the other speeches of the Quaid for the guidance of the future leadership of Pakistan, particularly about the role of the army.
The pertinent question is, did the Quaid expect that an Army chief of staff in uniform would be president of Pakistan if incompetent politicians failed and invited the army establishment to take on the responsibility of ruling the country? The Quaid-i-Azam's conviction was that the army had nothing to do with politics.
How is Gen Musharraf expecting to implement the Quaid's vision with the help of the PML politicians? He can win the hearts and minds of the people only by disqualifying corrupt politicians, dismantling the feudal system, distributing state land among the farmers and the shelter less, restricting the number of feudal families in the national and provincial assemblies and providing autonomy to the provinces by transferring the responsibilities of promoting trade and industry and sales tax collection to the district level.
Pakistan must be made a role model for other Muslim countries by undertaking research and development in medicine and science and technology. The talent of the people must be utilized by establishing merit and eliminating nepotism and favouritism based on caste and faith. Organizations promoting ethnic and sectarian hatred must be banned.
The army establishment must be used for promoting education, discipline and unity. National interest must supersede the personal interest of those in government.
S.T. HUSSAIN
Lahore
Car black marketing
This is with reference to the letters "Car premium issue" by Mr Mumtaz A. Piracha and Capt (retd) Ghulam Shabir (Jan 12). In the 60s the selling of cars above the factory price was called black marketing, it was a punishable offence under the law and people were arrested for this.
Now banks are financing and encouraging this illegal activity. The rate of car black marketing is regularly being shown on TV channels. Today the same offence is called premium. So great is the moral deterioration of our society at all levels that we have even developed a 'respectable' terminology for our crimes.
MUHAMMED NAIM
Karachi
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