| 28 January 2005 | Friday | 17 Zilhaj 1425 |
Oral cancer
Excuse for war
Remembering C. A. Rauf
Kanupp in an emergency
HEC's indigenous programme
A religious slur
Electromagnetic gates
Cricket 'panic button'
GRE for PhD candidates
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The Balochistan committee headed by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain is doing useful work and Mr Hussain hopes that a "negotiated settlement" will be reached. Whatever be the outcome, it will at best be an ad hoc solution to a permanent problem.
Mr Hussain or, for that matter, the federal government will not learn anything new from the Baloch sardars. We all know what they want. The basic question is how far the government is willing to accommodate them.
Balochistan is suffering from a sense of deprivation. Basic amenities of life such as food, water, health and education are scarce in vast tracts of the province. The sardars themselves are to partially blame for this state of affairs, but not all the blame rests with them.
The people too feel anguished when they find that the resources of their province are being used for the development of other parts of the country and their own province is suffering from neglect.
Balochistan has a vast potential for development and a long-term developmental approach is required to harness its potential. It has plenty of natural resources and a large reservoir of deep underground water that needs to be lifted.
It has gas, coal, oil, manganese, copper and green marble deposits. The rate of success of its oil wells is among the highest in the world. It has plenty of wind energy in the coastal belt.
Given enough water, it has the potential to become the largest granary of Asia. The traditional Karez system has deteriorated over the years and needs to be rehabilitated for agricultural development.
A list of the province's needs should be drawn up in consultation with the people of the province and prioritized, keeping in view their needs and the available resources.
A five-year Balochistan Development Plan should be formulated with achievable targets. Within this plan a yearly development plan should be worked out for each district that should ensure some viable development activity in every district.
Every villager should know what development is going to take place in his village during the year. Also, he must know what more will be done for him in the next year and the year after.
Backward areas should be allocated more funds and effort should be made to bring them at par with other areas in a foreseeable time-frame. No funds should be placed at the disposal of the sardars.
The government should thus make a deliberate effort to convince the people that it is genuinely interested in the development of Balochistan and in the improvement of the quality of their lives.
A similar approach should be followed in Sindh and the Frontier province. Confrontation and intimidation should be avoided and a conciliatory and developmental approach adopted.
S.M.H.BOKHARI
Rawalpindi
(II)
Sectarian conflict has prompted the government to impose a curfew in Skardu and Gilgit. The situation is grave and an unseen hand seems to be fishing in troubled waters.
The NWFP and Fata are also disturbed. Everybody knows about the operation in Wana Waziristan and at some other places. The statements of tribal chiefs about defending their territory and traditions are also before us. The NWFP is being governed by the disappointed MMA which does not see eye-to-eye with the federal government.
Balochistan is also in the news. The Sui gas field controversy is creating doubts. The nationalists argue that it is their right to defend their honour and liberty. The people of Sindh, especially the Baloch among them, see eye-to-eye with the Baloch of Balochistan.
The MQM chief has also chimed in. Then comes Punjab, the heart of Pakistan. Although it is calm, the Seraiki province propaganda is always there. Then there is greater activity in relations with India.
All these issues need attention on a priority basis. The National Security Council should consider the problem of national consensus and devise plans to strengthen nationalism in Pakistan. Consensus can be achieved by inviting all political parties, pressure groups and dissenting elements to a conference and by listening to their concerns.
PROF M. AKRAM SAQIB
Sahiwal
Oral cancer
Oral cancer is on the rise in Pakistan. According to a research recently conducted in Karachi, oral cancer is now the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the city, with lung cancer topping the list. Among women, it is now the next most common type of cancer after breast cancer.
The single most importance risk factor for oral cancer is the increasing use of betel quid (paan) and areca nut with or without tobacco. In recent years, paan masala and 'gutka' consumption has also risen in Pakistan.
The last decade or so has seen the introduction of more than 100 brands of betel substitutes in the form of sweet supari, gutka and paan masala. These small, inexpensive and colourful packets are advertised and marketed aggressively and, as a result, have become extremely popular among children and teenagers.
According to a research conducted by the Aga Khan University in an area of Karachi, 70 per cent of primary schoolchildren chew areca nut (popularly but erroneously referred to as betel nut) and 25 per cent of them consume betel quid on a daily basis.
Upon detailed analysis, a German cancer research centre found that betel quid, paan masala, areca nut and gutka all contain a number of substances which are known carcinogens in both animals and human beings.
Betel quid consists of a mixture of areca nut, slaked lime (chuna), catechu (katha) and, as per individual taste, several other ingredients wrapped in a betel leaf.
Chewing betel quid and areca nut is an ancient custom in our part of the world, and most people in Pakistan are unaware of the serious hazards associated with these substances.
The government has taken some measures against smoking by introducing an anti-tobacco ordinance, but unfortunately there is no restriction on the sale of betel quid, gutka, paan masala and sweet supari.
There is urgent need to educate society, particularly our children, against the use of these dangerous substances. This is an area where the electronic and print media can play a leading role.
DR JAVAID A. KHAN
Karachi
Excuse for war
The US invaded Iraq in 2003 to search and destroy Iraqi stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). Having failed to find any, Bush replaced the WMDs as a reason for war with the word 'democracy'. Is it that war is more important for the US than the reason for it?
Guatemalan president Jacob Arbenz was overthrown by the CIA in 1954 as his land reforms had threatened the interest of a US fruit company. In the last 22 years, the US has reportedly invaded 57 Third World countries.
The Vietnam war was fought by the US, resulting in the killing of about three million people, on the basis of a concocted crisis where there was none - that the whole of Southeast Asia would go communist in case the US did not go into South Vietnam. The US lost, but the region did not convert to communism.
The US invaded Iraq in 1991 to get Kuwait liberated from Iraq which the latter had occupied some months earlier. The fact of the matter is that the US manoeuvred the reason for the attack when Ms April Glaspie, the then US ambassador to Iraq, gave the nod to Saddam to occupy Kuwait.
Besides, the US provided Saudi Arabia with doctored photos of a non-existent Iraqi build-up on its border to pressure it to hand over its military bases and other such facilities for the attack on Iraq. The kingdom complied and also paid $80 billion for it.
Since then, the US has developed highly dangerous weapons. For the sake of peace and some normality in the world it ought to review its strategic policies and ask itself as to why other well-armed powerful countries do not find serious fault with other nations and wage war against the weak. Peace will always remain elusive if important countries the world over do not promote justice.
Z. A. KAZMI
Karachi
Remembering C. A. Rauf
It is most regrettable that the passing away of Mr C. A. Rauf on Jan 18 in Karachi after a protracted illness has found no mention in the columns of your esteemed newspaper except for the paid-for obituary notice published by his family.
Mr C. A. Rauf deserves high appreciation for his pioneering contribution to the development of the advertising sector in Pakistan as also for his direct and indirect support to the development of mass media in our country by providing media with continuous and substantial levels of advertising from which media gained large revenues.
After establishing the Karachi office of a leading international advertising agency in the early 1950s, Mr C. A. Rauf set and maintained impeccable standards of corporate financial management.
His firm always honoured commitments on schedule and never permitted a default. Possibly the first advertising practitioner of the country to bring to Pakistan the benefits of global advertising standards and practices many years before the current era of globalization, he also created employment opportunities for hundreds of young people, many dozens of whom went on to become very successful advertising, marketing and media practitioners.
He also expanded the film production facilities of Karachi by building International Studios in the early 1970s and providing qualitative support to cinema and TV.
In an advertising sector where government ministries and departments control large amounts of advertising expenditure, he built his firm into one of the country's largest agencies, without handling any major government business.
Soft-spoken, maintaining a low public profile and often showing a good sense of humour, Mr Rauf was a fine gentleman and a professional with strong ethical standards. He will always be remembered by those who knew him. His positive qualities should be emulated by current and future generations of advertising practitioners.
JAVED JABBAR
Karachi
Kanupp in an emergency
In case a tsunami hits Kanupp in Karachi, emergency diesel generators required to safely shut down the reactor at Kanupp would be the first to go out of service as the building housing the diesel generators faces the sea right across the shoreline frontally, only about 100 feet away.
There are two diesel generators, out of which only one is in working order. If the water surges towards Kanupp, there would be no emergency supply available to shut down the reactor safely. Perhaps the only way a safe shutdown could be managed is by a battery-operated circuit, but that too is in a highly unreliable condition.
Besides, processed water supply would not be available and, as there is no provision for ultimate heat sink, a safe shutdown of the reactor would be next to impossible if a tsunami wave hits Karachi.
We are contemplating extending the life of this plant by another four years after it has completed the maximum design life of 30 years of operation. On account of operational flaws, even during normal conditions the fear of accidents remains.
In short, the plant cannot be safely shut down in unforeseen circumstances and, consequently, it is very unwise to commission the plant for another four years, especially when the benefit we are going to derive from it is just 70MW, which is peanuts as compared to the risks involved.
ARIF QAMAR KHAN
Islamabad
HEC's indigenous programme
The article on the HEC indigenous programme by Dr S. T. Rahim (Dawn Education, Jan 16) and a few others before it are part of a concerted effort to discredit the efforts of the Higher Education Commission in addressing the key challenges of access, quality and relevance faced by the higher education sector in Pakistan.
The fact is that three key checks have been placed in ensuring the quality of the indigenous PhD programme. First, a nation wide GRE-type test is held in which the pass percentage is less than 10 to date, with over 30,000 students having already taken the test.
A second key component is selection of supervisors who are approved by the HEC after a careful evaluation. The third component is evaluation of the PhD dissertation by foreign experts from industrially advanced countries. Of course, a PhD supervisor has a PhD, a fact that a simple email to the HEC would have confirmed. Why was an article in the paper necessary?
Consider the area of agriculture in which the Agriculture University of Faislabad alone has over 200 faculty members who have a PhD degree. There are three other agriculture universities in the country, besides the various agricultural research councils.
Of these people, only 150 have been approved to supervise PhDs after a careful evaluation. The HEC can make the CVs of these people available to any person wishing to verify the facts, if truth is indeed the goal of these "academics."
The author of the recent article, Dr Rahim, has been listed as an associate professor of computer science at the Ajman University in the UAE, an institution with no master's degree programme, let alone a PhD programme and which does not list Dr Rahim as a faculty member on its website (http://www.ajman.ac.ae/aust/index.htm).
There are those in Pakistan who do not believe that this country has the wherewithal and ability to join the ranks of developed nations, that a "few PhDs" is all that this country of 155 million is capable of producing, and then there are others who believe that given recognition, support and a conducive research environment, the faculty in our public- and private-sector universities are capable of competing with the world.
The HEC belongs to the latter group and stands by its programmes for the sustainable socio-economic development of Pakistan.
DR S. SOHAIL H. NAQVI
Executive Director, HEC, Islamabad
A religious slur
Alarmed by a statement issued by the religious affairs ministry that members of the Ahmadiya community were believed to have brought in "blasphemous" literature on return to Pakistan from a convention held in England and that an inquiry was underway, I asked a friend in London who belongs to the Ahmadiya community to gather more details.
This he did with reluctance, since, according to him, any attempt to set the record straight is foredoomed to failure in present-day Pakistan. However, I feel that your readers deserve to know the facts.
The Ahmadiya Convention was held in the United Kingdom from July 30 to Aug 1, 2004, five months before the appearance of the ministry's allegations. Delegates from Pakistan who attended the convention returned to their homes soon after.
Most of them were searched on arrival and none was found to be in possession of what the ministry would consider "objectionable and blasphemous material". The issuance of a "directive" now can only be another attempt to smear the reputation of the community.
It does not behove a government that projects 'enlightened moderation' as a centrepiece of its philosophy to make such accusations against loyal and peaceful Pakistani citizens.
The ministry's statement itself admits that whenever the Jamaat wishes to import any material, it asks the government for a no-objection certificate and obtains formal permission for the import. It is not in the business of "smuggling" books or pamphlets.
KHALID HASAN
Washington, USA
Electromagnetic gates
Quite a large number of cardiac patients have are permanent pacemakers (PPMs) installed in their chest to maintain the heart's normal rhythm. Security staff at airports are properly trained and frisk such passengers physically by allowing them to bypass the electromagnetic gates.
But in the present state of lawlessness, such gates are now being installed everywhere, even outside mosques. Very recently powerful gates have also been placed at motorways and everyone, with or without a pacemaker, has to pass through the electromagnetic field. if there is any. According to their nature of work, some people have to pass through the gates several times a day.
Through these columns I request cardiac surgeons to kindly guide us whether these gates on roads can have a damaging effect on the PPM. If they do, how can one avoid the effects of an electromagnetic field?
DR SAYEDAIN JAFFERY
Karachi
Cricket 'panic button'
This refers to the news item "Musharraf unhappy with performance, in discipline" (Jan 25). As patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the president has at last taken note of the poor and 'spineless' performance of the cricket team, which is also marred by reports of in discipline.
On Pakistan's defeat to Australia in the first Test last month, the PCB chairman said that "there is no need to push the panic button". Well, if the president of the country is taking note of the defeats and the team's in discipline, there is something dead wrong with Pakistan cricket, and there is all the need to push the 'panic button'.
The PCB chairman should take immediate steps to investigate why the team once regarded as one of the best has suddenly become a losing side and appears to be a club team in front of Australia.
There is no question about the Australians' quality and their extraordinary performances, but it does not mean that we can get away with our poor performances by just admitting the fact that we have been playing badly, thinking that we have an inexperienced side.
The hiring of foreign coaches one after the other does not seem to be benefiting us. We should look for other alternatives, including hiring a coach from among our reputed senior players.
The PCB should take some drastic measures to rectify the situation, like hiring experts, keeping in mind the weaknesses of our players. For example, we can hire a coach exclusively for batting improvement.
A Test should be taken as a Test and a one-day match should be taken in the manner it has to be taken. If a batsman does not follow the coach's directives, he should be taken to task.
Mr Shaharyar Khan should introduce administrative changes in the selection committee in particular and in the PCB in general so that only deserving players can make it to the national team.
ANAS A. KHAN
Edmonton, AB., Canada
GRE for PhD candidates
This is a follow-up to Mr Abbas Zaidi's letter "GRE for PhD candidates" (Jan 25). I have lived in the US and taken a GRE test. It is a known fact that GRE is a culturally biased test.
The Graduate Record Examinations test is geared towards the success of middle white America. To set a standard on such a test is ludicrous. Do you think Mr Jinnah and Allama Iqbal took the test? In our population of 150 million, Einsteins and Planks live and die. The key is how you get the best and the GRE test cannot be the basis for that.
FARAS KHAN
San Juan, PR., USA
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