| 07 February 2005 | Monday | 27 Zilhaj 1425 |
Post-election scenario in Iraq
Working of airport staff
Price hikes and poverty alleviation
HEC's indigenous programme
Revitalizing Pakistan-EU ties
Request to president
Preventing road deaths
NWFP contract doctors
Desecrating monuments
Manhattan and Mardan
Shoaib Akhtar
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In its 58th year as an independent nation, Pakistan has yet to see a stable democratic system of government. Regardless of the current political climate, there seems to be a general consensus amongst commentators that democracy alone can advance a nation to attain its political, economic and social goals.
However, the past speaks otherwise. One may consider whether the Anglo-American model of democracy which is recommended by the West for emerging nations like ours is appropriate or not. If not, is there an alternative?
The western model of democracy, inter alia, assumes that all subjects of a state are homogeneous. Apart from certain subtle exceptions, this notion is true in most if not all the functional 'democratic' states in the world.
Pakistan on the other hand is anything but homogeneous. It is made up of roughly four states (provinces) and several subdivisions, many of which were independent princedoms before the British took over. Furthermore, apart from our national language Urdu, Pakistan can largely be divided on the basis of four other languages: Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto and Balochi. Each of these can be subdivided into several dialects, many having their own alphabets and centuries-old literature.
If we adopt the Anglo-American system with national parties, nationwide elections, a national legislature and a powerful chief executive, then one language group would win the majority in parliament, elect the chief executive and wield power that would be irksome for the other communities. This is self-evident from the track record of democracy in Pakistan in the past 50 odd years.
On the other hand the Swiss confederation model of democracy suggests a better alternative. The confederation form of democracy has already been successfully employed for more than a century in Switzerland, a clear example of a country with religious and language differences that would make the Anglo-American model almost untenable.
The founders of this confederation were faced with problems similar to those of many of the present new democracies. To counter the issue regarding the mixed-bag citizens in Switzerland, they developed the federal cantonal system, with many functions reserved for the cantons and with the powers of the central executive limited to certain essentials like foreign affairs, security, international trade and finance and so forth. The legislature is made up of representatives who are elected every four years by the cantons.
There are 22 cantons, each with its own constitution. Each year the legislature elects one member of the cabinet to be president for a one-year term only. The president has little more power than other members of the cabinet and cannot be reelected until he has been out of office for at least a year. The result of this structure has been that the four language communities have lived in peace and prosperity for more than a century, with one of the most stable societies (and currencies) in the world.
One does not need to be further convinced that the Anglo-American model is not suitable for a nation with such diversity as ours. An alternative model on the lines of the Swiss confederation would most certainly present a better alternative.
SHABBIR ABBAS HARIANAWALA
Manchester, UK
Post-election scenario in Iraq
Iraqi politicians have started bartering over the next government following the country's historic vote that will likely pave the way for a Shia-led government for the first time in an Arab state in 11 centuries. Interim president Ghazi al Yawar said a Shia would almost certainly head Iraq's next government but made it clear that he was opposed to any permanent division of top posts between rival groups. The current interim administration has a Shia prime minister, Iyad Allawi, a Sunni president Mr Yawar, and Shia and Kurdish vice-presidents, Ibrahim Jaafri and Rowsch Shahways, respectively.
A coalition of leading Shia parties has swept 72.8 per cent of the 1.6 million ballots counted so far, according to partial results released recently. The partial count represents just over 10 per cent of the estimated number of registered voters. Influential Sunni religious leaders have branded Iraq's elections illegitimate as the election commission has admitted there were flaws in the vote.
Meanwhile, the insurgency goes on. Iraqi guerrillas hit back with raids that killed 24 people after US President George Bush said American troops would give Iraqi security forces greater responsibility in countering militants.
Analysts believe that spiralling violence and political controversy over Iraq's Jan 30 elections raise fears of a Lebanon-style civil war in the divided land. Lebanon's delicate sectarian power-sharing system, which enshrined a leading role for minority Maronite Christians, could not stave off the 1975 outbreak of conflicts that engulfed the tiny country in bloodshed with little respite until 1990. In Iraq, there is little history of sectarian violence, but the competing claims of ethnic and religious communities have sharpened divisions since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.
The US plans to revise its approach to the insurgency after Iraq's election, beefing up the new Iraqi military by bringing back more troops and officers from Saddam Hussein's former army and moving Iraqis into the frontlines after earlier false starts. The broad goal is to let Iraqis assume increasing responsibility for the stabilization of Iraq and to diminish the American face on the campaign against the insurgency.
Iraq's first elected government in half a century may enjoy a newfound legitimacy but will be burdened by ethnic and religious tensions as well as a heavy reliance on foreign aid and US troops. Washington wields enormous influence via $18.4 billion and the training of the country's security forces.
PROFESSOR (DR) P. NASIR
Gujrat
Working of airport staff
A few days back my family and I went to Karachi airport to see off our daughter (and her infant son) who was flying off to Ireland to spend some time with her elder sister there. Both my daughter and her son had Irish visas issued in response to an invitation from her sister. The original invitation letter was submitted to the Irish consulate to support her visa application.
At the immigration counter, after she had checked in with Emirates Airlines and her baggage had been booked for Dublin, she was asked to produce the invitation letter from her sister. She explained, though in vain, to the immigration official that the letter was attached with the visa application and on the basis of that she and her son had been issued Irish visas. However, this explanation was lost on the official.
He warned that in the absence of the invitation letter she would not be allowed to board the flight. Frustrated, she came to the entry point of the international departure area and told us what had happened.
My wife rushed back home in DHA and brought a copy of the invitation letter. Finally, our daughter and grandson were able to board the flight just half an hour before departure time. It was a most agonizing time of our lives.
The question arises: if the invitation letter is required to be produced at the immigration counter with the visa (which seems absurd in the presence of a visa), why is the public not made aware of this requirement by the immigration department? Why should passengers be informed of this requirement at the eleventh hour?
If we had left for home after seeing off our daughter at the departure entrance, which is normally done, what ordeal would she have gone through - with the strong possibility of being offloaded and missing her connecting Swiss Air flights at Dubai and Zurich (incurring heavy cancellation charges) and her elder sister waiting for her forever at Dublin?
M.A. PIRACHA
Karachi
Price hikes and poverty alleviation
The Oil Companies Advisory Committee increased the petrol price by Rs2 to Rs42.39 per litre a few days back. Correspondingly, the prices of kerosene, HOBC and light diesel oil were also raised. And that's not all.
A Dawn Feb 5 report says the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority has increased the price of natural gas by 8.25 per cent with effect from Feb 2 and the decision has been "quickly followed by CNG station owners who hiked the price of the environment-friendly fuel by almost 10 per cent".
I agree with your editorial (Feb 3) that whatever be the compulsions of the government, such measures are extremely reactionary because they will eat into the household budgets of the poor and impoverished sections of the people.
I am amazed at the inability of our financial wizard who does not realize that these fuel price increases are going to snatch yet another loaf of bread from the poor man's mouth.
The other day Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim speaking in a programme on a private television channel stated that it had become extremely difficult for a middle class family of five to endure with a Rs25,000 income. Will the prime minister explain how a family of equal strength can survive with a monthly income of Rs5,000 or thereabout?
On the other extreme, the government is importing 30 bulletproof Mercedes cars and 20 luxurious Land Cruisers for ministers and VVIPs, costing billions of rupees. Pakistan doesn't need them, nor does it need ballistic missiles any more. It must overcome its internal weaknesses emanating from poverty and a sense of deprivation in the smaller provinces.
Former US secretary of state Colin Powell writes in last month's issue of Foreign Policy magazine that the "root cause of poverty is social injustice and the bad government that abets it."
LT-COL (retd) SYED AHMED
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
HEC's indigenous programme
Dr Sohail Naqvi's clarification as regards the HEC (Jan 28) with reference to Dr S.T. Rahim's article (Education, Jan 16) on the Higher Education Commission's indigenous PhD programme smacks of a bureaucratic attitude in three ways:
- It is reflective of a conditioned thinking that a concerted effort is being made to discredit the efforts of the HEC
- It reiterates the stated position of the HEC that it is a model programme with all the checks and balances and with no apparent risks
- It includes a below-the-belt attack on the academic performance of the author, which is not a part of Dr Sohail's personality.
I am one of the many admirers of Dr Sohail, but have been dismayed with the above response. It would have been much better if he would have welcomed the ongoing debate on the HEC's new initiatives and would have revisited the indigenous PhD programme in an objective manner by acknowledging the fact that the commission was fully aware of the structural weaknesses of the programme and implicit threats to its success.
This initiative need not be scrapped but consistently reviewed and evaluated to ensure that it provides good teachers and researchers at a low cost.
ATHER ZAIDI
Islamabad
Revitalizing Pakistan-EU ties
In the wake of 9/11 while the pendulum of power politics has swung towards America's unilateralism, the European Union's role in global politics and economics as a forum of multilateral diplomacy has gained momentum. It is against this backdrop that growing a stronger strategic partnership between Pakistan and the EU has become indispensable.
The European Commission welcomed the conclusion of a new cooperation agreement with Pakistan on April 29 last year, following approval by the European Parliament on April 22.
The agreement strengthened relations between Pakistan and the European community. First, it established respect for human rights and democratic principles as an essential basis for cooperation.
Second, the scope of cooperation between them was significantly enlarged. Not only did the agreement provide a framework for commercial, economic and development cooperation, it also opened up possibilities for dialogue and cooperation in new important areas, including the environment, regional cooperation, science and technology, drugs and money-laundering. Subsequently, it formalized dialogue, providing regular meetings of a joint commission where issues of mutual interest could be addressed.
The agreement also represented one further step in the European community's relations with Pakistan, reflecting a growing recognition of the significant developments taking place recently in Pakistan, not only on the domestic political front but also regarding the improvement of its relations with India. In a parallel declaration, the EU announced its intention to propose and develop with Pakistan a cooperation mechanism on issues of weapons of mass destruction and the fight against terrorism.
The latest visit by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to the EU commission has been important for creating optimism for the future of Pakistan-EU ties. He has advocated the need to streamline the relations between the two sides in socio-economic fields. He has also briefed officials of the European Commission on the efforts Pakistan is taking to settle outstanding issues with India, including the core issue of Kashmir.
Since the EU is a major contributor to the economic reconstruction of Afghanistan, it must be a matter of great satisfaction for it that Pakistan is actively participating in the war against terrorism and reconstruction of Afghanistan.
Pakistan has offered to play a diplomatic role in resolving the Iran-US-EU rift over the nuclear issue. Besides, Islamabad seemingly an ideological symbol of Muslim unity can be a place from where western governments can benefit to have a healthy diplomatic intercourse with the Muslim world, keeping in view the precepts of the doctrine of 'enlighten moderation' advocated by President Gen Pervez Musharraf.
The EU should be aware of its role in preventing the turmoil and meeting the challenges faced by the developing world, particularly the Muslim world which seems to be moving towards a solution like that of antiquity: a socio-political order imposed by force representing the will of the powerful rather than the hopes of the common people.
S. Q. AFZAL RIZVI
Karachi
Request to president
Through your esteemed daily I would like to request our president and other dignitaries to spare our city from further visits. Whenever there is a VIP movement in the city because of an exhibition or otherwise, the lives of Karachiites become a nightmare.
Is it fair that we have to suffer because of the president? Has he ever thought that people actually die in ambulances because they cannot reach hospitals, fire brigades cannot reach their destinations, common people commuting to and from work are stuck on the road for hours at end, little children who will run this nation in future are either given off-days from schools or are stranded in their educational institutions because their parents cannot make it on time?
What is the president teaching us and, most importantly, our next generation? What sort of moral fibre is being woven for our young ones?
SARAH SHEIKH ALLAWALA
Karachi
Preventing road deaths
This is apropos of the accident reported on Dec 31 in which 34 people were burnt alive when a Karachi-bound bus rammed into a stationary oil tanker at the New Saeedabad toll plaza near Hyderabad.
It was the third major accident in which passengers were caught inside a bus and burnt alive. The following steps should be taken to avoid repetition of such tragic incidents:
- All buses should have at least two emergency exit doors apart from the normally lone entry point.
- They should carry at least four axes at different locations to break windowpanes if need be.
- They should also have a fire extinguisher.
- Every toll plaza should have some equipment to deal with such emergencies.
DILAWAR HUSSAIN
Karachi
NWFP contract doctors
The NWFP government has not been able to solve the numerous problems faced by contract doctors in the province in spite of making tall claims to the contrary.
For example, regular doctors working as medical officers in the health department are getting Rs776 as special additional allowance while contract doctors are getting none.
One fails to understand the reason behind this discrimination.
DR HAMEED KHALID
Mingora, Swat
Desecrating monuments
We say we are "proud to be Pakistani" but we neither seem to have any love for our country nor the spirit of nationalism. When I see Karachi's Teen Talwar - with the golden words of the Quaid-i-Azam inscribed on it - being vandalized both by government and commercial organizations that they have put up their banners all over it, I am left aghast.
Could the government find no other place to put up the EXPO- 2005 banners than the three swords? Did PSO find no other place to put up their banners?
I am sure all government officials, from the governor to the chief minister and the corps commander, must have passed this monument several times, yet not one of these loyal, patriotic people had even the slightest thought of taking corrective action. What are we coming to? When will we be a nation proud of our heritage?
F. ALI
Karachi
Manhattan and Mardan
It was amusing to read the two glaringly contradictory headlines in the same issue of Dawn on Feb 4: "MMA MPA seeks law against music, women's photos in ads" and "Pakistan: a futuristic state, says Aziz". It seems that the mullah from Mardan and the banker from Manhattan differ on their vision for the country's future.
DR H. KHANDWALA
Saskatoon, SK., Canada
Shoaib Akhtar
It was a treat to watch a cohesive and fighting Pakistan cricket team defeat the otherwise invincible Australians. The absence of Shoaib Akhtar made all that difference in the performance of the team. They repeated their performance against the West Indies.
This shows that discipline and team spirit, not erratic speed, bring victory. I hope the PCB will take note of this factor while selecting the team for the forthcoming India tour.
M.A.SAYEED
Karachi
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