| 14 February 2005 | Monday | 04 Muharram 1426 |
Gang-rape cover-up
Power shortage
Opposition to KESC privatization
Balochistan situation
No surprises
We shared history, let's share the future too
Opulence vs poverty
Remembering M.H. Askari
Obscurant prescriptions
Iraqi roadmap in Iran
The F-16 stalemate
OIC status
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In his address at the 39th convocation of the CPSP on Feb 4, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was as usual very eloquent but unconvincing when he spoke of the government's plans to improve and extend primary and tertiary health-care to the people at large.
He implored the newly-conferred FCPS doctors to go out and serve the rural population. His call may attract a few but for sure most of them will not and should not let go to waste their high-level professional skills in rural health centres devoid of modern diagnostic and treatment facilities.
The action plan, therefore, is misdirected and may not achieve desired results. The need, therefore, is to go back to the basics and initiate action plans aimed at preventing air- and water-borne diseases, which often acquire epidemic proportions.
It is a basic right of the people to receive basic health, hygiene and preventive care such as safe drinking water, effective disposal systems for industrial, toxic chemicals and social wastes, prevention of air pollution and protection of the environment, the banning of tobacco products, including naswar, gutka and gul.
Furthermore, in order to upgrade the tertiary care units serving the rural population, it is desired of the government to reinstate periodic training of lady health visitors in community health, hygiene and midwifery with a stern warning against turning the practice into a neem-hakeem model, revive the LMF four-year diploma course so that qualified licentiate doctors can replace the quacks, and guide the lady health visitors in their assigned duties.
Also, there is a need to reform the total health-care system into a countrywide organization, administratively and functionally well-integrated up and down the line, like the Pakistan Army's structured organization having effective command and control of units/check posts, be it in the Rann of Kutch, on the Siachin height or in Sahiwal.
The government should also establish an independent directorate under the ministry of health in collaboration with the Pakistan Medical Association and Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA).
It should be invested with the responsibility and authority to eradicate the menace of spurious, counterfeit drugs and to enforce the CGMP in non PPMA-member industries in particular.
Last but not least, Unani and homoeopathic drug manufacturers, spread all over the country like cottage industries, must be brought into the fold of the Drugs Act, 1976 with necessary amendments (as in India and Bangladesh).
The task may seem daunting but with professional approach and Edhi-like dedication, I see the dream of a cheerful life and of cherry cheeks in 150 million people come true at less than the amount of Rs30 billion available for random spending in the health sector in FY2005.
M. M. RAB
Karachi
Gang-rape cover-up
The present military-dominated government, despite its claim of so-called enlightened moderation, is engaged in attempts to cover up a rape case in which military personnel are reported to have been involved.
According to news reports, a captain and his accomplices belonging to the defence security group gang-raped a lady doctor on the night of Jan 2-3 at Sui in Balochistan.
Afterwards she was given tranquillizers and kept unconscious for three days so that she could not report the incident to the police. Later, instead of conducting a medical examination and allowing her to register a case, she was involuntarily moved out of the province and admitted to a psychiatric clinic in Karachi.
After a public furore, the police officers at Dera Bugti pursued the case and gathered evidence that proved the occurrence of the heinous crime. The Pakistan Petroleum Company (PPL), the employer of the doctor, however, continued to stonewall the investigations under pressure.
The UN tribunals have recently declared institutional, systematic rape a crime against humanity. The International Criminal Court (ICC) Statute, commonly referred to as the Rome Statute, unequivocally declares rape as a crime against humanity under its Article 7, paragraph 2(f).
We appeal to the international community and the human rights organizations to condemn the rapists and their supporters. We also request the international community and the human rights organizations, including the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, to pressure the Pakistan government to bring the culprits to justice and also to provide security to the victim and her family, who need to be relieved of the pain and torture caused by threats and delays.
SINDHI ASSOCIATION OF NORTH AMERICA
Via email
Power shortage
This is with reference to the news item (Feb 11) in which National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has asked the government to formulate a long-term master plan for the power sector before seeking foreign or local investment as in the case of (as Thar coal, etc) to avoid higher power tariffs or repetition of 1994-like crisis.
The Nepra chairman said that planning in the power sector had been neglected in the last 10 years and capacity expansion was taking place in a haphazard manner.
"Our concern is that we may not repeat the mistakes of the 1990s when the country had to enter into costly agreements with foreign firms owing to emergency situations, and poor consumers had to pay a higher price."
He said that in the absence of such a plan, which should be for 10-15 years, proposals were coming from investors who advanced their own preferences and profit objectives in selecting sites and fuels without taking into account crucial subjects like transmission line facilities, its cost, and whether electricity was really needed in a specific area.
I agree with the chairman because sponsors in 1944 were free to select plant location and fuel and the government had to incur huge expenditure on additional transmission facilities. Take, for instance, the Thar project which is far from the main national grid.
The government should not wait for emergency-like situations where it has to meet shortages so that capacity is not increased at any cost but at the best suitable cost.
Power plants should be developed where shortage and transmission line facilities exist. Otherwise, the higher cost of transmission as a result of the plant location selected by the sponsors would translate into higher tariffs for consumers.
ENGR. U. M. IQBAL
Islamabad
Opposition to KESC privatization
With reference to the opposition's stance on privatization of the KESC that it would compromise the country's economic sovereignty, I would argue that its stance is baseless.
First, in the age of globalization all developed countries have compromised their economic sovereignty for the greater interest of their people and the economy itself. In the UK, I see a number of companies competing for electricity and gas supply services by reducing their prices and improving their services.
As far as fear of retrenchment of workers is concerned, I would argue as to why should the people of Karachi be held hostage to the benefit of a few corrupt employees of the KESC.
These employees have failed in their duty to provide the minimum standard of service sought from them and now they fear for their jobs. Had these employees performed to the satisfaction of the people, the people of Karachi would have been with them.
But I am sure the people are looking forward to the change. After all, they have nothing to lose. Increase in tariff was experienced even under the nationalized KESC, but without improvement of services.
The stance of Mr Raza Rabbani is just a political move to support the PPP trade union activists who must be on the payroll of the KESC but busied themselves with political issues rather than attending to their jobs.
S. R. KHALID
Gujrat
Balochistan situation
All Pakistanis are concerned with the state of affairs in Balochistan. It is indeed sad that a large part of Pakistan and its people have been left behind in the overall economic uplift. But the good thing is that at least in the last five years some major work has been done to remedy the problems of the province.
Balochistan is a feudal society and will resist these efforts at modernization. Resistance will be put up not by the people but by the sardars who don't want to see their powers diminished.
President Musharraf is a far-sighted leader and I believe that not taking any action against these sardars is the best way to diffuse the tension. Let them do their bit for a short while.
The worst thing the government of Pakistan could do is react to their provocations. In the meantime, the government should expedite work on development projects and build schools, hospitals and army and naval bases.
This will show the local population that development is coming their way and will automatically loosen the stranglehold of the sardars.
ALI QAZI El
Dorado Hills, CA., USA
No surprises
The Australian tour concluded as expected. However, a few lessons can be learnt and it is hoped that they won't be repeated. The top order inconsistency seems have to become a chronic problem and perhaps the team management has either given up or is still in the process of rebuilding.
Talking about consistency, it should be pointed that we, the supporters, need to be consistent with our views as well. The day our team performs miserably, we severely criticize their performance; when they win, we praise them and instantly forget about their flaws. We need to strike a balance and the so-called cricketing gurus and analysts should refrain from passing statements based on sentiment.
As far as Shoaib Akthar is concerned, he is arguably a match winner but we expect too much from him. I think it is about time we relied on the skills of Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and a few other youngsters. For a change, let us encourage our team when they depart for India despite their flaws and limitations.
JAHANZEB SYED
Karachi
We shared history, let's share the future too
I am an Afghan woman living in Pakistan. When I was born, my country was burning in Russian fire. Later I experienced the Jihadi and the Taliban fire fuelled by many other countries.
I was forced to migrate to a neighbouring country. I have no hesitation in expressing my deepest gratitude to the people of Pakistan for giving us a relatively better opportunity to live.
I am deeply aware of the sufferings of the Pakistani masses, the impact of the Afghan Jihad and Pakistan government's policies during that era. A radicalized Pakistan society with a huge flow of extremists from all over the world "weaponized" Pakistani minds and aided mafia violence.
Despite decades of life together, some among us consider each other enemy nation. In some parts of Pakistan - of course not as much as Iran - Afghans are humiliated and in Afghanistan some people do not appreciate Pakistanis and so tend to completely overlook their support to the refugees during the war of resistance.
I believe that a majority of both the nations agree with me in firmly rejecting these blind assessments. Afghans and Pakistanis are Muslims and brotherly nations; both face the common threats of drugs and terrorism; suffer from poverty, unemployment, administrative corruption and such other evils.
Both emphasize democracy, human rights, welfare and social justice and therefore, must join hands in showing the true picture of Islam to the world - as a religion of peace and not violence.
Our cooperation in the fields of trade and transport will be very beneficial, if accompanied by attention paid to a number of issues which are critical in determining the fate of Afghanistan as a democratic and drug- and terrorism-free country. This, of course, will have a positive effect on Pakistan as well.
Some madressahs in Pakistan, unfortunately, still tend to produce extremist elements with a terrorist mentality. Such institutions require deeper attention, observation and monitoring by Pakistan authorities.
Drug trafficking and extremist activities in Balochistan must also be checked more effectively. Capturing more than 60 terrorists by Pakistan authorities no doubt is admirable, but not sufficient. Osama, Al Zawahiri and Mullah Umar, who, according to observers, live somewhere along the border, have yet to be dealt with.
Our elders shared a blood-bathed past. We want to share a clean and peaceful future. This is all we want: a proper handling of the present to guarantee a prosperous future.
AARYA NIJAT
Via email
Opulence vs poverty
When one sees on television our prime minister sitting in opulence in the Prime Minister's House with foreign dignitaries on an expensive Persian carpet, one is taken aback in contrast to our 50 million people living below the poverty line.
While waiting at a traffic light in the Lahore Cantonment, I saw a tiny toddler extending his hand towards a car window to get a few coins in alms. There was a dog sitting on the roadside scratching his mangy skin. It appeared there was no difference between the pitiable life of the mangy dog and the child beggar.
Pakistan is supposed to be a welfare state based on the ideals of Islam wherein the Caliph Umar (RA) had said that even if a dog died of hunger on the banks of the River Euphrates, he would be held accountable by Allah Almighty. I hope our rulers are conscious of Islamic traditions in pursuit of enlightened moderation.
DR. M. YAQOOB BHATTI
Lahore
Remembering M.H. Askari
I was saddened to read of the death of Mr M.H. Askari. He was the son of Prof. Mirza Muhammad Said who was a respected and renowned educationist of Delhi. He lived in Tiraha Behram Khan which was close to my maternal uncle Mullah Wahidi's house. I had not met Askari in Pakistan but was surprised to see him in his naval uniform when he visited the Pakistan high commission in London in the mid-50s.
Some months back Askari had helped in bringing to print Mullah Wahidi's autobiography, written in the late 60s but remaining unpublished because the writer felt that its contents should be confined to the family only. However, two Urdu papers had printed extracts from it.
His family, therefore, felt that it was no longer a family affair, and published "Mera Afsana" with the help of Askari. Mullah Wahidi, whose real name was Syed Muhammad Irtiza, had adopted this name when in early days he was editing over half a dozen monthlies. After coming to Pakistan he had written six books, one of which is Hayat-i-Sarware Kainat.
S. FARID AHMAD
Karachi
Obscurant prescriptions
Your editorial (Feb 5) on the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) tabling a bill in the Frontier assembly seeking a ban on music, dance and advertisement featuring women is apt.
This is an attempt to seek Talibanization of the province. Art and culture are inherently the rights of the people and no one should be permitted to deprive the people of these rights. However, advertisements portraying females should not be permitted.
SAIFUDDIN E. CONTRACTOR
Karachi
Iraqi roadmap in Iran
America, through UN pressure, cornered Iraq to accept IAEA experts to verify nuclear weapons, etc. Once the foothold was obtained, step by step all weaponry of any significance was destroyed.
Once the chief inspector declared that Iraq possessed no weapons of any significance, America attacked, destroyed and occupied Iraq. That the charges were all trumped up and changed frequently with time is only academic now. What Iraq has been reduced to now the world knows.
From the noises one hears from Washington these days, it appears that the Iraqi roadmap has been taken out again, dusted and only one word has been updated, viz: For "Iraq" read "Iran".
The UN as well as the EU are following - blindfolded. Can anyone suggest how this terrible American tsunami can be checked? I hope Iran makes contingency plan. It will certainly need all the diplomatic help it can get from the world, Muslims and its neighbours.
AYAZ AHMAD
Rawalpindi Cantt
The F-16 stalemate
This refers to a news item that appeared in Dawn on Feb 11 according to which the US government was contemplating selling F-16 fighter jets to both India and Pakistan.
We have been waiting for the planes for almost two decades. And now when there are many reasons to be optimistic about Pakistan getting the jets finally, owing to Pakistan being a front-line state in the war against terrorism and having got the privileged status of a major non-Nato ally, hopes seem to have dashed.
As we know, India has moved heaven and earth in order to stop the US from delivering the planes to Pakistan. Now this should be seen as not only a win for Indian diplomacy but also as the US intention of not wishing to annoy India with which it seeks long-term strategic relationship.
SHEHRAM MUZAFFAR
Faisalabad'
OIC status
Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed has spoken of "including the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC)" as a member of the UN Security Council to protect the rights of the Muslim states.
This is indeed a voice echoed out of the systematic thrashing Muslims have been subjected to all over the world. Yet the demand of the senator to make an organization member of the UNSC defies the existing criterion of selection, thus dooming it to failure.
Instead, it may be more pertinent to demand a permanent seat in the UN Security Council on the basis of religion. Islam being the second largest religion in the world has yet to be represented at this important forum. Pakistan has a higher claim being a nuclear power and West-friendly.
A.Q. ANJUM
Rawalpindi
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