| 06 March 2005 | Sunday | 24 Muharram 1426 |
Parliamentary body's recommendations
The Sui situation
Equitable resource distribution
Jack Straw on Kashmir
Tribute to AI founder
University golds - and blues
Delayed dues
Pits on GT Road
The Pakistani example
Profit and price
World Book Day
Matching hospitality
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It is really sad and indeed heart breaking to know that people like Saadia Ahmad Khan (letter published on Mar 1) are tired of letters from overseas Pakistanis who, in spite of their hectic daily routines, struggle to find time to keep themselves abreast of events in Pakistan and have not forgotten their roots.
Individually, every one of them has a different reason for travelling or living abroad and do feel the pain of being away from home and feel guilty about not sharing the sufferings of their compatriots. There are good or bad Pakistanis at home as well as abroad. But the majority of overseas Pakistanis play active and useful roles in various spheres:
1) Very large amounts are donated by us to charities like Edhi and the Shauat Khanum Memorial Khan Hospital, etc.
2) Home remittances form a substantial part of foreign exchange earnings of Pakistan.
3) Pakistani associations regularly celebrate national days and invite non-Pakistanis to make them aware of the history and culture of Pakistan.
4) Pakistanis run major businesses and promote imports from Pakistan.
5) In UK, Pakistanis have been elected to parliament and local councils. Several towns and schools have been twinned with Pakistani towns and schools. Urdu has been introduced in local schools and libraries. Literature/notices by local authorities are printed in Urdu.
6) Halal food has been introduced in all major food chains. It is available in hospitals, schools and prisons in the UK.
7) In conjunction with liberal elements of the local population, public meetings and marches are organized to highlight political problems faced by Muslim countries.
8) In the UK, we have hundreds of mosques. We also have our associations in most major universities. We have prayer rooms in colleges, hospitals and airports where the Qibla direction is clearly marked. Prayers with jamaat are organized in almost all our social functions in the UK.
9) Newspapers, magazines, websites, bookshops have been set up with emphasis on our culture, religion.
10) Halal mortgages have been introduced in the banking industry.
11) Families back home are supported by overseas Pakistanis, financially as well as with useful advice on matters of education, training, travel, etc.
The world-wide migration of population has been going on for thousands of years. The present inhabitants of Pakistan are themselves descendants of migrant ancestors. So there is no need to frown upon overseas Pakistanis. Moreover, we do need to have lobbying groups in the West, to counterbalance the Indian and Israeli lobbies.
KHALID AHMAD
London, UK
Parliamentary body's recommendations
The parliamentary committee on provincial autonomy, with special reference to Balochistan, has submitted its draft recommendations to the Senate. The recommendations clearly indicate that 28 subjects should be transferred to the provinces, and the concurrent list should be revised. It also suggests that the sole criterion of population should be revisited and levels of poverty and deprivation may be included to justly divide the resources among the provinces.
Looking back, we find relations between the federation and its constituent units deteriorating in the very early years after independence. The linguistic, political and economic rights of the eastern wing were downplayed. This ultimately resulted in the fall of Dhaka.
The nature of relations between the federation and provinces was clearly enunciated by the founder of Pakistan and was laid out also in the Lahore Resolution. But the civil-military oligarchy ignored this. They were interested only in retaining power.
The resultant fragile political structure has been taken as justification for intermittent and self-righteous intervention in the affairs of the state. Experiencing such protracted and frequent interventions, our politicians have generated subtle adaptabilities to this system that the present government has legitimized and institutionalized the role of army in political affairs of the country.
A military-driven political setup is beating the drums of its success. But we have plunged into quagmire. There has been no legislation to protect the interests of the federating units and build our image as a democratic country.
It is encouraging that saner elements on the present treasury and opposition benches have exercised their influence and made the political masters realize the need to hammer out a political solution. Thus a committee was formed to frame recommendations by getting views from all parties directly or indirectly involved in the Balochistan issue. The committee worked hard and has come up with its draft recommendations, which need to be further discussed in the National Assembly and the Senate before being finalized and acted upon.
We all have a stake in this country and its resources, and should use all our strength and force for the betterment of the deprived.
RAZA NAREJO
Karachi
The Sui situation
Natural gas in Sui (Balochistan) was discovered in the early 1950s, yet after a passage of more than 50 years the local inhabitants of Dera Bugti and suburbs have not been provided with gas facility. The local population still uses coal and wood for fire. In this behalf, Article 158 of the Constitution is relevant. It is reproduced below:
"Article 158. The province in which a well-head of natural gas is situated shall have precedence over other parts of Pakistan in meeting the requirements from that well-head, subject to the commitments and obligations as on the commencing day."
Clause (1) of Article 161 of the Constitution reads:
"Article-161. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 78 the net proceeds of the federal duty of excise on natural gas levied at well-head and collected by the federal government, and of the royalty collected by the federal government, shall not form the part of the federal consolidated fund and shall be paid to the province in which the well-head of natural gas is situated."
These articles of the Constitution clearly provide that the province producing natural gas has the basic right to be provided with gas in the first instance while royalty, etc, collected by the federal government, shall not form part of federal consolidated fund and shall be paid to the province in which a well-head of the natural gas is situated. The government has started a dialogue process with the nationalists but I feel if the government is sincere about making the dialogue successful, it must, besides other reforms, ensure the provision of natural gas to the Dera Bugti and other parts of Balochistan and full gas royalty to the province.
SHAKIL BALOCH
Quetta
Equitable resource distribution
There has never been a fair and equitable distribution of resources among the provinces, which has resulted in polarization of all sorts in the country. The cessation of East Pakistan in 1971 also failed to awaken us from our deep slumber; hence the present turmoil about unequal resource allocation.
In this scenario, the Japanese ambassador in Pakistan, Mr Nobuakai Tanaka, has pointed out that the current foreign aid resource allocation is also not very conducive to achieving Pakistan's national goals.
"The future of Pakistan," said Mr Tanaka, "is very bright if people of Punjab would think beyond their province and think about the entire Pakistan".
Thanks are due to him for his sincere plain talking to Dawn Magazine (Feb 27). He further revealed that the present "request to Japan for economic assistance by the government of Pakistan is heavily biased in favour of Punjab" because "almost all the politicians and bureaucrats come from Punjab".
I draw the attention of President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to the need for immediate measures to redress the balance and change the direction of the government machinery dealing with foreign aid matters.
Whatever is happening with our aid package from Japan cannot be much different in respect of other aid-giving countries.
ABDUL JABBAR KHAMISANI
Karachi
Jack Straw on Kashmir
There is practical wisdom in the advice tendered to India and Pakistan by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in Islamabad on Feb 14 that they should continue their composite dialogue.
The fact that Pakistan has sought the World Bank's arbitration on its dispute with India over the Baglihar dam should pose no hurdle in the way of continuing this dialogue. Tremendous efforts have gone into making this dialogue possible and it would be counter-productive to nullify these efforts in the pursuit of subcontinental peace.
The composite dialogue with India should be continued. And the British government as a permanent member of the UN Security Council should be kept fully informed about the content and pace of the negotiations. As human memory gets dimmed by the patina of age and time, Pakistan should submit an updated fact-sheet on the Kashmir issue to the Security Council and to all UN member-states and put the focus on India's intransigence that has blocked the implementation of the UN Security Council's resolutions on the Kashmir dispute and highlight the splendid cooperation it has over the years given to the UN Military Group of Observers for Jammu and Kashmir. The note should stress Pakistan's determination to settle its disputes with India through peaceful negotiations.
QUTUBUDDIN AZIZ
Karachi
Tribute to AI founder
Peter Benenson, founder of Amnesty International, died on Feb 25 at the age of 83.
He had founded the Amnesty International in 1961 as a one-year campaign for the release of six prisoners of conscience. But from there came a worldwide movement for human rights and in its midst an international organization - Amnesty International - which has taken up the cases of many thousands of victims of human rights violations and inspired millions to human rights defence the world over.
He believed in the power of ordinary people and, by creating Amnesty International, he gave each of us the opportunity to make a difference.
In 1961 his vision gave birth to human rights activism. In 2005 his legacy is a worldwide movement for human rights.
Mr Benenson supplied much of the funding for the movement, went on research missions and was involved in all aspects of the organization's affairs.
Today, Amnesty International is into its 44th year. It has become the world's largest independent human rights organization, with more than 1.8 million members and committed supporters worldwide. The candle Benenson he lit will remain torched forever.
DR MIRZA ALI AZHAR
President, Amnesty International Pakistan, Karachi
University golds - and blues
I was amused to read of the experiences of one of your writers who had to run from pillar to post in order to secure a gold medal for the convocation that was held this week at Karachi University. (Dawn, Feb 26).
This was followed by a story on your Metropolitan pages (Dawn, March 4) that the university does not have enough funds to hand out gold medals to the deserving candidates.
It is time the HEC and the Sindh governor (who is chancellor) took notice of the state of affairs of Karachi University where standards continue to deteriorate and students suffer as a consequence.
The condition of the hostels at the university is pathetic. Most classrooms are in a state of disrepair and many facilities that are taken for granted in other universities (proper seating, working fans, water coolers) are missing here.
There is no exaggeration here. One visit to the campus can confirm this. At the same time, in some departments, the number of staff offices outnumber classrooms. In fact, many of the rooms now occupied by staff were classrooms that have been converted to meet the requirements of the growing number of teachers.
What one finds disturbing at Karachi University is the growing army of academic and non-academic staff, particularly peons and ancillary staff, which number in the hundreds. But one visit to the campus shows that these staffers simply sit around drink tea and gossip while students have to run from pillar to post for the smallest of things that need to be done.
It is evident that the present set of administrators have neither the capability nor the willingness to set matters straight. This is the time for some massive changes in the way the university functions.
SHAMS UR REHMAN
Karachi
Delayed dues
In the 70s, I was allotted a plot in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Karachi, in what is known as the Journalists Colony. I moved into my house built on the plot in 1978 and lived there till 1988 when after my retirement from the Associated Press of Pakistan, I found my pension too small to meet my daily expenses and medical bills. I decided to rent out the house and live with my son.
It was all right till 1999 when a new tenant made his appearance. He was a government official and his tenancy was through the government estate office which also gave an undertaking that they would be responsible for the payment of utility bills. But for full one year, the tenant did not make any payments and when he did, it was not according to the mutual understanding.
With great difficulty I made him vacate the house. But most of the utility bills remained unpaid and we could not agree on the amount to be paid by him.
I submitted my case to the ombudsman. After a detailed hearing he gave a verdict in which I had to collect Rs3,000 per month from the government servant. A whole year passed and I could not get a single penny. I sent a petition to the prime minister. The prime minister's secretariat's public affairs wing issued a letter advising the ombudsman to take appropriate action on a priority basis.
While I was waiting for action, the Mohtasib office received an intimation under my signatures that I had secured the payment due. The ombudsman or the Mohtasib closed the case on receipt of this intimation. But I had sent no such intimation. The case needs to be looked into.
SALIM ALVI
Karachi
Pits on GT Road
One wishes there was a way to make the authorities concerned realize the anguish the common man experiences while commuting from Gujranwala to Lahore. There are deep pits in the middle of the GT Road, from Aminabad to Shahdara, which can cause serious accidents anytime.
These pits are widening day by day and nothing is being done to repair the road. The authorities concerned are requested to devise a prompt plan to repair and save people from this daily anguish.
MUHAMMAD WASEEM DAR
Gujranwala
The Pakistani example
One of my American colleagues at work, who has openly voted against Mr Bush for his campaign in the Middle East and is on record for sharing remorse at the incidents in Abu Ghraib prison, brought to my attention a news item (LA Times, Houston Chronicle, et al) about a Pakistani tribe issuing a decree to betroth a two-year-old girl to a man of 42 (21 times her age), as punishment for her uncle.
His question to me was, "What is going on in Pakistan, and does Islam condone such punishments?"
Does anyone have a cogent response to the question?
NADEEM ZAFAR
Memphis, USA
Profit and price
Pakistan State Oil recently announced they have earned Rs4.1 billion in six months, i.e., 23 per cent more than last year for the same period. But prices of petrol and related products have been increasing after every 15 days. The prime minister says that the days are over for cheap gasoline products. Some contradiction.
MUHAMMAD HANIF
Deputy General Manager (Finance) People's Steel Mills Ltd. Karachi
World Book Day
The World Book Day was celebrated on March 3 all over the globe. It was designated by Unesco as a worldwide celebration of books and reading. According to a news report, it was recognized in over 30 countries last year.
Nevertheless, how was it observed in Pakistan? Only in Lahore was a book fair organized on a large scale.
Reading habits have declined drastically in Pakistan, especially after the introduction of Internet and cable TV. Many Internet cafes have come up like mushrooms which can be seen full of our youth.
Children between eight 12 years have idealized the hero and heroines of tiresome and tedious Indian TV dramas. As if this is not enough, housewives too are usually seen engrossed in these endless TV serials.
This indifference towards reading has resulted in a literary stagnancy. Public libraries have been ruined and many bookshops in Karachi, as well as in other cities, have had to close due to lack of custom. The government can help change the situation to some extent by establishing libraries in all cities and towns.
RASHID ASHRAF
Karachi
Matching hospitality
The stories in Pakistani media on the ongoing Pakistan cricket tour of India are mostly negative. India is doing all it can to not only match but exceed the hospitality extended by Pakistanis when India visited Pakistan.
India has given 16,000 visas just in Lahore for the first Test match in Mohali. If you compare this on the basis of the population of India and Pakistan (on a per capita basis) that's about 10 times the visas issued by Pakistan for the entire tour.
India has even arranged a special train to carry Pakistani guests from Lahore to Mohali. Ordinary Indians in Chandigarh have volunteered in large numbers to host the Pakistani guests in their houses at their own expense. They want to welcome the guests with all the hospitality they can muster.
Spectators in large numbers have turned out to cheer and welcome the Pakistani players. Why this mean-spiritedness in the Pakistani media then?
RAJIV SHOREY
Carrollton, USA
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