| 5, April 2005 | Tuesday | 25 Safar 1426 |
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BJP’s claim about Taj Mahal
PCS merit list
Whither enlightened moderation?
Terrorism and UN
Tribute to Pope
The case for democracy
Safdar Barlas
Scholarships for FATA
Indian attitude
Omer Kureishi
Pakistan-India relations
Passport issue
WILL someone bear responsibility for the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) crisis, or will we be satisfied with the easy answer — that this was just market dynamics?
One of the prime minister’s favourite metres for measuring Pakistan’s economic success has been the “enviable performance” of the veritable KSE-100 index. So enviable is the situation that in just three months the market has gone up and then down 40 per cent like a roller coaster.
Undoubtedly there is no cure for greed and those who have speculated mindlessly have lost their shirts, as the saying goes. As I write this, it is evident from the ghostly absence of buyers that not only has the market collapsed, but the regulator also has failed royally.
As the government was gradually easing itself out of public sector enterprises through off-loading their shares in the market, more and more people applied and often doubled their money. A new trend was emerging as people having no understanding of how a share should be priced were entering the market.
It is important to point out that even those who do pretend to understand market dynamics by flaunting their MBA degrees will admit that pricing a share is more art than science. So, as ignorant investors gathered to watch a giant screen on which their favourite symbols were constantly in flux, they gained confidence as every day they made the maximum increase of 7.5 per cent.
Now as the market is in free fall, their paper profits have become losses which mount everyday by five per cent as they are unable to sell their positions. The most pronounced overvaluation occurred in the OGDC in which people made and then lost and continue to lose fortunes.
To me, those who will lose a fortune are not important. I am concerned about those who came into this business with small sums of money they had made from government IPOs. They were the herd brought into the slaughtering house by the systematic urging of the government and then massacred.
In his book, “The making of the English working class”, E. P. Thompson writes: The greatest crime against property is to have none.
In truth, the greatest crime is when those without property are herded together and slaughtered mercilessly.
MAHMOOD ELAHI
Islamabad
IT is disgusting that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is once again trying to create another controversy and communal tension by claiming that the Taj Mahal was a Shiva temple. We already have had many riots and loss of human lives due to the Babri Masjid, and cannot afford more.
Many historians all over the world have vouched for the history of the Taj Mahal, so the BJP citing books like “Badshahnama”, “The true story of the Taj Mahal”, etc., as proof of their baseless claim does not hold any water. The BJP should know that the Taj Mahal brings revenues of millions of dollars to the Indian government and we cannot afford the loss that will accrue if the Taj Mahal goes the Babri way.
Everyone should consider the Taj Mahal as an Indian monument rather than attaching religious connotations to it.
The Taj Mahal is India’s pride and does not belong to any particular religious community. Hence no one should be allowed to claim any authority over it. The Taj Mahal is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and any controversy over it will tarnish India’s image in the eyes of the world.
The Indian government should nip this dangerous agenda of the BJP in its bud or else the BJP’s obsession with distorting history will result only in violence and loss of life and revenue.
One wonder what’s next on the BJP’s agenda — the Lal Qila, the Charminar? Already, industrial pollution is destroying the Taj Mahal’s beauty. Let’s not destroy it further. Let’s not allow this symbol of love to become a victim of hatred.
AMJAD K. MARUF
Mumbai, India
THE Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC), Lahore, conducted the PCS (executive) examination 2003 for 74 posts in which about 20,000 candidates appeared. After passing the written test, the psychological test and interview, only 201 were declared “qualified”.
The top 74 candidates were recommended for appointment to various departments like cooperatives, labour, civil defence, board of revenue, excise and taxation and food. Out of the 74 selected candidates, many did not join, with the result that the advertised vacancies have still not been filled. This is despite the fact that 127 candidates are on the waiting list according to the merit list prepared by the PPSC. These 127 qualified candidates are waiting for their recommendation/selection and appointment because of the vacant posts.
The Punjab governor, chief minister, secretary S&GAD and other authorities concerned are requested to direct the chairman of Punjab Public Service Commission to revise the merit list of qualified candidates of the PCS (executive) 2003, so that the qualifying candidates may get the PPSC’s recommendation and job offers from departments.
Furthermore, the PPSC has a policy of revising the merit list in case a selected candidate does not join the department for which he is selected by the commission. Recently, the policy of revising the merit list was considered and adopted by the PPSC regarding selection of ASIs for the Punjab police. In the past, too, the PPSC had revised the merit list to accommodate qualified candidates placed on the waiting list. In this way, educated and talented youth can be provided with an opportunity to prove themselvess.
RANA ASGHAR ALI
Pakpattan
TODAY our government feels the need of the religion column; tomorrow it will have to work out new items in the passport like sect, language and ethnicity. Shouldn’t these identities be a part of the passport?
We like to stretch our muscles beyond our frame of action and poke our nose in affairs controversial and having dangerous consequences. In issues relating to religion, we believe it our birthright to create an impression that we are the only lot of true Muslims left on the globe and all others are weak and compromising. As we always perceive a threat to religion, we remain frustrated all the time. For us the developed world is our enemy as it is a threat to the Islamic world. Ignoring our errors in analyzing the new world, we make others responsible for our underdevelopment.
We never bother to go into the details of an issue. The question is not whether the religion column should be inserted or not but what is its relevance to a passport. If it is required on technical grounds, it should be a part of it, leaving aside our emotionalism. But since this is not required, the idea should be dropped.
The government’s decision in favour of the religion column has been taken at a time when the MMA has pledged to take its anti-Musharraf movement to its logical end with its “million” marches. If the idea of enlightened moderation is the aim of the Musharraf government, then the decision in favour of the religion column will reverse the process.
The timing really supports the agenda of the extremists, the parties in the MMA. They claim that they have forced the rulers to restore the religion column as an outcome of their marches in different parts of the country.
The real threat is from extremism. In order to root out extremism from society and individuals, we should work for socio-political and economic development.
SOHAIL KHALID
Toba Tek Singh
THE UN secretary-general has formed a panel to define terrorism. There is no consensus on the definition as well as the issue of terrorism in the world. Terrorism is a relative term and will remain so until there is justice and fairplay in world affairs.
The world organization should first of all make serious efforts to liberate itself from the powerful nations’ influence. It should be in a position to take impartial decisions and only then it would be able to tackle complex and deep-rooted problems. Whenever a few overbearing states snub this prestigious organization, it gives in and sometimes even changes its stance on pressing issues or becomes indifferent to them as in the case of Iraq.
Every nation defines terrorism according to its own circumstances and the stand it takes on various issue. There are many definitions of terrorism, but all have a vagueness about them. The definition should be arrived at by considering the world’s flashpoints, including Chechnya, Palestine, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and North Korea. The aim of the new definition should not be to stonewall the Muslim nations. Only acts of violence are not acts of terror. Every kind of terrorism — individual, group and state terrorism — should be included and there should be a clause in the definition that to impose one’s will on others by any means wll be an act of terror.
M. AKRAM SAQIB
Sahiwal
I WAS saddened to hear of the passing of Pope John Paul II. We have lost a champion of human rights, a true man of God and a friend of the Muslim world.
I recall the days after 9/11 when the Pope really reached out to the Muslim world. In a time where Muslims were confused, angered and saddened, it was the leader of the Catholic Church who stood like a rock, reaching out and calling for peace and understanding. It was very easy to point fingers and indict Muslims, but he urged Christians to advance what he called a “civilization of love”.
He was a leader in the interfaith dialogue; indeed he was the first leader of the Catholic Church to set foot inside a mosque, sharing a prayer service with Muslims shortly after 9/11.
He was a giant in the world and we will miss his leadership. He led the Church with wisdom and dignity, a role model for believers of all faiths.
DR AKBAR AHMED
Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies,
American University
US President George Bush’s favourite author Natan Shransky, a former Soviet dissident, writes in his book “The case for democracy” that dictatorships generate “fear societies” that are unable to plan a long-term progress but are forced to live a day-to-day existence based on hollow foundations. Unfortunately, that description fits us aptly which is why even 58 years after independence nearly 60 per cent of our population remains ignorant and 40 per cent lives below the poverty line, something incompatible with the long-term survival of any country.
India’s GDP is projected to become the fifth largest in the world by 2010, while we are still struggling with an ever-widening balance of payments deficit which is expected to rise to $5 billion this year, putting us at the mercy of international lenders as before. Our rulers are doing nothing but manipulating the media to hoodwink the people and curry favour with the foreigners.
Ziaul Haq used to expediently repeat the mantra of Islamization to suit the objectives of the Afghan war while today we hear the refrain of terrorism. The basic principles of nation-building were being cruelly ignored. Only a rational society, free from superstition and tribal feeling, can compete in the comity of nations today. The other prerequisite of progress is cheap energy. While the former malady could be remedied somewhat by ensuring universal literacy, the latter problem would be difficult to solve until we fully tap natural resources such as gas, coal and hydro-power, the neglect of which has left us at the mercy of foreign lenders. Unfortunately, we are unable to organize ourselves to achieve economic progress. And nobody in power is doing anything to rectify this.
MUHAMMAD AKRAM
Multan
THE death of Mr Safdar Barlas has taken away a veteran journalist, who enriched Dawn by his pen in the various capacities he worked, despite his health problems. I came to know him some 15 years ago and the friendship deepened as the years passed on. About two years back, I invited him to my place to discuss his prostate malignancy with Dr Rafique Ahmed Mirza, FRCS (Edin), who lived in my neighbourhood and had worked on cancers during his stay in the UK.
Although he was suffering from an unsparing disease, he always looked cheerful, as if not aware of the consequences. He encouraged me to keep writing on matters of public and national interest. He was a great source of strength to me in my humble journalistic ventures.
Lately, I asked him as to how the “Lahore Resolution” passed on March 23, 1940, came to be known as the “Pakistan Resolution”. How come that it was now “Pakistan Day”? After a day or two he called me to tell to read Prof. Shahida Kazi’s “The myth of history” published in Dawn of March 27, to get an answer to my query.
His death is personal loss.
M. SHAFIQUE AHMED
Karachi
I WANT to bring to the attention of the ministry of education and the HEC issues of overseas postgraduate and PhD scholarships for agriculture graduates belonging to FATA. Some years ago, special scholarships were reserved for FATA students, especially by the governor of the NWFP and the education ministry. But now these scholarships have been done away with for unknown reasons.
FATA is backward as compared to the rest of the country, and though the government is taking concrete steps regarding education in these areas, there are no such arrangements for PhD and postgraduate studies. The HEC selects graduates for overseas education from all over Pakistan, and it has adopted the same criteria for FATA students as it has for the rest of country, which is an injustice to the people of the backward areas. Moreover, for several years the cultural exchange scholarship offered by the ministry of education has included no one from FATA, even though this scholarship is provided on a quota basis. This should be taken seriously and the people of FATA should be given what is their due right.
ANWAR KHAN WAZIR
North Wazirstan Agency, FATA
INDIA claims to be seeking good relations with Pakistan but in the case of the Baglihar and Kishan Ganga projects and above all Kashmir, it has paid no heed to our concerns. The Baglihar dam seems to be a fait accompli. It is one of those “tricks” of India for which Pakistan has no one but itself to blame. The story of Pakistan falling into the Indian trap dates back to the time when Pakistan and India were negotiating the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960. We lost our riparian rights under it.
The Indians have their own agenda while we on the other hand are keen to quickly improving relations with India in the presence of key issues like Kashmir and the Baglihar and Kishan Ganga projects. Pakistan is just complaining to the World Bank and the US whereas in the current situation it is India’s responsibility to settle the core issues if it wants good relations with Pakistan.
According to our experts, Pakistan will suffer a disastrous water crisis, shortage of food grains and witness high power rates during the next few years. Are we prepared to meet the challenge? Do we have our water share under the Indus Waters Treaty? In the interest of the nation, the policy-makers are required to be vigilant and take a stand on the core issues.
ZAFAR AMAR
Lahore
APART from Omer Kureishi’s enchanting voice as a cricket commentator, he also enlightened his readers through his columns. He used the English language with a creative flow and his control over the language created a momentum of its own.
Omer Kureishi always voiced his distress over the brutality of war, injustice and man’s inhumanity to man. This endeared him to his readers. He was forthright and never indulged in hypocrisy, which accounted for his conscious hibernation during the days of Ayub Khan. His political analyses were often prescient. I can still recall his column “A dangerous 2003”, in which he articulated his fears of the impending doom in Iraq. And a few months later we saw one of the most lopsided military contests unfolding in that country.
He was conscious of his enormous responsibility of sifting the truth from its multiple variants, projecting the picture without any distortion. He will be sorely missed by his readers and all cricket aficionados.
SHAHZAD AHMAD
Lahore
INDIA and Pakistan have been turned into archrivals by western powers that are always ready to act as mediators merely to show their superiority. But the fact remains that the two countries are closer to each other than many other nations of the world. The current India-Pakistan cricket series, the visit of Gen Pervez Musharraf’s brother along with his mother and son to India as also the proposed visit of General Musharraf in April are enough testimony to the nearness and closeness of the two neighbours who share a long and common history and are culturally so much alike.
I wish whatever impediments there are in between their relationship will be removed.
AMITABH THAKUR
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
I WOULD like to inform the relevant authorities at the passport department in Lahore about the rigours and tensions being faced by people who have applied for passports at the branch situated in Lakshmi Chowk. To apply for a new passport requires facing severe physical and mental torture. Submission of fees, applying for the passport and receiving it require at least three days of standing in a queue of about 300 people. There is only one window from where one receives a token number to enable one to wait for a turn. There is no way for a person to get his turn on the first day because many unruly people keep breaking the queue. There is no security arrangement that makes the queuing process transparent.
It’s even tougher for people from outstation. They have to come again and again at least three times to complete the entire formality — to submit the fee challan form, to apply for the passport and finally to come back to receive the passport. One wonders why passports, like NICs, cannot be delivered at one’s doorstep. The authorities should take account of this and make
the whole process easy for the public.
AMIR SIDDIQUE
Lahore
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