| 28 April 2005 | Thursday | 18 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426 |
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‘Clueless Caesars’
Real estate boom
Defence housing schemes
Rabi-ul-Awwal celebrations
Cellphones on planes
Pakistani Christians
‘A woman in their lives’
‘Minimum balance’
ID card
Asif Zardari’s welcome
No goodbye?
THIS is with reference to the news item published in Dawn (April 15) which says that a suggestion for establishing a political parties’ commission had come up at a recent seminar in Islamabad. As the report may give an inadvertent impression that this is the first time such a commission has been proposed, I would like to state that the concept for such a commission was originally suggested by me at a seminar held in Karachi in 1996 and has been reiterated on several occasions, including at a conference convened in Karachi about three months ago.
In a chapter on proposed electoral reforms in one of my recent books titled “Storms and Rainbows”, published in 2001, elements of the concept were described.
For the record, the suggested elements for the political parties’ commission are shaped by the following considerations:
1. That though the election commission under the Constitution and through the Political Parties Act is supposed to regulate certain aspects of political parties, e.g., internal party elections, accounts, etc., the excessive role of the state and the government in the composition and functioning of the election commission prevents it from being a credible and effective mechanism to encourage and sustain the growth of authentically democratic and strong political parties.
2. That despite most political parties themselves not having so far demonstrated genuine commitment to internal democracy and accountability, the proposed political parties commission should be entirely free of control by the state, government or even by the election commission unless the election commission itself is more independent than it at present is and until the election commission finds a leadership of strength and integrity; and that the political parties commission should be accountable directly to the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
3. That only when the onus is placed entirely on the leadership of political parties to cooperate amongst themselves to create a separate commission that regularizes their functioning, then alone will it be possible to catalyze the progressive evolution of political institutions. Given the negative track record, this may seem wishful but no government alone nor the armed forces can sponsor the development of real political institutions and parties.
4. That the proposed political parties’ commission could, amongst other things, allocate state funds to parties on a transparent basis partly based on the number of votes secured in a previous election, partly on the basis of bona fide membership, and partly on the basis of the number of citizens willing to support a party’s candidates by proposing or seconding nomination forms, and on the basis of other criteria.
JAVED JABBAR
Karachi
THIS refers to Mr Ayaz Amir’s article entitled “Clueless Caesars, unintended consequences” (April 1). While I agree with most of the content regarding Pakistan, I take exception to his calling Mr Gorbachev a wimp and one of the greatest disasters in Russian history.
Mr Gorbachev, by all accounts, was a great historical figure of the 20th century who tried his best to reform the utterly stagnant and repressive political, economic, and social life of the erstwhile Soviet Union. His policies of glasnost, perestroika, and uskorenie have become household words. He allowed greater freedom of speech, democratized elections, freed thousands of prisoners, reduced party control of the government apparatus, withdrew from Afghanistan, abandoned the Brezhnev doctrine to allow eastern European nations to determine their internal affairs, thus weakening Soviet hegemony, and reduced intermediate-range nuclear weapons in Europe in treaties with the US, among other things. But by the time Mr Gorbachev launched all these visionary reforms, the immensely bloated Soviet empire had become so unsustainable that one can only say that Mr Gorbachev was fighting a losing battle.
Although Mr Gorbachev could not keep the Soviet empire together (it was never one country), the question is should he have? Empires do not last forever, especially if their only basis for existence is tyranny, brutality, repression and genocide. Whatever Mr Amir may say, it does not detract from the greatness of the ideas and actions of Mr Gorbachev who will go down in history as a great reformer. And his greatest legacy to history is that he rid the world of the perpetual fear of a nuclear holocaust.
But perhaps I am wrong and Mr Ayaz Amir’s heroes are the likes of Stalin (who tortured and killed about 30 million of his own people), Khrushchev and Brezhnev. I would request him not to distort history by adversely labelling outstanding historical leaders according to his personal likes and dislikes. Finally, please do not call him an American agent.
TANWEER-US-SAQALAN
Lahore
IN preparation for retirement I purchased a plot of land in DHA Phase VIII. It was a reclaimed, undeveloped piece of land for which I paid Rs1.6 million. Upon retirement I decided to stay in Canada. Recently I sold this land for Rs10.7 million, an astounding 10-fold increase in price.
What surprised me most was that with the proceeds of the sale I can buy in Canada not only land but a brand new house on it. It made me wonder what was so special about DHA land. Can there be gold in the grains of sand? There has been no improvement since I purchased the land. It was scrubland without roads when I bought it and it is virtually the same now. During the period of my ownership, my investment produced no economic activity in construction and did not create a single job for tradesmen or contractors. No taxes were levied except for a hefty development charge of Rs1 million imposed by the DHA recently. Being an overseas Pakistani I pay no taxes in Pakistan but do so in Canada.
Upon reflection, I realized that it seems DHA is no longer in the business of housing while operating in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, and real estate investment in Pakistan is not an investment but gambling. Not surprisingly, there is no effort to tame this bonanza through taxes or development requirement, as most VIPs — politicians, senior bureaucrats and army officers — are all in it. A senior State Bank executive advised one of my relatives to invest in real estate. Not long ago, a NAB investigation revealed that one bureaucrat had more than 30 plots in various parts of the country.
With such high returns on land, why should anyone operate a business? Indeed many businessmen are diverting funds to play the real estate market. Those who do want to get into business have to deal with a very high cost of land that only a few can afford.
When the game is over some naive, greedy or unlucky persons will be the proud owners of DHA plots which would have lost 50 per cent or more in value. They will not be able sell as there will be no buyers and will not be able to build houses as the land would be far too expensive for housing.
Welcome to Pakistan, an emerging economic tiger…
SHAH NAWAZ HUSAIN
Brampton, Canada
THE Army Welfare Housing Scheme (AWHS) has recently been approved as the Defence Housing Authority Islamabad (DHAI) — a welfare project of the adjutant-general’s branch. It aims to developresidential plots allotted to serving/retired officers, widows and families of “Shaheeds” at a no-profit basis. All that is very noble indeed.
However, once the name “defence housing authority” is used it implies that the project is open to all the three services comprising the defence forces. The current situation is that according to the ads released in local dailies and on the website of DHAI, serving army officers with 15 years of service, army officers retired within the last 10 years and army officers retired for more than 10 years but up to 60 years of age are eligible to apply for plots.
For the navy and air force only serving officers with a minimum of 25 years of service are eligible to apply. Retired naval and PAF officers cannot apply. Senior citizens of 65 years and above may apply while serving civilian officers of government/semi-government/ public representatives of federal/provincial legislative bodies and even journalists can apply.
Why this disparity with naval and air force officers?
It is recommended that the length of service of army, navy and PAF officers be kept equal for eligibility to apply and retired PN and PAF officers also be permitted to apply or else the name of the Defence Housing Authority, Islamabad, be changed to Army Housing Authority to avoid confusion.
GROUP CAPTAIN (retd) SULTAN MAHMOOD HALI
Islamabad
REFERENCE to Amra Javed’s letter “Rabi-ul-Awwal celebrations” (April 22), I wish she knew that the people of Karachi are spending millions of rupees on feeding the poor, helping the sick and destitute and providing education to those who cannot afford it.
All she has to do is to visit Abdullah Shah’s Mazar in Clifton, Burnes Road, the restaurants opposite the Maulvi Musafirkhana on M. A. Jinnah Road and a couple of other places where hundreds of people are getting food free twice a day. She can also check with the Edhi Welfare Foundation, Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital, Alamgir Welfare Trust, Al Akhtar Trust, several other welfare organizations, Karachi University and other educational institutions and hospitals to see the amount of donations they are receiving from Karachiites.
She should also know that a study conducted by a Canadian aid organization and the Aga Khan Foundation showed that Pakistanis give Rs72 billion annually in charity.
With this background, if a couple of hundred thousands are spent on illumination to mark the birth of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) who came as a mercy for both worlds and a benefactor of humanity, what is wrong with it? Illumination is one way to remember the Holy Prophet. And his remembrance has changed the lives of countless people in countless generations.
After all, we are spending hundreds of thousands on the celebration of birthdays and wedding anniversaries of our own and those of our friends and relations.
SARA HASSAN
Karachi
I WOULD like to draw the attention of the federal government, the director-general of the civil aviation authority, commanders of the airport security force and country managers of all airlines operating to and from Pakistan towards the issue of using cellular phones by passengers on board, despite repeated announcements and verbal requests made to them by cockpit and cabin crew.
According to a research report, since 1996 several pilots have reported numerous mobile phone-related incidents that include false warnings in the cockpit, distractions causing aircraft to stray accidentally on to runways or fly at the wrong altitude, interrupted radio communications, and multiple safety systems malfunctions.
Passengers while travelling in an aircraft should know that a cellular phone while in a standby mode transmits periodically to register and re-register with the cellular network in order to maintain contact with a cellular base station. An aircraft on the ground at an airport is likely to be in close proximity to a cellular base station, which results in a strong link between that cellular base station and an onboard cellphone.
Under these circumstances the network would set the cellphone output power to a low level, sufficient to maintain the link. The interference risk would, as a result, be low. As an aircraft increases its distance from the cellular base station, the output power setting of the cellphone increases, eventually reaching its maximum rating.
Passengers do not realize the danger they are putting themselves and other passengers into while on board and playing games on mobile phones during a flight.
Cellular phones may also cause an explosion in the aircraft. The result can be catastrophic. For example, in the year 2001, Crossair flight LX 498 leaving Zurich crashed, killing all passengers and crew members aboard, while carrying out a VOR non-precision approach for landing. During investigations, authorities found that use of a cellphone during that particular flight was somehow involved in the crash, perhaps actually causing its occurrence. It was suspected that the aircraft went into a dive while approaching to land. Apparently, a passenger on board received a call on his cellphone at the exact time the “autopilot” induced the dive.
Studies conducted by NASA in the US and the civil aviation authority of UK have established that the use of cellphones inside and in the vicinity of an aircraft is potentially dangerous. The UK CAA, in a study report published in April 2003, identified several safety related issues in flight involving the use of cellphones and personal electronic devices such as laptops.
For the safety of all passengers on board, cockpit and cabin crew, it has become imperative to strictly adhere to the international air-safety rules by completely banning the use of cellular phones on board.
The civil aviation authority in coordination with international and domestic airlines operating to and from Pakistan should also explore the possibilities of collecting all mobile phones from the passengers before they embark on an aircraft and issuing them a tag to collect their mobile phones from the competent authority once passengers arrive at their destination.
SYED A. MATEEN
Karachi
IT was with shock and dismay that I read in Dawn (April 24) about the arrest of 40 Pakistani Christians in Saudi Arabia. What was their crime? Conducting a prayer service within the confines of a house?
I urge the government of Pakistan to conduct an immediate inquiry through diplomatic channels and make every effort possible to secure their release.
TYRONE MASCARENHAS
Karachi
THE arrest of 40 Pakistani Christians in Saudi Arabia is regrettable as it will create a bad image of Muslims in the rest of the world.
The Pakistani Christians have done no wrong by practising their religion. There are thousands of Americans and Europeans in Saudi Arabia who are free to practise religion. Can the Saudis ever dream of touching a US soldier for reading the Bible in Riyadh?
There are millions of Muslims living in “Christian Europe” who have absolutely full freedom of following their religions. In fact, the Saudis have spent billions of dollars on building mosques and preaching Islam in Europe. After the 9/11 episode, the Muslims in general and Saudis in particular have been raising a hue and cry over the perceived infringement of their rights in Christian countries.
What right have we to protest against the banning of the hijab in France when we do not allow poor Christian labourers to follow their religion within their residences?
OSAMA MUSTAFA
Lahore
I READ with interest Mr Ardeshir Cowasjee’s column “A woman in their lives” (April 17) and the rejoinder (April 20) by Brig (retd) A. S. Nasir, whose department is full of maladministration as a division bench of the Sindh High Court described it on Sept 7, 2004, in a directive to the provincial ombudsman.
The brigadier talks of earning a livelihood. Now, I had entered into an agreement with a cellular company to establish an antenna tower and base transceiver station (BTS) on my roof top as something close to 200 people have done. A BTS needs a “no-objection certificate” which the company and I applied for. Almost all the NOCs were issued except mine on the plea that some neighbours had objected to its establishment.
I am a retired white-collar person with no pension or any facility. I could have earned some morsels from the yearly rental of BTS of which I am now deprived.
How does the brigadier consider his livelihood right and mine wrong? The governor and chief minister are requested to have my case investigated.
S. M. KAZIM NAQVI
Karachi
THIS has reference to the letters by Mr Shahzeb Ahmed Khan and Mr A. A. Malik (April 26). For several years I have maintained a PLS account with the MCB. Last year an office boy in our company needed to open an account and he did so in the same bank.
Recently he has received a circular from the bank informing him that he should maintain a minimum balance of Rs10,000 failing which Rs50 as service charge would be deducted from his account at the end of the month. How can a person drawing a salary of only Rs8,500 (the take-home is much less), and who has to support a family of five, maintain a minimum balance of Rs10,000? This levy is unjust and I request the State Bank to look into this matter and have banks change this requirement for individual account holders.
CHERYL MATHEW
Karachi
I applied for an ID card for my wife from the GOR Centre, Hyderabad (vide receipt No.413/120504/0026 dated 12.5.04). About one year has lapsed but the card has not been delivered. Nadra has failed to give me a proper reply.
KASHIF HUSSAIN QURESHI
Hyderabad
Asif Zardari’s welcome
THE government has launched a massive crackdown against Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) activists and leaders in various parts of the country. It is ironical that on the one hand the government claims to be a champion of democracy and propagates “enlightened moderation” while on the other it is violating fundamental and human rights.
More than 700 PPP activists are held in different police stations of Punjab and the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore, while the whereabouts of around 200 PPP workers cannot be traced and the Punjab government has instituted cases against them under the Anti-terrorist Act (ATA), which means that the government is declaring them as terrorists. Their only crime is that they went to Lahore to welcome their party leader, which is their democratic right, guaranteed under the Constitution.
I request the apex court and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan to take notice of the highhandedness of the government.
HUMERA ALWANI, MPA,
Thatta
APPARENTLY the only Indians who said goodbye to the Pakistani cricket side at the airport were a clutch of armed security people. Not one of the “fat cats” who control cricket in this country was present.
This is no way to behave with guests. It shows neither sportsmanship nor good manners.
MUKUL DUBE
Delhi, India\
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