| 2 May 2005 | Monday | 22 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1426 |
To send a letter to the Editor
Click here
Funding for NICVD
‘Whose war on terror?’
Gulmohar city
Delay in getting degrees
Clash of civilizations
A woman in their lives
Withholding tax
Appeal to president
Matching hospitality
Pakistan post
Pye-dogs
WE, post-graduate trainee doctors working in different teaching hospitals and medical institutions in Pakistan, are facing problems in respect of the rules and regulations of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP). We want to draw attention towards the major issues involved. These are as follows:
Null and void rule for FCPS part-1: according to this rule, it has become compulsory to complete the training and appear in the part-II examinations within seven to eight years after passing part-I examinations. If somebody is not able to appear in the examinations within this period in spite of completion of the whole training, his FCPS part-I will be considered null and void. It has debarred hundreds of doctors from FCPS part-II examinations by its retrospective application and spoiled their career.
Intermediate module: initially, this rule was valid for candidates who passed FCPS part-I from March 2001 onwards, but now through retrospective application of rules and regulations, it has been made compulsory for almost every postgraduate trainee. In some specialities a candidate is bound to take intermediate examinations of some other specialty, for which he has no concern in future. This rule has become a major hindrance for all post-graduate trainees in completing their training with effective learning.
Synopsis and dissertation: the new amendments to the rules regarding approval of dissertation have debarred almost all students from 2005 and 2006 part-II examinations. The new rules of rejection of retrospective study, compulsory one-year interval between synopsis and dissertation and demand of data of approved dissertations were framed in 2005 but applied retrospectively to all the candidates.
Retrospective implication of rules is thus the root cause of all the problems. The CPSP is discouraging the specialization programme for doctors. We request looking into our problems and taking up these issues with the respective higher authorities of the CPSP.
POSTGRADUATE TRAINEE DOCTORS
Lahore
THE National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) is not only Pakistan’s premier cardiovascular institution but it is also a vital source of postgraduate education for our young doctors.
The institute has a huge number of ever-growing patients. In fact, it is believed that no other similar institution anywhere can equal NICVD’s extraordinary volume of patients. They come not only from Karachi but all over Sindh, Balochistan and even Afghanistan. Importantly, the bulk of the treatment provided to the public by the institute is either free or heavily subsidized.
Last week the federal government announced that it had increased its budgetary allocation to NICVD from Rs150 million to Rs200 million. With just the institute’s annual salary and utility bills, amounting to Rs475 million, it is obvious that the government’s contribution remains quite pitiful. The vast majority of NICVD’s budgetary provisions have to be met from its endowment funds, private donations and the revenue earned from paying patients.
Seven years ago a number of citizens got together and formed The Cardiovascular Foundation (TCVF). Over the years, with generous aid from donors coupled with charity fundraisers, several worthwhile projects have been completed in the NICVD. The Cardiovascular Foundation was able to provide the institute with a fully-equipped emergency unit (CCU II) and supply all the necessary equipment (both medical and non-medical, such as airconditioners and power generators).
While the Infac Foundation constructed a new OPD, the TCVF completed the project by funding the OPD’s equipment and internal work. A worthy donor helped the foundation reinstall the hospital’s plumbing.
Others have generously donated money to the TCVF’s Zakat account for ‘mustahiq’ patients. Other donors freely contribute towards cardiac operations of destitute or poor patients — paying for the surgery and, when required, the expensive heart-valve replacements.
While we at the foundation remain grateful to all the citizens who have made many valuable contributions, our experience with the government has not been very encouraging.
In March 2004 we planned a fundraiser to build a new emergency unit as the original older one had become too small to cope with the increasing influx of patients. An Indian artist, Abhijeet Bhattacharya, and his troupe were invited to perform at this event. When we were told that we would require NOCs from four or five different government agencies, we decided to postpone the event for another year.
The Foundation applied for official permission in December 2004, three months in advance of the fundraising event. In March 2005, Abhijeet Bhattacharya and his troupe visited Karachi to perform at a VIP’s wedding celebrations for his son before some 4,000 invited guests.
On March 20, just a week before our event, the foundation received a letter from the ministry of interior declining permission for the very same Abhijeet Bhattacharya and his troupe to perform at our NICVD fundraiser.
In our view, the federal government has displayed appalling double standards. Clearly there are different sets of rules for powerful VIPs and those for charities.
BEGUM SOURIYA MAZARI
Vice-chairman, TCVF,
Karachi
THIS refers to your editorial “Whose war on terror?” (April 22) which said that the war on terror being waged in the tribal areas on our Northern western border has not been without its share of controversies and that these are indeed testing time for the government, the army, the security apparatus and the people of Pakistan.
The people of Pakistan eye the scenario multi-dimensionally. At present three “basics” would suffice. Read:
— We believe that the suspected foreign terrorists in our tribal areas or even in Afghanistan are the leftovers from the young ones who came from other countries to fight the then USSR, and after the war was over, they became so familiar with the landscape of Afghanistan that they obtained any kind of employment and got married in Afghanistan and also some in our tribal areas and settled there as a part of civil society. In fact, this comes to mind as nobody appears to be interested in telling us as to what terrorism they have committed against Pakistan (or Afghanistan) before 9/11.
— Now a strategic-historical approach for whatsoever is happening in our tribal areas. No wars can be detached from history. It’s like a flowing river. Is not history a witness that our tribal people, without uniforms and with locally-made guns, many times defeated the ex-big power Britain’s motorized and mechanized army? How can’t this become a case of analysis and research for the western establishment, including the US? Haven’t these tribals played a major role, with Afghanistan’s foot soldiers, even without regular supply of food and water, to help defeat another superpower, the USSR, about 15 years back? There should, therefore, be no surprise in case the overreaching masters (the US) make determined efforts to calm the “regional nerve”.
Mr Colin Powell said about a year back: “The US soldiers in Afghanistan would remain there indefinitely”.
— Recently US Lt-Gen David Bruno has said on our soil that the Pakistan Army was planning an operation in North Waziristan. We are worried, for reasons of our own, that he said this routinely. He has not cared to offer his regrets so far, however, unmeaningful it may prove to be. Has not President Bush offered his regrets for saying “Crusade” for 9/11 but repeated the words after a few weeks?
Z.A. KAZMI
Karachi
DR Faridon Setna’s suggestion to make Karachi a ‘Gulmohar city’ is splendid. Gulmohar is also known as the “gold mohar tree’ (poinciana regia) belonging to the family legumonasea. It is a rapidly-growing tree and reaches a height from 20 to 40 feet, making a widespread picturesque top with bright scarlet flowers. When in bloom, it ranks with the showiest of trees and shrubs. The seed-pods are six to 12 inches long with numerous seeds. Being deciduous, it is one of the most gorgeous trees and thrives in frost-free areas even in dry soils.
Gulmohar is propagated by the seed, which has to be soaked for some hours in water to make it soft to facilitate easy germination. It loves sandy soils and the seedlings are raised in nurseries, before they are transplanted in desired areas for its splendour.
With all its good points, Gulmohar has a snag. When the leaflets, flower petals and the seed-pods are shed in autumn, it rather makes the area untidy. If Karachi is to be made a ‘Gulmohar city’, one will have to put up with this snag.
Its cultivation is, therefore, considered more appropriate in residential compounds, where frequent sweeping is not a problem. Other useful and beneficial saplings that can be planted for their beauty are the variegated “kachnar”, “ashoka tree”, “amaltas” “bottle palm” and the Indian “rubber tree” the leathery foliage of which is a horticultural treat.
M. SHAFIQUE AHMED
Karachi
I PASSED my BA examinations (second annual 1993 held in March 1994, with roll No. 28724) in first division privately. But I have not received the due degree from the relevant section of the Punjab University, Lahore. Only the result intimation card has been received.
Similarly, after two years, I took the MA examinations (first annual 1995 held in 1996 with roll No. 0059) and was declared successful with second division. Only the passed result intimation sheet has been received.
I am a government employee based in Gujranwala cantonment. It is difficult for me to visit the Punjab University again and again. On a visit, the clerk of the inquiry office, new campus, handed over to me a pro forma. I filled it accordingly and registered it on the given address on 11.12.2004. But even after 120 days, there is no response. I have also written to the controller of examinations and the vice chancellor but in vain. I think the same would be the situation of others. The authorities are requested to take necessary action.
KHALID MEHMOOD BHATTI
Gujranwala
APROPOS of President General Pervez Musharraf’s statement advocating that there is no logical basis to encourage the thesis that unfairly teaches the ‘clash of civilizations’ between the Christian West and the Islamic world (Dawn, April 20).
In 1996, political scientist Samuel Huntington published “The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order” albeit viewed as controversial and divisive (a new utilitarian mantra of the West in the post cold war era). Nevertheless it continues to be instrumental in influencing western foreign policy orientations, particularly that of “Washington’s external policy parameters towards the Muslim world”.
Although Huntington’s argument is supported by brilliant erudition, one suspects that much of the book’s popularity is derived from its autumnal mood, its Toynbee-esque contention that the West was a “fading” civilization whose power — economic, social, and military — had peaked and was now on the long, circuitous road to decline. Many observers swelled to his oft-repeated warning about “the West’s universalistic pretensions”, the idea that “peoples in all societies want to adopt Western values, institutions, and practices”.
At the same time, conservatives applauded Huntington’s attack on “the divisive siren call of multiculturalism” and his insistence that “the futures of the United States and of the West depend upon Americans reaffirming their commitment to western civilization”. The prominence Huntington gave to the resurgence of Islamic extremism assured that a “clash of civilizations” enjoyed a new lease on life in the aftermath of 9/11.
But some western intellectuals, when they speak of “Islamic fascism”, provide an opportunity for us to look at a number of forms of western fascism that the governing powers in the West have begun to practise, not only with the Islamic world, but also with the world as a whole.
The West is placing its bets on a “cultural conflict” wherein it perceives Islam to be the enemy that it must defeat. This is a false wager that grossly distorts reality.
One of the most important foundations of civilization is that the individual — not to mention society — possesses the ability to put cultural and societal choices into practice, yet the wielders of power in the West are not prepared to grant the Muslims this right — not even when it comes to understanding Islam. They wish to dictate to us a particular understanding of Islam, which will have as one of its important tenets the preservation of “western hegemony and the subjugation” of the Muslim world to its slavish devotion and allegiance.
Notwithstanding the rapidly shifting scenes of modern history — the end of cold war, the vitalizing movement of liberal thoughts (the end of apartheid era), the emerging neo-regionalism (the enlargement of Europe and the growing Afro-Asian cooperation), the growth of the ideals of political unity and social reconstruction (the era of globalization) — the wholesome stress and the toil of efforts — towards the destination of “a universal and humane world order” has yet to be perceived. But that is certainly not possible by giving space to the nasty doctrine of the clash of civilizations but by exorcising it whereby both the “western and the Muslim civilizations” can jointly or congruously work for the betterment of human welfare and the expansion of intellectual horizons in the human civilization.
It is against this backdrop that the Muslim community hopes that the newly elected 265th Pope Benedict XVI will play his pivotal role in negating the “western antagonism” against Islam as envisaged by his “agenda of open dialogue” with Jews, Christians and Muslims.
S. Q. AFZAL RIZVI
Karachi
THIS refers to Mr Ardeshir Cowasjee’s column “A woman in their lives” (April 17) in which he appreciates the steadfastness of a woman officer, Ms Nargis Ghaloo, the former secretary, services, Sindh government, who did not renew the contract of an overage brigadier, inducted into the Sindh government, on the principles that such an extension will affect the future prospects of the young officers. The lady should be saluted for her stand.
There is no dearth of retired generals and bureaucrats who have been occupying top positions in different government and semi-government organizations, at the expense of younger officers, whose careers are being spoiled. Last year, one respectable retired senior civil servant, S. Shahid Hussain, has written a marvellous article on this subject in Dawn.
Mr Hussain concluded that these octogenarians, who are spent forces, are doing a damage to the civil services structure. His voice was unheard in the deaf corridors of power. Now Mr Cowasjee has joined him and this is the time to show doors to the retired generals and bureaucrats so as the space may be created for the younger generation to serve the country.
DR (PROF) MEHTAB ALI SHAH
Jamshoro
THE government deducts withholding tax of 10 per cent on payment of prize money whether it is Rs1,000 or Rs50,000,000 which is not fair. Claimants of the highest prize money can bear this tax because either their investment runs in crores or perhaps they purchase winning prize bonds from the market to convert black money into white.
After deduction of withholding tax the small investors are left with very little. The Pakistan People’s Party while in power exempted prize money up to Rs25,000 from tax. The present government has achieved stability in the economy. It can exempt prize money up to Rs15,000. Withholding tax can be enhanced somewhat on prize money above Rs15,000.
S. AQILUZ ZUBAIR
Lahore
THE government’s decision to restore the religion column in the passport has saddened moderate and enlightened sections of Pakistan. It has created the impression that the government has restored the column under MMA pressure. The decision would sabotage the efforts made so far by the president to project Pakistan as a moderate, enlightened and progressive state.
I appeal to the president to reverse the decision and refer this issue to parliament where it would meet the same fate as the MMA’s demand for the declaration of Friday as a weekly holiday.
PROF SYED MAZHAR HUSSAIN RIZVI
Lahore
IN a game there can be only one winner — not the one who wins the game but the one who takes defeat gracefully. We are disgraced not by Pakistan’s cricketing skills but by our Delhi crowd’s failure to reciprocate the kindness shown by Pakistanis in Lahore to the Indian team when they won the series there.
KUMARI M. K.
Hyderabad, India
MY brother living in Germany sent me a brand new mobile phone set (Nokia 6230) of the value of 500 euros via registered post on April 11. The parcel (# 576/04/05) was delivered to me on April 27.
To my shock, the contents of the parcel (with a broken seal) were a used cellphone (Nokia 3360) without battery and an old charger with a Nokia 3310 booklet. I immediately rushed to the Lahore GPO where I was asked to file a formal complaint (# 1200) addressed to the deputy controller of imports & foreign post, Karachi; controller of international mail, Karachi; and the director-general of international mail, Islamabad; blaming the imports & foreign post department in Karachi which had forwarded the parcel (# 85) to the Lahore GPO on April 20.
A staff at the Lahore GPO, on condition of anonymity, advised me not to expect any remedy or action as they have received numerous such complaints from irate people about parcels containing cellphones being opened at Karachi and new cellphones being replaced with old ones. In my case, the Lahore GPO had also sent an error report (# EE91) on April 23 to the parcel import branch in Karachi, but they said they have yet to receive a response. I request the authorities concerned to look into the matter.
SHAHID IQBAL RANJHA
Lahore
I AM a resident of Nazimabad, Karachi. My area is infested with pye-dogs. These dogs target people in darkness, especially when they go to mosques for morning prayers or for jogging. At night they bark hysterically, disturbing people in their sleep. I would request the authorities concerned to look into the matter and do the needful.
SYED IMRAN ALI
Karachi
You can also send letters to the Editor
Just send your message to the following address:
Make sure you include your full name, postal address, e-mail address, and in the case of Pakistan your day-time telephone number.