| May 11, 2005 | Wednesday | Rabi-us-Sani 2, 1426 |
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Islamabad DHA
‘In search of enlightenment’
Renaming roads
‘Reinstatement of SSGC employees’
Win across the border
‘Life after death’
‘A shameful incident’
‘Minimum balance’
Sugar prices
‘Ms’ a simple solution
I WAS somewhat amused reading Kunwar Idris’s article (Dawn, May 1) in which he has compared the cities of Delhi and Karachi. I have in the past lived in Delhi but have not had the pleasure of living in Karachi and thus cannot comment on the relative merits or demerits of the two cities.
However, even if I have no right to comment on a Pakistani city I feel I have a right to comment on a couple of unfair statements with regard to India. Mr Idris states in the first paragraph of his article that “in the midst of poverty and corruption, brawls in parliament and many conflicts raging far afield, India is able to project its more positive and tolerant image to the world through catchy slogans and symbols. Most to win acclaim, of course, is ‘the largest democracy in the world’. Then come the symbolic facts that the country’s president (Abdul Kalam) and its richest man (Azim Premji) are both Muslims”.
India does not project the “image” of being the largest democracy. It is the largest democracy in the world. Abdul Kalam is the president of India but two other Muslims have also been presidents in the past.
To justify his tongue-in-cheek comments Mr Idris goes on to state: “In the case of India, the glamour and success associated with celebrities like M. F. Husain, Irfan Pathan and Shahrukh Khan overshadow the perplexing fact that the representation of the Indian Muslims in the public services is barely one-third of their 13 per cent share in the population. In Pakistan, it may be no worse for the minorities but the impression of the world is, undoubtedly, much worse.”
I cannot personally vouch for the situation of minorities in Pakistan, but I know for a fact that a Muslim can criticize a Hindu diety in India and generally live to tell the tale and I have personally seen Pakistani flags flying in Indian neighbourhoods in the ’50s and ’60s without anything untoward happening. I have also known of religious conversions from Hindu to Muslim for the purpose of marriage. I can only hazard a guess as to what will happen in Pakistan under similar but opposite circumstances.
Again, it is not only Shahrukh Khan, M. F. Husain and Irfan Pathan who are prominent but there are people in the civil services of India at the level of divisional commissioner, inspector-general of police down to the village patil and the darogha who are Muslims.
There are high court judges, chief justices of India and high courts, governors and company presidents. If Mr Idris with a straight face can say that Hindus and Christians are similarly represented in the Pakistani polity, I will be most pleasantly surprised.
The lack of adequate representation of Muslims is in my view a crying shame but it has other major contributing causes — the flight of educated and advanced sections of the Muslim population to Pakistan, and the Indian Muslim’s relatively more conservative attitude towards secular education and, most importantly, education of women.
Being a democracy, India has approached both the education of Muslims and the treatment of Muslim women (see the Shah Bano case in point) gingerly and with kid gloves. Also the personal laws of the Muslims act as a brake to advancement. One single non-religious personal law and compulsory secular education for all irrespective of religion and sex will go a long way to reduce the disparity. This is borne out by the fact that in the comparatively backward states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar the condition of the more conservative Hindus and Muslims is much worse than of similar groups in the more progressive parts of India such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
But no government in India, even the erstwhile BJP government, could or would attack this “third rail” of Indian politics. Pakistanis have a general penchant for stating that though conditions for minorities in Pakistan are bad, they are no worse than in India. This may help progressive Muslims feel good, but reading about state of the Haris and other Hindus and Christians in Pakistan, I can only look at such a position as self-delusion at best.
P. G. GOPAL
Chappaqua, NY, USA
ACCORDING to the news item “NA body okays DHAI Ordinance” (Dawn, May 5) the National Assembly Standing Committee on Defence while approving the DHA Islamabad Ordinance 2005 also “directed the defence ministry to ensure that the owners who wanted to sell their land to the authority got a price according to the prevalent market rates”.
According to the ordinance, the DHA shall have an executive board which is headed by the adjutant-general of the Pakistan Army. Its members include the DG welfare and rehabilitation (a serving general) in the GHQ, the administrator of the authority (a serving or retired brigadier to be appointed by the army chief according to the ordinance) and its secretary. The board also has two residents as co-opted members but without the right to vote. The executive board has been vested under Clause 8 (2) (a) of the ordinance to “purchase or procure any land in accordance with the government rules on the subject”.
Under government rules land can be acquired for any purpose at a price to be determined by the government and not necessarily at market rates.
Under Sub-clause (h) the executive board has the powers to “plan, approve and execute mergers and amalgamations with other adjoining schemes or cooperative housing societies that may be considered expedient for the overall growth of the Authority”.
Thus not only privately owned land but also adjoining housing schemes can be taken over by the DHA, at will and at any price with no questions asked.
Not long ago an administrator of the DHA (Karachi) in an interview with Herald (Dec 2003) thus explained the powers of the board under the ordinance: “If a bill is passed in the National Assembly by a two-thirds majority and approved by the president, it becomes law; right? It’s the same with us. When the DHA’s executive board takes a decision to suit its purpose it is tantamount to a bylaw”.
Where is the provision or intention to ensure that the land owners or adjoining housing societies get the prevalent market price for their land? Suppose a land owner is not satisfied with the price of land offered to him. How can he expect justice or fair play from the executive board which comprises senior military officers working part-time or full time to develop a housing scheme for themselves?
The NA Standing Committee’s direction to the defence ministry is pointless. What it should have done was to propose changes in the DHA law to make it equitable, fair and above the board and not aimed at serving the real estate/corporate interests of a few.
Laws are made in parliament; a decision taken by the executive board of a housing authority “to suit its purposes” can never be “tantamount to becoming a bylaw”.
SENATOR FARHATULLAH BABAR
Islamabad
IN response to the article by Mr Khalid Hassan Khan (Dawn, May 1), I would like to present a few points. Writing about “enlightened moderation”, Mr Khan mentions Voltaire who once warned: “Beware of a man who says, believe in God as I do otherwise God will punish you. He would say tomorrow, believe in God as I do otherwise I will kill you.” Then Mr Khan writes, “Both enlightenment and moderation are prime virtues of Islam”. This way he has created a paradox.
If enlightenment has to deal with the prime virtues of Islam, then why shouldn’t one accept belief based on sacred texts like the Holy Quran?
According to Mr Khan, “Enlightenment comes from education alone.” If we are to accept this and agree on changing the curriculum then we should also consider another doctrine of enlightenment as explained in the Oxford Companion (1995, 236) by M. J. Inwoods. He says: “…Education should impart knowledge rather than mould feelings or develop character.” If this is what we want and this is what we call progress and that too in accordance with Islamic principles then we have to accept the fact that we have lost the true spirit of Islam and its values.
The supporters of enlightenment have overshadowed our lives and now we are unable to figure out the difference between believing in religious injunctions or rejecting them. We are desperate to have supremacy of reason and rationality for enlightenment but are also reluctant to openly reject the supremacy of religion. So we are trying to develop our own version of enlightenment by the name of “enlightened moderation”. Enlightened moderation currently seems to be tolerant towards our religious norms but will sooner or later lead to the rejection of religion because it has got its roots in the original concept of “enlightenment”.
FARIHA AKHTAR
Karachi
THE names of the roads of a city mirror both its history and myths. They also commemorate its conquerors and benefactors. In the latest round of renaming roads by the Karachi nazim, a benefactor has been the victim. Jehangir Road is named after engineer Jehangir Sethna who laid Karachi’s sewerage system for quarter of a million people. Seventy years later it is still coping with 55 times as many. One would like to know what bigger feat Mufti Jamil Khan had performed that he should displace Jehangir Sethna.
Guru Mandir and the Hub River are landmarks of the history and geography of the region. Why should they make way for two more Muftis is not easy to comprehend. It is like changing the names of Kharadar and Memon Masjid.
Two things need to be said here: first, it is a time-honoured tradition that an official — elected or nominated — does not make big decisions when his term is about to end. Nazim Naimatullah has but three months to go. Second, before renaming a road or any other public place the public has to be notified. The reason is obvious: the public places belong to the people and not to government or municipality.
There is an old law on the subject which needs to be dusted out of the archives or fished out of the sacks. Ignorance or deliberate disregard of this law has encouraged not only the ministers and nazims but even more law-abiding folks to give whatever name they like to a road, to a garden or even to a town.
The new names announced by the Karachi nazim should be held in abeyance till both the propriety and legality of his action have been examined.
KUNWAR IDRIS
Karachi
THIS refers to the letter ‘Reinstatement of SSGC employees’ (March 18). It has been more than two years since the Supreme Court of Pakistan passed a judgement (on May 2, 2003) regarding reinstatement of 265 retrenched employees of the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), subsequently endorsed by an apex court bench comprising seven judges on May 13, 2004.
The SSGC management “handpicked” 109 officers of their choice and absorbed/reinstated them (CA#11396 to 1663/02). The rest have been denied reinstatement in spite of the court’s standing orders as well as the instructions of the presidential secretariat which wrote to the management some eight months back.
One fails to understand why the SSGC management does not accept the Supreme Court order, instructions from the president and prime minister’s secretariats, chief justice of Supreme Court’s show cause notice for implementation of orders, the Senate standing committee’s advice, letters to the editor published in Dawn, and demands voiced at press conferences.
We appeal to the president as well as the chief justice of Pakistan to take action against the SSGC management for defying the apex court’s orders and the presidential secretariat’s instructions.
ISLAMUDDIN MEMON & LUTUF ALI
Sukkur
AN emphatic one-day series win coupled with a remarkable drawn Test series was not exactly we had hoped our green shirted players to achieve when they crossed the border for their first full series in six years. Pakistan were labelled as the underdogs before the start of the series and people were even saying that this was the weakest Pakistani team to tour India. What happened afterwards is history and shows us the tremendous self-belief the team had in its abilities.
After the disastrous tour of Australia we were not given a chance in India and against their formidable batting line up our bowling minus Shoaib Akthar was considered a total mismatch. What people did not realize was that even though Pakistan had lost badly in Australia, it had made us into a much more competitive and battle hardened unit. This fact was very much evident from the first Test which was drawn. The way we fought back on the last day through a memorable partnership between Razzaq and Akmal saving us from the jaws of defeat showed our character and the ability of courage and faith we had in ourselves. No one had given us a chance to save the match and to bounce back the way we did was telling everyone we were ready to do battle. We did lose the second Test as the Indians played well and we did not apply ourselves on a spinning wicket.
It was on to the third and final Test with India only needing a draw to win the series. It was Inzamam’s 100th test and he led from the front with an innings of class, stature and authority. What a performance it was which led us to win and level the series. It was truly a memorable 100th test for Inzamam. Danish Kaneria was the man of the series for his superb bowling and ended up as the highest wicket taker in the series with 19. He had overshadowed bowlers like Kumble and Harbhajan which spoke volumes of his ability and talent.
Pakistan achieved a number of records for the first time in this series, like we successfully chased over 300 for the first time in a one-day match and were able to win matches batting first and second. It was a magnificent team effort and spirit which resulted in this great fight back. Rana Naveed rightly deserved the man of the (one-day) series for his 15 wickets in six matches on flat wickets. It was truly a remarkable performance. Shahid Afridi was at his brilliant best with his all round ability and who can ever forget his 45-ball hundred which will always be memorable.
I would like to end by saying that it was the best tour of India by a young and inexperienced Pakistan team compared to India. Inzamam has really matured as a captain and has had an amazing tour by leading from the front. The team has resolved into a great fighting unit and a team for the future. I wish them all the best for the upcoming West Indies tour.
ASAD RAFI
Karachi
THIS refers to Mr Jafar Wafa’s article “Life after death” (Dawn, May 6). The author sets out to explain the terrorist suicide bombing activity in Iraq in the light of the concept of life after death almost as though terror in Iraq is a legitimate enough activity driven by an acceptable belief system in religion. How then would terror activity carried out in other countries under the garb of religion be described?
Suicide terrorist acts in Pakistan and other Muslim countries are viewed as terror by all Muslims alike. Why then are attempts made to somehow legitimize terror in Iraq by many in our country? Why these double standards and contradictions?
DR MAHNAZ FATIMA
Karachi
I AGREE with Mr Anwar Abbas (May 5) that the incident outside the Kharadar mosque was similar to the story of Raj Kapoor’s “Jagte Raho”.
However there is a correction: the film “Jagte Raho” was not from the ’60s but the ’50s. It was released in 1956 under Raj Kapoor’s own production company, RK Films, but he did not direct it himself.
AHMED ALI MEMON
Karachi
MANY newspapers around the world give gold, silver or bronze pen awards to the best letter writers. If you have or intend to have such an award, Mr Anwar Abbas of Karachi deserves to get one for his letter.
ASHOK MALIK
Santa Clara, USA
I WHOLEHEARTEDLY support the views expressed by Affected in his letter (April 24). Not only a few but all PLS account holders belonging to the middle and lower class categories find it impossible to keep a balance of even Rs5,000, not to speak of Rs10,000.
It is also not justified that in the name of “account maintenance charges”, a sum of Rs50 should be deducted every month in the event of a shortfall of minimum balance of either Rs5,000 or Rs10,000. This comes to Rs600 per year whereas no profit of equivalent amount is credited to the PLS account holders even if the balance is above the required minimum.
It is, therefore, urged that the State Bank of Pakistan should take appropriate action and ask all commercial banks to stop this practice of deduction and refund or reverse the debit so far made.
MRS KHURSHID RAHMAN
Karachi
THIS has reference to the news item “Sugar price hike uncalled for: ECC” (April 27). The Economic Coordination Committee is supposed to assist the government in ensuring uninterrupted supply of commodities of daily use at a reasonable price. It is regrettable that instead of taking a strong action against the hoarders, the ECC simply laments the “uncalled-for” sugar price hike and displays its lack of authority to control it.
It is obvious from the reports that the ECC has succumbed to the pressure brought on it by the cartel sitting in the meeting.
This is all the more unfortunate in view of the huge stocks available. Lack of decision at the meeting was meant to please and enable the cartel to make hay while the sun shines; prices will be brought down after the cartel has made huge profits.
KHAN A. SHAMSHAD
Karachi
A WOMAN’s maiden name is normally preceded by the prefix “Miss”, and when she gets married, the prefix “Mrs” comes before her name.
However, if she writes
“Mrs”, her husband’s name has to be appended to her first name.
The word “Ms” provides a simple solution. It can be used both for a married and an unmarried woman. But the D.G. Khan passport officials say that they do not know of any such word and are thus causing a great problem for newly-married women applying for passports.
The government is requested to order the officials to allow the prefix of “Ms” for any woman requesting it.
MUHAMMAD ALI
Muzaffargarh
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