| May 19, 2005 | Thursday | Rabi-us-Sani 10, 1426 |
To send a letter to the Editor
Click here
University of Sindh
Economic policy and SMEs
Third-term prime minister
Schools with no shelter
‘Costly consultants’
PMDC affairs
Energy drinks
Recruitment process
Creating doubts
Our ministers are interested in blowing up their personal profiles with the photographs we see daily in the media. The free distribution of textbooks must have provided a lot of money to the printers as well as to the officials placing the orders. These are the systems we have been ordained to live with for more than half a century.
AFTER 16 people had died in riots in Afghanistan ignited by a Newsweek report (May 9) which stated that US military investigators had found evidence that American guards at the US detention centre in Guantanamo Bay had desecrated the Holy Quran, the US magazine now admits that it “couldn’t be sure” whether its original source got his story right.
Are we to believe Newsweek? Perhaps it is telling the truth. It assumed its source was correct and published the story in the Periscope section of the magazine only to find out later that the source was not certain. If this is the case, Newsweek has failed to live up to journalistic ethics. Given the gravity of the allegation about the Quran and the predictability of Muslim anger and outrage, the magazine should have conducted a thorough investigation of its own, instead of relying entirely upon its source. It is important to note that Newsweek itself was not privy to the military investigators’ report containing the evidence. It had no direct knowledge that such evidence existed. It had not confirmed the “flushing incident” with any of the military investigators or the guards or the detainees at Guantanamo. From what we know at this point it appears that the magazine had not acted responsibly.
On the other hand, the magazine may not be telling the truth. It may be trying to cover up especially since the entire episode has generated so much fury among Muslims everywhere. It may also be trying to help the United States government itself which is the target of much of the wrath. In other words, the editorial by Newsweek’s Mark Whitaker in the May 23 edition of the magazine may be nothing more than a clumsy attempt at damage control on behalf of the Bush administration.
There is yet another possibility. Some Muslims have argued that the “flushing incident” may be a manoeuvre to test them: to see how far they would go in defending Islam. They are of the view that since the real motive behind the Washington-led war on terror is to intensify the drive towards global hegemony, the imperialists are determined to crush Islamic resistance. To achieve this goal, Muslim fidelity to faith will have to be emasculated.
Whatever the truth about the incident, the International Movement for a Just World (JUST) urges both the US government and Newsweek to continue their investigations. They have both promised to do so. They should realize that incidents like this only create more antagonism and hostility towards the US and its allies among Muslims and widen the growing chasm between the former and the latter. This will lead inevitably to more tension and violence.
In this regard, it is important to emphasize that while Muslims are justified in expressing their anger and unhappiness over the “incident” through demonstrations and the like, they should avoid actions which invite violence and bloodshed. Muslims must learn to respond to affronts upon their dignity with reason — and restraint.
DR CHANDRA MUZAFFAR
President, International Movement for a Just World (JUST)
Malaysia
FEW can beat certain elements of the media when it comes to making a mountain out of a molehill. However, a “new standard” has been set by none other than Newsweek. Its report on the desecration of the Holy Quran at Guantanamo Bay has caused a wide uproar over the globe, and has spawned hostilities in Afghanistan, which led to several casualties.
Newsweek has announced that it doubted the veracity of the source of its story.
President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz demanded an investigation and consequent punishment for those behind the reported desecration. One must appreciate the stance taken by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the statement issued by White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan and various officials, who have affirmed that the matter is being investigated thoroughly.
This incident reflects poorly on Newsweek as well as international media. The report was totally uncalled for. Local as well as international media should refrain from issuing statements that defame any religion, sect or group, as it only encourages volatility, protests and aggression. Such reports are a threat to the sanctity of all religions alike.
SYED JAWAID IQBAL
Karachi
THE principal duty of academics is teaching and undertaking and supervising research. This requires a great deal of time, energy and, indeed, dedication. Academics heading departments, study centres and faculties have additional charges.
In developed countries these additional charges are taken on reluctantly by the academics for a fixed period and after their completion they enjoy a period of sabbatical leave to compensate for the time lost as a result of performing additional duties. Unfortunately, the picture appears to be exactly the opposite in Pakistan. Because of perks, privileges and allowances, there is a race for additional duties. Ruefully, Sindh University appears to be at the top of this race.
Moreover, in Sindh University there is a strong co- relationship between additional duties and membership of the syndicate, the decision-making body of the university. They mutually reinforce each other. Membership of the syndicate guarantees sustenance of the additional charge, so after becoming an elected syndicate member, one is privileged to have as many additional charges one wishes. Similarly, if one has more than one additional charge, one has to be a member of the syndicate to protect them.
Prolonged membership of the syndicate has enabled one non-PhD individual to be concurrently dean of three faculties, and chairman of two most important committees, awarding scholarships and contracts for construction works. One person is simultaneously registrar and visiting professor. Such persons get car, telephone and other facilities for their administrative positions. Teaching only supplements their income.
Once upon a time Sindh University was rated highly. But in 2000, Dr Issa Daudpota put it at third place from the bottom in a rating of Pakistan universities. Dr Ishrat Hussain, the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, a former student and teacher of Sindh University, did not include its name in the list of institutions marked for State Bank-sponsored PhDs.
One of the main reasons for the university’s falling standards is the weakness for additional charge, and the appointment of retired teachers-cum-officials. The Karachi University Teachers’ Society has rightly requested its vice-chancellor to stop such appointments, and just give one additional charge to one person (Dawn Metropolitan, Jan 15). The governor and chancellor of Sindh University is requested to look into its affairs.
DR MEHTAB ALI SHAH
Sindh University, Jamshoro
APROPOS of the news item “78 per cent SMEs have no access to formal credit” (May 11), the situation warrants prompt attention by the economic managers grappling with issues of unemployment and poverty.
In the wake of pursuing an expansionary monetary policy for a couple of years, the banks advanced superfluous cheap credit to the private sector, with a major chunk going to big industrial concerns.
As expected, concentration of cheap credit in big industries has not helped in terms of employment generation and poverty alleviation — the core issues haunting us. Big industries which were, prior to the relaxed monetary policy, operating below their installed capacities, employed the cheap credit mainly for achieving full capacity utilization. As a result, employment generation has not kept pace with the magnitude of credit expansion.
Since the role of the SMEs — cannot be overemphasized in employment generation and poverty alleviation for a developing economy like ours, their dismally limited access to formal credit has prevented the benefits of the much trumpeted impressive macro- economic fundamentals from trickling down to wider segments of society.
There is no denying the fact that without focusing on SME development by way of giving them wider access to formal credit, unemployment reduction and poverty alleviation will remain a pipe dream.
It is time that sincere and concerted initiatives were taken by the country’s economic managers towards making SME development the pivot of our overall economic policy. The sooner, the better.
M. SHAHID DAYO
Ghotki
I CANNOT agree with Syed A. Mateen (May 13) that Ms Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif should be allowed to contest elections again in Pakistan. They have failed the nation twice and have done extensive damage to the country.
There is no magic wand that will solve all our problems irrespective of who the head of government is or which party is in power. We cannot be compared to the mature democracies of the West who have a tradition of hundreds of years and tolerance as well as common sense. Our leaders only want power for the sake of power.
The ban on the two former prime ministers is fully justified. We need new faces with new ideas who treat the voters with respect. These leaders were unable to provide proper public services, and one could get nothing done without paying bribes.
Let us face the facts; you cannot even reserve a seat on the national carrier unless you have connections. Wherever you look there are problems but nobody comes up with any solutions. We all need to contribute to the development of our country by good practices and behaviour and, most of all, sacrifices.
But for now we must struggle on with what we have and make the most of it. Good governance is what we need most and the strengthening of institutions which even the champions of democracy like the western-educated Benazir Bhutto could not provide, because even in democracies we have had nothing but autocratic rulers.
So let the general continue. He appears honest and straight-forward and the country has improved over the last five years.
ZAFAR RAJA
London
DAWN had commended free distribution of school textbooks in its editorial “Free textbooks” (May 8). Pen-pricks (May 7) said if they cannot have schools and teachers, give them free textbooks to read. The May 12 Karachi Metropolitan section had a news item that 13,995 schools were found to be shelterless. This is the actual state of affairs.
GHEEWALA A.G.M.
Karachi
THIS letter is in response to the news item, “Consultants in ministries getting hefty packages” (Metropolitan, May 14) and your editorial, “Costly consultants” (May 15).
I am allegedly the “privileged consultant” about whom a “shocking disclosure” was reportedly made in the National Assembly. I wish to place on record a few facts so that the honourable speaker of the National Assembly and the readers of this newspaper are informed of the other side of the story.
1) Not a single rupee was spent from the national exchequer on this project as it was funded through a grant by the embassy of Norway.
2) Rs5.52 million was not paid as fee to one (sic) “consultant” Arshed Bhatti or a group of “five consultants”; this was the cost of the entire project which facilitated the ministry with research, consultancy and the drafting of policy. The approximate breakdown is two million rupees spent on research, analysis and policy-drafting (done by a team of about 20 people), one million rupees for institutional and academic support to the ministry, Rs1.5 million on consultations (reaching out to people), travel, advertisements, printing, organizing a national consultation workshop, and logistic support for the process, and 15 per cent as project management fee.
3) This was not the first time the ministry sought external help. In 1992-93, UNDP-GoP had co-funded a project of Rs10.2 million to hire a foreign consultant, Prof John Ewen, to prepare the policy. He worked for a year to draft the policy and plan of action, which were never approved.
4) Under this project that started on October 11, 2004, and ended on February 21, 2005, when the draft policy was submitted to the ministry, we did the following: i) commissioned a dozen background papers that looked at various challenges the Pakistani youth faced and suggested possible solutions. This combined with a critical review of certain international youth policies both from the North and the South, and close consultations with leading figures by the minister of state helped in shaping a policy outline; ii) draft policy that was launched for national consultations on November 12, 2004, with over 10,000 copies distributed in Pakistan; iii) a press advertisement on November 26, 2004 inviting feedback on the draft in all the major Urdu and English newspapers in Pakistan; iv) extensive research and review of previous attempts since 1989; v) a draft policy prepared and placed for consideration before a national consultation workshop held in Islamabad (January 29, 2005). Those invited included a wide range of experts from government and non-government sectors in Pakistan; vi) after duly incorporating the feedback thus received, a revised draft of the policy (plan and strategy) was submitted to the ministry on February 21, 2005. The draft is available online at www.jawanpakistan.org.
5) As to whether we were qualified to do the job and the justification for seeking external help to formulate policy “‘when the ministry has a BPS-22 officer…”, this is something that falls in the ambit of investigative journalism. The ministry has always had one or two BPS-22 officers since the mid-1980s.
6) The entire policy development process was led from the front by minister Muhammad Ali Durrani, whose idea and mission it was, and by the secretary. After February, however, it seems the draft policy is afloat on an uncertain sea of bureaucratic vicissitudes, which is beyond the mortal prowess of the donor, the consultants and even the political leadership of the ministry.
ARSHED BHATTI
Director, Connective Action
Islamabad
THE letter by the former PMDC secretary on the subject (May 13) may be an eye-opener for all those who are at the helm of affairs of the health sector, particularly the PMDC, an organization of the federal government constituted to regulate the medical and dental education in the country.
The organization a doctor as its secretary, ignoring international models. In the UK, from where we inherited the system of medical education, there is a general medical council (GMC,) equivalent to the PMDC, which always has a non-medical man as its registrar /secretary.
Earlier, the PMDC followed the British system and had civil servants as secretary and registrar for more than 30 years and no one had any complaint against the PMDC during that period.
It is matter of great satisfaction for all those concerned with medical education that the Senate has taken cognizance of the affairs of the PMDC and passed a unanimous resolution for the removal of the incumbent secretary and for an inquiry into the affairs of the organization.
I urge the authorities concerned to also appoint a qualified person as secretary to make the PMDC an effective organization.
DR MASUDA KHANUM
Karachi
THIS is to draw the attention of health authorities to the advertisements for energy drinks which every child is seen consuming. Energy drinks are not health food products and may contain constituents, such as taurine and glucuronelactone, along with high caffeine.
For children who do not normally consume much tea or coffee, and who might use energy drinks instead of cola or other soft drinks, this may mean an increase in their daily caffeine intake. This could result in transient behavioural changes, such as irritability, nervousness or anxiety.
Anything from the West becomes fashionable without knowing its consequences. My question is why do our children need energy drinks at an age when their energy is its prime? Those spending Rs60 to Rs80 on a drink can well afford a healthy diet to be energetic.
SAMEENA ZAHEER
Karachi
THE Sindh Public Service Commission conducted a written test for recruitment to posts of lecturers in mathematics on March 28. The question paper, besides being tough, contained a number of errors, omissions and wrong options. In view of the negative marking system, we were left with no choice but to leave the wrong questions unattempted.
Thus, despite a master’s degree from the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, we attempted merely 64 per cent of the paper. Our repeated remonstrations regarding the problems with the paper were turned down by the SPSC authorities.
A few days later they announced only those candidates who were absent due to the “strike” on that day could appear for the test on April 14.
The fact is that there was no “strike” on March 28; it was on March 29. It appears that somebody in the SPSC managed to hold another written test to benefit some people. The question paper in the examination held on April 14 was an easy one and free from the errors and ambiguities as were encountered by those who sat for the examination on March 28.
We request the higher authorities to hold an inquiry into the matter.
HAKIM ALI BANGLANI & AFSHEEN ARA SOOMRO
Shikarpur
THIS has reference to the letter of Ms Urooba Kulsoom Taher (May 13) in reply to mine. The correspondent hails the freedom of speech offered to private channels. She feels that every person can decide what to infer from the talk shows. She fails to understand that we live in an Islamic state with a fine line between many sects. Any insensitive statement could offend someone and result in a clash between various communities.
In one instance, a person said that he did not want interference from the mullahs as everything is clearly stated in the Holy Book. It is worth mentioning that ordinary persons cannot understand the correct meaning of let alone understand Quranic verses. Yet another talk show compered by a woman discussed homosexuality.
Such liberalization on Pakistani channels may not be acceptable in our society.
RAFI ADAMJEE
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.