| June 14, 2005 | Tuesday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 6, 1426 |
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‘Kashmir struggle’
Car assemblers
‘Truth about the 1965 war’
UN reforms
Consumer protection
Pakistan postal service
Police & Kashmir
Poor man’s budget
Screamer
Plea for PMDC recognition
PTCL takeover by army
Anti-American reactions
Aid for Africa
EVERYBODY has a right to better themselves and mend their ways. Mr L. K. Advani cannot be denied that basic privilege. For the discerning observer, however, Advani’s moves are aimed at occupying the centrist space in Indian polity following the realization that being ultra right doesn’t gel with the nation’s ethos. The proponents of soft Hindutva and narrow nationalism with pretension to secularism will most certainly welcome this.
Genuinely secular Hindus and Muslims will, however, judge him by what he says and does about the Gujarat genocide and whether he at least now reaches out to the victims.
It is ironical that the muscle-flexers and politico-religious hooligans empowered by Advani are now asking for his blood. But without his political acumen this lunatic fringe will become ineffective. It will be interesting to watch how Narendra Modi responds to Advani’s overtures to Gen Pervez Musharraf.
It is disgusting, though that the Congress is fishing in troubled waters purely out of political expediency. Can it honestly say that, regardless of what Pakistan actually became, Mr Jinnah had envisioned a theocratic state? Should political parties necessarily oppose each other?
M. HASAN JOWHER
Ahmedabad, India
(II)
THIS is in response to the letter by Mr Zahid Hussain Awan on (June 9). The opposition is not from Hindus. It is from Hindu right-wing political parties and going by their representation in parliament they are insignificant and in no way represent the Hindu mindset.
It has been rightly said that sill many Hindus hate Pakistan due to the baggage they carry from memories of the partition and Pakistan’s role in Kashmir, as well as years of political rhetoric which were fed to people on both sides, but these misunderstanding will go away gradually.
Religious sentiments are not strong in India, conclusive evidence being the shift of the BJP from its Hindutva plank to secular and economic politics.
Yes, riots happen and people do get killed but the state always abides by the secular fabric of our constitution. There are cases where the state machinery gets swayed and digresses from its duties, but the judicial mechanism is effective — that is what is happening in the Godhara case and that is what is happening in the Gujarat riots case.
In India people, especially those of the middle class, are least bothered about people’s religion and castes; this is the result of the secular as well as caste-uplift policies of the last 57 years. We can expect more inter-religion marriages in the near future; inter-region and inter-caste marriages already are very common. The middle class has been a trendsetter in most movements for emancipation. I firmly believe we will become more tolerant in the future as the pace is already set.
I do not blame Mr Awan for his views; may be he still believes in everything that was propagated by the dictators of Pakistan in the past. The two nations now need to realize that we have to feed our hungry people and provide opportunities to the deprived rather than invest in mutual destruction.
We need to develop robust systems to counter threats from outside entities, be it terrorism, religious fundamentalism or political hegemony of a powerful nation. Blaming others and suspecting each other has taken us nowhere is past the 57 plus years and will take us nowhere in future. This is a time to change.
ASHISH SINGH
New Delhi, India
I REFER to Mr Khalid Hasan’s letter of May 29. I am no specialist in international law, but common sense suggests that the Shimla Agreement of 1972 followed by the UN resolutions and joint declarations will impact the original UN resolutions.
All members of the Security Council, with China foremost, have declared that Kashmir is a matter to be settled bilaterally between the two countries. Mr Bhutto knew well what “bilateralism” meant and what were Indira Gandhi’s ideas for a “final settlement”. We had lost a war. The victor demanded that we renounce our claims on Kashmir. Shimla was the sugar-coated pill.
I don’t know the credentials of Professor Ali Khan but I have little doubt in my mind that if the Shimla Pact, Security Council resolution 1172 and the subsequent joint declarations were to be assessed by a panel of neutral legal experts, the views of the aforesaid learned professor are not likely to be upheld.
Pakistan, wisely, decided over the years not to refer the Kashmir dispute back to the Security Council for we well knew what the outcome was likely to be. The Security Council resolutions are not inscribed in stone for all time to come. The council has an inherent right to change the language and intent of an earlier resolution. Bilateralism for all practical purposes means a settlement which will be imposed by India. The very fact that the Indians are talking about Kashmir with us and other independent groups is because they do realize that the sentiment in the valley is very anti-Indian. It is India on the mat, not Pakistan, on how to cope with this situation.
In my view, harking back to the old UN resolutions or acquiescing in the use of violence has not brought the solution any nearer for the Kashmiris and the two countries. Let your correspondent make a balance sheet of gains and losses for Kashmiris and Pakistan from “Operation Gibraltar” to Kargil.
Our foremost concern should be that the pain and indignities suffered by the Kashmiris on a daily basis are lessened. To my mind, what is practical is not to demand an immediate solution but a process which may eventually result in a future solution. What the ultimate solution will be, we don’t know. The future is a land without any maps.
M. P. BHANDARA
Rawalpindi
AFTER the budget the car assemblers have raised concerns over the import of used cars. They assert that the Pakistan-assembled cars will lose their market when imported used cars arrive.
The car assemblers are reminded of their attitude when they raised prices on flimsy grounds, asked for 100 per cent payment to book cars which could be delivered months later at their own pace, encouraging the issue of premiums for spot deliveries.
In its present policy of used car imports, the government gets a sizable tax while the end-buyer is happy to get a car at a far lower price than the locally-assembled version.
The car assemblers warn that no further investment will be made by them. Their real fear is however that in the absence of further bookings, this source of interest-free revenue will dry up.
The government should in no case reverse the present SRO.
RAFI ADAMJEE Karachi
(II)
IN the budget 2005-06, the government has taken the right step by increasing the depreciation on second-hand cars up to two years old. This will bring down the price of cars to an affordable level. However, this decision has elicited resentment from the auto assemblers on the grounds that they, along with their vendors, will be seriously affected economically. I fail to understand their logic.
For the last four to five years, the auto assemblers have been taking money in advance (up to six months in certain cases) without paying any interest to the customers; cars for ready delivery are available at various premiums, and at certain times booking has been totally closed. In such a situation, when the auto assemblers cannot meet the market demand, why can’t they accept import of cars (new and second-hand) to fill up the gap?
The government needs to strike a balance between local production and imports to ensure that cars are readily available and at the declared price, i.e., without premium.
The auto assemblers have had a real good time for the last five years. It is time they sacrificed (only the cream, while retaining their normal profits) in the interest of the consumer and the country.
NAZIM F. HAJI
Karachi
IN his notes from Delhi, Mr M. J. Akbar has asked a simple question: “What’s the truth about the 1965 war?” The answer is not so simple. Digging up the truth about something important has always been like walking on water.
I do believe Mr Akbar’s assertion that India’s 1965 war plans could not have been sold to Pakistan by an Indian brigadier. “It does not add up. It may be a gimmick of Gohar Ayub to popularize his book.”
Pakistan’s ‘Operation Gibraltar’ was a half success as its forces had little time for training and its weapons were inadequate for such expedition. But ‘Operation Grand Slam’, in its initial stage, was a stunning success because of its brilliant commander Maj-Gen Akhtar Hussain Malik’s daring leadership. This operation could not be carried out due to the inexplicable replacement of Akhtar Hussain Malik by Yahya Khan in the middle of the battle. It was a mistake. This transfer and the hesitation of Pakistan GHQ to issue fresh orders to push on took two valuable days. This was what India wanted — time, which Mr Akbar says, was provided by Yahya Khan.
As for the three surprises Mr Akbar stresses, one can only comment that all advancing or defending armies suffer surprises. Operations Gibraltar of Aug 7 and Grand Slam of Sept 1 achieved their objectives by surprising the Indian army.
The truth is that — whatever the causes of the war — India’s aim to keep Kashmir was accomplished. Pakistan’s objective to defeat the Indian army in Kashmir and Punjab was achieved as the Pakistan army was deep in Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan, with 10,000 square miles area occupied. The war could not be ended on a conclusive note as the UN stopped it in the middle.
S.M. KAZIM NAQVI
Karachi
I FEEL utterly confused about how the United Nations is being reformed. One of the ideas seems to be the expansion of the Security Council about which I have two questions:
1) The European Union is in the process of becoming one country. It already has a European parliament and a European constitution is under debate. Shouldn’t there be one permanent European representative in the Security Council rather than three, let alone the 25 GA and term members? One would have expected Britain and France to withdraw in favour of the EU, but instead Germany has also staked its claim for a permanent seat at the Security Council.
2) How can a country like India that is in default of implementing a UN Security Council resolution for over half a century be nominated for a permanent seat? The first requirement for permanent membership of the Security Council should be respect for its resolutions and a resolve to have them implemented. The UN would become really effective if the membership of countries in default of implementing its resolutions is temporarily suspended.
NASEEM MAHNAVI
Via email
WITH reference to the letter “Consumer protection” (June 4) by Imran A. Kraim Mirza, I agree that in Pakistan there is still no proper mechanism in force to deal with consumer concerns. Although specific consumer protection laws are in place, they are not operational. These laws include the Islamabad Consumer Protection Act 1995, NWFP Consumer Protection Act 1997, Sindh Consumer Protection Ordinance 2004, Punjab Consumer Protection Act 2005 and Balochistan Consumer Protection Act 2003.
Although there are many lacunae in these laws, proper implementation of these laws can still provide considerable relief to consumers. But the rules of business have yet to be notified for all these laws. These laws provide for the establishment of consumer courts which still have not been established. These laws also provide for the establishment of consumer protection councils, but having a majority of official members, with no room for public participation.
The price control committee, recently established under the chairmanship of Dr Salman Shah, adviser to the prime minister on finance, also has no consumer representation. The lack of public participation has remained the main reason for the ineffectiveness of all price control committees established in the past.
Growing anti-consumer corporate market practices embalming free market economy has their own share in exploitation of consumers coupled with the lack of a proper complaint redressal mechanism. This has exposed the consumer to many challenges like misleading advertisements, arbitrary price hike, adulteration, hoarding, low weight measurement, black-marketing, low quality of goods and services and overcharging.
What is needed is an active role by the government to resolve these issues on a priority basis through the establishment of an efficient mechanism for consumer protection.
To start with, the rules of business of all existing consumer laws should be formulated for their full operationalization.
MUHAMMAD ANWAR
Consumer Rights Commission
of Pakistan, Islamabad
THE Irish Medical Council, Ireland, sent me my medical council temporary examination admit card on February 24 by mail, which was supposed to reach me in seven to 10 working days. My admit card was supposed to expire on April 31, so I had almost two months to appear for my exams.
But because of the inefficiency of the Pakistan Postal Service, I received the admit card on June 13 at my residential address, which was correctly and visibly printed. Now my admit card has expired and I have to pay 50 euros to re-apply for the examination.
Who should be held responsible? The Pakistan Postal Service should do away with pre-partition gadgets and employees. And also get their employees trained by some international courier services.
This had happened to me twice in two years as a similarly addressed letter reached me in five months from Ireland. DR SYED KHURRAM AZMAT
Karachi
A POLICE pick-up was seen in Karachi’s Clifton last Friday evening sporting rather curious slogans. The pick-up, registration No SP 5975, had two plates fixed at either end of its rear bumper, each saying “Kashmir banega Pakistan (Kashmir will become Pakistan).”
Do the Sindh police also have a Kashmir policy? Or, you wonder, was the pick-up part of the police escort for the visiting APHC leaders who were in Karachi on that day?
PASSER-BY Karachi
PRESIDENT Gen Pervez Musharraf has congratulated Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and his team for presenting a “business friendly” budget. Although everything about the budget tells us it is “businessman friendly”, the common citizen for whose good all the tall claims have been made is as wretched as ever, as is evident from the minuscule amounts set apart for healthcare, education and other public welfare activities such as supply of clean drinking water, etc.
RAFIQ AHMED SIDIKI
Karachi
I AM very concerned about the use of the “Screamer” by the Israeli army in order to disperse the protesters at the separation wall. In the zeal to demonstrate to the world their newly developed weapon, they have crossed the line that one day is going to haunt every state and citizen of this world.
A few years ago, this technology was developed in Japan. People watching a certain show complained about pain in the stomach, cramps, vomiting and nausea. Japanese scientists and the government being wise enough took the immediate step of not experimenting with the device any more.
However, many nations including Israel picked it up. None did any experiments to the best of one’s knowledge. They put this lethal development on the backburner. There are some very disturbing scenarios. This sound could be copied/recorded and replayed by anyone. Criminals and others could use it against innocent people to subdue them, rob them or even kill them.
Instead of applauding the new users and remaining silent, the world leaders should have asked the state of Israel not to deploy this weapon, and stop any further research.
A. QURESHI
Toronto, Canada
THIS is with reference to “Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, Islamabad, security record evidence (Dawn, June 8).
The Sardar Ghulam Muhammad Khan Mahar (SGMKM) Medical College, Sukkur, in the public sector, applied to the PMDC for an inspection visit in late 2004. We are waiting for a word from them.
The small town of Abbottabad boasts five private medical colleges. I am sure the two doctors running Sindh, that is, Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim as chief minister and Dr Ishratul Ebad as governor, will collectively prevail upon the PMDC to give recognition to us with facilities, funds, resources and commitment.
Despite the best efforts of students and teachers, it hinders education if one is not recognized even provisionally, as others have been.
DR ABRAR SHAIKH
Principal, Sardar Ghulam
Muhammad Khan Mahar
Medical College, Sukkur
THIS is to clarify that the army has only taken over security responsibilities of the PTCL installations all over the country. Technical responsibilities for ensuring smooth functioning of the telecommunication network are being carried out by PTCL officers of BPS-17, who are performing their duties round-the-clock in shifts despite strike by workers and staff members functioning under them.
OWAIS NABEEL
Assistant Divisional Engineer
Optical Fibre System (PTCL)
Lahore
IF only a handful of Pakistanis could ever understand and start acting on Mr Sherwood Ross’s advice in his letter (June 12), we would have all the strength to make the US start behaving in a humane manner.
SASHA KHANZADEH
Almeria, Spain
THE US has always fostered “regime change”. Why doesn’t it help the African nations in getting rid of their corrupt rulers as this is the only way that can ensure the prosperity of the people?
Aid has never been the answer to any developing nation. Instead of giving away hard cash, avenues for employment should be generated under an efficient infrastructure so that people can earn and not beg.
S. M. N. IMTIAZ
Islamabad
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