| June 22, 2005 | Wednesday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 14, 1426 |
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Mukhtaran Mai’s plight
Investments in banks
Pakistan’s image
Toefl exam
Islamic philosophy
PU affiliation policy
Management fees
Adviser’s statement
Profiling of muslims
Water shortage
Environment Day
Withholding tax
THIS refers to the recent visit of our foreign minister to the US to explain our viewpoint over US concerns regarding construction of the Iran-to-India gas pipeline. Pakistan is said have informed the US that it cannot abandon the Iranian gas pipeline project. However, the US secretary of state has reiterated Washington’s position that the proposed project is against US law.
Pakistan argued that it would earn up to $600 million a year from the pipeline, which is close to the about $700 million a year Islamabad receives from Washington. The pipeline will also allow Pakistan to import about $1 billion gas every year from Iran. Moreover, the pipeline project will create a major industrial infrastructure in Pakistan and generate new jobs.
The USA’s Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996, known as ILSA-96, forbids more than $20 million of investment in Iranian oil and gas projects. The violator can be deprived of US economic assistance and may also face sanctions.
In 1995, US president Bill Clinton had issued two executive orders that prohibited any investment in Iran by American companies. On July 23, 1996, the US Congress unanimously passed ILSA-1996, which extended sanctions to cover foreign companies that made investments in Iran in excess of $20 million. The effectiveness of ILSA and the executive orders have been mixed. ILSA has discouraged investment in Iran and made it more difficult for the country to develop its energy sector. However, unilateral sanctions in and of themselves will never be able to curb these activities altogether.
ILSA and executive orders have also damaged US interests in certain areas, especially that of business with the rest of the world in oil and gas. American trade has been hurt by the inability to conduct any business in Iran.
Pakistan meets currently 50 per cent of its energy requirements from natural gas. According to SSGC calculations, Pakistan will face a shortfall of 350 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) from the year 2010 and going up to 1,691 mmcfd in 2015 and 3,156 mmcfd in 2020.
In such a situation, Pakistan may take a stand based on the fact that it will not make any investment in Iran’s oil infrastructure which ILSA forbids. It may be recalled that the US, to assuage EU and Canadian threats to retaliate, waived sanctions when a French, Russian and Malaysian consortium made an investment to develop the Iranian South Pars oilfield, a principal supply reservoir of the Iran to India gas pipeline project with an estimated natural gas reserve of 460 trillion cubic feet (simdex future pipeline projects worldwide guide). Beside that, the Italian energy group ENI SPA signed a $3.8 billion buy-back deal for the development of the fourth and fifth phases of South Pars. Japan has been Iran’s biggest trading partner for years.
Moreover, a reaction from the US is yet to come over the recently-made (June 13) 25-year deal of LNG supply between India and Iran in which India, in case of finalization, will also operate 20 per cent of the giant Yadavaran field in southern Iran.
If France, Japan, Russia, Malaysia and India can trade with Iran explicitly, even after ILSA-96, why not Pakistan?
RASHID ASHRAF
Karachi
THERE were three letters on June 20 concerning Mukhtaran Mai’s case. Each correspondent was trying to find out who was responsible for the mishandling of her case. One blamed the “people who wield power”, the other “the government” and the third found fault with the “judges”.
The same is true about the column writers. Mr Irfan Husain (June 18) writes: “For all its talk of transparency, this government’s ways of reaching decisions are murky and mysterious. Rarely does one hand know what the other is doing.” So, for him it is the government.
A day later (June 19), for Mr Ardeshir Cowasjee it is “the chosen few of Musharraf”. He writes: ‘It is becoming increasingly difficult by the day to fathom out the rationale behind the leeway President General Pervez Musharraf allows his chosen few.”
According to of Mr Omar R. Quraishi (June 20), it is simply “whoever” without naming any name as he begins his article with “whoever came up with the bright idea...”
Why does every Pakistani forget that Pakistan is constitutionally an Islamic state? In any Islamic state, the state is bound to apply Islamic laws. There is no separation of state and religion (Islam). The head of state is also the head of religion (or vice versa). All powers are invested in a single person no matter how he came into power. At present, in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan that person is Gen Pervez Musharraf.
During his visit to New Zealand on June 17 he said at Auckland that it was he who had ordered a travel ban on Mukhtaran Mai to protect Pakistan’s image abroad. At the same time he acknowledged some other aspects of the so-called “mishandling” of the case simply to save the honour and the name of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Why is there such hypocrisy among the media and the intelligentsia that they are looking for “somebody responsible” for the mishandling of Mukhtaran Mai case when the person responsible is claiming responsibility even in a foreign land?
MUHAMMAD AHSAN KHAN
Via email
THIS refers to the letter titled ‘Investment in banks’ (June 17) by Mr Mohammad Aslam.
The writer has pointed towards a very important issue which needs the utmost attention of the authorities.
The State Bank of Pakistan, after getting autonomy, became quite pro-active in regulating and enforcing discipline in banks and financial institutions of the country. But history tells us that, despite all these efforts by the State Bank, scams and disasters could not be avoided. There is a long list of such scams, the latest of which is the Islamic Bank case. In all such cases, the ultimate suffers, invariably, were the poor employees and hapless bank clients.
The reason for such disasters, among many other things, may be that the SBP, while implementing its well-intended regulations, places too much emphasis on small and inconsequential procedural/ clerical matters that crop up due to placement of inadequate and mostly ill-trained personnel. The SBP’s inspection seems to aim at ensuring employees’ discipline rather than organizational/ management discipline. More often than not, the SBP conveniently ignores the open secret that the employees have very limited choice in going against the wishes of authoritative persons in a bank.
If the SBP really wants to pre-empt the scams, disasters and malpractices in organizations under its regulatory
control, then it should carry out a thorough study in effectiveness and appropriateness of its monitoring and inspection systems. Otherwise we won’t avoid seeing many more disasters as many organizations are still sitting on powder kegs.
WORRIED
Karachi
IT is surprising that President Gen Pervez Musharraf should claim that “while we are a moderate and progressive country, we are a victim of misperception”.
Where is moderation when the HRCP chairperson is assaulted for holding a mixed marathon or when the victim of a gang rape is put on the exit control list so that she cannot speak about her plight or when gun-toting militants and “maulanas” declare everyone else in the world “infidels” except those who share their myopic vision of Islam? While the president can claim to be a moderate himself, the “enlightened” credentials of some of his policies and those advising him are seriously in doubt.
Nobody questions the good work done by this government on the economic front — although the common man has yet to see the trickle-down benefits that the government claims would come — but the world cannot be persuaded or hoodwinked into ignoring the ground realities of violence, sectarianism and intolerance that are entrenched in our society.
Unless the government tackles broader structural problems such as the non-functioning education and justice systems, we will continue to suffer sporadic bursts of militant/extremist brutality. Alas, the world’s collective memory (and Pakistan’s image) is only as good as the latest news on the BBC or the CNN.
After a long time this government has given Pakistanis reason to hope. It is time they made good on their many promises of “enlightened moderation”.
ASAD MAWJEE
Michigan, USA
I TOOK the Toefl (Test of English as a foreign language) on June 20. Before the start of the listening section I reported that an earpiece of the headphone provided was not working. It was replaced with another. But unfortunately
the replaced instrument
was also defective and I informed the supervisor who apparently did not like the complaint this time and replied very rudely, “Kaam chalao (make do with it)” as he had no replacement.
As time was running short, I started with the defective headphone. After a couple of minutes when some other candidate finished the listening section, the supervisor rushed to change my defective headphone while the test conversation was still going on. As a result, I missed some of the portions of conversations/talks and hence the answers too. It was an attitude unbecoming of an organization that is responsible for running an international testing programme after charging huge amount in fees.
Through no fault of mine, I may have to reappear in the test. The test conductors must look into my complaint while prospective candidates are warned to be careful in such situations.
ABDUL REHMAN RIND
Karachi
MR Sanjay Saxena’s letter (June 21) should be put up on display in all mosques all over the world for the custodians of Islamic knowledge — the ulema — to remind them of the message, particularly the following part:
“I think a lot of injustice has been done to the Holy Book by vested interests and it is high time that like-minded people, irrespective of the religions they follow, came forward to save one of the greatest philosophies of the world from misinterpretation.
RASHID SAMNAKAY
West Australia
THE recently issued Punjab University directive on its affiliation policy has created quite a stir in educational circles. The amended directive requires all public and private sector educational institutions seeking affiliation with the Punjab University to fulfil the required criteria:
The Punjab University requires a computer-student ratio of 5:1 in disciplines of computer science (professional), computer studies (elective), commerce, law, home economics, physical/special education and medical, whereas institutions offering general degree programmes (BA/BSc and MA/MSc) are required to furnish 10 computers each.
One fails to understand why computers are required for law, physical and special education study courses. It may appear as if the Punjab University is striving to “improve” the quality of education. But the fact is that things are not the way they appear to be.
A recently conducted survey reveals that a majority of educational institutions affiliated with the Punjab University do not attach any importance to this criteria. On the contrary, many of them fail to maintain computer labs, accessories and do not provide related facilities to their students. Surprisingly, the Law College, an affiliate of the Punjab University, offers 15 computers to its 650 plus LLB students, which is not a desirable ratio at all.
On the other hand, educational institutions in the private sector provide maximum computer-related facilities to their students despite their limited resources as compared to government sector institutions.
The gravity of the situation has created a controversial state of affairs and demands for early clarity, raising a number of questions and doubts in the minds of private and public sector institutions. They are facing an uncertain situation regarding the validity and cancellation of their affiliation with the Punjab University. One fails to understand why the university appears to be negating the government’s education policy. Or is it simply working to promote vested political interests of certain groups who wish to benefit from the new PU directive?
The government can ill-afford to “discourage” educational institutions in private and public sectors. One may ask if double standards are being developed through implementation of such affiliation policies, resulting in classification and categorization. Ultimately, these steps will lead to quite a few problems in job placements because the “privileged” class job-seekers will have an edge over those qualifying from public sector institutions where computer facilities are few.
SALEEM KHAN
Rawalpindi
I SUPPORT Mr M. Siddique Suleman when he says in his letter (June 21) that the fund manager’s (FM) fee of three per cent charged on the issued/paid-up capital of the fund is burdensome. This fee is also payable even if the fund makes a loss during the full accounting year.
Empirically, all fund managers are paid their fees on the basis of net profit made by the fund, and if there is a loss they get no fee.
Another concern is that in their reports issued every quarter the assets held are assessed at the market value, which is incorrect. They should be valued at cost or market value, whichever is lower.
One of the biggest fund managers who are managing seven mutual funds are operating from the same office with the same staff but are charging management fees from all seven mutual funds, making a huge profit. How can they justify this?
RAZA ALI DOSSA
Karachi
BACKED by frequent foreign trips by the president and the prime minister advocating foreign investment in Pakistan, the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Dr Tariq Hassan, has recently declared once again that overall conditions in Pakistan make it ready for foreign investment.
In this watchful, sensitive and critical atmosphere, can you imagine how damaging is the statement of the adviser to the prime minister (on women’s development) that “we do not want to expose our wounds to the international community”.
Such a naive statement made on the floor of the house is enough to wipe out all the goodwill created by the country’s top leadership. In fact, this whole episode has become detrimental to Pakistan and particularly Pakistanis living abroad. When will our so-called leaders and advisers know what is beneficial to the country and what is not.
A.B.S. JAFRI
Lahore
THOSE of us who fondly watch Indian films or TV serials — have we ever realized that whenever a negative role is to be played, the characters have Muslim names like Kabir Bhai, Kader Bhai, Baber Bhai and Khan Bhai and are shown as leaders controlling a criminal gang?
At a time when efforts are being made by the people and the governments of India and Pakistan to normalize relations, depiction of Muslims alone for all anti-social activities is likely to give a wrong message.
Violence, whether committed by a Hindu or a Muslim, in a film or a TV serial should be avoided in any case.
M. SHAFIQUE AHMED
Karachi
THERE is short supply of water in Blocks 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 of Gulistan-i-Jauhar, Karachi. The problem is being highlighted from time to
time by consumers at different levels, including in the press and electronic media, but
no relief has been provided so far by the authorities concerned.
Despite short supply of two to three hours for two to three days in a week, the KWSB
is arbitrarily charging bills
at the rate of 215 gallons
per consumer per day. The water bills do not reflect the meter readings of the actual water supply and its consumption. The whole system is faulty.
There are areas where no water is supplied. Karachi Water and Sewerage Board officials do not accept their responsibility and pass the blame on others. Distribution of water is the main problem for which the chief engineer is responsible. But corruption and self-interest have priorities over consumer services.
The KWSB water mafia is serving its vested interests and misrepresenting facts to the government on water scarcity. This needs to be probed.
HAYAT ALI KHAN
Karachi
I REFER to your news item about Environment Day which appeared on June 6. It contends that the Sindh environment and alternative energy department and the Environmental Protection Agency, Sindh, were unable to arrange for any gathering or walk involving the masses, specially students, on June 5.
This department remained active in arranging programmes on the electronic media and seminars/workshop discussions on June 5. Our officers participated in a live telecast programme on PTV (National) for two hours from 8am to 10am, and the subject the “Status of Environment in Sindh” was discussed in detail to provide information to viewers regarding various aspects and problems of the environmental situation in Sindh.
As regards organizing a gathering or walk for students, the fact is that all schools and colleges are closed for the summer vacation or students are appearing for their annual examinations due to which it was not possible for this department or the Environmental Protection Agency, Sindh, to arrange the type of programme mentioned.
On June 6, the environment and alternative energy secretary and other officers of the department as well as of the Environmental Protection Agency participated in a seminar/workshop conducted by an NGO.
SIRAJ AHMED BABLANI
Section Officer, Environment and Alternative Energy Department, Sindh
Karachi
WITHHOLDING tax was introduced in the country a few years back. It presumes that the entire business community comprises tax evaders. In the dragnet of the withholding tax, small traders whose annual income may exceed the tax-free limit of Rs100,000 are forced to pay the tax without availing themselves of any of the benefits since they are non-assessees.
A.M. SAYIED
Karachi
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