| July 19, 2005 | Tuesday | Jumadi-us-Sani 11, 1426 |
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Kalabagh Dam
Illegal trade of marine turtles
‘High cost of conflict’
Our legal system
PIA website
Presumptive tax facility
India’s policy
Ghotki train disaster
Motorway shrubbery
(II)
SOME interesting letters have appeared on the subject (July 7). One is impressed in particular with Ms Aneela Chandio’s crisp and precise assessment of the state of our governance. I quote: “Political exigencies to cobble up a coalition of all sorts and at any cost is a recipe for disaster. Criminals must not be given a clean bill of health for supporting the regime.” There is no room for disagreement.
The system is rotten to the core. Whichever way one looks, one finds sitting in high places functionaries who were till recently on the run from the NAB and the judiciary. Their trump card is that they hold a seat in parliament or the provincial assemblies and the government’s majority in these bodies depends on their continued support. They can break laws with impunity, ride roughshod over other (less privileged) citizens’ rights, can impede the course of justice and generally behave like evil and sinister prima donnas. A host of evils including maltreatment of women like Mukhtaran Mai (whose case was deliberately bungled up by corrupt police officials), denial of justice to the common citizen and high-handed treatment of political opponents can all be traced to the same malaise — corrupt people sitting in high places. Till this situation is corrected by an educated and politically conscious electorate, there can be no hope of a better Pakistan and no respite from a poor quality of life in the country.
One disagrees with Ms Chandio’s contention, however, that “had Mai gone abroad, there would hardly have been any news”. The media and the governments in the West in that case would have pounced on the event, paraded and lionized Mai Mukhtaran and used the opportunity to directly attack our social and family structure and indirectly, by inference, blame Islam itself. Having destroyed their own family system, they now miss no opportunity to attack ours, which, Allah be praised, is still intact and close knit families with a venerable place for women and elders are still the rule rather than the exception. This is not to say that imposing a ban on Mai’s travel would be justified. This is a case of damned if we do and damned if we don’t.
The hastily imposed ban (subsequently hurriedly lifted) was unwise and has proved to be counter-productive. We should be able to counter western propaganda in such cases by asking the critics to first set their own house in order before attacking ours. There is no dearth of reports originating in the West itself, which highlight woman-bashing reaching epidemic proportions in the USA, the UK and Australia. We must at the same time set our own house in order by electing honest, God-fearing people to high offices.
As for the case against the Mai, justice must take its course without let or hindrance and those who are found guilty of impeding its progress by, for instance, tampering with evidence should also not escape exemplary punishment.
WAJID NAEEMUDDIN
Karachi
MR B. A. Malik’s claim in his letter (July 14) that “we let as much as 38 million acre-feet (maf) of surplus water go waste into the Arabian Sea every year” is three things at the same time: (1) A glaring exaggeration about the outflow, (2) a slap on the faces of professional hydro-engineers, neutral observers and the elected assemblies of Sindh, Balochistan and the NWFP who have time and again rejected the controversial project on solid grounds and (3) a deliberate denial of the factual water availability situation. For, if that much Indus water flowed out into the sea as is claimed by the learned correspondent then how come sea intrusion in recent years has ruined huge chunks of the erstwhile fertile coastal farmlands of Thatta and Badin as never before in the recorded history of Sindh?
Only a nil or nominal outflow can account for such a colossal damage to hundreds of thousands of acres in the affected districts. And isn’t it a funny disclosure by Mr Malik that he presented a paper titled “Pakistan’s Syndrome of Hydropolitics” to a gathering of electrical and electronics engineers in Lahore? One naturally wonders why he didn’t give that presentation before a more relevant audience of hydro-engineers and agriculturists of Sindh instead. The learned correspondent has in the same breath insisted that “Sindh needs Kalabagh Dam more than any other province”.
What an easy thing to do from the air-conditioned comfort of a plush Lahore office: if the interests of Sindh in terms of Indus waters were really so dear to the correspondent, then one may ask why he has never spoken a word against the perennial operation of the notorious CJ link canal which was originally built on the assurances that it will draw water from the Indus only during high flood season but instead is used to illegally suck the agricultural lifeblood of Sindh round the year by running it as a perennial one even during the dryer years? Nor one has ever heard a word from this sincere friend of Sindh against flagrant violations of the 1991 water accord or for that matter against the construction of the Greater Thal Canal about which Sindh has equally strong reservations based on principles, past behaviour and ground realities and not on politics as some quarters with vested interests would like the general public to believe.
Certainly, to be a well-paid consultant of the huge World Bank is one thing and to have true respect and regard for the other federating units’ rights and integrity of the federation is another.
NAWAB SAEED AHMED
KHAN LAGHARI
Hyderabad
THIS refers to the disturbing news (Dawn, July 8) regarding the illegal attempt to export turtle meat. According to details, 3,600 kgs of fresh water turtle meat were seized by the customs authority when the meat was being smuggled out by a Lahore-based trader.
Initially, it was suspected that the confiscated meat was of green turtles (chelonia mydas) but after examination of the stuff, Indian soft-shell turtles were identified as the victim of this merciless act. The export of all wildlife reptiles is prohibited according to the new export policy issued by the ministry of commerce vide their SRO No. 32 (1) 2005, dated Jan 10, 2005.
Earlier, illegal trading in the rare and endangered wildlife species was being carried out unchecked in Karachi (Dawn, June 16). According to the news, fresh-water turtles put on display at shops carried a tag of Rs250 per piece.
In Pakistan sea turtle conservation has been carried out since 1979 by the Sindh Wildlife Organization along the beaches of Karachi — Hawkes Bay and Sandspit, the major turtle nesting grounds in the world, located along the coastal areas of the Arabian Sea. All species of marine turtles are listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), e.g., the green turtle, the olive ridley turtle and the leatherback turtle. Pakistan is a signatory to CITES, which prohibits trade in turtles, turtle parts and eggs.
The government of Sindh has also declared marine turtles as ‘protected’ species. Marine turtles are a species of special concern and are included in the Worldwide Fund for Nature-Pakistan strategic plan. Globally there are eight species of marine turtles and all are classified as endangered. Green turtle (chelonia mydas) and olive ridley turtle (lepidochelys olivacea) are the two species of marine turtles that nest along the Sandspit and Hawkesbay beaches on the Karachi coast. The WWF-P has invested heavily in the preservation of turtles in Pakistan. It rescued and released as many as 31,680 turtle hatchlings at Sandspit/Hawkesbay between September 2004 and February 2005. It may be recalled that the WWF, in 2001, attained data about green turtles by using satellite tracking technology which enabled them to acquire information on post-nesting migration patterns, foraging areas, time spent for foraging and resting distance covered per day, biological characteristics and general behaviour of green turtles.
The government should immediately enforce the legislation to stop illegal export of these endangered species. Moreover, there is a need to realize and discuss at high level the fatal extent of the trade in such species in Pakistan.
RASHID ASHRAF
Karachi
MR Shahid Javed Burki writes (Dawn, July 12): “Even Bangladesh, that now has uneasy relations with India, the country’s much larger neighbour, spent only 1.1 per cent on defence. If Pakistan had spent 2.5 per cent on defence — a proportion roughly equivalent to that of India — it could have saved as much as three per cent of GDP a year. Compounded over this period, the amount saved is equivalent to four times the country’s gross domestic product.”
Mr Burki also comments that “a smaller amount committed to military expenditure would have directly contributed to increasing GDP growth”. Further on he says “Pakistan’s gross domestic product could have been three and a half times larger than that in 2003-04 — $330 billion rather than $95 billion — and its income per capita would have been $2,200 rather than $630 had the country been at peace with India”.
According to the above line of thinking, Bangladesh, which spends only 1.1 per cent of its GDP on defence, must have been diverting the additional four per cent of its GDP saved from defence into development investment. The cumulative benefit of this additional investment over the last 32 years (1972-2004) must have resulted in a four or five times larger gross domestic product, possibly over $400 billion in 2003-04.
It is perplexing when we find that the gross domestic product of Bangladesh in the year 2004 was a mere $275.7 billion calculated by the World Bank at purchasing parity basis compared to Pakistan’s $347.3 billion. The population below poverty line in Bangladesh was 45 per cent compared to Pakistan’s 32 per cent. GDP growth rate in Bangladesh was 4.9 per cent compared to Pakistan’s 6.1 per cent in the year 2004.
Could the economic experts explain this anomaly? Why Bangladesh has not been able to overtake Pakistan in economic development, as measured by its gross domestic product, despite spending 75 per cent less than what Pakistan spends on defence?
HUMAYUN ZAFAR
Toronto, Canada.
IT was appalling to read in a vernacular newspaper the plight of a 60-year-old mentally ill person, Nur Muhammad alias Guddi Shah, who died in Central Jail, Multan, last week. He had spent 27 years of his life in jail without a charge-sheet or being produced before a magistrate or a judge for trial. During this period, he was in the Mental Hospital, Lahore, on four different occasions. At least eight times, the jail authorities wrote to the sessions judge, Vehari, to try him. Taking suo motu action, the chief justice of the Lahore High Court directed the jail authorities on March 27 ‘to look after the prisoner well’, but still he was not tried for any offence. This was followed by another news item according to which the death sentence of a murderer who committed the crime in 1993 was confirmed by the high court. Twelve years having already elapsed, there are two more steps that can be taken in the case, an appeal to the Supreme Court and a mercy petition to the president, which might take a few more years. Suppose the convict is declared innocent and acquitted, who will take the responsibility for all the years spent by him in jail? If a survey of all the jails in the country is conducted, I am sure hundreds of such cases will come to light.
It is heartening that the new chief justice of Pakistan has instructed the courts to dispose of legal cases in quick time. A mere warning not being enough, a proper system is required to be evolved. The judiciary should be divided in two sections — one disposing of old cases and the other taking on new ones.
RAFI NASIM
Lahore
PIA, our national carrier, is representative and reflective of our culture, our values and at the very least the basic facts about us. Since PIA has finally moved to expand its website beyond the corporate, self-pleasing brochure that it used to be, one of the new themes is “tourism”.
Following in the footsteps of the western majors, PIA now provides a city guide for its destinations. Needless to say that we beat the Irish in the “worst national carrier website” by a long shot. Content quality is simply high school. Look at the plain, simple and effective Irish national airline website: www.aerlingus.com and then have a look at this webpage: www.piac.com.pk/city_dossiers/karachi.htm. The other link is for Karachi from the tourism section of the PIA site.
The page on Karachi describes the population’s language break-up as follows: Punjabi 48 per cent, Sindhi 12 per cent, Seraiki 10 per cent, Pashto eight per cent, Urdu eight per cent, Balochi three per cent, Hindko two per cent, Brahui one per cent, English (official), Burushaski and others eight per cent. Now, the presentation is so innocent that you can almost neglect that there’s anything wrong with that, until you notice this: Urdu speakers in Karachi eight per cent. One is lost for words.
Now, how does a thing like that happen? This is also PIA’s hub we are talking about. Did they accidentally put the staff composition data into the city guide or is this for Lahore or some other place one hasn’t considered? Or is it one of those notorious data entry foul-ups that have haunted many major corporates in the past? A naughty mouse inadvertently dragged this and dropped that into the all important spreadsheet. It could, as a third probability, also be deliberate.
PIA’s foreign customers, especially tourists, depend on the airline for core information on Pakistan and so the information is taken as authentic, being presented in the midst of e-schedules, e-tickets and e-etceteras.
This is a travel website for a national carrier that is our sole connection to a number of international destinations, thanks to sector monopoly. Little do people know anything about our country. It pains one to see that the few chances that we do get to tell who we are are badly missed.
AAMIR AHMAD MALIK
Karachi
THIS is apropos of the news item regarding the unilateral decision of the government to rescind the declaration made by the manufacturers of goods for opting for the presumptive tax regime (PTR) through circular 01/2005 dated July 6, 2005. As a professional accountant, I would like to comment on the chaotic manner in which the issue has been handled.
The Income Tax Ordinance 2001 under Section 153 allowed manufacturers of goods, apart from others, to opt for the presumptive tax regime where the tax deducted at source being 3.5 per cent of the gross turnover, if deducted, was deemed to be the full and final liability of the tax-payer.
The federal government through the Finance Act 2005 has now withdrawn this option for the manufacturers on the plea that manufacturers were concealing the tax through this option and their tax incidence if charged under normal tax was higher than in the PTR option.
My question to the law-making authority is that if the manufacturers opted for this selection under the law by filing an irrevocable declaration for three years that even if their profits were less, they would be liable to pay tax on their gross sales, how can the government withdraw the lawfully filed declaration retrospectively by accusing the payers of concealing tax and threatening to retrieve the already lost revenue? There has to be some respect for the law, at least for the law prepared by them.
I would also like to remind the tax authority that manufacturers do not plan new projects for one year as does the government. Also, multinational companies make out the feasibility of a project for a period of five to seven years, with certain assumptions in which tax incidence is of foremost importance. If the government tends to change the tax laws every year, how can we tell foreign investors that our policies are consistent? What is Board of Investment doing?
I request the tax authorities to review their decision in a way that the tax-payers can have faith in our policies.
FAHIM KAPADIA
Karachi
INDIA’S Prime Minister Manmohan Singh creates an impression that he wants to build a peaceful environment with Pakistan, but when Pakistan takes up the issue of Jammu and Kashmir Mr Singh takes a U-turn. When he meets US President George W. Bush, Mr Singh will emphasize India’s growing global influence on trade, peace, stability and security.
Unless Mr Singh proves that India is serious in discussing and settling all issues with Pakistan, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, how will he influence the US president to accept India’s role in handling global issues in the region, when India does not want to accept the US government either as a mediator or facilitator in resolving the long-standing conflict of Jammu and Kashmir?
There is a need for the Indian government to concentrate on regional rather than global issues.
SYED A. MATEEN
Karachi
TRAIN accidents at home are worse to read about than all the terrorism in far away lands. One can well imagine that the government will conduct superficial inquiries and after four weeks the Ghotki accident will be treated as a bygone matter. Pakistan has to learn a lesson from this tragic disaster.
The federal minister should stop making lame excuses and take full responsibility and immediately resign. Well organized and business-oriented railways can generate enough money to invest in technological upgrading. It is unfortunate that all government holdings, including the Pakistan Railways, are operated with obsolete technology complemented with sheer disregard of human life by our decision-makers. That’s the only reason why no government has acted on upgrading the traffic control system.
A hue and cry will be heard for few weeks and silly political discussions will follow with no ultimate resolution at the end. It is certainly frustrating.
MIRZA IMRAN A. KARIM
Lahore
WHILE travelling on the M2 Motorway, one often sees the torching of weeds on the green belt. The highway authority can perhaps justify it by saying that labour is too costly in Pakistan, or unavailable altogether, and hence the resort to clearing the undergrowth by setting it on fire. This year has been murderous. The shrubbery has been put ablaze so callously that not only saplings and young trees have gone, but even full grown trees have been partly burnt and some may die. In a country where a tree plantation or protection culture does not exist, I am not surprised no responsible person has taken note of it yet. In utter desperation I can only say: let those responsible burn in hell.
SAEEDUZZAFAR
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