| August 8, 2005 | Monday | Rajab 2, 1426 |
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‘Muslim’ vs ‘Islamic’
Ramsar site status
Ban on polo players
National savings schemes
Khairpur University projects
London blasts
Terror and terrorism
ST on laundry services
College admissions policy
Caged birds
Cartoon of the day
Utility bills
Clarification
THIS refers to the letters by Mr Fahim Kapadia and Mr Illias (July 19 and July 29). Both lament the reversal of the presumptive tax facility with retrospective effect. In Pakistan, the dictum “the rich govern the law and the law governs the poor” rules supreme. Having failed to collect tax from “tax evaders” and “tax dodgers”, the axe has fallen on the so-called “tax avoiders”.
Years ago, when protests were lodged against the “presumptive tax regime” (PTR) on the grounds that tax can only be levied on net profit/income (and not on gross receipts/revenues), it fell on deaf ears because 70 per cent of income tax revenues were contributed by the PTR alone.
Now when the situation has reversed, the government had no qualms reversing the law. But, CBR officials went too far when they announced that they have withdrawn the PTR facility for manufacturers “due to its misuse resulting in revenue leakage”. The CBR further stated that the intent was to forestall any future leakage of revenues and also to retrieve the revenue already lost.
On behalf of the manufacturers, let me reiterate that PTR was followed strictly in accordance with the law; therefore, no law was broken and there was no revenue leakage whatsoever. In fact, irrevocable declarations (covering a minimum period of three years) were filed unconditionally by each company that they will follow the PTR for three years. Consequently, the question of retrieval of lost revenue does not arise at all.
The higher courts have ruled:
a) Where right is created in the assessee’s favour, subsequent withdrawal of exemption cannot be given retrospective operation by an executive act.
b) Exemption granted under any notification cannot be altered to the disadvantage of the assessee who fulfils all the conditions of the said notification.
c) Legislatures may have powers to enact laws but these powers must be exercised within the norm of justice and as interpreted by the judiciary.
The CBR must remember that any illegal actions by their tax officials (e.g. rescinding of options filed by assessees in accordance with the law) can be challenged in the highest courts, where justice still reigns supreme.
Moreover, how can the government expect to encourage foreign investment in the face of such inconsistencies in the CBR?
MUNIR BANA
Karachi
BASED on Pakistan’s policies, may one suggest changing the name of the country to the “Muslim Republic of Pakistan”? The word “Islamic” signifies an ideal. It is hypocritical if we keep calling the state “Islamic” while simultaneously following policies which clearly compromise the ideals of Islam — whether it is helping non-Muslims destroy brotherly Muslim nations or following selfish policies of development at the cost of other Muslims or looking down at genuine traditional Islamic centres of knowledge and seeking to make them produce inferior individuals for the competition in the rat-race of the job market, or blindly imitating the West for our development needs. All such actions depict a flawed process; someone contradicting the sources of his own religion.
In Pakistan’s case, it is very important to clearly delineate nationalism (“asabiat”) from religion. The former is detested from the Islamic point of view while the latter is encouraged. Most Pakistanis confuse the two, often emotionally mixing them. It is possible to do good things for Pakistan while hurting Islam on the whole. For a truly “Islamic” nation, it is not proper to use nationalistic jingoism to justify anti-Islam policies.
The aspirations of the founders of the country and its vast majority are to carry out policies and development derived from the authentic sources of Islam — not poorly copied or dictated by the West. The western materialistic model of development is imbalanced and morally bankrupt. The richest nation on earth cannot deal with problems like crime, violence, sexual promiscuity, drugs, homosexuality, poverty, divorce, single parent families, disrupted upbringing of children, sexually abused children, spousal abuse, child abuse and one million teenage pregnancies of unmarried mothers per year.
Just like it is possible to have a weak “Muslim” personality, it is possible to have a weak “Muslim” nation. A weak “Islamic” nation, on the other hand, is a contradiction in terms. Let us call a spade a spade.
OZAIR AHMED KHAN
Abu Dhabi, UAE
THIS is with reference to news reports by Mr Bhagwandas (Dawn, July 25) and by a staff reporter (July 28). There are some points which need clarification as they might mislead the general public.
The term “exposure trip” needs clarification. WWF-Pakistan arranged a visit for the senior staff of the Sindh wildlife department (SWD) to familiarize them with the working and the scope of ongoing and future initiatives of WWF-Pakistan in nature conservation at the national level and develop an understanding among the two organizations. This trip was organized in Lahore where WWF-Pakistan is headquartered.
As far as the rejection of WWF-Pakistan’s proposal regarding the declaration of the Nara Canal Wetland Complex as a Ramsar site by the SWD is concerned, the latter did not reject our proposal but they pointed out some gaps in the document. Ramsar has set eight different criteria for the selection and declaration of an area as a Ramsar site. The site is approved even if it meets only one criterion while the Nara Canal Complex meets about six criteria and the SWD had concerns on two criteria of WWF-Pakistan’s proposal relating to bird population at Nara. Otherwise the Nara Canal Wetland Complex was fit to be declared as a Ramsar site as proposed by WWF-Pakistan.
In the report, the credibility and qualification of the experts hired for collecting data for this project has been questioned. WWF-Pakistan reiterates that these experts are among only a few who have a good understanding of wetlands and Ramsar sites and they have been involved in the declaration of Ramsar sites previously by other organizations.
The Ramsar Convention’s mission is the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local, regional and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world.
DR EJAZ AHMAD
Deputy director-general, WWF-Pakistan
Via Email
THE Pakistan Polo Association has banned Shamyl Alam from polo for life and Qubilai Alam for five years on an immutable principle of sportsmanship — that no one should be considered above discipline on the polo grounds of Pakistan.
The ends of justice might have been better met if the inquiry report that made such a drastic action inevitable was published along with the judgment. In the absence of such a document, the following few comments would seem to be in order and may be taken in the spirit these are made.
Those engaged in dispensation of justice know it too well that quarrels are never one-sided. It is always the case of one ill-tempered outburst leading on to a louder and more pungent one. Unchecked, this process occasionally culminates in physical violence. The game of polo is not exactly comparable to a “thread and needle” race. Polo is a game of the rough and the tough. It is fast and violent and is played by men (and now women also) who mount steeds breathing fire, with mouths “full of foul oaths”, “seeking the bubble reputation” and risking life and limb in pursuit of a ball.
It is altogether to be expected that some of the ardent devotees of the sport should acquire the character of the game and occasionally seem to cross the limits of drawing room behaviour. The judges would certainly know that more than anything else the polo ground ambience has a lot to do with the conduct of players.
An army commander of WWII called Patton, a “polo playing, foul-mouthed toughie”, abused a soldier and was placed on the mat. His bosses considering the ambience ruled that a public apology would be punishment enough for a brilliant performer in the art of war, and the matter became history.
One wonders if the patron of Pakistan Polo Association would like to look into this and exercise his prerogative of pardon in the interest of the game and justice that ought always to be tempered with mercy.
M. ZAFAR
Karachi
IN the current budget, the government enhanced profit rates on all national savings schemes inducing the pensioners benefit fund and the Behbood savings scheme with effect from July 1.
The saving centres are, however, refusing to pay the increase in rates on the plea that the enhanced rates are only applicable to new certificates purchased after July 1, 2005, and not on old certificates purchased and held by pensioners and senior citizens. To add insult to injury, the old helpless people are being asked to pay two per cent of face value to get old/held certificates eligible for new rates. Many of those eligible for these schemes are no longer in a position to buy new certificates.
Pensioners and senior citizens have once again been made victims of the government’s callousness, neglect and red-tapism and are thus being humiliated.
The ground reality is that as far as the senior citizens are concerned, the rates announced are bogus as no benefit is being given. The government for once must show some sense of justice to help the hard-pressed suffering segment of the population, which is being exploited, financially harmed, mentally tortured and humiliated.
An immediate notification must be issued ordering the centres to pay new rates on certificates held by pensioners and senior citizens and to convert the certificates already held by them to new rates without the two per cent surcharge which is tantamount to fleecing the old, meek and the frail.
Col (retd) TAHIR MASHHADI
Karachi
ONE was amazed to read the letter (July 29) by Prof Manzoor Ali Isran of the department of international relations, Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, Sindh. Prof Isran has maligned the university by giving wrong information regarding the functioning of IT projects.
Dr Mumtaz Hussain Mahar received a PhD degree from the Brunel University of West London, UK, in 1995 in the subject of network optimization and modelling. Since 1998, he has been working as chairman of the computer science department where he has put in efforts to strengthen the department through various IT projects. The first project, strengthening the department of computer science, costing Rs26.58 million, was approved in 2001 by the ministry of science and technology, Islamabad, and has been successfully completed with its reports already submitted to the HEC, Islamabad.
The other project, fast Internet and Intranet setup, costing Rs28.98 million, was also approved by the HEC and is now being implemented by placing and installing 150 computers in all teaching and administrative departments including the main library. It is running successfully according to the aims and objectives of the project, i.e., to provide the facilities of Internet and Intranet at the campus. The university management information system (UMIS) is also underway and 75 per cent work is completed.
The information given by Prof Isran that local and inexperienced graduates were appointed to the department is baseless because as per the requirement of the first project, two categories of teachers, i.e., PhD. and non-PhD, were advertised for in the national press. In response, some candidates applied and suitable and qualified teachers were appointed through the selection board with the final approval of the syndicate.
Dr Mahar brought to my knowledge that Prof Isran had applied for the position of an IT expert in the department of computer science on an honorarium of Rs25,000 per month in addition to his own duties as associate professor in the department of international relations. This was not accepted as he did not meet the required qualifications in July 2004.
PROF. ABDULLAH PHULPOTO
Registrar,
Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur
SCOTLAND Yard has said in relation to the events of July 7 in London that it does not have hard evidence that the men were suicide bombers. If the police are moving into reality land they will need, as a priority, to address the question of the eye-witness who was virtually on top of one of the tube bombs and who said that the carriage floor’s damaged edges pointed upwards: the bomb was underneath the train.
We need one of the characters trying to pass themselves off as television or national press journalists to start asking why this police-witnessed evidence had to come out through an interview in “Cambridge News”.
How far up the ladder was the decision taken to invent “video footage of the four bombers” which was not shown at all on TV and to issue the Scholl-child-level fake photograph with its deliberately disguised faces, railing bars cutting off a left hand and part of a face and with puddles and reflections when Luton was dry that day, all day?
PAT RATTIGAN
Chesterfield, UK
THIS refers to Mr A. M. Sayyiad’s letter (July 30). The killing of unarmed and innocent civilians by “men in uniform” during a “war” by aerial bombings is termed as “collateral damage” by the military high command of every “state” of the world, whether that “state” is a monarchy, democracy or dictatorship.
Killing of civilians in Europe, Hiroshima and Nagasaki and Vietnam in the last century fall in the category of “collateral damage”. In this new face of war, when “stateless civilians” have launched their counter-attack on the strategic interests of the “state” with new weaponry — the human missile — there will definitely be “collateral damage”. If the “collateral damage” by “men in uniform” has been accepted and justified, the world must also accept the “collateral damage” by “stateless civilians”.
COMMANDER (retd) MUNIR A. VARRAICH
Härryda, Sweden
IN the current budget, sales tax on laundry services stands withdrawn effective from July 2005. It is seen, however, that it is still being charged by some launderers, particularly the five-star hotels. When customers agitate, the answer is that they have taken up the matter with the authorities concerned for clarification.
It is pertinent to point out that the government has withdrawn the law under which sales tax on laundry services was imposed and there is no apparent justification for launderers or hotels to continue charging it. One would strongly urge the collector sales tax and the Central Board of Revenue to issue a clarification on the subject without delay.
M. S. UPPAL
Karachi
MY sister has recently completed her matriculation from the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU). She applied to a few colleges for admission into the first year — one of which was Islamabad’s Margalla College in F-7/4. The college administration accepted her admission forms and her name appeared on the merit list for admission.
When we went to pay the fees and fulfil the admission formalities, we were informed that “it was not the college policy to give admission to students from AIOU”. It is unfair to reject an applicant coming from a recognized board, which the AIOU is. Moreover, if the college has this biased and illegal policy, why are students not informed of it before they submit their admission papers? Suppose one had waited till the last day to submit the papers, when the application deadline of other colleges had passed, who would have been responsible?
The authorities concerned are requested to look into this issue.
SAIRAH NAHEED
Islamabad
AN absolutely cruel trade is being carried out on city roads, especially at roundabouts, in full and flagrant view of traffic policemen as well as motorists and passers-by. Little birds confined and restricted in the smallest possible space provided by makeshift “pinjras” (cages) are held up and offered to be freed as “sadqa”, for a price of course.
It is inconceivable that the administration has not taken notice of this cruelty that goes on daily under their noses. Equally disgusting is the sight of small monkeys chained around the neck and perched on the shoulders of little boys who sidle up to vehicles to demand “bakhshish”. One is sickened to the core of one’s stomach at the public exhibition of such inhumanity and the acceptance of it by one and all.
Will someone somehow put an end to this cruelty?
RUBY HAIDER
Karachi
IT is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. If this is the case, Stephanie’s cartoon (Dawn, August 1) is worth much more. The shark in the pool of blood (of democracy), surrounded by the helpless Asean member countries, is a telling example of how “western democracies”, for their self-interest, are shielding the military junta in Myanmar against the legitimate demand of its people.
RASHID SAMNAKAY
West Australia
PTCL, KESC and SSG should encourage people to settle bills by cheques (crossed account payee) attached to the counterfoil of the bill. Arrangements should be made to install drop boxes in which envelopes containing cheques may be deposited. These drop boxes should be made available at different branches of banks and post offices.
This is the least that they should do to provide facilities of payment to consumers who continue to complain.
SHAH NAWAZ KHAN
Karachi
REFERENCE Mr M. Azhar Sheikh’s letter ‘PTCL phone’ (July 26), it is clarified that telephone # 6902542 during the complaint period — April 14 to June 6 — had a crackle because of damage caused to the cable as a result of road construction work being carried out. The telephone has been made fully functional.
ATHER JAVED SUFI
Media Coordinator, PTCL HQ, Karachi
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