| August 31, 2005 | Wednesday | Rajab 25, 1426 |
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An expatriate’s views
‘True Islam or Islamic formalism’
A ‘wrestling show’
Loan for training officials
Karachi Master Plan 2020
Fee refunds
Banking benefits
Jinnah and Nehru
Encroachments
Foul water
TV serials
Dual nationality
Unsafe street
THIS is with reference to the report by Ms Naween Mangi where she interviewed Mr Ahmet Bozer, chairman of the US Pakistan Business Council (EBR weekly, Aug 22). Mr Bozer points out very clearly that to provide investment opportunities is not the only thing that will attract foreign investors and that also critical is the element of risk management.
According to him, some major concerns that foreign investors have relate to intellectual property rights (IPRs), taxation, security and Pakistan’s image. These are areas which cannot be handled by a single ministry or department and a concerted government-wide effort is needed to combat them.
As a representative of a pharmaceutical company which is a member of the said council, I will try and specifically address his apprehensions related to this particular industry.
Mr Bozer’s remarks on protection of intellectual property rights are very valid for the pharmaceutical industry. The lack of enforcement on this account would be distressing for any foreign investor, and it happens despite the fact that Pakistan is a signatory to the WTO’s Trade Related Intellectual Property (TRIPs) Agreement.
Last month I talked to people in Pakistan’s patent office, who said that around 4,000 patent applications filed in the period from Jan. 1995 to Dec. 2005 were still pending. This means that those who came up with inventions and applied for patents have so far not been issued any legal protection over their product. The other problem is that there is no centralized ministry where these matters are dealt with. For instance, the trademark registry works under the ministry of commerce, the patent office under the ministry of industries and copyright under the ministry of education. This only leads to bureaucratic delays for those who wish to get their patents registered or seek copyrights over their products. Streamlining the procedure for issuing patents is vital for attracting foreign investors to Pakistan, especially in its pharmaceutical industry.
Those who claim that patents are a barrier to access to medicines are wrong in their assertion. Often overlooked is the fact that virtually all medicines and vaccines currently being used to fight diseases anywhere in the world, including tropical diseases, originate from the pharmaceutical industry.
DR MOHAMMAD AHMAD
Karachi
EVERY now and then there is a letter published from an expatriate Pakistani regarding the poor status of civic life in Pakistan. Sorry to say it, but we gave up our right to call Pakistan our motherland when we left it for greener pastures.
One does not abandon his/her mother when she is unable to meet our needs or if her attire is too shabby for our newly-elevated social (monetary) status. While there might be other reasons to leave Pakistan (higher education, healthcare, etc.), I am sure a majority of expatriates have left for monetary benefits. There is constructive criticism, which has an undertone of goodwill and hopes for the future, then there is criticism expressed with an air of aloofness and superiority. There is no place in our society for the latter.
I recently visited Pakistan during the summer vacations, accompanied by my children — 10, six and four. I had an opportunity to visit my ancestral village, Behal, in Bhakkar district, deep in the Thal desert of Pakistan. Open sewers still lined the streets, clouds of dust, insensitive drivers and a general lack of civic sense were all on display in their full glory. While I wish it was not so, I still love it for what it is, for that is where I came from. I will take the selfless love of my elders and the compassion of my childhood friends, no matter where they live.
I don’t have the right to complain about the lack of law and order, cleanliness or civic sense, for I have made no contribution to improving any of them. It’s easy to just pack your bags and move on to a better life, but it takes great courage and commitment to choose hardship and make a stand. My hats off to all my fellow Pakistanis who have the opportunity and means to leave Pakistan but choose to stick around and make a contribution to the improvement of their motherland.
I have been living in the US for the last nine years, and have seen both kinds of people. I am surrounded by individuals who are proud to call themselves Pakistanis, albeit having US (now dual) nationalities. They make efforts to improve the visibility and image of Pakistan in the local community, while supporting charitable organizations in Pakistan to help where they can. Unfortunately there are also some who abandon their heritage at the first opportunity.
My only request to all expatriates is: if you call Pakistan your motherland, treat it like you would your own mother.
ZAHID NAQVI
Via email
IT was upsetting to read ‘True Islam or Islamic formalism’ (Dawn, Aug 22) by Mansoor Alam, a writer who enumerates the causes of the Muslims’ decline in the context of the history of their political downfall and the consequent degenerating impact on thinking and reasoning.
To substantiate his argument, Mr Alam refers to half-hearted attempts, prompted by selfish political vested interests, at partial revival of the Divine Laws. This is correct. Failure of these efforts should not anyway suggest an ‘inherent’ defect in any segment of the Sharia or fallibility of the Quranic injunctions.
I endorse Mr Alam’s view on ‘the difficulty of applying Sharia laws in the present-day circumstances’ with a note of reservation. The argument is realistic but not all inclusive. Unsuccessful efforts in this regard should not be taken to mean that Islam is a spent-up force without relevance to today’s society.
The Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) built solidarity on the basis of the tenents of Islam not being detached from the circumstances of the time.
This explains the absence of ‘clergy domination’ in Islam. Clerical supremacy tends to enforce a set of dogma and rituals detached from the mainstream of life. Religion, as a way of life, loses its impact, when entrapped in the conflict of orthodoxy, heterodoxy and modernity.
In the late 20th century, political domination by the clergy appeared in some Muslim nations. Lacking in objectivity, rationality and persuasion of the true message of Islam, it failed to come up to the model as espoused and advocated by the Holy Prophet.
What is recessary is to practise ‘ijtihad’ so that solutions can be found to the problems of today.
Today’s world must find out how the message of the Holy Quran can be beneficial for today’s ills.
In short, ‘ijtihad’ is an excellent means of finding solutions to new problems while upholding the integrity of the fundamental spirit of Divine Laws.
DR BASHIR NAEEM
Lahore Cantt
HAVE you ever noticed anything common in US strategies and WWE? WWE is a wrestling show where players come to fight in a ring and win different championships. WWE is one of the most popular game shows watched around the world.
If you are a regular viewer of WWE, you might have noticed that the strategies the US has adopted today are exhibited on WWE on a regular basis. A player teams up with another strong player in order to defeat and suppress the weaker ones. Then somehow these partnerships go wrong and those two players face each other in the ring. In the whole process everyone cheats from bottom to top, i.e., from match referee to players to managers. Often the referee somehow goes down or fails to see the cheaters.
The US has been doing the same thing. It engaged Osama bin Laden, then went against him. Now the US and Britain are together. The US once supported Saddam as well, but now.... The match between powerful Brock Lesnar and one-legged Zack Gowan, the weakest wrestler ever, is a perfect example of the US attack on Afghanistan. If we consider the UN as the referees, they cannot see anything. The US and WWE have common elements to suppress and betray others. Then they complain of being attacked as if they have never attacked anyone. Wrestlers and politicians can never be innocent.
TEHREEN MAHMOOD.
Karachi
ACCORDING to Mr Sultan Ahmed (Dawn, Aug 25), Mr Paul Wolfowitz, the new WB president, has offered $55 million for officials’ training abroad. The report further says the bank had offered 125 fellowships for capacity building training but Pakistan accepted only 75 of them. Further, the bank wants the officers so trained to be placed in positions it approves.
Perhaps the WB president is not aware that the bureaucracy here is not independent. It functions under the influence of a highly corrupt ruling class. Some of the bureaucrats are equally corrupt. They bend and break rules to suit their patron’s requirements. Honest and upright officers are rare.
Officials trained abroad would be unable to apply the knowledge and skill gained in foreign training. In the prevailing situation, they would eventually return to their old style and thus the borrowed money would be wasted.
We have officers training institutions in Pakistan. Instead of sending individual officers abroad, the local institutions should be updated to impart modern concepts of good governance. For this, some of the faculty members of the institutions may be sent abroad for training but out of the state’s own resources and not by borrowed money.
We are already under a foreign debt of $36.6 billion. The burden should not be increased further.
ABDUL SAMAD KHAN
Karachi
MR F. H. Mughal in his article, ‘Karachi Master Plan 2020 and the environment’ (Karachi Metropolitan, Aug 25) is right in saying that the proposed Master Plan for Karachi distinguishes itself from other such planning documents of the past in that special attention given to tackling the challenge of urban environmental degradation. However, the terms of reference are vague in certain aspects and some key environmental concerns do not seem to have been adequately addressed.
While environmental impact assessments (EIAs) of the proposed master plan projects/schemes have been proposed, some required clarity on this important aspect of the plan is missing. The proposed EIAs are at present being confused for project-based EIAs whereas at the policymaking and planning stage there is no project to assess. Instead, the requirement is for ‘strategic’ or ‘programmatic’ EIAs. Strategic EIAs are conducted for policies, plans and programmes and as opposed to the quantitative nature of project-based EIAs they are qualitative and indicative in nature and provide a general description of related environmental issues that can later feed into the more exhaustive project-based EIAs.
There is mention of an environmental survey, but no details are provided. Similarly, an environmental mathematical model is proposed to be developed, and again no details are provided. Is it going to be an air pollution model, a water quality model or some other model? The terms of reference are silent on that count. This aspect needs to be clarified and specified because developing a mathematical model requires availability of extensive and continuously updated relevant data.
A critical factor attributed to the failure in implementation of Master Plan 2000 was the non-availability of relevant data to run the computer models prepared for the purpose. A surprising omission from the TORs list of environmental issues proposed to be tackled by the plan is solid waste management. It is commonly recognized by all to be one of the most pressing and critical environmental challenges facing Karachi city and no planning exercise for the city can afford to avoid this serious urban crisis.
However, it is a welcome development that the issue of environmental degradation has finally figured in an important planning exercise for the city and it is hoped that the concerns highlighted above will be properly addressed in a timely manner.
FARHAN ANWAR
Karachi
ABOUT three years ago I obtained admission to University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila, UET, Lahore, and NUST. I deposited the admission and tuition fees and hostel charges at these universities because their merit lists were being displayed during those days and I wanted to get into the course of my choice.
Finally, I chose NUST and had my admission at UET, Taxila and Lahore, cancelled. I got a refund from the UET, Taxila, but not from the UET, Lahore. I had deposited a total of Rs17,000 and they told me that since I had wasted a precious seat the money would not be refunded. However, the irony in this is that a friend of mine, now with me at NUST, who had also deposited fees in advance at UET, Lahore, was given back his money.
I have been visiting Lahore to try and obtain a refund but to no avail, all the while missing classes. It is extremely hard for me to meet my expenses because my family is not that well off and I need to have my money back. I had told the UET, Lahore, I would not be attending well in time, so that candidates behind me in the merit list could still get admission.
QAZI KASHIF
Rawalpindi
HALF-yearly results being advertised by commercial banks in the media show that almost all of them have earned billions of rupees in profits. Meanwhile, weighted average lending rates, according to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2004-05, showed a rise of 152 basis points to 6.57 per cent during July-March 2004-05. The weighted average deposit rates, however, showed a smaller rise of 22 basis points to 1.43 per cent. The spread between lending and deposit rates rose from 384 bps to 514 bps. This shows that the interest rate environment in Pakistan is highly biased against depositors.
A dismally low deposit rate (1.43 per cent) and relatively high lending rates (6.57 per cent) are in sharp contrast to the windfall profits flaunted by the banks. This is the worst example of consumer exploitation. While thriving on depositors’ hard- earned savings, the banks have tended to be reluctant to judiciously share the fruits with those planting the seeds.
By depriving their consumers of their right, the banking sector has become increasingly self-centred, thereby going against business ethics.
In its capacity as a regulator, it is incumbent upon the State Bank to come up with regulations to save the depositors from exploitation-based banking.
M. SHAHID DAYO
Ghotki
I WAS present in New Dehli when on March 23, 1946 the cabinet mission came to India. The Congress accepted the plan under the impression that Mr Jinnah would demand nothing short of Pakistan, enabling the Congress to form the government single-handedly.
Acceptance of the plan by Mr Jinnah came as a surprise to the Congress. Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and the Frontier province in the west, Bengal and Assam in the east — such a vast Muslim bloc was not at all acceptable to the Congress. The mission secretary interviewed the Quaid-i-Azam and asked him: “Is this not a step forward for a greater Pakistan?”
“Exactly, you have taken the point,” said the Quaid-i-Azam.
On July 10, 1946 Jawaharlal Nehru held a press conference at which he made the astonishing statement that the Congress would enter the constituent assembly completely unfettered by agreements.
A press reporter asked: “Does this mean the plan will also be modified?”
Nehru emphatically replied that the Congress regarded itself free to change or modify the Cabinet Mission Plan as it thought best. The Muslim League’s reaction was quick and firm, as the declaration of the Congress president meant that the Congress had rejected the plan, requiring a review of the whole position. The Muslim League council was summoned and decided that the Muslim League stood firm on the demand for Pakistan.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad writes in India Wins Freedom that the greatest blunder of his political life which he could not forgive was to nominate Jawaharlal as president of the Congress who was responsible for the failure of the Cabinet Mission Plan (page 114). “Mr Jinnah’s concept had force and he was on the whole right (pages 185 and187).”
SAEED SIDDIQUE
Karachi
A LOT of encroachments have been made on Karachi’s Alamgir Road opposite Alamgir Masjid, Bahadurabad, creating problems for residents, especially for women and school-going children.
I request the city administrator to take immediate action to remove these encroachments.
ABDUL MALIK
Karachi
WATER and sewerage lines have got mixed and, as a result, highly contaminated water is being supplied to houses R-334 to R-354, and the houses behind these in Karachi’s Buffer Zone, Sector 15-A/5.
The affected residents have informed in writing the relevant authorities, but no action has been taken for the last 20 days. This poses a health hazard.
M. ALI
Karachi
IN good old days, in one-act plays, the fight between good and evil invariably used to end in the good prevailing and the evil being comprehensively demolished. And the morale of the story standing out loud and clear, before the end of the sitting.
But nowadays in the serials, things are quite different. The evil keeps winning in 99 of 100 episodes in a serial. This is not only depressing for the viewers but also leaves highly dangerous ideas in impressionable young minds, who may start thinking that being a cheat is the way to succeed and that good and straight people are fools. The writers and producers must give thought to this aspect of TV serials.
N.A. KHAN
Karachi
ACCORDING to press reports, the government has decided to deport madressah students who have dual nationalities. In view of the national interest, individuals with dual nationalities should also be barred from taking part in domestic politics.
KHAN A. SHAMSHAD
Karachi
IN Karachi’s DHA, on 12th Street off Khayaban-i-Mujahid, private guards parade the street with loaded arms. Upon inquiry, it is learnt that there is no foreign dignitary or senior government functionary living on the street.
The law is very clear on the subject, and it is requested that action be taken before some ugly incident takes place.
DR A. QADEER
Karachi
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