| September 6, 2005 | Tuesday | Shaban 01, 1426 |
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The fault lies elsewhere
Dr Aftab Ahmed
PAF role in the 1965 war
Local body elections
Rising crude oil prices
IMF’s hard prescriptions
High cost of cement
Aid to the US
Stoning
“IT is not good to (make a) gift to Israel before it really implements the peace process,” says an official of the Palestinian Authority (Sept 2) in reaction to the historic meeting between the foreign ministers of Pakistan and Israel.
Why should Pakistan listen to the Palestinian Authority for framing its foreign policy? It is indeed remarkable that for the first time in the 59 years of our existence, we have aligned our foreign policy to the needs of our own national and international interests. During all these years, Pakistan has been grappling with the Kashmir issue with its giant neighbour, while the Palestinian Authority and the rest of the Arab world paid merely lip-service in Pakistan’s support.
The Sept 2 issue also carries news items saying that King Abdullah of Jordan will make a “historic visit to Israel next month” and “Egypt and Israel agree to sign Gaza border deal”. If our Arab brothers are engaging Israel in dialogue, why should Pakistan’s move to engage Israel be seen negatively by the Ummah?
This detente with Israel should have happened long back. I applaud President Musharraf for this bold initiative and wish him good luck in the forthcoming meeting with the World Jewish Congress in New York later this month.
Pakistan and Israel are two ideological states that are locked in historical and traditional conflicts and it appears that now is the most opportune time where co-operation among the two can lead to a resolution of the Kashmir and Palestinian issues.
SIRAJUDDIN AZIZ
Karachi
THE Pakistan foreign minister’s meeting with his Israeli counterpart has negated our principled stand against the Zionist state for the last 55 years. The founder of Pakistan, the Quaid-i-Azam, had called Israel an “illegitimate child of the West” and now we are about to legitimize it.
Liaquat Ali Khan was promised at a meeting in New York preferential treatment, trade and other benefits if Pakistan recognized Israel. His answer to the Zionists was: “Gentlemen, our souls are not for sale”. Now our president is about sell the soul of Pakistan.
MOIEZ KHAN
Richardson, Texas
It is good that we are at a juncture when we can get over ingrained attitudes and freely discuss recognizing the existence of Israel as a separate nation.
But I honestly believe we do not have a system strong enough, popular enough, resilient enough and respected enough to cope with any financial misadventures involving Pakistan and its economics that the Israelis might brew up, of which we all know it is capable.
Do we need Israel for our agriculture, information technology, defence and other sectors? Do we need them in our system?
IMRAN WISAL SHAH
Peshawar
WE will be frowned upon by Muslim countries once we recognize the Jewish state, which would then keep tabs on our forces, conventional, strategic and nuclear, while sitting in our backyard.
Pakistan shall be legitmizing an illegal state, and would have no legal standing in pursuing the Kashmiris’ case.
RAFIQ AHMAD
via email
Kaiser Bengali’s article, “The fault lies elsewhere” (Dawn, July 26) traces the causes of Islamic fundamentalism and extremism in Pakistan to the prevalent education system. He believes it’s not just the madressahs that are responsible, but the country’s education policy, the curricula across all levels, from early childhood education to secondary education, the textbooks, and the training teachers receive.
While agreeing with many of his views, I urge him to examine the objectives of the National ECE Curriculum (NECEC). Seen out of context, the single objective selected by him for his article appears somewhat extreme.
The statement of objectives of the Curriculum for Early Childhood Education designed for children aged 3-5 years states, he says, “to mature in children a sense of Islamic identity and pride in being Pakistani.” Attached to this sentence, Mr. Bengali claims, “the result is contents of textbooks with titles such as Freedom or Death and Martyr”.
This is incorrect. The objective is to “nurture” (not mature) in children” ... and the NECEC states very clearly that there will be no textbook for this age group.
Perhaps Mr. Bengali meant to attach the sentence about textbooks to his comments about curricula for classes I-X; his mentioning it in the paragraph about the NECEC gives readers an incorrect notion.
To provide a holistic and factual view, the NECEC objectives are reproduced here. This curriculum has changed the lives of at least 150 teachers in the public sector, and of the children they have taught over the last three years. Bashing the education system has become fashionable (and often justified), but where there are positive developments, we ought to stop and say “shaabaash!”
Statement of Objectives from the NECEC: “To provide for the holistic development of the child, which includes physical, social, emotional, cognitive and moral development; to nurture in children a sense of Islamic identity and pride in being Pakistani; to create in the child a sense of citizenship in community, country and the world; to foster a sense of independence, self-reliance and a positive self-image; to nurture tolerance and respect for diversity; to equip the child with life-long learning skills; to provide opportunities for active learning; to provide opportunities for self-initiated play, where children plan and review the work they have undertaken and to develop critical thinking skills”.
The curriculum can be downloaded from http://trconline.org/trcweb/trc/news_letter.asp
MAHENAZ MAHMUD
Teachers’ Resource Centre
Karachi
DR Aftab Ahmed, who died last week, was a colleague and a friend since 1950. Although we settled in different cities after retirement, we managed to remain in touch by occasional visits, letters and, more recently, a regular exchange of e-mails.
I will always cherish the memory of many an evening spent together discussing everything under the sun. Before leaving, Aftab Ahmed would often say: “We have had a very satisfying discussion on problems of life and universe (‘hayat-o-kainat ke masaail’)”. It mattered little even if we had discussed only trivial matters.
We all know that Urdu poetry, and interpreting his favourite poets, was his lifelong passion but I doubt if most of his friends know that there was a poet in Aftab Ahmed whom he did not allow to come out. In 1955, when he was attending the Oxford summer school on English literature, I received a letter from him asking me to listen to the BBC Urdu Service programme on a certain date. The programme included a ‘mushaira’ presided over by Begum Shaista Ikramullah. Aftab Ahmed read a beautiful poem in that programme. I still remember some of its verses.
To the best of my knowledge the poem has not been published, nor do I know whether he wrote anything else during his stay in the UK. Recently, I chided him again why he did not allow the poet to come out. He replied back saying he would have liked to continue writing poetry but when he realized he would never be a front-rank poet, he gave it up.
Then he added another sentence: “Recently there was another flare-up.” I very much wanted to know whether this “flare-up” resulted in anything new but I left this query for my next visit to Islamabad. Alas, fate had other plans; my next visit was to condole with his family.
I hope when his papers are sorted out by his family or literary friends, the Oxford poem and anything else that he may have written will be retrieved and published. It would be a posthumous gift from him to his fans and friends.
M. NAWAZ KHAN
Lahore Cantt
APROPOS of Air Marshal (retd) Nur Khan’s interview about the 1965 war and Air Commodore Sajjad Haider’s endorsement of his comments in Dawn (Aug 4), the whole credit for the PAF’s glorious feats in 1965 goes to the dynamic and inspiring leadership of Asghar Khan and Nur Khan. I have had the privilege of working under their command.
Mr Asghar Khan during his eight years in command of the PAF never compromised on fundamental principles, and enforced discipline in the ranks. His stress was on training to achieve the highest operational readiness and mobility.
Mr Nur Khan, after taking over command in July 1965, continued to inspire zest and zeal through his personal dynamism which was reflected during the whole conduct of the air war where the PAF dominated the skies. September 6 and 7, 1965 are days which will always remain as victory days in the history of the PAF.
In air combat, PAF fighter pilots outwitted IAF flyers at their bases and when they intruded into Pakistan. The F-86s and F-104s blazed flames at IAF Hunters, Mystere, Gnats and Vampires.
The PAF also contributed to stopping the massive advance of the enemy armoured divisions by providing instant and close air support to the Pakistan Army whenever required and forced the Indians to withdraw and retreat.
The PAF is proud of its history.
Air Commodore (retd)
IQTEDAR A. KHAN
Karachi
EVEN though some people speak of rigging during the local body elections, I personally feel the silent majority has accepted the election results. There are genuine reasons for thinking so.
Most of the leaders now raising a hue and cry over the alleged rigging had themselves at one time or another tasted power and did nothing for the country and its people. They are a product of similar elections.
It is now a tradition in our country that those who lose elections speak of rigging. If the elections had been manipulated, the people would have come out on the streets. Even the top leaders of the MMA and the PPP have failed to make people come on the streets and launch an agitation.
The majority, in my opinion, thinks that the present government is the best of the lot, because in contrast to the previous rulers those running this government have not indulged in corruption.
There are signs of positive changes in all fields of national activity.
President Pervez Musharraf’s crusade against terrorism, fanaticism and extremism appeals to the people, who seem to have voted for the parties backed by Gen. Musharraf. The opposition would do well to help the government push ahead with the ‘mega’ projects instead of creating chaos in the country.
MURAD BAY
Karachi
RECORD oil prices in international markets are a matter of concern because of their probable impact on Pakistan’s economy. However, it appears unlikely that their effect will be such as to kill off economic expansion. Although some negative consequences in various industries are considered inevitable, the Pakistan economy as a whole is believed to have enough resilience to withstand the expected jolting.
With news headlines tracking the ever-rising price of oil, the lack of any major effect of the shock on global growth has become the subject of discussion and speculation. Taking one of the many internationally traded varieties of oil of relevance to developing countries, the price per barrel of Dubai Fatah crude averaged $28 in February 2004, around $35 between May and December 2004, nearly $40 in February 2005, crossed $45 in March and $50 in June and stood at $55 in mid-August. Now, crude has crossed the $70-per-barrel mark.
The most important factor is, of course, the continued American occupation of Iraq and the strong resistance of the Iraqi people to that occupation. The inability, thus, far of the US military to contain the armed struggle has reduced exports and led to expectations of uncertain future supplies from Iraq. Also, the war has precipitated terrorist attacks in the world’s largest oil producer, Saudi Arabia, which has affected supplies as well. So long as the threat of such attacks remains, supplies are uncertain and prices will remain high.
However, the fact that in absolute terms today’s real price of oil is far lower than its historic peak does not detract from the fact that recent increases have been dramatic and that the real price of oil is at a 15-year high. So the persistence of growth and demand for oil is indeed puzzling. It suggests that the expectation that rising nominal oil prices would trigger a contraction in government spending to smother inflation has not materialized.
One reason for this could be that the impact of oil price increases on balance of payments is not immediately debilitating because of the greater access to foreign exchange of the big spenders. Many countries have been able to finance a rising oil import bill without much difficulty. For example, China keeps sucking in oil despite higher prices because of the consistently high increase in its export earnings; India manages because of large IT-related revenues and capital inflows; some other developing countries are able to stay afloat because of remittances from migrant workers; and the US pulls through because of capital flows that finance its burgeoning trade deficit and make it the world’s largest debtor nation.
Thus, even if growth persists despite rising oil prices, the distribution of the benefits of that growth is likely to be extremely unequal. But even growth is likely to be unequally distributed. In the case of the poorer, oil importing developing countries, the effects of higher oil prices can get worse. These countries have much smaller volumes of remittance incomes from abroad and cannot access large capital inflows. Thus they have to adjust to rising oil prices by squeezing demand through contractionary policies that reduce domestic incomes and increase unemployment. This is the only way they can deal with their balance-of-payments difficulties.
UMER MUMTAZ
Rawalpindi
TO meet the challenges confronting Pakistan’s economy as a result of high inflation and rising international oil prices, the IMF has offered a five-point prescription to Pakistan. These prescriptions include, inter alia, high growth rate through private and public investments, improvement in tax collection and keeping a tight leash on the monetary policy and consistency in pursuing basic fiscal laws.
The IMF has prescribed a remedy for the country’s economic ills, but failed to point out its causes. The main cause is the fragrant violation of the rule of living within one’s means. Millions of dollars are being squandered on luxuries. The army of ministers needs bullet-proof cars in a country where millions do not even have shoes.
The IMF should have asked Pakistan whether it has any austerity plan to cut expenses on luxuries. The late prime minister Mohammad Khan Junejo had proposed banning cars of more than 1,500 cc, but that earned him the displeasure of the upstarts.
Pakistan has ample resources, both human and material, that can sustain it without any help from the IMF.
However, the IMF is not interested in knowing how the money is used, whether rightly or wrongly. As the loan-giver, it is in its interest that the debtor is always in need of credit.
ZEYAUR RAHMAN
Karachi
IN 1998, cement was selling at Rs180 per bag. Cement manufacturers
formed a cartel and increased the price to Rs200 per bag and then to Rs220 and
thereafter to Rs235 per bag. In June 1998, the price came down to Rs140 per bag
and this continued till October 1998 when the cartel again increased the price
to Rs240 per bag. In November 1998, the Monopoly Control Authority (MCA) took
notice of this, and revated the price to the pre-October 1998 level.
The MCA order was challenged by cement manufacturers in the Lahore High Court and after obtaining a stay order, cement continues to be sold at Rs245 without any justification.
It is unfortunate that cement prices in Pakistan are much higher than in neighbouring countries like India, Iran and China.
The government is earnestly requested to kindly allow import of cement from all neighbouring countries, particularly from India, on zero per cent customs duty since it is the only way to bring down the price of cement to an affordable level and break the cartel of cement manufacturers.
MUMTAZ
Via email
THIS has reference to news item “Hurricane-hit US seeks world aid” (Dawn, Sept 2). Reportedly, US President George W. Bush has designated his father, former president George Bush, and his predecessor, former president Bill Clinton, to spearhead private fund-raising efforts on behalf of Katrina’s victims as they did for Asian countries battered by the last year’s tsunami.
The efforts could perhaps bear fruit easier if Halliburton can be asked to pitch in with its more than $1.7 billion worth of contracts in Iraq. Maybe the monthly cost of $3.9 billion to keep US troops in Iraq can be slashed down. Even if that doesn’t help, perhaps Halliburton can be approached to dole out some much needed aid out of its $7 billion no-bid contract limit to put out oil well fires.
AFIA ZAHOOR
Via email
A KARACHI court has sentenced Mr Younus Shaikh to death and placed him in solitary confinement in a Karachi jail for having written in a
book that stoning to death
as a punishment for adultery is not to be found in the holy Quran.
I have not come across in a verse saying stoning to death is penalty for adultery. The punishment for adultery appears only once in the Quran in Surah al-Noor (Ayat 1 and 2):
Ayat 1: “(This is) a chapter which We have revealed and made obligatory and in which We have revealed clear communications that you may be mindful.
Ayat 2: “The adulteress and the adulterer, whip each one of them with a hundred lashes (stripes) and let not pity for them deter you from (enforcing) the law of Allah, if
you believe in Allah and the last day; and let a party of believers witness the punishment”.
ISMAIL HABIB
Karachi
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