| September 20, 2005 | Tuesday | Sha'aban 15, 1426 |
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New Murree project
Pakistan Movement honours
Use of public funds
‘What about net users?
Traffic management
Pensioners appeal to SBP
Extra funds for Karachi
Youhana’s conversion
Synagogue destruction
Firecrackers
Pindi package
LEADERS and heads of state are supposed to be protectors of their people, especially women. The fact is that the rights of women in Pakistani society have been steamrollered over the past many decades to the extent that we seem to be moving back into the age of the ‘jahiliya’.
I sometimes wonder whether the so-called men of this society realize that a woman has to fight to even feel like a human again after being raped. The emotional, physical and mental anguish she faces can never be imagined. In a matter of minutes her whole world comes crashing down. How then can the focus of all this negativity be placed on the victim and not the heartless perpetrators of this act, as the president seems to have done?
The whole situation is sad and pathetic, and no amount of economic development or ‘enlightened moderation’ can make this country progress when the minds of the people (especially at the top) are closed.
SANAA Z
Islamabad
GENERAL Pervez Musharraf says he is a champion of women’s rights by citing the increase in the number of reserved seats in elected bodies.
But all the discriminatory laws passed in the name of Islam are still on the statute books, and women persecuted under these laws are still languishing in jails and at the mercy of the police and the judiciary. I wonder how many women would like to get citizenship and the millions in funds that President Musharraf has referred to by allowing themselves to be raped.
Does the general have the slightest idea as to what happens to rape victims in Pakistan, how they have to live with their ordeal, how they are abandoned by their loved ones, their community and society and so on? It is because of such male chauvinistic attitudes that rape victims never get the courage to report the crimes committed against them, and why the police enjoy a licence to rape women in custody.
It’s a shame that such comments were made by no other than the president of Pakistan. He fails to understand that in America, Canada or France the police and the state encourage victims of rape to register a case and help them in the prosecution of the culprits. These cases are not used to socially stigmatise women. The police handle such cases responsibly and do not judge the victims. The more the presidents speaks on crimes against women, the more he exposes the hypocrisy of the regime on the issue.
DR. TAHMINA RASHID
Melbourne, Australia
BRAVO for your editorial (Sept 16) on President Musharraf’s outrageous and totally unacceptable comments about rape in Pakistan.
Unfortunately, he is not alone. There are politicians on our side of the border in India as well, men like former defence minister George Fernandes, the fanatics of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and our own self-styled Islamic leaders, who hold such views and air them publicly.
It is the job of the independent-minded media to take each one of them on and to expose them.
DAVID SINGH
Delhi
WHY should a head of a state make such remarks, even if, as he has said, they were made by others and that he was only quoting them? Instead of accepting that the law-enforcement agencies have failed to protect women, we are blaming our women. We should feel ashamed of making such statements. Government officials should accept their failure and should take measures to ensure that rape victims in Pakistan get some justice.
In fact, I would say that what the president said has irreparably harmed the country’s image.
ARQAM TARIQ
Gujranwala
HATS off to the Chief justice of Pakistan, who has taken suo motu notice of the proposed New Murree Project, asking the chief secretary of the government of Punjab to present a report.
The judiciary is an important pillar of the state and has great responsibility for dispensing justice to the nation even when not asked for. The chief justice has set a very honourable example and hopefully it will establish a good precedent in other matters related to the public interest.
The proposed project will destroy the forest cover of the area. Even a layman can understand that trees help to avoid soil erosion and land degradation. A country like Pakistan, which has a very low forest cover, can hardly afford to have a project which involves the felling of trees on such a large scale. The second issue to be addressed by the court is that the project could affect the water source for Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Statistics by organizations like the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources show that the state of drinking water in the twin cities is no different from the rest of the country. The supply of clean drinking water is an issue which is of immense importance and the government allocates a large amount in its budget every year towards ensuring that people get clean drinking water.
Such measures will come to naught if the planned New Murree project is allowed to proceed. I would suggest that there are vast tracts of land available in other parts of Punjab where such tourists resorts can be built. Needless to say, the proposed tourist resort would be out of reach of ordinary citizens. I hope that the outcome of all this will be positive and that the project will be dropped.
TARIQ MASOOD MALIK
Islamabad
THE struggle for Pakistan and its history have been misunderstood and misrepresented succeessive governments of Pakistan have been issuing commemorative stamps and bestowing awards on outstanding personalities. But history is silent about many non-Muslims and their support for the Muslims cause.
Of the non-Muslim benefactors, three individuals stand out. Sir Chottu Ram, hailing from Mehum, a town near Rohtak, and as a Unionist Party member and minister in the undivided Punjab provincial assembly, had secured a monthly scholarship of Rs350 from the government for Abdus Salam, then engaged in his doctoral research. Dr Salam was later to become the Muslim world’s sole Nobel laureate.
Dr Ambedkar, the leader of the scheduled caste Hindus representing nearly one-third of the population of the subcontinent, had openly supported the Muslim demand for Pakistan in the early 1940s. He is also said to have drawn a map showing the regions that would later become Pakistan.
The Pakistan Movement might have died out during its last critical stage if Dr Jal Patel, had made public his opinion, formed in April 1946, that Mr M.A. Jinnah might not survive longer than a year because of his lung affliction.
The then viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten, lamented about three decades ago in London that if someone had told him that Mr Jinnah was going to die in months, he would have delayed India’s independence.
If non-Muslims could establish a hall by the name of “Jinnah” in Bombay during the joint sturgle for the freedom of India, why cannot indebted Muslims and the government of Pakistan honour the benefactors of our benefactor. It will be appreciated if a “Jal Patel” Memorial Hall is built.
S.A. HAIHRAT
Karachi
THIS is with the reference to the advertisement supplement published in your newspaper on Sept. 17 celebrating the birthday of MQM chief Altaf Hussain.
Government departments and organizations such as the motorway police, the city district government of Karachi, the Karachi Port Trust, the Port Qasim authority, the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation and the Pakistan Public Works Department all paid for the supplement by placing advertisements. The money spent on these ads would be at least a million rupees.
As a taxpayer I would like to ask why this was done? Is there any court in the country which can take suo motu action against this kind of squandering of taxpayers’ money?
MAAZ AHMED
Karachi
ON Sept. 17 many English-language and Urdu newspapers carried a two-page supplement celebrating the birthday of the MQM leader. The supplement was sponsored by ads placed by various government organizations. I would like to ask whether it is appropriate for government organizations to use taxpayers’ money to sponsor birthday ads.
NAEEM SADIQ
Karachi
THE newspapers of Sept. 17 carried a two-page supplement celebrating the birthday of MQM chief Altaf Hussain.
The supplement was sponsored by five government organizations. Who authorized them to spend such a huge amount of taxpayers’ money to celebrate the birthday of an individual? Such acts speak volumes of the level of sycophancy found in our society and also reflect the servile attitude of those who head these government organizations or the ministries which oversee them.
Is there anyone who will take notice of this misuse of public money? The Supreme Court, the president, the prime minister or NAB?
COL (retd) RIAZ JAFRI
Peshawar
This is with reference to a letter that appeared in your newspaper on Sep. 13 from Muhammad Ahmed. We would like to state emphatically that no compensation of any kind has been made to Internet service providers (ISPs) for the breakdown that happened in the country’s Internet system in July 2005.
On the contrary, the ISPs were required to pay the full bill for all services to the PTCL including bandwidth provided during those 12 days.
The ISPs had to hire ‘direct down-load satellite services’ to give some comfort to their customers because the bandwidth provided by PTCL was insufficient.
These services were acquired at expensive rates.
We would ask Mr Ahmed and others similarly affected to file a claim with the PTCL since it is the real service provider and the ISPs provide services that have more to do with value addition.
We fully appreciate Mr Ahmed’s concerns and support him in his demand for compensation from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and telecom ministry.
V.A. ABDI
Secretary,
Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan
Karachi
SPEAKING at the inaugural ceremony of a five-day road safety education programme, the DIG Traffic, Karachi, disclosed that almost 414 new vehicles were registered daily in Karachi. The upsurge in vehicular traffic is understandable. It is primarily because of the large-scale leasing of cars over the past few years.
The city district government is reported to have constructed nine flyovers in the last five years. These flyovers are meant to divert traffic to prevent traffic jams at specific points. Along with flyovers, we should also construct underpasses which cost 40 to 60 per cent less than flyovers, do not block ground space and can be built more easily and quickly than flyovers. Lahore is probably the best example of underpasses.
In addition to flyovers and underpasses, the city badly needs alternative routes to be developed at a fast pace to meet the increasing flow of traffic. The existing network of roads is inadequate to accommodate the overwhelming vehicle population. There has to be a crash programme to build new roads, expand the existing roads, and develop alternative routes.
While improving the physical infrastructure, we should not forget to give Karachi what other metropolitan cities around the world have already got — a computerized traffic management system. The system involves control of traffic flow through real-time, traffic-responsive, traffic-signal systems utilizing digital computers and centralized monitoring systems. It should be coupled with a congestion management plan. The removal of encroachments along busy routes, streamlining parking of motor vehicles, earmarking bus stops and regulating the flow of traffic can play a vital role in reducing traffic congestion.
The public also needs to be educated on traffic rules and disciplined to follow the rules with a sense of responsibility. Educating motorists, motorcyclists, truck and bus drivers and pedestrians through regular awareness programmes can go a long way in disciplining the public. Our focus should be on educating the public rather than penalizing them.
Our traffic police should focus on regulating traffic rather than stopping vehicles for checking of documents at all hours of the day. If checking of documents is so important, the traffic police should visit bus stands and truck stands. Alternatively, we may divide the traffic police into two units. One unit should regulate traffic and the other unit should check documents.
We have got to stop patchwork and develop plans and programmes to solve our city problems.
MUMTAZ A. PIRACHA
Karachi
I AM a retired chief engineer of the Punjab government and live in the DHA, Lahore. I get my pension from the National Bank of Pakistan main branch in the DHA.
Last month when I went to the bank to draw my pension,
I was told that payment of pension from now on would not be possible without opening an account with the bank.
I requested him to open my account on the basis of my pension book because up tili now the bank had paid me pension on the authenticity of my pension book.
The manager refused to oblige and advised me to seek such relief from the State Bank of Pakistan.
Pensioners have been put to extra inconvenience at an age when they deserve extra assistance. It may also be noted that some amount (minimum balance) will have to be left in the account, otherwise service charges will be deducted every month. This minimum balance will forever be lost as far as the pensioner is concerned.
I appeal to the relevant authorities in the State Bank to give relief to the pensioners by acceding to the request as under:
(i) The condition of opening an account as a prerequisite to pension payment may kindly be withdrawn, (ii) if it is not possible due to some compelling reasons, banks may be directed to open the account of pensioners on the basis of pension book without referring to an introducer.
CH. M. ASHRAF
Lahore Cantt.
THIS is with reference to a news item “MQM seeks extra funds for Karachi (Sept 11).” The interesting part is the reply given by the minister of state for economic division.
According to the minister, the matter did not merit consideration as migrants constituted only 4.3 per cent of Karachis population.
Karachi’s present population is estimated at well over 13 million.
The number of people migrating to Karachi from different parts of the country, according to the minister, is 4.3 per cent or 0.56 million per year.
In other words, a city as big as Quetta or Islamabad is added to the megacity each year. Is this huge increase in population per year not enough to ask for federal assistance? The people of Karachi expect that the young minister of state would confess that it was a slip of the tongue or else it would be seen as a Himalayan mistake.
DR QAZI SHAKIL AHMAD
Karachi
THE news of Yousuf Youhana’s conversion to Islam has left me and many others wondering how this whole process came about. Being of the Muslim persuasion myself, I know and remember to this day my father’s words who said reciting the kalima alone does not make one a Muslim.
I hope to dear God that
Mr Youhana has considered all aspects of this most crucial decision. Further, I hope he has made his decision free of any outside pressure.
WACAR RIZVI
Gaithersburg, MD, US
PAKISTANI cricketer Yousuf Youhana’s conversion to Islam has caused quite a stir in Pakistan. Whereas most Pakistanis have congratulated Youhana on his personal journey to Islam, there has been concern in some circles about the extent of influence by other players in the conversion.
Pakistanis have generally been proud of the professional open door policy and the multi-faith representation in the national cricket team. Moreover, Pakistan’s Christian community looked up to Youhana for his sportsmanship and exemplary behaviour. It is hoped that Youhana will maintain that link irrespective of his change in faith.
HARIS AZIZ
Oxford, UK
THE recent destruction of synagogues in the Gaza Strip by Palestinians is against the basics of Islam. Irrespective of the fact that Israel has been oppressing the Palestinians, the latter should have followed the example of Caliph Umer Ibn Al Khattab, who during his reign in Jerusalem, instructed every one to observe the sanctity of synagogues and churches. The Holy Quran gives great respect to synagogues as places of remembrance of God.
It is sad that all these principles are subverted by Muslims in real life.
HARIS AZIZ
Oxford, UK
THE Sindh home minister recently was quoted in newspapers as saying that strict action would be taken against anyone who plays with firecrackers. The minister had also said that if a child was found playing with firecrackers, his parents would be punished.
I was surprised the other day to see an open display of firecrackers and fireworks at Jinnah ground, which is walking distance from the headquarters of the MQM in Karachi. The occasion apparently was the party chief’s birthday. I would like to ask the home minister whether this display of fireworks was legal considering his own statements on the issue, especially since he (the minister) was also attending these birthday celebrations. SYED AZMAT ULLAH
Karachi
THIS is with reference to a news item according to which the prime minister has pledged a big package for Rawalpindi if the PML candidate for nazim is elected. Does that mean that the people of Rawalpindi will not get the package if the said candidate does not win? Is this not tantamount to bribing those who form the votebank for the disrict nazim? So much for pre-poll rigging.
ANIL KHAN LUNI
Lahore
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