| September 27, 2005 | Tuesday | Sha'aban 22, 1426 |
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Pakistan’s small victory in motorsports
Five-day week
President’s remarks
Karachi housing project
Glanders: precautions needed
Metropole Hotel: a lost heritage
Falling branches
Obstacle course
Intervention needed
Cement factory pollution
Pindi package
I refer to Professor Arifa Farid’s letter appearing in your columns on September 10 in response to my article, ‘Wars of the 21st Century (Aug 13).’
I grant that there is an element of speculation in my thesis. It could not be otherwise given the elusive nature of the main protagonist, who has not been seen in the flesh for four years notwithstanding the determined efforts of the world’s only superpower.
Given the world trend towards globalization, why should Islamic terrorists not think in global terms? What is certain is that Abdullah Azzam, bin Laden’s mentor, gave up supporting the PLO long before his death in 1989 because he felt that to fight for a localized political cause was to forsake the real international jihad. It is significant that not one Palestinian or Afghan was involved in 9/11. The terrorists were mostly Saudis from affluent backgrounds.
If indeed it is bin Laden’s aim to be a major political disrupter, then it makes sense for his movement to gain control of the world’s largest reservoirs of black gold which lie below the sands of Saudi Arabia. The US would never allow a coup to succeed in Saudi Arabia. Hence the mushroom attacks by Al Qaeda on the US homeland and its allies, the object being to show US vulnerability not only in hurricane swept New Orleans but US protectorates elsewhere.
‘Destruam et ae aedificabo’ (‘I shall destroy and I shall build’), which Proudhon placed at the head of one of his works, closely describes bin Laden’s world view. Great revolutionaries are as heartless and cruel to their original causes and comrades as they are to their opponents in pursuit of real aims. It is in this context that I remarked earlier that the championed Muslim causes worldwide may be side shows, if they come in the way of attaining the true objective.
The sheer audacity of 9/11 is breathtaking. From the point of view of terrorism, it was a crowning success. The suicide-terrorist is at the cutting edge of 21st century history. Success breeds greater ambition. What greater ambition for a renegade reclusive billionaire than to disturb the universe?
The chances of resolving the Palestine issue on terms acceptable to the PLO are remote, leave alone Hamas, which does not recognize the Israeli state and likely to emerge as a major political entity in the next election. Any political compromise is unacceptable to the extremists, who now control a substantial following and an invincible invisible army.
The worst case scenario would be the nuclear fire bombing of a major US city (God forbid) in the next decade or so. Such an act of criminal terror is no theoretical notion. Consider for example: bomb grade plutonium has gone missing from a nuclear facility in the breakaway abkhazia region of Georgia; it remains untraced.
The best case scenario is to engineer sensible and fair compromises in Palestine, Kashmir et al as seen to work. And the sooner this happens the better for the 21st century.
M P BHANDARA
Rawalpindi
I WAS disappointed that Dawn did not cover the A1 Grand Prix event at Brands Hatch in England on Sept. 25. The event, a brainchild of Sheikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum, is unlike the grand ole’ F1 Grand Prix where automobiles are pitted against each other. In the A1 Grand Prix, the automobiles are identical but it is the driver representing his country that vies for the first prize. (It’s like Michael Schumacher racing for Germany and not Ferrari.)
Twenty-five countries — amongst them giants like Brazil, Great Britain and Australia — competed at Brands Hatch, one of the finest tracks in the world where over 50,000 people showed up to witness the event being termed as the World Cup of Motorsports. So it was a great matter of pride that Pakistan, which has virtually no facilities to support motorsports, not just participated in such an event for the first time, but it performed very well at A1. For starters, Pakistan gained momentum in the four qualifying rounds and placed eighth in the grid.
In the sprint race, Pakistan ranked in seventh place and during the feature race it was placed fourth at the start of the race, but ended up in 13th place after a pit stop debilitated its performance.
Credit to Pakistan’s placement in the top ten goes to the 19-year-old British born Adam Khan whose skills and enthusiasm gave the country a much needed morale boost. Thousands of Pakistanis, both at home and abroad, were glued to their televisions on Sunday evening, cheering Adam Khan, who turned out to be a surprise entrant because until the event, we were expecting the American-trained driver Nur Ali to represent us at A1. It is still unknown why Ali was replaced by Khan but the decision proved a favourable one.
Pakistan’s performance at a high-profile motorsports event like the A1 is bound to inspire scores of aspiring drivers whose dreams of competing at such events can now be made possible. It is remarkable that unlike neighbouring India, where motorsports enjoys heavy financial backing, there are no auto tracks or racing schools in Pakistan. For us to then outperform the US at the A1 — especially when the US driver clocked in the highest time during the practice runs — is no small feat.
Since Pakistan’s leadership is obsessed with its image, Pakistan’s small victory at A1 can provide the country with a platform to project that soft image. One hopes that those who sponsored Pakistan’s automobile at A1 will now find avenues to support aspiring drivers for future events. No one denies that there is a pool of talent in various fields of sports in the country but what is sorely lacking are institutions that can encourages such sportspeople to come forward. We need to set up racing tracks and driving institutes where promising amateurs can hone in on their skills and represent their country. Young men like Adam Khan can prove to be inspiring role models in a country short on such people. Those who have tired of the predictability of the F1 Grand Prix can now root for their countries in the upcoming A1 races, the next one being in Germany on October 9.
MUNA KHAN
Karachi
THIS refers to your editorial, ‘A five-day week’ (Sept 17). The points made against a five-day week were rather weak, although they seem to have worked because the government has reportedly turned down the proposal.
Arguing against the two-day weekend you say that petrol that would be saved by not going to office would be spent on going for picnics (what a rosy picture: one wishes more of us could afford picnics). Further, that any change would create more problems for the people and their life would become more difficult because of lack of access to banks, passport offices, courts and water and power agencies for one more day in the week. You argue that the loss of a working day in a country where productivity in six days is marked by sluggishness because of a poor work ethic will further affect efficiency.
Instead of passing judgment an ad-hoc basis like this, why can’t we try to understand the actual reasons for our people not working hard enough to compete with the rest of the world? The causes are many. First of all, the weather plays a great role in making people tired sooner than, say, people in the western countries because the hot climate here takes its toll. It is something we can’t do much about except that the government must ensure that electricity is provided to consumers without any interruption. Then our eating habits and the quality of food that we consume are also not comparable to that in the developed countries. In any case half of our population eats just to survive, not to maintain their health or energy. And one of the causes that is no less important is that we are made to work so hard all the time that we have stopped enjoying work altogether. The old saying that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy explains our situation.
Last but not least, in other parts of the world people live, work and earn mostly for themselves, but in our country — as in many other Asian countries — we have to shoulder the burden of entire families and it is often more than our strength allows us to bear. We need a respite.
The western countries whom we quote so religiously and admiringly have understood the fact that one should toil like a racing horse who brings great profit in a short time. So my vote goes for Saturday’s holiday.
NUSRAT ADIL
Karachi
THERE is something called “buying trouble for yourself”. This is what President Pervez Musharraf has done by his interview to ‘The Washington Post’.
In normal circumstances, no leader of a country would say such things about women of his country. What I have seen and experienced during the last half a century is that most big people have soft ears. It is the poison spread by the president’s advisers about the publicity given to the rape cases of Mukhtaran Mai, Dr Shazia Khalid and Sonia Naz that has done the damage. A detailed study of three incidents would show that none of the victims had any desire to make money or acquire a foreign visa.
I suggest the president clear his mind of negative briefings and put his house in order so that all concerned start facing the reality.
He should read the daily newspapers to understand the severity of crime in the country and provide timely justice to people and alleviate the distress and misery of the common citizen.
RAFI NASIM
Lahore
I AM surprised that President Musharraf, who handles queries from foreign and Pakistani media very deftly, should have put the responsibility for rape on the victims in his Washington Post interview.
Rape is a crime under the laws of Pakistan and a cognizable offence. Punishment should be meted out to the offender and the victim is entitled to full protection by the state and its law courts. Rape is a reprehensible crime against the laws of Islam also.
Women’s organizations in Pakistan should unite and launch a countrywide movement against rape. They should mobilize support for their cause both among men and women. They can learn a lot from American activists engaged in the war on rape.
QUTUBUDDIN AZIZ
Karachi
ALONG with hundreds of unlucky others, I had booked an apartment in the Jason Beachview project in Karachi almost a decade ago.
Construction on it had hardly started when it ran into trouble with the Karachi Building Control Authority.
Eventually, the construction of this project (situated in Cliftons Block I) was totally stopped. After some time, NAB sent letters to those who had booked flats asking them to submit their files for a refund. A lot of people like myself did that.
Recently, however, the builder, through his lawyers, has advertised that it is willing to return the deposited money in the form of two post-dated cheques. These post-dated cheques are for a one-year period which again brings into doubt the whole refund scheme.
In this situation it will be most appropriate for NAB to inform all those affected of the course they should adopt.
S. NAQVI
Karachi
THIS has reference to the news item regarding the disease glanders published on Sept 19. Since then several telephone calls have been received from the public and a brief note on the disease may he appropriate to answer questions arising in the public mind and so that panic does not develop among horse-lovers.
Glanders is a bacterial disease caused by the Bacterium Burkholderia mallei (name changed several times). It has caused heavy losses in horses down the centuries. It is neither a viral infection nor it spreads like flu as mentioned in some sections of the media. However, under favourable conditions it can probably survive for a few months. In tap water it can remain live up to a month.
No horse can be infected without showing symptoms. It is contagious and fatal and may occur in acute or chronic form. Susceptibility to glanders has been proved also in camels, bears, wolves and dogs. Cattle, sheep and goats are resistant. The disease is usually acute in donkeys and mules with fever and respiratory symptoms leading to death within a few days. However, in horses the disease generally runs a more chronic course and they may survive for several years with or without symptoms.
In acute form there is high fever, cough and nasal discharge with ulcers on the nasal mucosa and nodule formation on the lower limbs or abdomen. In the chronic form, symptoms depend upon the parts of the body/system affected. When the respiratory system is involved there is a chronic cough, frequent epistaxis and laboured respiration. In horses, inflammatory nodules and ulcers develop in the nasal passages and give rise to a sticky yellow discharge accompanied by enlargement of firm sub-maxillary lymph nodes.
The disease is called glanders when nostril and lungs are involved and farcy when the limbs or body are involved.
Glanders has been eradicated in most of the developed countries but it still persists in African and Asian countries including India and Pakistan. In Pakistan infected animals are required to be killed under the Farcy Act. The presence or absence of the disease in horses is determined by a test known as the Mallein test, which is undertaken in Pakistan. Complete quarantine is necessary.
While humans are not highly susceptible, the infection may gain access through skin abrasions by close contact. It is transmissible to humans by direct contact with sick animals or infected materials. Therefore, while handling a sick or suspected animal or material, every precaution must be observed to avoid self-infection or transmission to other susceptible animals. Horse handlers in general are at risk, and particularly veterinarians conducting postmortem examination without proper precautions.
Repeated attempts to develop a cure for animals have failed. The infected animal has to be killed to save other animals and avoid injecting humans.
DR MUHAMMAD ZULFIQAR
Director-General (Research),
Veterinary Research Institute,
Lahore
This is with reference to the letter by Aloysia Manuel on the above subject Dawn Sept 25.
Yes, Hotel Metropole is certainly heritage and a landmark. With its demolition an important part of Karachi’s political, social and architectural history will be wiped out. I suggest that part of the hotel should be conserved and integrated into the new design. This part could be the hotel entrance facing the Sindh Club. In addition, within this conserved space, a “Metropole Museum” could be created. In this space a model of the Metropole as it was in the 50s could be displayed along with photographs of various functions held there and the entertainment and eating places that it has housed since it was built. An advertisement should be placed in the newspapers asking people to contribute pictures, invitation cards, etc, related to the Metropole so that they could be exhibited.
The Sindh governor has been taking an interest in the physical and cultural development of this city. I request him to consider this suggestion. It will be an important addition to linking the future Karachi with its past and conserving its history for future generations.
ARIF HASAN
Karachi
I was happily driving the other day along Khayaban-i-Shaheen, a major road in Karachi’s Defence area. All of a sudden a tree bran came down and landed on my car’s windshield. When I looked up, I saw that some men had climbed atop a tree and were chopping its branches to make room for some construction.
They had taken no precautions before doing this. No warning signs were placed along the road and neither had anyone been assigned to stand near the tree and warn motorists.
I shudder to think what would have happened if the branch had falled in front of the car. It would have caused an accident for sure. Who is responsible for this? I tried finding out but the workers refused to even identify themselves.
MAHAM JAVAID
Karachi
MANY accidents take place on the roads of the DHA, Karachi. This is due among other reasons to the absence of manhole covers and because many of the drains are built above road level.
Traffic on these thoroughfares runs on one track as the other side is riddled with such death traps. The danger increases at night as a motorist can suddenly stop when confronted with an open drain resulting in multiple collisions.
The DHA is requested to install pilfer-proof manhole lids with a sloping perimeter to allow safe passage.
RAFI ADAMJEE
Karachi
THIS refers to the so-called ‘representative office’ of the National Bank of Pakistan in Toronto. No one attends the number listed for the office. I wonder what purpose this office is serving because those who work in it are certainly not doing the work that is expected of them to increase their organization’s business and the number of account-holders.
The State Bank of Pakistan and the banking ombudsman are requested to investigate this matter.
KHADIJA AMBREEN
Ontario, Canada
A CEMENT factory located in Karachi’s Manghopir area is emitting dust in the air. It appears that the factory has no effective dust emission control system.
The dust is polluting the surrounding areas, including the North Karachi Township.
The Environment Protection Agency should look into the matter and ask the cement factory concerned to take effective steps to check dust emissions.
ABDUL SAMAD KHAN
Karachi
This is with reference to a report in Dawn on Sept. 14 according to which Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has promised a development package for Rawalpindi. The report says that the package will materialize if the government-backed candidate, Raja Javed Ikhlas, is elected as nazim.
I would like to ask where the election commission figures in this because don’t its rules and laws explicitly prohibit such campaigning? What if the government-backed candidate doesn’t win? Will the residents of Rawalpindi not get the development package then?
FAHAD MAJEED ABBASI
Karachi
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