| September 28, 2005 | Wednesday | Sha'aban 23, 1426 |
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Kyoto and Katrina
Dying Murree
Remembering the Nawabzada
Old episode recalled
ICET teaching quality
Entry test
Rs20 note
‘Helpless villagers’
CSS age limit
THIS is with reference to the letter (Sept. 25) by A. Aleem on Gen. Jacobs being an Israeli expert on guerilla warfare.
Major-General Jacobs of the Indian Army was chief of the Eastern Command under Lt. General Arora when he planned the Bangladesh campaign in the 1971 war.
He belonged to an old Jewish family from Calcutta and was an Indian, not an Israeli.
AJIT PATEL
CA, US
MR A. Aleem (Sept. 25). seems to be concerned about our brothers in Palestine.
I would like to ask him that what exactly have these brothers of ours done for Pakistan? Yasser Arafat never supported Pakistan on Kashmir and his friendly ties with India are known to everyone.
We as a nation should stop dwelling about how our brothers are treated elsewhere and should instead concentrate on our own country and think of its own interest first. Also, those who express concern in this regard probably ignore the treatment that such brothers hand out to Pakistanis. When formulating foreign policy, we should think only of those things that are beneficial to Pakistan and should not really be too concerned about what our brotherly Muslim countries will think.
ALI REHAN
Dubai
THE Pakistan-Israel Peace Forum, a grass roots organization, has been launched to improve relations between Israel and Pakistan. The idea behind the forum is to support dialogue on a person-to-person basis, so that a strong foundation can be built with the ultimate goal of bringing peace, stability, and prosperity to the Middle East and South Asia.
This is the first time that Pakistanis and Israelis have approached one another to build a relationship towards a positive future. A gesture of friendship has been made at the official level with the recent meeting of the foreign ministers of both nations, but it is also vital that a similar gesture be made by individuals.
The organization urges those who support the dialogue between Pakistan and Israel to sign a petition for peace through dialogue at the website www.pakistanisraelpeace.org. The petition will be presented to the policy makers and media of both Israel and Pakistan to demonstrate that at the grassroots level, citizens of both countries strongly support efforts to build relations.
WALEED ZIA & DROR TOPF
Co-founders,
Washington, US
THIS is with reference to Abdul Samad Khan’s letter on the recognition of Israel. We all accept the horrible fact that the land of the Palestinians remains under Israel’s illegal occupation. We all bear witness to the brutal massacre and annihilation of the Palestinian people.
But the recognition issue relates to the question as to whether recognizing Israel will make any difference to the ground realities. Any lay person will admit that Pakistan cannot really make Israel vacate Palestinian lands. Also, how many times did Yasser Arafat support Pakistan on Kashmir?
On the other hand, history will tell us that Israel has in fact supported Pakistan on some UN resolutions. Also, by not recognizing Israel, we have allowed India to become friendly with it and at the same time benefit immensely from the purchase of sophisticated military equipment.
Recognition does not have to mean friendship but can instead be an acceptance of the ground realities no matter how bitter they might be for some Pakistanis. It seems that the only reason why some people are advocating not recognizing Israel is because they wonder what will our Palestinian brothers think. Well, where were these brothers when Pakistan needed world support for its stance on Kashmir?
Danyal Iqbal
Rawalpindi
“IN another decade or so we could start to see irreversible change. For instance, the Amazon rainforest could collapse and become a savannah, the oceans could become so acidic they can’t absorb any more carbon from the atmosphere. If that happens we are then on a runaway train. (Robin Cook, former UK foreign secretary).”
Floods swept across central and eastern Europe in the second half of August. In Switzerland six people died and the total damage was estimated at up to $1.6 billion. After battering the state of Florida, Hurricane Katrina struck America’s Gulf Coast on Aug 29, wreaking havoc in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Thousands of people in New Orleans and the coastal areas are believed to have died. The economic impact of Katrina has been estimated at $1,000 billion. In this tragedy the poor suffer disproportionately because they were least capable of resisting, and were typically located and lived in areas that are most vulnerable to natural disasters.
Nasa’s top environment official says Hurricane Katrina and the storms that have hit Europe are a clear indication of global warming. He further warns that Switzerland could face an increased incidence of natural disasters. Such a trail of freak weather in Europe and America is a clear indication of global warming caused by the green-house effect due to the excess of gases like carbon-dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere.
The Kyoto accord, which aims at curbing air pollution blamed for global warning, came into force on Feb 16, 2005. Until Aug 31, 155 states and regional economic integration organizations had deposited instruments of ratification, accession, approval or acceptance. These countries, accounting for 55 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, have pledged to cut these emissions by 5.2 per cent by 2012. Most countries, including Russia, have signed the agreement, but the US hasn’t. President Bush abandoned Kyoto as one of his first acts on the plea that the proposed changes would be too costly to introduce and that the agreement was flawed” in that growing developing countries China and India were outside its framework.
Katrina should have made the US realize that every nation has to make cuts to greenhouse gases if we are going to save the planet. Katrina is a terrible tragedy, but may be a wake-up call to all of us to begin understanding what catastrophic events and damage can occur. One hopes there will be positive lessons from this that we can learn.
H.R. USMANI
Sukkur
MURREE used to be the queen of hill resorts. Alas, no more. In summer, people used to throng Murree to breathe its fresh air, to see the majestic pine trees, to walk on the tracks meandering through the trees and the hillsides, to see its wild animals and birds, to dip their hands into the cold mountain streams, and to simply refresh themselves by walking around.
But that has all changed. All Murree has now is brick and mortar. There is no green forest but maybe a forest of grey concrete. There are no plants, no chirping birds or animals (the leopards are further away closer to Nathiagali) and the place is full of ugly housing projects in almost every available plot.
What has gone wrong with the Punjab forest department? In the past it would fight for preserving every inch of forest land, engaging in battles with other departments who wanted land for constructing buildings. To get permission to just construct one room was almost impossible. But the Punjab forest department of today is not what it was in the past.
The land and timber mafias have joined hands to destroy the little forest cover that Punjab has, or had. Now there is this monstrous proposal to make a tunnel through the Margalla Hills and if that happens even these verdant hills will vanish.
The people of Islamabad need to wake up. The development in the hills around Islamand has now started to affect the quality of the drinking water. Hepatitis cases are on the rise, as are other water-related illnesses. Because of the haphazard development, the two dams that provide drinking water to Islamabad and Rawalpindi get not only rainwater but all kinds of human and other waste. Tap water is no more drinkable.
The lone voice of Dr Khattak from Peshawar (I am referring to his letter published in your newspaper recently) should be joined by others who should all get together and pressure the government to do something in this regard.
Abdul Qaiyum Sheikh
Lahore
SEPTEMBER 27 marked the second death anniversary of Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan. Many fondly remember the grand old man. One agreed with him or not, but everyone admired him. The values he stood for and practised in his life will remain a shining example for all of us.
Nawabzada Nasrullah was often at the centre of political storms. I remember 1963 when the opposition was organizing itself against Ayub Khan. The Nawabzada was staying at the old MNA hostel in Rawalpindi. In the evening Sardar Bahadur Khan and other opposition leaders would get together at his place. I was too young to realize then that a storm was gathering, and that in a matter of a few years the Democratic Action Committee (DAC) would force Ayub Khan to convene a round-table conference. At the conference Ayub Khan, out of respect, held out a chair for the Nawabzada to sit. But the storm gathered pace and one tragic event led to another and the rest is part of our history.
Again in the 1977 agitation, the Nawabzada was in the thick of the opposition movement.
It gathered so much pace that on the grounds of a “rigged” general election, it brought a popular government down in a matter of days. Then events took over the opposition movement and resulted in the country’s third martial law.
Seeing the personal agenda of Ziaul Haq, the Nawabzada launched the biggest struggle of his life that went on for 11 long years. The alliance he gathered under the banner of the MRD (Movement for Restoration of Democracy) encompassed every shade of political opinion, remarkably including the party and family of Mr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Even his biggest adversaries joined hands with him.
Launching a movement is one thing but sustaining it by keeping all parties together is quite another. It is in this art that the Nawabzada excelled and it is this one quality that made his stature rise above the other politicians. How Ziaul Haq’s era ended and how a comparatively free general election resulted in the ascendancy of Ms Benazir Bhutto is part of our history. Here I cannot resist adding that had Ms Bhutto accepted the advice of the Nawabzada and resisted the terms of acting president Ghulam Ishaq Khan and army chief Gen Aslam Beg, her government would have lasted much more than 18 months.
It is also a fact that people took advantage of the Nawabzada during the days of his opposition and were the first to desert him whenever an opportunity arose for enhancing their self-interest.
We pray for the departed soul who worked all his life for the ideals he believed in.
ISHAQ KHAN KHAKWANI
Islamabad
I WAS Sardar Abdur Rashid Khan’s constant companion on his evening walks when he was minister in Malik Feroz Khan Noons’ cabinet and lived in Bath Island, Karachi.
Sardar Abdur Rashid was a reluctant politician. He belonged to the police service and held the post of inspector-general of police in the NWFP before he was pushed into the provincial chief minister’s seat.
One evening, keeping to schedule, when I went to his residence, I found him sitting in a garden chair in the lawn without his walking shoes, which he always wore during walks. He said: “I was waiting for you, but no walk this evening.” Then he asked me: “Have you met Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan?” I said I hadn’t.
Sardar Rashid said: “I have invited him to have a meal with me tonight. It would be a small get-together. Mian Sahib (Mian Jaffar Shah) is also coming to join us”. After a few minutes Mian Jaffar Shah joined us.
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan arrived at about 8pm and presently all moved to the dining room. The Khan started a conversation about Dr Khan Sahib’s murder trial. He was not satisfied with the conduct of the trial and spoke bitterly against the trial magistrate who, he said, was biased in favour of the defence. Mian Jafar Shah agreed with the Khan. The Khan said the central government should transfer the trial to Peshawar.
After dinner, all of us moved to the sitting room. While tea was being served, Sardar Rashid’s servant rushed into the room and announced the arrival of the president. Sardar Sahib and Mian Jaffar Shah went out to receive Iskander Mirza. They talked for a few minutes in the lawn. Then Iskander Mirza, followed by Sardar Rashid and Mian Jaffar Shah, entered the room. The president went straight to the Khan. They embraced each other and exchanged greetings in Pushto. Then he sat next to the Khan and started a conversation in Pushto in which Dr Khan Sahib’s murder, One Unit and the Village Aid programme cropped up intermittently.
After a few minutes, the president stood up to leave, again embraced the Khan and said: “Kindly consider my request dispassionately”.
The Khan left in Sardar Rashid’s car. Mian Jaffar Shah dropped me in his car at my residence in Intelligence School. On the way, he gave me the gist of the president’s conversation with the Khan. The president had requested the Khan to join the cabinet and accept the portfolio of village aid. The Khan replied that the president should break up One Unit first and then “I shall be at your service”. The president replied it was not within his powers to dismantle One Unit.
He asked the Khan to convert a two-thirds majority in the assembly to his point-of-view and bring a resolution to amend the Constitution. The Khan blamed the president for the establishment of One Unit and for having brought Dr Khan Sahib along against his advice. The Khan had warned Iskander Mirza that the leaders in Punjab would never accept Dr Khan Sahib and they would intrigue against him and against the president. The president assured the Khan that the One Unit plan was made by governor-general Ghulam Mohammad and Chaudhri Mohammed Ali. Ayub Khan and Suhrawardy had joined them.
The president told the Khan that “we should face reality and work accordingly. You have made great sacrifices and undergone sufferings for the cause of your people. You can serve not only them but the poor people of other provinces who want employment, medical facilities, education, justice and good government. Village Aid offers great opportunities to serve the people.”
I asked Mian Jaffar Shah for his assessment. He replied that he had worked with Ghaffar Khan for a number of years. He was unbendable and would not compromise on his principles, right or wrong.
SYED AFZAAL HUSAIN ZAIDI
Islamabad
THIS has reference to the letter “Teaching quality at PU” (Dawn, Sept 5). The chemical engineering department of Punjab University (ICET) has senior faculty members but they are involved in managerial activities which affects the output of the department.
Laboratories do not have the latest equipment and the demonstrators do not provide a theoretical background for the practicals. Senior teachers have do not bother to come to the labs and share some practical knowledge with the pupils.
The courses offered in chemical engineering do not meet the world level and industry’s demands. The main difficulties that a chemical engineer has to face after passing out are lack of confidence, effective knowledge and interpersonal skills like letter and report writing.
Another contributory factor is the practice of cramming for annual examinations. We often say that the “ICET photocopier shop” is producing chemical engineers rather than the department itself.
MANY STUDENTS OF ICET
Lahore
MY son went to the BBA department of Punjab University recently for admission. First, he purchased the prospectus for Rs400 and then submitted the form with admission test fee of Rs200. About 3,000 students applied for 40 seats. I think pricing the prospectus at more than Rs100 is not fair, nor is there a sound reason to hold an entry test and charge for it when the students have already passed the prescribed examinations conducted by the government-controlled board/university. Does it mean that the university does not accept the results of the board and even its own degrees?
I hope the ministry of education will to stop the exploitation of students.
M. RASHID
Lahore
THE general public appears to be very disappointed at seeing the new Rs20 note. It may have added features but it is similar to the previous Rs2 note and will result in galloping inflation.
We should follow our own policy and not reduce the size of our notes in this manner. It is rumoured that the Rs10 note will also be replaced by a coin.
I urge the SBP to do the needful in this regard.
ASIYAH RASHID
Karachi
UNDER the above caption (Dawn, Aug 31), while Mr Hafizur Rahman has attempted to present a picture of the rural people’s miseries, particularly in Punjab and Sindh, he seems to have missed how the curse of kidnapping raised its ugly face in Sindh. The big landed property holders, “waderas”, have played havoc with the poor and the downtrodden farming community in Sindh. They are let loose by every government and stuff the assemblies and puff the bureaucracy at all levels.
There were mainly two groups of “criminals” who later formed kidnappers’ gangs. One related to those who were led, pampered and used by landlords under their “patharidari” network to show off as powerful persons in their areas and browbeat rivals. Voters could be rendered willing volunteers and rivals or educated opponents (if any) forced to withdraw during elections.
The second group came into being from among those young men in the farming community who were humiliated, for no fault of theirs, by the waderas. In revolt against an unjust society, these individuals took to the jungle, leaving their hearths and homes.
Finding kidnapping most rewarding, they later specialized in it. For hiding the kidnapped people, the “patharidar” waderas offered their safe places as protection centres on payment of a share. Because of their contacts with the police, they provided an umbrella of safety for the kidnappers.
This twin scourge continues although it is on the decline. The tragedy is that these very people play politics as a pastime and decide our destiny.
Even now, the one single measure that can get rid of the corrupt privileged class is drastic land reform which can reduce the gap between the haves and haves-not, the rulers and the ruled, and increase national production by putting land to better use.
DR AZIZUR RAHMAN BUGHIO
Islamabad
THE government must increase the age limit for the CSS examination from the current 28 to 30 years. The current age limit is a cause of much frustration among those who are educated but do not have a job. I request the government and the chairman of the Federal Public Service Commission to restore the previous maximum age limit, which used to be 30 years.
IMRAN SANAULLAH
Faisalabad
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