| October 5, 2005 | Wednesday | Sha’aban 30, 1426 |
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Problems of Karachi: appeal to PM
Hazards of car parking
A visit to ramshackle Taftan
Pakistan & motorsport
Of images and governance
Accountability of judges
Collective responsibility
CNG pumps
A welcome offer
Wedding meals
WE are signatories to the WTO agreement, as are the rest of the Third World countries. Among the various forms of impact will be lowering of tariffs (import duties) and other trade barriers across the world to allow free trade among nations and among the various blocs (EU, Nafta, Saarc, Asean, Safta, etc.) to allow a level playing field to all countries as declared by the promoters of the WTO.
Here we will deal with one aspect of the level playing field that in some ways is not so level.
The lowering of tariffs is favouring large corporations and can effectively close smaller mills and factories across the Third world, as it’s now, under the WTO, “survival of the fittest and largest”.
Countries that have high import duties — like Pakistan, India and Bangladesh — have them higher because of low number/percentage of income-tax payers (under three per cent), so the population got taxed at the port point of entry/exit. This was put in place originally by the colonial powers, Britain in our case, so that they could collect funds right at the ports in order to raise money for governance, development projects and its military and, above all, funds for the king.
In Pakistan, we continued with the import duty collection (taxing the population) as we had less than 0.5 per cent of the population even by 1975-80 paying income/wealth tax, etc.
In the West and other advanced countries the system of tax collection is very elaborate and effective, ensuring all eligible people are taxed.
A level playing field in international trade also requires that all other national parameters be equal. That is not so. Let’s take a look. Consider the infrastructure in Pakistan, with the EU/US. It is non-level. The cost of energy that drives the industry is non-level. The source of energy that drives the industry is non-level. The level of trained manpower is unequal and hence non-level. Availability of technology is unequal and hence non-level. Availability of oil, coal or nuclear energy is unequal and hence non-level. The GDP and the per-capita income are unequal and hence non-level. Industrial pollution is low in poorer regions and high in industrialized areas. It is not being corrected. So the level is non-level here too.
Yes, barriers are needed as you can see why, for example, the EU has trade barrier on agriculture produce.
Politically, the world has become unipolar and policies are driven by the sole superpower or at the most by the powerful G-8 member-countries. That in itself is a non-level playing field for other countries.
So, where do we go from here? We are back to square one, actually.
We should go back to the meeting halls in groups of intelligent, sober and educated people in assemblies like the G-20 and Saarc, and further expand and amend the WTO agreement to encompass the subjects/ points mentioned above or those not touched upon here.
The WTO agreement can be a great leap forward for mankind if indeed it becomes a document representing most of the population of the world.
We, in the Third World, need on a priority basis the basics like education, healthcare, drinking water and a per-capita income at an equivalent of, say, $l0,000 at least in order to be able to benefit from/participate in the WTO agreement.
KHANZADA EMRAN
Karachi
THE prime minister has recently spoken about urban improvement and his side-kicks at both the centre and provincial levels have given him a rosy picture. I invite the prime minister to spend a week in Karachi in a private house, without official fanfare, and see for himself the miseries of the people of Karachi. Let me give him a few examples of the ground realities.
Electricity: On an average it goes off at least three or four times a day. And when it comes, it is never 220 volts for which the government has signed an agreement with its consumers. It ranges between 210 and 230 volts, damaging refrigerators, airconditioners, musical instruments, computers and even the lights. To break the citizens’ back there was no electricity for two whole days on Sept 26 and 27 in the Clifton area. All this KESC inefficiency is headed by an army brigadier. I ask the PM, has the army done a better job?
Water: The whole city of Karachi is undergoing water shortage that never occurred in any past civilian government. Yet a large part of the city is supplied water through tankers and not through pipes. The tanker mafia consists of the tanker owners, valve men and officials of the Karachi Water Board.
The head of the Karachi Water Board is another Brigadier. Has the army done a better job than the civilian counterparts?
Roads: Most Karachi roads are a shambles. These are seldom swept and garbage collection hardly exists. The cleanest city in the East has become the filthiest. Even streetlights are not on during the evening. I am not sure who is in charge. Hope not another brigadier.
Law and order: Every day someone is being kidnapped. Half the number of dacoities are not reported, as the police themselves are involved. There is no accountability. In fact, there is no governance.
Mr Prime Minister, for all this we pay through our nose. We pay water tax ranging from Rs12,000 to Rs18,000 per annum without any water.
We pay electricity bills in the thousands of rupees without getting regular supply at 220 volts as per the KESC agreement.
We pay road tax in millions of rupees, yet there is not a single decent road.
We pay conservancy tax of about Rs12,000 and over and yet we are forced to live in filth.
We pay tax to maintain law and order. After all, 70 per cent of tax is collected from the people of Karachi. Do we not have the right of life and safety?
We know most of the subjects are provincial but, sir, you are the prime minister and CEO of Pakistan and not Islamabad. Karachi too is part of Pakistan.
We know your plate is full and you have brought hard work around you but can you not transfer this to Karachi?
We dearly need your intervention. Do not believe what the Karachi problems are as told to you. Come to Karachi and talk to the citizens of Karachi at various levels and then see for yourself what is the truth.
M. AFZAL
Karachi
THE other day I happened to go to the Satellite Town commercial centre, Rawalpindi. I parked my car at a reasonably safe and suitable place and went to do some shopping from a nearby shop. After a short while when I came back I did not find my car.
Unfortunately there was no traffic sergeant around whom I could contact for any help. By this time I knew it for sure that my car had been stolen. I, therefore, went to the nearby police station for reporting of car theft. But there another surprise was in store for me.
To my astonishment I saw my car parked in the compound of the police station. On inquiry I was told that the traffic police had lifted my car since I had parked it at a “No-parking area”. But the traffic sergeant was adamant and was not ready to be convinced that there was no sign whatsoever prohibiting car parking at that particular place. However, I myself got convinced that for the police it was one of the odd ways to make money. And one cannot get rid of such a situation unless you “please” them.
There is exactly the same situation at city Saddar Road, Rawalpindi, and at the Food Market Blue Area, Islamabad. At all these places there is no proper “No parking” signboards and if your car has been lifted by the traffic police for wrong parking, there is no available means to inform the owner about the fate of his car.
The authorities concerned are requested to put up proper signboards at all markets and parking places. Secondly, if at all a car has to be lifted by the traffic police for wrong parking, there should be a quick and hassle-free system to inform the owner of the car so that he may not pass through ordeals.
RAFAT MAHMOOD ANSARI
Islamabad
I HAPPENED to visit Taftan, Pakistan’s border town with Iran, recently. The contrast between the two border areas on either side was so obvious that it needs to be written about and shared with your readers.
Taftan is supplied with electricity from Iran. However, there seems to be a chronic water shortage there. The inefficieny of our government is such that the town has no business or industry of any kind. However, Iran has stepped in — unofficially of course — to fill in the gap. The poor locals live on selling Iranian lubricants, detergents, carpets and eatable products, which even are around 40 per cent cheaper than Pakistani products.
The bus service that we used from Quetta took 11 hours for the 630 kilometre-long journey to Taftan. Compare this with Pakistan Railways, which runs a train but with just one cabin and 16 goods bogies, and that too only fortnightly. Also, reportedly this train takes much more than 11 hours to reach Taftan from Quetta.
When you get to the border you see on the Iranian side a motorway with considerable traffic, you see proper fencing and the road has a sodium light every 50 metres. On the Pakistani side, there is a ramshackle PTDC motel, with poor service and without any greenery. The customs house has a flag whose colours have faded and seems to have next to it a scrap yard containing items of Iranian origin that have fallen into disuse.
This should have been the a place where the citizens of both countries could indulge in tourism and trade but all that one gets to see is waste and devastation.
NOSHEEN KHAN
Rawalpindi
This refers to the letter by Muna Khan on Pakistan’s good performance at a recent A1 motorsport race. It is indeed sad to see that such a successful race by a Pakistani driver received such scant coverage in our national press. The fact of the matter is that motorsport does not receive the coverage that it deserves in our newspapers despite its growing popularity.
I would point out that in the sprint race of this event, Pakistani driver Adam Khan came in seventh with the top six berths all being taken by drivers from Brazil and European countries. Also, this was the first race of its kind ever and the cars were all new custom-made machines not seen previously.
What makes the A1 category so unique and different from F1 racing is that it relies wholly on the driver. F1 racing has fallen victim to the use of too much technology, with the result that those teams which have the most to spend monopolize the sport, like Ferrari, Renault and McLaren.
Furthermore, an F1 race is usually a boring affair with hardly any overtaking and more often than not it is decided in the pit-stops rather than on the track.
That said, it would be good if our newspapers and media in general realized that motorsport enjoys a surprisingly large following in Pakistan.
We need to whole-heartedly support team Pakistan at A1, and the only way we can do it is to spread awareness about motorsport, in general, and of Adam Khan’s feat, in particular.
Turning our backs on this, as we did for the most part for Pakistan’s tennis endeavours, will lead to disillusionment both for our heroes and for the enthusiasts of the sport.
TALHA BIN HAMID
Karachi
THE international image of a country is essentially a commentary on the state of society at home. Basic values of truth and justice are absolute and universal. No system, culture or religion has monopoly over them. The pattern and hue of their weave in the fabric of societies differentiates one society from the other.
Truth and justice comprehensively are integrity. Any value that does not float in the sac of integrity is ineffectual. It was essentially in this architecture that the Quaid structured the now celebrated three guiding values for Pakistan, namely, Unity, Faith and Discipline. What the Quaid expected of us in this context was to design, establish and maintain institutions, systems and processes to reflect these values in our collective behaviour and personality.
Undoubtedly, easier said than done; it would demand a change of mindset. A long exercise indeed, spread over perhaps years, calling for perseverance, commitment, consistency and conscious discipline. On the face of it, this is a daunting prospect.
Do we have a choice? No. We have to girdle up our loins and get cracking to survive. Leadership at all levels will need mobilization. That is, to exemplify the exercise of courage, will-power, judgment, flexibility and the urge to change through learning, but within the parameters of integrity. This will require the creative utilization of all assets and resources to contribute to the single theme of comprehensive, coordinated development in all spheres of human endeavour.
On the domestic front, our policies and practices should be transparently reflective of a proactive urge to be consistently consonant with the Declaration of Human Rights and its attendant conventions. We must urgently address the proliferation of weapons in our society. This is essential for constructive discussion of issues, and indeed investment.
Our unhappy constitutional experience must undergo a thorough review to come up with some framework, more in line with our psyche and stage of democratic evolution. The ideas on franchise of John Stuart Mill and the cost-effective, participative, self-learning elements of Manzur Qadir’s 1962 Constitution may be of some consequence. Any agreed framework thus arrived at must be all but sanctified and its provisions managed with sincerity, dignity and grace.
In international affairs, national interest must be harmonized with world interest in a pioneering and creative fashion. Here the UN Charter can be the general lodestar; and once again looked upon as an opportunity to do pioneering work creatively; perhaps by staunchly reaffirming, lobbying and insisting on the application of the provisions and procedures contained in the charter to further the purposes and principles of the UN. A significant starting-point could be the more unhesitating use of Article 33 under Chapter VII; and the acceptance by all member-states of the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice.
M.J. AS’AD
Karachi
THIS is with reference to the news item (Sept 25) “Body formed for superior judges’ accountability”.
I wonder why armymen are exempted from institutionalization of such a committee. It is not only judges of lower or superior courts who have violated the code of conduct and involved in corruption, there are generals and armymen who have repeatedly violated the Constitution and have been found involved in malpractice.
I think that after realizing the need to institutionalize the Supreme Judicial Council by making it operative and effective for judges, there seems to me a great need for making a similar committee so that our generals can be made accountable to public, whose hard-earned money goes to them in the form of taxes. Moreover, there must be a good mechanism for receiving genuine complaints against army officers so that they may be dealt with under one umbrella of justice, and promptly in the interest of justice.
QAZI NAZIM NAEEM
Hyderabad
I AM a student at Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS).I want to say a few words about the tragic accident which took place recently on the highway near Sehwan in which dozens of people, including some students of LUMHS, died.
At a time when the Urs was taking place and when the traffic on the roads increases, there was no traffic policeman on this main road. The reason for the accident was said to be the fault of one or both of the drivers, but I think all of society needs to take the blame for this tragedy.
The reason I say that is because right after the accident happened, many injured passengers could not be taken to hospitals because there were no ambulances nearby. Also, drivers of many passing vehicles refused to stop, so the injured could not be taken promptly to a hospital. I saw this with my own eyes.
The ambulances eventually came but very late. Thank God that when we reached the hospital the doctors were there waiting and some of the injured managed to get immediate treatment. Yes, it may be the driver’s fault, but to some extent we all are responsible for such tragedies.
ALLAHWARAYO THEBO LUMHS
Jamshoro
A NEW gimmick in practice by gas stations is that in the event purchase of gas comes to 20, 25, 30 or 50 paisas, they round it to a rupee and if you ask for the balance, they argue.
By this practice they too are fleecing the public. Who is suppose to check this malpractice?
M. A. SABZWARI
Karachi
THIS refers to a news item, “Iran and Tajikistan offer to supply electricity” (Sept 27). Iran is already supplying 30 mw electricity to coastal areas of Balochistan, and would also supply another 20 mw to the Gwadar port.
Iran has thoughtfully agreed to help Pakistan by supplying electrify as it saw no decision on big dams in Pakistan is coming through. It is also supplying petrol on quite cheap rates to adjoining areas of Balochistan. If you do not suspect the vested interest, Iran is doing fine as a neighbour. Wealthy neighbours are always better than poor neighbours.
Tajikistan is also seeking favours from Pakistan that Iran is enjoying. The offer of supplying electricity for the growing needs of energy in Pakistan is one proof of that. There are a few impediments in it, though some of them may be imaginary and some real.
I imagine, on the grounds of recent history, that some vested interests in Balochistan do not want Gwadar port. Therefore, they take to terrorist activities. The government, keen to eliminate the terror attacks, has to devise means and ways to effectively safeguard electricity supply from both countries, particularly from Tajikistan, that will have to come through the 16 miles Wakhan strip of Afghanistan.
S.M. KAZIM NAQVI
Karachi
WITH reference to the ban on serving meals at weddings, I would have to say that the government has no business interferring with people’s personal matters. All the time and resources put in formulating and implementing such absurd policies could be used more constructively instead. Does the government also plan to tell us who to marry from now on?
SALAHUDDIN GHAZNAVI
Dublin, Ireland
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