| November 9, 2005 | Wednesday | Shawwal 6, 1426 |
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Oil prices
The real moral lesson
Need for sturdy shelters
‘Learning from history’
India’s terrorism allegations
Trauma team
Traffic cameras
Low interest
Temporary shelters
Quake and Islamabad
England team
MR Tahir Mahmood (Oct 9) in his letter on Mr Irfan Husain’s column “Our colonial heritage” (Aug 20) is not wrong in saying that Simon Bolivar and the rest of the eminences named by him would not have voted for Mr Husain’s postulate that the “colonial experience generally benefited the colonized”.
However, if the merits and demerits of British colonialism in India are viewed strictly in context of the territory that constitutes what is Pakistan today, the merits of colonialism would far outweigh the demerits. Mr Husain would stand vindicated.
Pakistan has lived and continues to largely live off the “collateral benefits” of colonialism.
To meet their need of “babus” and “brown sahibs” the British set up an education system devised by Macaulay which is still the most effective source of trained manpower
for the country. A major “collateral benefit”, if there was one.
As counter to the above, Mr Mahmood can name many who would argue we have thousands of madressahs turning out millions of “educated”.
Punjab and Sindh were developed as alternative sources of cotton for Britain’s textile mills when the British lost their American colonies. A massive canal system was laid for the purpose.
The North-Western Railway from Punjab to the port city of Karachi was built to carry the cotton for export to Britain.
Punjab and Sindh derived immense “collateral benefit”, and continue to do so, from the canals and railways built to serve the colonial power’s own economic purpose. There has been no significant improvement, or extension, in these after the Brits left.
There are hundreds of such “collateral benefits” of colonial exploitation which are mainstays of today’s Pakistan.
The district administration system installed under the British continues to prevail. After 58 years we are only able to experiment with “devolution” of power and have failed to empower the people any more than they were under colonialism.
The British installed police and judicial systems which persist to this day. The strength of both the systems lay in their fair application and effective enforcement. Both systems worked. We have corrupted both systems entirely and turned them into tools of intimidation in the hands of the powerful. A “collateral benefit” wasted.
The village panchayat truly functioned as a township or village council.
It is inconceivable that a Mukhtaran Mai kind of atrocity could have been committed without the culprits and the local “influential”, jagirdar, zamindar, tumandar, makhdoom, sardar, chaudhry, pir or whatever, paying a terrible price, under law, and in quick enough time. So much for the standards of justice then and now.
The British used jagirdars, zamindars, nawabs, makhdooms, sardars, pirs and chaudhrys as administrative adjuncts under a tight leash. So long as this retrogressive and degenerate “gentry” delivered to the colonial rulers land revenue, recruits for the colonial army and generally maintained peace in their area and paid due homage to the British district officers, they were left alone. One false step, however, and it was the law and jail.
The degenerate “gentry” in Pakistan never had it better; it rules the country, makes laws, and plays havoc with the nation’s destiny as the country hurtles towards ignominy.
S. KHALID HUSAIN
Karachi
THE frequent price hikes in petroleum products have unnerved consumers in Pakistan. At the end of each fortnight, consumers keep their fingers crossed and pray for no increase in petroleum prices.
However, the fortnight just gone was different. In the wake of a consistent decline in the prices of crude oil in the international market, consumers were hoping for a substantial reduction in the prices of petroleum products, but this was not to be. The announcement came that there would be no change in prices during the current fortnight. This was a disappointment.
Now that prices of crude oil are stabilizing at a lower level, there is no justification for denying a reduction in prices of petroleum products to the government as well as to the consumers. It remains to be seen however as to what extent the refineries, oil companies and the dealers are prepared to offer reduction. The pricing formula has been allowing increases on a percentage basis to the OCAC on various costs. It is doubtful if they will be prepared to offer a reduction on a proportionate basis on all costs.
There is hardly any element of competition among the OMCs, as far as the main petroleum products are concerned. Competition exists only in the case of lubricants and it is hardly necessary to have large manpower and storage capacities by all the oil marketing companies separately, particularly when consumers and the government are being called upon to finance this also.
It is suggested, therefore, that OMCs should consider reducing these costs. As far as sale of lubricants is concerned, it may be worthwhile for the OMCs to set up separate organizations.
Serious efforts are being made all over the world to find alternatives to crude oil. It is understood that Sweden and Brazil are actively engaged in this process. We also have a large team of able scientists at the PCISR. It is suggested that the prime minister should consider assigning them the task of carrying out research in this field.
MOHAMMAD ANWAR KHAN
Karachi
THIS is with reference to Mr Shakir Lakhani’s letter “The real moral lesson” (Nov 4) which is in response to the letter under the same heading (Oct 30). He has questioned the validity of the theories circulating nowadays propounding various reason for the disaster that took place on Oct 8.
Mr Omar R. Quraishi in his article (Science, faith and quake, Oct 28) has succinctly explained the scientific rationale of seismological changes that take place beneath the earth and which have caused massive changes on its surface.
Now in spite of possessing modern scientific knowledge, if we still construct our houses and infrastructure without adopting precautionary measures, disregarding rules and regulations essential for planning in earthquake-prone areas, blaming nature is only shifting the responsibility and saving those greedy and unscrupulous builders whose structures could not withstand an earthquake. Basically what wrong is perpetuated on us in this world is our own doing. It is our failure to follow the physical laws of nature, knowledge of which has already been bestowed on us, that brings misery on us.
Not only should we educate our children right from school measures to be adopted in case of an earthquake or similar calamity but also ensure that all new construction is quake-resistant. Immediate measures are also required to conduct a survey in the vulnerable areas to pinpoint weak structures and take steps to either make them quake-resistant or demolish them.
MANZOOR H. KURESHI
Karachi
WE all know that earthquake victims are going to face snowfall within a few weeks. The government, the army, NGOs and political parties are doing well in arranging and distributing tents and providing the victims shelter in such cold nights.
But the tents supplied may not be enough to resist snowfall and people need sturdier shelters people to survive the cold weather.
Millions spent on buying tents from different areas of the world are going to be wasted. Some organizations have built a model house which can provide shelter to around 12 families and its cost is around Rs 75,000.
The government has also arranged 1,000 model houses from a foreign country but these would obviously not be adequate and we require a large amount of funds to build a sufficient number of such model houses.
Right now, time is the core problem. We have to provide them with immediate shelter against the winter.
One of the volunteers has a proposal to build a small room with a wooden roof (may be covered with tin). Wood and stones are available in the area and houses like these will provide improved shelter and cost much less.
I would like to suggest that the authorities and organizations concerned should consider this idea in order to provide the victims with better shelter and in a shorter time.
ADIL AHMED MUGHAL
Karachi
AIR Marshal Asghar Khan in his book Learning from History has settled the argument, once and for all, about the merits or demerits of army rule.
When Iskander Mirza was ousted, he was flown to Quetta. Asghar Khan specially went to meet him at the Mauripur airfield:
“Iskander Mirza and his wife were sitting in the VIP room on a sofa. A junior army officer was occupying an adjacent chair with his legs stretched out on a table in front of the former president. I told him that he was unnecessarily being insolent and ordered him out of the room.
“The conduct of this officer typified the dangers inherent in the involvement of the armed forces in politics. When power is wielded by the defence services, it is ultimately exercised by people who, both by experience and by temperament, are least suited for this role.
“Since they are not responsible to the people, their arrogance finds expression in ways that are more harmful than the one typified by the ill manners of the young officer at Mauripur airfield on that October morning.”
KHURSHID ANWER
Lahore
AFTER the recent bomb attacks in New Delhi, allegations of complicity were levelled by India at Pakistan — notwithstanding President Musharraf’s immediate offer of assisting the Indian probe into the incident — forcing our Foreign Office to issue a contradiction (Nov. 1).
After the July 5 attack by five gunmen on the controversial site in Ayodhya, the Indian police had quickly claimed they had come from here, without being able to present any evidence until now. It is quite intriguing that serious attacks carried out allegedly by terrorists in held Kashmir or India have tended to occur at times strategically important for India.
The present one has happened at a time when the world’s attention is focused on Pakistan in the aftermath of the worst ever earthquake and aid is pouring in from overseas. Spoiling the country’s image at this extremely critical time could deprive us of this sympathy and curb foreign help. Another attack had coincided with Bill Clinton’s five-day visit to India as the US president in March 2000.
In that incident, 36 Sikh residents of a village in Occupied Kashmir were massacred (March 22, 2000). According to the survivors, the attackers were reportedly wearing Indian army uniforms and had also been very drunk; bottles of liquor had been found from their place of hiding. They were, of course, promptly accused of belonging to the Lashkar-i-Taiba or some such militant outfit.
The idea was apparently to ‘prove’ dramatically to Mr Clinton that Pakistan was indeed engaged in “cross-border terrorism”, with the expected bad consequences for this country. However, any perceptive India-watcher could have figured out right away that RAW or whoever was responsible for engineering that attack would have thought that nobody would suspect any Indian organization to be responsible for killing the Sikhs and the blame would easily fall on Pakistan-backed militants. It also did not occur to the planners that no hard-core militant fighting in Kashmir could ever consume alcohol.
The Americans, given their human intelligence resources, were apparently able to see through the Indian game and didn’t take much notice of it. So were the Sikhs, who realized that the Muslims had no quarrel with them and could not have launched the attack, hence no split could be created between the two communities.
This accusation of “cross-border terrorism” has become a very convenient stick for New Delhi to beat Pakistan with for three reasons. First, to portray the Kashmiri struggle as terrorism and malign it in a world acutely sensitive to such acts. Second, to depict Pakistan as a sponsor of terrorism and, third, to divert attention from India’s own state-sponsored terrorism and brutal suppression of the freedom movement. As it turned out, an inquiry by an independent commission headed by a retired Indian judge had found the Indian agencies responsible (Dawn Magazine, June 16, 2000).
The second crucial attack was that on the Indian parliament in Dec. 2001. This had occurred only about three months after 9/11, when the US was extremely allergic to “Islamic” terrorists and after it had declined the unsolicited Indian offer immediately after the carnage in America of collaborating with it in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Another factor for the scheme seemingly was India’s desire to get Pakistan declared a state sponsor of terrorism by Washington.
Intriguingly, all of the attackers on the parliament building were shot dead and no attempt was made to capture any of them alive. Dead men tell no tales — the blame was conveniently put on Islamabad, followed by a massive deployment of a million troops on India’s western borders to lend maximum credence to the story, convince the international community and pressure Pakistan.
A couple of weeks before Dr. Manmohan Singh was to begin his first crucial visit to the US in the wake of the 10-year US-India defence pact and the proceedings for securing a permanent seat in the UNSC for New Delhi having heated up prior to the September summit of the UN General Assembly, there was another assault. This time the “terrorists” struck the very sensitive site of Ayodhya and, as could have been expected, all five of them were shot dead — no one was captured alive, again.
Incidentally, a leading Indian columnist and former legislator and diplomat, Mr. Kuldip Nayar had, in his column of Feb. 28 shown how the Indian agencies IB and RAW engage in dirty political games at New Delhi’s behest, saying: “I do not expect the agencies to follow any code of ethics since Indian society on the whole has ceased to be sensitive about methods.”
BAFFLED PAKISTANI
Karachi
I WORKED as a member of a trauma team in DHQ hospital, Mansehra, in the early period of rescue and relief. During this period I realized that we are not at all in any state of preparedness to face a disaster like this. For a large cluster of victims of about 5,000 men, women and children and their relatives there was no adequate water, food and shelter even at the end of three weeks after the quake. The patients and the medics were equally exposed to continuous aftershocks — so much so that victims of fractures and open wounds preferred to stay under the sky rather than inside the cracked buildings.
We have to develop a support system by setting up a disaster commission or autonomous body on a permanent basis and assemble realistic data to determine the susceptibility of environments and structures to earthquakes. We should also assess the extent of mobilization of emergency medical response, rescue and relief teams within the crucial period immediately following trauma.
DR GHULAM ASGHAR CHANNA
Karachi
ENDORSING the views (Oct 27) of Mr Moin Zuberi regarding installation of traffic cameras to check traffic violation on city roads, I would like to add that important roads should be divided and lanes marked distinctly for flow of fast and slow traffic. It should be ensured that rear lights and indicators, etc., function and operate when required. Defaulters in this regard should be dealt with sternly.
Drivers who commit traffic violations, even after first and second warnings, should have their driving licences at least for six months.
Drivers of auto-rickshaws, taxis and buses should be issued badges as is the practice in other countries, and it should be made compulsory for them to wear their badges.
A.S. GHANVI
Karachi
MY bank in Karachi pays one and a half per cent interest on my pound sterling deposit while here in London the banks pay four per cent. Can the State Bank of Pakistan please comment on this?
SAEED KHAN
London
MR Azar Zuby’s letter (OCT 1) about domes as temporary shelters deserves immediate consideration, if it suits the conditions prevailing in the earthquake affected areas in Pakistan.
Now that lots of tents have already arrived, perhaps it might be easy to insulate these against severe cold by covering over the inner flaps and walls with robust double plastic sheets, with sealed air bubbles, besides providing sleeping bags.
Both these items can be locally arranged in a short time. Blankets and cotton-filled quilts can be easily converted into sleeping bags at site, supported by suitable foam sheets. For floors in the tents straw filled mattress might be useful.
As lighting fires cannot be allowed inside tents, hot water bottles or specially designed hot water drums protected on all sides by sawdust in wooden boxes, except the top, could also be used to keep the tents comfortable overnight.
S.M.H. RIZVI
Karachi
FORTUNATELY Islamabad escaped the disaster that devastated vast areas next door killing thousands, rendering thousands widows, orphans and shelterless.
Had Islamabad been struck, thousands living in ghettos like French Colony in the heart of the city, in katchi abadis and in overage substandard buildings would have perished.
It is hoped that while preparing plans for rebuilding the devastated cities and towns and villages in Azad Kashmir and Hazara division, vulnerable residential sectors in Islamabad will not be lost sight of so that their residents do not live in perpetual fear.
SYED AFZAAL HUSSAIN ZAIDI
Islamabad
I SAW footage of members of the visiting English cricket team helping out in the relief effort in Muzaffarabad. It was extremely humbling and heartening to see them helping our people, Well done and many thanks to the English team.
ALI HUSSAIN QUETTAWALA
London, UK
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