| November 19, 2005 | Saturday | Shawwal 16, 1426 |
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Jet fountain
Aid for the needy
‘No middle ground’
‘The language conundrum’
A national hero
Beach pollution
Choosing the right dam
Funds for rebuilding
Reaching the remote areas
Karachi blasts
Edhi centre closure
Blair should resign
Media influence on youth
Poor library in Quetta
Umpiring decisions
IN the continuing hurdle-bound talks surrounding Turkey’s quest for EU membership, one wonders how a neutral country like Austria could take so negative a stance as all but block Turkey’s path. Whatever the reasons, this dims the promise of a happy, interdependent world of tomorrow.
Unfortunately this has been the world’s bane since after World War I: a plethora of myopic political tacticians with hardly any far-sighted strategists. In the 21st century there is no escape from not subscribing to a mutually rewarding dependence of one nation on the other. This will require the proactive and sincere help of the “haves” for the “have-nots”.
This will require understanding and trust. Understanding through focusing on all that is good in others — and, indeed, there is plenty of that — and building trust through respect for multilateral institutions like the UN. For it is there where the weak and the poor can also have a say in shaping a better world on a footing of equality.
Equality of nations in counsels and rights is no more than a corollary of the now well-recognized principle of equality of human beings. Dreams of hegemony through military or economic power must ultimately remain frustrated. The fast developing sense of liberty combined with the law of attrition overall is an unassailable equalizing factor. Therefore, the need for the welfare of the whole world must unfailingly lead only in one Direction – that of political, economic and cultural intercourse to mutual advantage.
If this planet is to survive and grow in a way that all right thinking people would like it to grow, then leadership must think in strategic, statesman-like terms. This will require a fundamental change in our approach.
The Turkey-EU engagement is a godsend in this direction. Here is a promise of alliance versus continuing confrontation. I am sure the foreign minister of Austria would have gained in stature if she had allowed herself to wear the glow of the “one-world” concept at the final televised session at Luxembourg.
M.J. AS’AD
Karachi
HOUSES in Karachi have traditionally been built facing west so as to take advantage of the cool wind blowing from the sea. The Karachi Port Trust is set to prove this disastrous for the residents of Defence, Clifton and beach visitors with its Rs225 million ‘Trojan Horse’, the 500-foot jet fountain nested in the highly polluted and toxic sea near the Oyster rocks. The Greek siege of Troy lasted for 10 years before the Trojans fell for the horse whereas the residents of Defence, Clifton and visitors to the beachfront, who will be sprayed with the toxic effluents, will fall straight away into anemia, renal failure and brain damage.
The currents originating from the highly polluted Karachi Port channel move towards Clifton and Defence as was seen during the Tasman Spirit debacle. The Karachi Port channel is a polluters’ paradise as about 300 million gallons of untreated sewage and highly toxic industrial waste are dumped into it by the Lyari river, numerous other drains and nullahs and ship bilges.The mess passes around the Oysters rocks before reaching the Clifton and Defence beach. KPT intends to jettison this toxic mixture 500 feet in the sky as a gift to the citizens of Karachi.
The trustees of the port should ensure that the jet fountain uses purified and clean water and not the toxic seawater mixture. The environmental impact of the water spray, wind direction, mist and salinity should also be taken into account before commissioning of the lofty gift for the citizens of Karachi.
FASEEHA ARJUMAND
Staten Island, NY
THIS is with reference to Mr Motumal’s suggestion that earthquake victims be provided jobs at home and abroad. I believe that the able bodied are needed more in their own home towns so that they can help rebuild their area and provide succour to their disabled relatives and neighbours. Secondly I would like to warn all good people that there is no end to the charlatans who are there for the taking. A large percentage of beggars in Karachi is missing; presumably they have been transported by the mafias to the quake affected areas to stand in line and receive dole. These mafias will collect most of the beggars’ takings.
In Karachi the majority in the shuttering business are from Balakot. After the earthquake, these workers left for Balakot to look for their family members and their houses in the destroyed town. Most of the Kashmiris who work in Karachi, mainly the salaried, have come back to work after ascertaining the situation but this is not true for the shuttering workers. Those who have come back from Balakot have reported that they have seen how these workers are the first in line for food, first in line for blankets and warm clothing and then having received something, get into another line. The NGOs must learn to recognize those who are truly deserving and in need of aid.
RASHID GHAZNAVI
Karachi
THIS is with reference to Irfan Husain’s article “No middle ground” (Nov 12) in which he explains why the unification of Muslim lands and the establishment of a caliphate are not possible.
The division of the Muslim world is not based on schisms but on the the basis of race, language or territory. Secondly, people of a country from where the Khalifat will be established will decide their caliph themselves. Today we no longer care whether our president or prime minister or army chief is Suuni or Shia and nor do we bother about his ethnic origin. Shia Muslims are living in Saudi Arabia and Sunni Muslims are living in Iran. So this “fiqhi” difference will not create a problem over who will be the caliph.
As to Mr Hussain’s second argument that there are a vast difference between countries and people who are Muslim, in Pakistan, there are different territories, languages, customs and traditions, but we have agreed to live in accordance with certain rules. So why is it not possible for Muslims to live together on the basis of Islamic ideology?
Finally, Osama bin Laden never said anything regarding the caliphate. The only issue he addresses concerns the presence of American and allied forces in the holy land and other Muslim countries. Therefore it is very strange for Mr Hussain to associate the restoration of Caliphate to Osama bin Laden and try to equate it with an act of terrorism.
ABDUR REHMAN
Karachi
IN Anwar Syed’s article “The language conundrum” (Nov 13) the writer, an eminent professor, has presented only one-sided facts and failed to grasp the seriousness behind the re-emergence of the language controversy in Sindh. It is a fact that in 1972 with the exception of Sindh, the provincial governments had declared Urdu as the official language in their respective provinces. The Sindh government took a different stance, keeping in view the fact that Sindhi was the only language which had its own script and strong written expressions and was therefore capable of being the official language.
It is incorrect to assume that the Sindh government led by Mumtaz Bhutto as chief minister and the federal government headed by Zulifkar Ali Bhutto as prime minister, imbued with feelings of “honour”, had declared Sindhi the official language in Sindh. The decision was not based on the emotions of the people of Sindh or their apathy towards Urdu. It was in accordance with the provision of the 1973 constitution which enshrines the promotion of regional languages along with Urdu as the “national language”. Moreover, the writer has not mentioned that Sindhi speaking students also read Urdu at the school and college levels.
The factor that supersedes all arguments is that reading both languages by both communities serves the purpose of mutual understanding and brings them closer which is highly desirable in promoting the development of the province. It is therefore prudent to continue the with Language Act 1973 and follow it in letter and spirit.
IMTIAZ ALI KALHORO
Larkana
I HAVE been going through the news coverage of your newspaper following the heroic transportation of two burnt children from a tent village at night by the Army Aviation helicopter pilots to the Kaharian Burn Centre. It was really a heroic deed done by the helicopter pilots who are trained to carry out night sorties.
I take this opportunity to mention another heroic deed of a civilian doctor during the evacuation of the victims of the collapse of the Margalla Towers in Islamabad. This doctor, who is a qualified anaesthetist of PIMS (Islamabad Complex), went 30 feet into the collapsed building through a tunnel made by civil defence personnel. The tunnel was hardly two and a half feet wide. The doctor was a volunteer and it was not his duty. He went into that rubble to perform an amputation of a lady’s arm without surgical and anaesthesia equipment. He performed this procedure under artificial light, and dragged out the woman all the way up through the tunnel.
We should all be proud of such sons of our great country and our government should award and at least acknowledge such deeds of heroism of its common citizens.
DR WAQAR AFTAB MALIK
Islamabad
IT is ironic that although we are taxed when we enter the zone of a specific location at Karachi’s Sea View, that specific area is one of the dirtiest in the city. Where does our tax money go? Cleanliness should be maintained throughout and not postponed until the garbage becomes a mountain, when costlier measures are needed to clear it. The public should be fined for littering the beach.
FATIMA MOHIB
Karachi
THIS is concerning letters by Mr Fateh Ullah Khan and Mr Imran Khan Sial (Nov 13).
Farmers in the irrigated areas are facing severe water shortages and there are fears of a serious food scarcity in the coming years. For the past six years the government has asserted that the construction of a replacement dam will only be undertaken after it has obtained a consensus.
In the meantime, the population of the country has increased by an estimated 20 million. It takes the better part of 10 years to complete a large dam. At the end, the population would have risen by another 30 million or so while water supplies for agriculture would have registered further declines.
The country will need to pay for large amounts of food imports at a time when its resources are constrained by the re-construction demands in the northern areas as well as payments for arms purchases. It does not take a rocket scientist to work out that we are headed for a major social and financial crisis in the not-too-distant future.
Yet, our experts have their horns locked arguing which dam to build first. Not to be left behind, the government is still in search of a consensus that it has not found in all the past lost years. It can only be because they believe that somehow the writing on the wall will not materialize or that both time and events will wait and not take their course until such time as the elusive consensus has miraculously fallen into their laps.
Endless arguments and procrastination do not mean that a decision has yet to be made. The delay constitutes a decision in itself that will, in this case, lead to precipitating a horrendous and entirely avoidable crisis.
K. HUSSAN ZIA
Mississauga, Canada
THE estimated cost of reconstruction and rehabilitation of those displaced and affected by the Oct 8 earthquake could go beyond $5 billion. At a meeting of 60 donor countries called by the UN secretary-general at Geneva on October 26, the donors pledged $580 million, which is only 12 per cent of the funds needed. It is very unfortunate that the urgently needed cash is coming in driblets.
Perhaps the reason for the apathy of the donor countries is their scepticism about the utilization of the aid money. In order to eliminate any doubt on this score, it is suggested that an independent body may be formed under the aegis of the UN Humanitarian Coordinator, who would monitor through a transparent system all donations and the distribution of relief goods. Transparency under the UN umbrella will create confidence in the world community who hopefully would release the pledged amounts quickly and without hesitation.
M.G.H. DADABHOY
Karachi
SEVERAL weeks after the earthquake, many unlucky survivors haven’t yet been reached in some of the far off hilly, road-less and cold areas. The plight of the wounded, sick and hungry out there is pathetic.
The only possibility of getting aid to them is through helicopters. The problem is that no helipads exist in those areas. It is imperative that in a separate operation meant exclusively for the more inaccessible regions, special troops may be dropped by air at suitable places to build helipads.
The helipads could act as mini bases with continuous replenishment. If tents are not available, hard plastic and rexine sheets may be provided.
SARDAR M. BASHIR KHAN
Rawalpindi
I REFER to Mr S. S. Hissain’s letter (Nov17). He rightly poses the question: who can stop these terrorists and how?.
The simple answer is that all of us collectively and as a responsible and humane society can stop this madness. We need to take the following steps: stop glorifying acts of terrorism as jihad; stop providing refuge to the terrorists in our mohallas, towns and villages; deny them the “paradisical” prestige that enables them to recruit and brain-wash naive youngsters; and ensure that we offer the same protection to our minorities that we demand for the Muslims in India, Europe and the US. We should stand up shoulder to shoulder with our non-Muslim Pakistanis to fight for their rights.
Also, we should stop gloating over the tragedies of other nations as if we know the reasons of divine wrath.
KHALID A.
London
I WOULD like to appreciate your editorial ‘Closure Of Edhi centre’ (Oct 16). Everyone knows that there is no question about the honesty of Mr Abdul Sattar Edhi and his organization but we cannot say anything about the honesty of some of his employees.
Mr Edhi has already sacked four employees for pilfering goods meant for the victims of the Oct 8 quake. Mr Edhi should not be held responsible for the wrongdoing of some of his staff. It is also not fair that instead of taking the culprits to task, the local police should close the centre and, as a result, make innocent people suffer.
The president and the prime minister should take immediate notice of police action.
DR ALFRED CHARLES
Karachi
THE 322-291 vote count on the Anti-Terrorism Bill has wobbled the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair and tradition in England has shown that when a bill introduced in the House of Commons fails to pass, the prime minister resigns. This happened in 1801 when the prime minister introduced the Catholic Relief Bill in the House Of Commons but King George III did not favour it. The prime minister then resigned.
The same is true of Sir Robert Peel who introduced the Catholic Bill in 1846 and the bill failed by 78 votes. Mr Peel resigned. In 1886, British Prime Minister Gladstone presented the First Irish Home Rule Bill which was not passed and consequently Mr Gladstone had to resign and new elections were held.
In 1892 Mr Gladstone again became prime minister and presented the Second Irish Home Rule Bill in 1893 which was passed but rejected by the House of Lords. Once again, Mr Gladstone resigned in March 1894.
Mr Blair should also resign and new elections should be called in England in accordance with tradition.
USMAN FAYYAZ
Lahore
WE live in a society bombarded by various forms of media. Media presentations like Indian TV soaps do not mimic real life. They do not project the demands of daily life and responsible living. Our youth thereby gain a superficial and inaccurate perception of reality. The influence of the media is especially strong when it makes anti-social and immoral behaviour seem humorous, effective and socially desirable.
We often find that we have let into our homes through our TV screens what we would never let in through our front door. It is therefore the responsibility of parents and responsible adults to protect youth from excessive exposure to TV.
NAZISH AJAZ
Karachi
AS students in Quetta city, we only have access to one library and unfortunately are facing several problems. One, the library is situated on a busy road and the noise pollution is disturbing. Second, we do not have good books in the library itself. This is all because officials are indifferent to our problems.
A good library is a basic need for a sound education. I hope the higher officials will look into this matter.
TAJUDDIN DUMMER
Ziarat
THE Pakistani cricket team was unlucky when umpire Billy Bowden gave two wrong decisions against them within two days of the play in the first Test. First, Shoaib Malik was incorrectly declared Lbw. Second, Mr Bowden disallowed an appeal for Lbw against the English captain Trescothick despite the fact that he was standing before the wicket.
Those who are running cricket affairs in Pakistan, the ICC and the match referee Roshan Mahanama must take strong notice of Mr Bowden’s unfair judgements. When a player can be fined for his wrong-doings, why is an umpire immune?
SYED TARIQ SHAMIM
Karachi
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