| November 20, 2005 | Sunday | Shawwal 17, 1426 |
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‘New perspective on partition’
‘World Bank to the rescue’
Mobile phone thefts
Hard-fought victory
Gizri street
Chirac’s response to violence
Flawed project
Wedding music
‘The language conundrum’
Where is the government
GSP & quakes
Oil price fixation
‘The criminals amongst us’
IN THE editorial “Widening power gap” (Nov 16) your paper has justifiably pointed out the importance of small dams and the use of coal reserves. Energy from sunlight and high velocity winds in some areas can be added to this as well. But this may still not be able to meet the ever increasing demand. It makes it all the more necessary to pay urgent attention for constructing bigger dams on which a decision seems to be delayed.
Your contention that some governments in the past were forced to enter into costly power project agreements with the private sector is not fair. We all know how agreements were made in a clandestine manner with some IPPs and how WAPDA was forced to pay them at an exorbitant cost and also paid a fixed amount irrespective of the amount of electricity obtained from them. Ultimately it was the consumer who suffered.
Wapda is the country’s biggest power generator and distributor. While some of its employees are responsible for line losses and pilferage, theft does not occur without the involvement of ordinary citizens and in some cases the industrialists. They are also required to replace, maintain and install new facilities on occasions within a limited time frame. As far as I know they have seldom made high profits.
In the circumstances, I was amazed to hear the Chief Minister of NWFP, Akram Khan Durrani, say that Wapda owes the NWFP government Rs. 450 billion. Perhaps some official from Wapda can throw more light on the subject as to how an organization, which is not making any profit, will be able to pay that huge amount.
BRIG (retd) KHALID HASSAN MAHMOOD
Karachi
MY apologies to Cdr. Najeeb Anjum for not mentioning the role of the Royal Indian Navy in the search for independence. In order to accommodate the article into the prescribed space, the following portions were left out:
1. Mountbatten had been proposed as a future viceroy of India as early as 1942. By 1946 the Congress leadership was fully aware of his excellent chances to become the next viceroy.
2. Mountbatten had wanted to meet Nehru in jail in 1944, but the authorities did not agree.
3. Nehru visited Singapore in March 1946 at Mountbatten’s invitation.
4. Admiration of Mahatma Gandhi’s role in resolving an important financial problem between India and Pakistan for which he was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic.
I should also add Professor Niall Ferguson’s summing up of Mountbatten’s role in his book Empire: “He (Mountbatten) sided openly with the Hindu dominated Congress against the Muslim League; a preference the more surprising (or perhaps not) given Lady Mountbatten’s rumoured affair with the Congress leader, Jawaharlal Nehru. In particular, Mountbatten put pressure on the supposedly neutral Boundary Commissioner, Sir Cyril Radcliff — cruelly mocked by W. H. Auden — to make critical adjustments in India’s favour when drawing the frontier through the Punjab. The ensuing wave of bitter inter-communal violence left at least 200,000 and perhaps as many as half a million people dead.”
My reason for writing the article was to provide a clearer understanding of what most probably happened. I do not know what our policy makers will do with this realization, which is also not without problems.
ZAFAR IQBAL
Karachi
WHILE commenting on the World Bank’s Rs10 billion education loan for Sindh, it has been pertinently pointed out in your editorial (Nov 10): “The Sindh education department will have to ensure that the money earmarked for school buildings is actually spent for that purpose. There is also need to ensure that after they have been completed, the schools are actually used as educational institutions and not as autaqs by the feudals of that areas.”
Our history regarding utilization of international loans is not transparent. Huge amounts were collected in the name of building the Quaid’s mausoleum as a surcharge on cinema tickets, excise payments and other revenues. Where that money had gone has never been fully disclosed. Similarly, Iqra surcharge to be collected on imports / exports but there is no records of its utilization for educational purposes.
Ministers heading the education department are irrelevant. They may come and go or be replaced. The functionaries are deep-rooted. Therefore, the minister is a tool in their hands. The performance of the education sector is below the mark.
The Pakistan National High School was a prestigious educational institution prior to independence. It was a magnificent building. It was demolished under the auspices of the education department at the behest of some persons who wanted to turn into a cloth market.
Another glaring example is that of the Government High School, Somerset Street, Saddar, Karachi. That piece of land consisted of the R.P. Rabadi Primary School established by a Parsi philanthropist and the Government High School which was the Yusuf Abdullah High School and was subsequently converted into the Government High School in 1953. Both the institutes were demolished and on the same plot a hotel was built.
These are only two examples exposing the performance of our education department. There are many others.
Therefore, we should welcome it if the World Bank WB nominates its own consultant to monitor the disbursement of the Rs10 billion education loan given to Sindh for its transparent utilization.
GHEEWALA A.G.M.
Karachi
THERE was a time when London was hit by a wave of mobile phone thefts; schoolchildren were especially targeted by the thieves. Then the mayor of London and the Metropolitan Police initiated a special drive asking mobile phone companies to block the phones as soon as they were reported stolen and render them useless in the United Kingdom.
Moreover, people who reported their phones as lost or stolen so as to get bogus insurance claims were declared criminals and slapped with punishments. Shops buying and selling second-hand phones were asked to do so only after establishing the identity of the buyer and seller.
The results of these measures were amazing as the crime ratio plummeted. If the CPLC is committed to rooting out the menace of mobile phone thefts, they have to force mobile phone networks to adapt similar strategies. There is no harm in learning from others’ experience.
HYDER ALI
Middlesex, UK
IT is very sad to see the increasing number of mobile phone thefts in various parts of Karachi. Scores of people have been victims of this horrifying act which is frightening because when faced with such a situation, the person simply has no choice but to either give up his phone or be shot at. It’s a physical and psychological trauma for the poor victim.
It does not seem likely that adequate action will be taken against these thieves. The government introduced registration of the IMEI (serial number) of mobile phones with their respective network operators which would help in disabling the phone and render it useless, but for some unknown reasons that measure has not been implemented to the extent required. The authorities need to devise a new strategy to curb this crime or thoroughly implement the existing one to provide some sort of relief to the already very frightened citizens.
FAROOQ VAHIDY
Karachi
THE Pakistan cricket team’s colossal victory against England in the first Test could see further setbacks for the latter. Pakistan won the match with a small 22-run victory. They fought hard, remained dominant and turned their apparent defeat into victory, thanks to an outstanding bowling performance. In my opinion England’s defeat was a result of their over-confidence. Conversely, Pakistans team remained focused and concentrated on winning at any cost.
AHMED KHALID
Lahore
WHAT a match! What a win! Hats off to our team. They have all the capabilities of doing well when they work hard as a team and fight till the end.
A few players deserve special mention: Salman Butt played two of his best innings in one Test match; captain Inzamamul Haq led from the front with a very important contribution with the bat in both innings; Danish Kaneria was outstanding on the last day and Shabbir was great throughout. We saw a totally different Shoaib Akhtar whose fitness levels were great. Kamran Akmal’s 31 runs in the second innings and the partnership with Inzamam in the first innings were very crucial in the match.
Finally, the contribution of Bob Woolmer shouldn’t be forgotten for it was his analysis that led to the dismissals of Andrew Flintoff and Marcus Trescothic in the second innings.
SOHAIB ARSHAD ALAVI
Karachi
I WISH to draw the attention of Karachis Clifton cantonment board towards an extremely vital problem tormenting residents of 10th Gizri Street, Phase IV, DHA.
The underground sewerage lines overflow due to which dirty drain water accumulates inside the compounds of the houses on the street.
It has also damaged the road. Despite complaints, no action has been initiated.
MAQSOOD A. MUGHAL
Karachi
JACQUES Chirac’s call to put right past mistakes of France reminds one of the Turkish prime minister’s response to violence in Turkey.
Fearing the creation of an independent Kurdish state, Turkey, like its neighbours, oppressed its Kurdish minority. It led to a civil war against the Kurds, which was quelled in 1999. A series of attacks since June 2004 hit Turkey severely. Against this background this year in August, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, openly admitted that Turkey had mishandled its rebellious Turks. Like all great nations, declared Mr Erdogan, Turkey needs to face up its past. He stressed that more democracy, not more repression, was the answer to the Kurds’ long-running grievances.
When Mr Erdagon expressed these ideas — despite the fact that at the time there was a renewed spasm of rebel violence — he pledged that there would be no going back on his reforms. At this the opposition protested, even nationalists within his own ruling party made angry noises. But the man stood by his words and pressed on with his reforms.
Mr Chirac, too, urged France to learn lessons from its fortnight of rioting across the country. He acknowledged that the racial inequality blamed for fuelling the unrest would have to be tackled. It was great courage on the part of the president that he called the rioters “sons and daughters of the Republic”. Instead of just condemning the rioters, he said: “Whatever our origins, we are all the children of the Republic and we can all expect the same rights.”
It is high time Israel, the US and the UK also reflected as why their countries and citizens are mostly targeted. Why is terrorism going up and spreading everywhere since the “war on terror” was launched?
MUHAMMAD HANIF
Gujrat
I WANT to draw the attention of the authorities to the misuse of public funds on a misdirected civilian project. Lahore’s Multan Road is a very busy road. A number of towns have been developed alongside it away from Thokar Niaz Beg. Among many, Chung is a thickly-populated area which has developed immensely. Most of the manpower for the industrial sector is provided by this locality. A police training school is also in this area.
There is heavy traffic on Multan Road round-the-clock. Speeding vehicles refuse to stop at Chung in spite of some measures taken by the motorway authorities.
The residents have been repeatedly assured that the government is planning to widen the road to organize the flow of traffic as well as to avoid casualties. The National Highway Authority publicised this plan through wall chalking, asking people not to construct any building 220ft around the road, but private buildings are still being constructed and the plan seems to have been frozen.
Now the public money is being spent on constructing an overhead steel bridge for pedestrians. Even a layman can see the futility of these projects.
Such bridges have been built at Ichhra. Mozang Chungi, etc, in Lahore but are rarely used. The Chung bridge is being built away from the main bazaar and nobody would bother to go the extra distance to cross the road. It would be almost impossible for old people and women to use it.
It is requested on behalf of the people of Chung to cancel the futile project. Instead, service roads should be planned on both sides and an underpass. This would ensure not only uninterrupted flow of traffic on Multan Road but also the safety of pedestrians.
CONCERNED
Lahore
I am a resident of PECHS block 2 in Karachi. At 3:15 in the morning, I was awakened by loud music being played at a nearby wedding lawn known as the KDA officers club. I had my semester exams the next day, for which I was supposed to get up early in the morning and do some revision but it was difficult to get any sleep. This happens every year. I had a word with some neighbours who also complained of this problem.
It’s ironical that there is a ban on the use of loudspeakers but such musical events which deprive a person of sleep can go on unchecked. I wonder how those who are working, or the elderly, cope with this problem since a good nights sleep is important to them.
Our government has taken a bold step by putting a ban on meals in weddings but it must now either provide space far from residential areas where one can hold wedding functions or ban such musical events altogether as they are a nuisance for people who live near such venues.
R. Fahad Majeed Abbasi
Karachi
IN response to Mr Mumtaz Ali Bhutto’s letter (Nov 17), I should like to submit that if he will read the last paragraph of my article (Nov 17) once again, he will find that the word “nuisance” does not apply to any Sindhi protest whatsoever.
It applies, instead, to the necessity for simultaneous translation of National Assembly speeches into several languages that would arise if Punjabi, Saraiki, Sindhi, Balochi and Pushto were all made national languages, presumably entitling members to speak in any one of them.
ANWAR SYED
Herndon, Virginia, USA
PATRONIZED by local feudal lords and government officials in the absence of a strong central government, gangs of “thugs” and dacoits killed and robbed thousands every year with impunity for centuries in pre-partition India before the establishment of British colonial rule. Thanks to the determined and well-planned efforts of the British, these gangs were eliminated in the early 19th century.
After the British left India in 1947, similar gangs started reappearing and now freely operate in Pakistan. Besides smaller armed gangs of robbers, larger armed gangs of owners of some private housing societies are forcibly occupying not only the land of small landowners but also of government and government-sponsored housing societies, even in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Recently, one armed gang occupied Islamabad DHA land, and another armed gang occupied and bulldozed a large tract of forest land of the Punjab forest department in Loi Bhir, Rawalpindi.
Obviously, the gang leaders the dare violate law so openly because of their contact with high-ups.
So, where is the government and of what value is its Illegal Dispossession Act 2005?
GHULAM MUHAMMED
Rawalpindi
IN reply to my letter of October 26, GSP gave a typical bureaucratic reply: “Study of earthquakes is not in our charter”. Just because earthquake study is not in the GSP’s charter does not absolve it of the responsibility of seeking to have the charter changed.
In the November 7 issue of this newspaper, there is a report by the spokesman of the meteorological department saying that the aftershocks were likely to end in 10 days. If the meteorological department has developed the means to predict earthquakes they must share this knowledge with the rest of the world. However, if this is their guess then it is the an unscientific and irresponsible statement to make.
The meteorological department has no business being responsible for earthquake studies and it is about time that the prime minister took note of this comical situation.
INAM KHAWAJA
Karachi
The prevailing prices of petroleum products were fixed when oil was being traded in the international market at $70 a barrel. Now this international price has come down to $57 a barrel, but no relief has been provided to the consumers.
It is strange that when the international price of oil increases, prices in the local market are increased, but when the international price falls, the Oil Companies Advisory Committee announces that the prices will remain unchanged for the next fortnight.
OCAC seems only to be an agency that watches the interest of the oil companies. Our government meanwhile is in deep slumber on this issue. It is worth noting that the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority is entrusted only with the job of revision/refixation of gas prices, and not the revision of oil prices.
Muhammad Iqbal
Islamabad
THIS has reference to Mr Ardeshir Cowasjee’s outbursts in his column (Oct 30). He points out that in this country, we have just one seismologist, a lady, conveniently avoiding the job she is holding!
Well, well. What does he want to prove? Neglect? No. The real big question is what job opportunities are there in this field in Pakistan? What will a professional in this field do? After all this is not Japan, San Francisco, Indonesia, Sicily, or the Philippines.
Had it mattered if there were 1,000 such professionals? Would that have averted the catastrophe?
CH. RAFIQ
Islamabad
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