| November 25, 2005 | Friday | Shawwal 22, 1426 |
To send a letter to the Editor
Click here
Yearly visit to Israel
Centralized admission policy
An uncalled-for controversy
Golden opportunity for US
Double deckers
Experimenting with languages
Boycott by opposition
Punjab University
AT the recently-held Saarc summit, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz emphasized the centrality of the Kashmir dispute during his meeting with the Indian prime minister and at his press briefing. He also pointed out that prospects for free trade and investment in dealings with India (and the question of land route for Indian transit trade with Afghanistan) could not be de-linked from meaningful progress towards a Kashmir settlement. Foreign Minister Kasuri informed the visiting US Assistant Secretary, Christina Rocca, that while the dialogue process had improved the atmosphere and facilitated a number of CBMs, the interests of durable peace required the achievement of a settlement on Jammu and Kashmir, acceptable to the people of Kashmir, Pakistan and India. Meanwhile Minister of State Khusro Bakhtiar pointed out that as long as there was no significant movement towards a solution of the Kashmir dispute, any number of CBMs would, in the end, prove to be futile.
The above statements may be seen in the context of the continued Indian rigidity on the Kashmir issue during the two-year period since the peace process was launched in January 2004. In spite of the completion of two full rounds of the composite dialogue, the conclusion of several CBMs and several hundred exchange visits pertaining to all spheres of society, the unvarying Indian refrain on political and official levels from the prime minister downwards is a reiteration of India’s refusal to accept any change in India’s “borders” or any meaningful change in Kashmir’s status quo, in contrast to the flexibility shown by Pakistan in expressing willingness to consider options, short of maximum positions of the either side, acceptable to the parties concerned.
The absence of any concrete progress during the two years of the peace process has confirmed Pakistani fears that the Indian strategy was to drag out the dialogue process on Kashmir indefinitely as a sop to Pakistani sensitivities, while the change in the ground situation as a result of many CBMs and exchanges in numerous fields, gradually moved the Kashmir issue to the remote back-burner of public consciousness and interest. That this Indian hope is not likely to materialize is reflected in the recent statements by President Musharraf and other Pakistan leaders, referred to earlier.
In commenting on hopes expressed in Pakistani quarters for prospects of reconciliation on Kashmir in the wake of the destruction wrought by the earthquake, on the Kashmiri people, Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukeshjee has said that the “disaster could not change the history of the past half a century”. It would be most helpful if Indian spokesmen stopped carrying history as a burden on their shoulders, restricting needed flexibility and freedom of movement. While the earthquake was a disaster wrought by nature, the inability of India and Pakistan to stench the running sore of Kashmir is a self-inflicted wound, deeply hurtful to the welfare and prosperity of the peoples of South Asia.
Nothing in the above is meant to detract from the importance of continuing the peace process with India. Nothing is more important for the people of Pakistan and India than economic and social development for which durable peace is a must. While maintenance of peace and focus on economic development is indispensable, full normalization of relations with India in important fields of cooperation cannot be de-linked from meaningful progress on Kashmir. India should realize that this would also be the only way of safeguarding the positive yield of the ongoing peace process.
As for the perceived complexity of the Kashmir dispute, this becomes a motivating factor if there is an interest in resolving the problem, but becomes an excuse for inaction if the interest is not there, in the words of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
MAHDI MASUD
Karachi
IN his letter “Yearly visit to Israel”, Mr S. M. Kazim Naqvi has noted that Maulvi Ajmal Qadri, chief of the JUI (Q) group, visits Israel every year and takes along 100 to 150 people (Nov 18).
Maulvi Qadri has further revealed that secret contacts with Israel date back to 1971. Also that there is trade between Pakistan and the Jewish state through Jordan amounting to one billion dollars.
Mr Naqvi has suggested that by establishing diplomatic relations with Israel the volume of trade could increase to three or four billion dollars, which would benefit Pakistan economically and politically. Furthermore, the correspondent sees no harm in recognizing Israel even before the creation of a Palestinian state.
It is surprising that a relatively unknown religious and political leader’s visits to Israel are being given such importance by some people. If Mr Qadri is a follower of the Qadri “tariqa” (mystical way) founded by Hazrat Abdul Qadir Gilani (R.A.), some 800 years back, then he would be aware that a former Iraqi ambassador to Pakistan, also named Abdul Qadir Gilani, was the 17th descendent of the illustrious Sufi master.
The ambassador, who was a saintly person himself and chose to be buried in Karachi after his death (in the 1960s) because of his love for Pakistan had, to the best of my knowledge, never advocated the visiting of Israel or of recognizing it.
A nephew of his, Hazrat Allauddin Tahir, being an 18th descendent of the great Shaikh, had migrated to this country in his youth, reportedly upon spiritual orders from his Sufi progenitor and had been residing on Sunset Boulevard in Karachi until his death several years ago.
He, as a leader of the Qadri “tariqa”, had a huge following and Gen Ziaul Haq and Nawaz Sharif were reported to be among his patrons. This saint, too, never advocated any association with Tel Aviv, as far as one knows.
Apart from them, Shaikh Nazim al Haqqani of Turkey, who is said to be the head of the Naqshbandi “tariqa” in the world and whose devotees include the common folks as well as rulers and royalty of many countries, including Pakistan, is apparently no proponent of relations with Israel. Amongst the orthodoxy, neither the late Maulana Maudoodi nor Dr Yousuf Qaradhawi ever appeared to support Israel. It will only be appropriate if Maulvi Ajmal Qadri himself throws light on the issue.
As far as trade with that country is concerned, it is itself in dire financial straits and we must not harbour any illusions of windfall benefits accruing from it. The correspondent’s advice of recognizing Tel Aviv even before the setting up of a Palestinian state is simply shocking. Mr Ghayoor Ahmed’s article, “Myth of historical right” (Oct 18) showed very convincingly why this should not he done.
S. QADRI
Karachi
AT times, back references become a compulsion to initiate a new topic. I, therefore, refer back to a letter “Transparent exams” by Dr Noor Afroze (Aug 29).
Experimenting new aspects is definitely a source for improvement but at times it does prove otherwise as well. The fate of the students of Sindh in general and of Karachi in particular is being dragged on the altar of such experiments since Sept 1, 1972. It was a historic occasion when on this day the government had nationalized private sector educational institutions with intentions to upgrade the then deteriorating standards.
It is evident to all as to which way the act of nationalization has taken the standards. Unreasonably, the guardians of education, such as the Sindh education and literacy department; the various boards of education and the universities of Sindh have also contributed a lion’s share to bring down the standards of education by experimenting with odd measures. These experiments caused mental strain instead giving any relief to the students. The inclusion of irrelevant subjects at various levels, particularly in the professional colleges, seems to be unnecessary when every such student has been studying these subjects prior to reaching his professional institution.
The centralized admission policy (CAP) is yet another experiment that has added to the miseries of the students for the last couple of years. Prior to the implementation of CAP, the principals of government colleges used to complete the admission process by Aug 10 and classes used to be resumed latest by Aug 15 every year. Consequently, the students got about three months more than they have been getting since the implementation of CAP in their respective sessions. The month of November is about to end and yet the admission process is not over. The classes are being run by fits and starts with quick revisions every now and then for the newcomers.
The Board of Intermediate Education, Karachi, was also forced to start the new enrolments of the students on Nov 15, which is late by one month keeping in view the last year’s records.
One cannot understand as to why the Sindh education department should persist with the centralized admission policy, particularly when this experiment has caused damage to the students. Thus, it is time either to do away with this centralized admission policy or to improve the efficiency of the team that carries out the whole process. It is worth mentioning here that regular government employees are being paid lucrative stipends every year to complete the assignment of centralized admission policy.
HINA QASIM
Karachi
AS usual, Ms Zubeida Mustafa has come forth with credible clarity (Nov 9) in reasoning through a thorny issue – “thorny”, yes; but not to be made “controversial”.
Her positive write-up, fortunately, is a far cry from what was probably intended by the authors of the original “Language Bill”, Sindh (Teaching, Promotion and Use of Sindhi) Act, 1972.
Perhaps, a temporary compromise to pre-empt this degenerating into a controversy has been established by the notification issued by the education department for median solution. It may be prudent for the Sindh Assembly to consider undoing an “imperious” extension of the act to the higher secondary and college curricula, by an amendment to the act, enabling, permanency to the compromise and an amicable settlement of the issue. Hopefully, it would also be what Ms Mustafa deems that “ ... justice and fairness demand...”
Two caveats are, however, in order here. First, it may be in the spirit of “national integration” to consider improving and adapting a “national curriculum” for primary to higher secondary school level education in all the disciplines, less those subjects, e.g., social / Pakistan studies, arts et al, that may possibly be the rightful domain of the respective provinces. These subjects may be accorded “elective” status for the respective province.
Second, in all humility, may I suggest that not all regional lingua franca are “languages” per se?
At the least, imperatives of a language should be: alphabet, diction, cultural connotation, primary syntax and developed speech. “Sindhi” is a very developed and rich repository of these basics; perhaps not many other claimant to ‘language’.
BRIG (retd) MATEEN
M. MOHAJIR
Karachi
ACCORDING to a report, nine US senators have urged the Bush administration to provide at least (emphasis added) one-quarter of the estimated $5.2 billion needed for the relief and reconstruction efforts for Pakistan’s quake victims (Dawn, Nov 20).
In a joint letter to their Secretary of State, Dr Condoleezza Rice, the nine senators also pointed out that traditionally the US covers “approximately one-fourth of the costs in a such situation.” Additionally, Senators Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama have, in separate letters, argued that helping the earthquake survivors was not only an important humanitarian task but it was also in America’s “geopolitical interest to do so”.
Senator Hillary perceptively and correctly noted that the assistance so far provided has been “warmly welcomed by the Pakistani people,” and added, “People of Pakistan are long and loyal friends of the US. We must do all in our power to alleviate the terrible suffering and tragedy caused by this disaster.”
Apart from that, another lawmaker had earlier said: “Pakistan is a staunch supporter of the United States in the ongoing war on terrorism. We must help them cope with this disaster” (Dawn, Nov 18).
As a Pakistani one is very thankful for these kind sentiments of the American lawmakers and for the help provided by the US so far. At the same time it must be emphasized that the present government is more involved in supporting America’s war on terrorism. The people of Pakistan had always been very faithful friends of the US, but, like the other Muslims, they have for some years become alienated from the superpower due to differences over some of its policies. Therefore, Senator Hillary is right on the mark in her assessment. It is truly a rare and golden opportunity for Washington to win the hearts and minds of the Pakistanis.
The Bush administration should not spare any effort or hesitate to spend any amount of money to help this country in its hour of need. In fact, the US would be wise in shouldering even one-half of the estimated cost of $5.2 billion, which will do much more than endless military action to curb militancy, particularly in the badly affected region of the NWFP where feelings against America have been the strongest.
One last thing, apart from extending all possible assistance, our American friends should also try to ensure the effective and transparent use of funds so that the real sufferers of the calamity actually benefit from it. Any excess money can be utilized to help other impoverished citizens, some of who are committing suicides out of sheer desperation.
Time is running out fast because of the rapidly approaching Himalayan winter and the US is urged to act on the afore-mentioned lines before tens of thousands more die due to cold and hunger.
KHALID CHAUDHRY
Karachi
I LIKE the idea of seeing double decker buses plying Karachi roads, as suggested in the letter by Ms Mariam Humayun (Nov 10).
These tall buses would be far better than our present fleet of dilapidated and rickety old contraptions they call buses.
But there are some problems. One just can’t run those big buses. The transport authorities have to remove the jungle of overhead wires. Then one must have good smooth roads, good, trained and expert drivers who could use brains and brakes rather than being tipsy and obdurate jockeys who fly our as much noisy machines as the blaring horns. They start a mad race of bypassing others in the thick of traffic.
Also, Ms Humayun has objected to men using ladies’ compartment of the present buses. Double deckers would have a large space for ladies. She seems to have seen these large buses in India, the UK and Europe. There they do not segregate the passengers gender-wise.
S.M. KAZIM NAQVI
Karachi
I REFER to your editorial “Experimenting with languages” (Nov 19)
I favour the teaching of English from the early stages of primary education but it would be inadvisable to have English as the sole medium of instruction for science and mathematics. In Japan, science and mathematics are taught in the Japanese language, but the learning of English in schools even at the primary level is encouraged.
As an international language, the learning of English at the secondary level will benefit the student. But the current methods of teaching English in the majority of our primary and high schools are by and large not effective. Urdu books for science and mathematics are comparatively cheap for the students as compared to books in the English language. Teachers who can teach science and mathematics in Urdu are available in good numbers in Pakistan.
Pakistani teachers who can teach correct English in schools are, however, not available in adequate numbers. What the federal education ministry should urgently do under a crash programme is to train good teachers and organize refresher courses for them so that the standards in our primary schools and secondary schools can be raised in order to optimize the benefits of schooling for a child.
Before making drastic changes in our school education system and curricula, the federal education minister should encourage a public debate on this subject in our newspapers and relevant academic bodies and even the federal legislature.
QUTUBUDDIN AZIZ
Karachi
I would like to express my disappointment over the boycott of the donors’ conference by the ARD and MMA. Their decision, both ill-timed and unfortunate, has tarnished their image with the people. The tragedy demanded that we all should have demonstrated national unity.
The donors’ conference was a tremendous success and has further enhanced the image of President Pervez Musharraf. He has succeeded in emerging as a world statesman as is evident from the diversified nature of the support Pakistan is getting — from Saudi Arabia and Iran on the one hand to China and Cuba on the other.
Let us hope that President Musharraf and Prime Minister Aziz are able to use this opportunity not only for the benefit of the earthquake survivors but for the welfare of the nation as a whole.
K. MURAD BEY
Karachi
Computer has become essential in almost all walks of life. According to the latest survey, in Europe a child starts using the Internet when he/she reaches the age of six-and-a-half years and according to a recent estimate an Indian child starts using the Internet when he/she crosses the milestone of 10.
I would like to highlight the dismal condition of the students of Punjab University, Lahore. Even those who have got admission in Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees after paying a huge amount are not provided the facility of a good computer. I myself am a student of the business field in this university. The computer lab of my department has almost 70 computers.
Almost all the computers take about 15 minutes to show the desktop and unfortunately we are expected to do our assignments on such computers. You can imagine the speed of the Internet on such computers. This is the condition of the computer lab of the department which is counted as one of the most sophisticated departments of this university.
A year ago, the cabling process for the Internet was completed in the hostels but almost 10,000 students living in the hostels are still waiting for this facility.
Moreover, any student found with his own computer in any room of the hostel has to pay a fine. There is no Internet cafe in the university.
Around 10,000 students have to go outside the campus for completing their educational assignments which require an Internet search. There they are charged Rs30 an hour in a third class net cafe.
I hope the higher authorities will look into the matter.
SOHAIL CHAUDHRY
Lahore
You can also send letters to the Editor
Just send your message to the following address: letters@dawn.com
Make sure you include your full name, postal address, e-mail address, and in the case of Pakistan your day-time telephone number.