| December 18, 2005 | Sunday | Ziqa’ad 15, 1426 |
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Insecticide spraying
Education in Pakistan
Textile sector
KESC repair vans
ATMs security
Aid, not weapons
NICVD case
PTCL efficiency
Consumer finance
Oil prices
Civic mess
‘Don’t wait for the light’
FM stations in NWFP
LEADERS of the OIC at the Makkah moot have individually and collectively condemned terrorism and vowed to stamp it out from their countries. The message was the same from kings to dictators, calling for moderation, tolerance and rejection of extremist violence. But how terrorism can be stamped out is a sociological conundrum in the absence of any basis for the delivery of social justice, equal economic opportunities and political participation.
Muslim countries are suffering not only from a democracy deficit but also from excessive economic injustice, inequitable distribution of resources and exclusion of people from the political system at the grassroots’ level. The vast chunk of the masses still stands marginalized in mainstream political and economic activities. Most social scientists agree that terrorism is a symptom of the socio-economic and political malaise afflicting most Muslim societies.
The will to address these issues was absent from the OIC conference in Makkah. The lack of will to bring democratic reforms in most of the countries is serving as ground for ethnic and religious divisions and breeding terrorism and violence. Take the example of Pakistan, which itself is the main victim of terrorism and violence, due to the policies pursued by Gen Zia to perpetuate his role in the name of Islamization of society. This not only polarized society along ethnic and ‘biradari’ lines but also bred religious sectarianism.
Thus, today, our society stands divided with a big mass of the people excluded from the process of political and economic activity. The democratic reforms introduced by Gen Musharraf in the shape of city or district governments have failed to produce the desired results. Instead of creating a democratic and vibrant participatory system, the whole society has been feudalized, with concentration of power in a few hands. The poor still have no access to productive assets. No empowerment of the people is seen taking place. According to one opinion, the devolution is being used as a tool to legitimize the policies of the government instead of empowering the poor.
This is clear from the recently-held local body election in which powerful feudal lords such as the Jatois, Mahars, Chandios, Pirs, Unars and Syeds emerged victorious as district nazims with hefty budgets at hand. This very fact denies the tall claims of the government that devolution is designed to empower the vulnerable.
The military, political parties and civil society, though weak, are seen competing for political power. Many people accuse the army of grabbing political power to protect and further its own civil and corporate interests. According to a study, employment of the army in the civilian institution is seen as “military colonization of civilian institutions”. According to another study, interests of the army are not confined to civilian top jobs, but extend to industry and business as well in different sectors of the economy such as construction, security, mineral water, transportation, education, health, banking, airlines and defence production. And to protect these interests, the army needs political power.
If we are serious about defeating terrorism in Muslim countries, then we have to show the political will to democratize society, empower the people at the grassroots’ level and address their socio-economic needs with equal distribution of resources to create an egalitarian society which is the essence of an Islamic polity.
MANZOOR ALI ISRAN
Associate professor, International Relations Department,
Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur
THE Karachi city nazim has announced widespread spraying of insecticides in the city. That is dangerous when carried out indiscriminately, because there are over 100 insecticides, pesticides, fungicides, etc., known to science. The intelligent method is targeted spraying of the right area with the right insecticide for a predetermined duration.
Indiscriminate spraying of cotton crops by farmers at the behest of commercial companies has doomed Pakistan’s agricultural and biodiversity. The use of ineffective pesticides or of effective pesticides in concentrations below those recommended has resulted in resistance in pests.
Generalized spraying has also destroyed agricultural-friendly insects, beetles, butterflies and dozens of species of diptera that helped in pollination of crops. The result has been a fall in the yield all over the area.
All insects are not vectors, nor all must be destroyed. Hundreds of species of birds which, in the cumulative context, number billions, live by eating insects, their larva and pupa. When they consume dead insects, they die of poisoning that has the disastrous effect of an uncontrolled increase in harmful insects that, in turn, damage crops and reduce yield of grains, vegetables, cotton, sugarcane, pulses and other cash crops on which we depend.
The nazim must consult experts in pesticides and entomologists, and earmark areas where spraying is needed, and select the right insecticide, the period required for spray and the residual life of the insecticide after spray.
And never spray tops of trees where most insects live, lay their eggs, where larva grow and keep the progeny going. So is the case with butterflies that have different habitats at different levels in bushes and grasses. Many species of beetles are very helpful; they must not be destroyed. In ones zeal to outshine, one can do more damage than good.
DR A.A. QURAISHY
(Founder/president, Wildlife Conservation Society of Pakistan),
Karachi
THE standard of education in Pakistan has steadily declined in contrast to the rapid growth and mushrooming of private schools, colleges and universities. Government educational institutes have regressed in both quantity and quality.
The government, whether local, provincial or federal, has apparently abandoned the responsibility for providing or maintaining good and modern education.
The private sector has stepped in to fill the vacuum but its greed and profiteering (with a very few exceptions) has resulted in no appreciable improvement in the standard of education. Even very prestigious and expensive schools and colleges do not fulfil the need of the students. Students of these institutes still need private tuition.
There is no authority to monitor or inspect these institutes. The parents are helpless and spend large sums on the education of their children.
There should be an independent, autonomous body representing all interested groups to monitor these institutions and issue performance reports on individual facilities yearly, using established criteria and guidelines.
The performance of students in the board exams (such as O and A level results) from each facility should be published, along with comments and grading given by the monitoring body for review by parents. This will help parents in decision-making and encourage institutes to maintain quality.
M.A. FAZIL
Karachi
PAKISTAN being a major cotton producer is losing out to non-cotton-producing nations, for example, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, in the export of textiles. There are more than one factor contributing to this. First, countries like Bangladesh enjoys duty-free export of textiles to the EU and Canada. The duty structure on Pakistani textiles is more than 18 per cent, making Pakistani textiles goods uncompetitive.
Second, governments in countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are helping their textile manufacturers with 15 per cent rebate on textile exports. The rebate for Pakistani textile manufacturers is nominal.
Third, cheap labour is in high abundance and not having so many labour departments as in Pakistan helps in the smooth running of the textile industry. Labour laws in Pakistan need to be amended to induce investments from the private sector.
The newly-founded textile ministry should take notice of these developments and frame policies that would encourage textile exports of finished goods. If the state of affairs does not change, Pakistan will be an exporter of yarn and unfinished fabrics, thus robbing Pakistan of valuable income it could have otherwise earned due to value addition. Textiles are the backbone of our economy and it is time textile- friendly policies were introduced and implemented.
REHMAT ALI RAUF
Karachi
I WOULD like to draw the attention of the CEO of the new KESC management to the following incident. All of a sudden towards the evening of Dec 10 our electric supply started fluctuating, forcing me to switch off the entire supply.
At 7.47pm, I informed the Metroville complaint centre near the Super Highway about the problem. I was given complaint # 19. I also said my private electrician had checked the premises and informed me that the neutral phase had developed a fault which might cause a fire as a result of short-circuiting.
On urging the complaint centre about restoring the neutral phase, it expressed its helplessness as it possessed only one vehicle and that too had been sent to get diesel from a petrol pump located far away near the Shaheen Complex.
To improve efficiency there ought to be an adequate number of repair vehicles in every complaint centre and the supply of diesel should be arranged from nearby petrol pumps with proper safeguards.
GHOLAM HASNAIN
(Consumer No. LA-155963)
Karachi
AS reported on the Business pages of Dawn (Dec 6), the State Bank of Pakistan has developed detailed guidelines for account-holders using debit, credit or smart cards and advised them that after dark only ATMs that are well-lighted should be used.
Instead of advising ATM users, the State Bank as a regulating body should be ordering the banks concerned to ensure that the ATMs are well-lighted and positioned in such a way that the users have maximum safety protection. If the ATM provider banks cannot ensure adequate illumination, they should suspend ATM operations till such time the facility is safe for users.
If the situation is not corrected immediately, I am afraid we are heading for another “mobile phone snatching phenomenon” around the corner. With the ever-mushrooming joblessness, any new idea of making easy money quickly becomes addictive and attractive.
ARIF MAJEED
Karachi
MR ASLAM Minhas appears to have wrongly concluded (Dec 14) that the four (not three) Swedes, in their letter, “Aid, not weapons,” (Dec 12) had urged their government to convert the (cost of) export of AWACs to Pakistan into humanitarian aid.
That question could only have arisen if the weapons were due to be given as free military aid. However, it has not only been clear from earlier reports in our media that these would be paid for by us but is also obvious from that letter itself where the correspondents had unambiguously stated that “(it) will cost Pakistan 880 million euros ($1 billion).” They may have addressed their relevant minister only to increase Sweden’s assistance from the current 20 million euros.
Mr Minhas has further written: “Now that peace with India is on the cards and a solution to Kashmir is being sought through negotiations, why do we have to spend so much (on defence) needlessly?”
As would also be apparent from the “50 Years Ago Today” column of Dawn, Pakistan has been seeking a solution to the Kashmir issue through talks for the past 57 years but to no avail. While we must make all efforts to have peaceful and even friendly relations with India — something we already began with Mr Jinnah in 1947 — the ground reality should not be ignored.
India now has such good relations with China that they have conducted joint naval exercises recently. Given that and, if peace with Pakistan were really on its cards also, why is it acquiring huge amounts of weapons from every source? Most of it is offensive in nature but China would be beyond its range, which obviously leaves Pakistan as the only target since Bangladesh, Nepal or Sri Lanka pose no military challenge to New Delhi.
Furthermore, India’s practical steps to divert river waters away from Pakistan and Bangladesh are despicable acts showing its ill intentions, as also its reluctance to reverse the 1984 occupation of Siachen or resolve the Sir Creek dispute. Until some years have elapsed after our neighbour starts matching its words (including the many promises made about Kashmir since 1948) with its deeds, it would be foolish for us to lower our guard.
Sweden had joined Nato due to the threat posed by the former Soviet Union. In spite of the latter’s demise and the West’s subsequent greatly improved relations with Moscow, the western alliance remains intact and Stockholm continues to be its member.
The Swedes would have been even more sensitive towards their own defence needs if they had as aggressive a neighbour as India. It was not without justification that an American president (Nixon) had commented in 1971 on the Indians’ incomparable aggressiveness in the region.
M. MUSLIM
Karachi
A-17-YEAR-OLD patient, suffering from thalassaemia, almost died because of the negligence of two doctors working at the NICVD.
The teenager’s heart was punctured because of careless handling by the two. They were performing an operation to drain out some fluid that had accumulated around the patient’s heart. This simple procedure was turned into a nightmare for the patient’s parents who saw their child almost die before he was rescued by a cardiac surgeon.
The patient’s heart is scarred — literally. I hope the head of the NICVD and the health ministry will order an impartial inquiry into this case so that other can be saved from the ordeal we (the patient was my brother) have been through.
NEHA PERVEZ
Karachi
MY telephone # 631-5169 has been out of order since Dec 4. A complaint (# 121) was registered on the same day on 18. In spite of reminders to the officials concerned on phone # 6321244/6323838, no relief was provided to me. On Dec 13 my old complaint number was changed to 13 without any action on my complaint just to show that the old complaint stood cleared.
As yet my telephone remains out of order.
M. M. LATAFAT ALI
Karachi
TODAY, most people do not have a clear idea about consumer finance.
Therefore, those who tend to be potential customers of companies which provide consumer financing end up paying more interest than expected.
Hidden costs, unforeseen charges and other expenses ultimately lead to an unfavourable position for the consumer. People should have a crystal clear idea of what they are getting and should check all interest rates and rates of returns.
AHMED KHALID
Lahore
PRIME Minister Shaukat Aziz has ruled out reduction in petroleum prices, saying that these are still lower in Pakistan than in other countries of the region. He has further stated that the government is employing its resources to ensure that oil prices do not go beyond the reach of the average citizen.
How can the average citizen bear the price of Rs 56 a litre and for how long?
A.E. MOTIWALA
Karachi
IT is agonizing to observe damaged/dug-up roads with big potholes, unfinished bridges and accumulation of garbage and filth all over Karachi.
Take the road in front of the National Insurance Company building.
For the last three weeks or more, every car, bus or truck has to come to a halt to safely negotiate the two to three feet width of the road (towards Kala Pul) because of the digging going on there.
DHA Phase-1 residents are undergoing constant torture as the entire road network has been dug up for over a year-and-a-half for laying sewerage and water pipes.
North Ave, East Ave and the service road along the Korangi Road pose hazards for motorists.
Baloch Colony, the FTC and Nursery overhead bridges have been in use for several months/years after their ceremonial opening, but a cursory glance reveals that these structures have not been given finishing touches such as proper clearing of the debris around and a final paint job.
BAQA MUHAMMAD
Karachi
WHILE waiting at the traffic signal at the junction of Saba commercial avenue and Khayaban-i-Shamseer in Defence, Karachi, a police officer in a police mobile came from behind my vehicle and said: “If there is no traffic on the road, don’t wait for the light to turn green — just go through”.
Good advice I must say, especially since it comes from those who are supposed to respect the law.
ASAF MARUF ALI
Karachi
I WOULD like to draw the attention of the authorities concerned to the problem relating to FM radio stations in Bara, Khyber Agency.
Since the political administration has given a free hand to FM transmissions, the clerics of various hues and sects have started FM radio stations and have been giving vent to hatred in the name of Dars-i-Quran. They incite people against one another.
A sordid aspect of the episode is that the political administration does not take any action against the misuse of FM- radio stations.
I appeal to the NWFP governor to take serious steps against these transmissions, which have become a threat to the peace of the area.
ATTA REHMAN
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