| January 17, 2006 | Tuesday | Zilhaj 16, 1426 |
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Kalabagh dam
School sessions in Sindh
Wedding meals
PIA & Sindhi biryani
Balochistan crisis
‘Call out the fire brigade’
FIR contents
Remembering Kerry Packer
Where are those institutions?
MEMBERS of the nuclear club have condemned Iran on the removal of seals from its nuclear research facilities, which has paved the way for the resumption of sensitive nuclear work after a two-year suspension, despite warnings from the West of possible UN sanctions.
The US government in a press statement has said Tehran has shown “disdain for international concern” over its atomic programme by removing seals from the Natanz nuclear research plant, while Russia has said it would like to pursue Tehran through talks to halt the process of nuclear research and will ensure that Tehran should refrain from enriching uranium.
Deputy head of the Atomic energy organization of Iran Mohammad Saeedi has told reporters during a press conference that some of the seals that were in the field of only research facilities were authorized to be removed in the presence of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors and production of nuclear fuel will remain suspended.
Atomic powers of the world do not want that other countries should also join the nuclear club. There is no doubt that the West does not trust Iran, Syria, Yemen and the likes, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon. The West only wants one state to be strong enough on this planet to take action against Muslim countries and that is Israel. When the time comes, the western countries will count on Israel to drop an atom bomb on a particular Muslim state and it could also be Iran.
The mandate of the members of the nuclear club is safety, security, and survival of their own people. The US, Britain, France and Germany fear that if Iran will become a nuclear state, it may attack and wipe out Israel from the world map. If western countries think that Iran should not continue its research work for enriching uranium in future, US President George W. Bush should fly to Iran and meet Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or invite him at White House and listen to his grievances against Israel.
It is unfortunate that big powers of the world could not solve the long awaited political differences between the countries and their undue favouritism towards Israel have forced the present Iranian regime to resume its nuclear research work in Natanz nuclear research plant.
Time has come for the West to demonstrate its willingness to resolve differences between the countries within a specified period of time, e.g., issues between Palestine and Israel, India and Pakistan, as any more lip service which is going on since 1947 to the affected countries will not serve any purpose.
If the West wants Iran to suspend its nuclear programme, then it should also ask IAEA inspectors to visit Israel and see how many atom bombs Israel can drop on the Muslim countries? If a Muslim state like Iran with its nuclear capability can be dangerous either for the western countries or for Israel itself, then Israel as a nuclear state is also dangerous for Iran as well as for other Muslim countries in the world.
The possibility that the West wants to see Iran as a non-nuclear state is very rare, unless the West asks IAEA inspectors to dismantle the nuclear capability of Israel and make the entire region a nuclear-free zone.
SYED A. MATEEN
Karachi
THE “frenzy and fever of KBD” as said by Mr Ayaz Amir in his column “A fever called Kalabagh dam” (Dec 9, 2005) has gripped the top brass of our rulers, and this time they seem unwisely determined to go ahead with it, come what may. It is tragic that our rulers do not believe in national consensus; such decisions have damaged the already fragile veil of national unity.
This was the case when one unit was created in 1958 against the wishes of the majority of Pakistanis. The formation of one unit sowed the seeds of mistrust and misgivings amongst the federating units, especially in the minds of the people of East Pakistan. The damage was colossal which finally resulted in the dismemberment of Pakistan in 1971.
The decision to support Afghan jihad during the Zia years” gave the nation the gift of Kalashnikovs and heroin and ethnic polarization” whose consequences we have not yet outlived.
At a time when the nation has displayed a rare show of national unity fostered by the earthquake, President Gen Musharraf’s decision to raise the most controversial issue of constructing the KBD seems to be miscalculated and mistimed. Gen Musharraf has offered all kinds of constitutional guarantees to the people of smaller provinces on the KBD during his visit to Sindh.
How can people be expected to believe him when he himself has defaulted so many times on his promises? He held an allegedly rigged referendum under official patronage against the provision of the Constitution and declared himself president for five years. He promised that he would take off his uniform before Dec 31, 2004. People have become cynics and sceptical about the promises and policies perused by our rulers.
Conspiracy theorist believe that the bogey of Kalabagh has been raised as a political stunt to win hearts and minds of the people of Punjab for the coming 2007 election. But intellectuals and common people from Punjab are opposed to the construction of the KBD in the absence of national consensus.
Mr Ayaz Amir, in his column “Whither, once again, beloved Punjab”(Dec 23, 2005) has addressed the people of Punjab and asked them to raise their voice against anything that goes against the very grain of national unity and integrity of the country.
Instead of using the language of threats that Punjab won’t let any ruler to rule the country if the KBD is not constructed, we should use the language of peace and harmony to cultivate an atmosphere of peace and amity.
Dams should be constructed in the light of the recommendations made in the report headed by A.N.G. Abbasi — according to which Skardu and Katzara are the most suitable sites for the construction of dams — in order to cultivate, strengthen and preserve national unity.
MANZOOR ALI ISRAN
Khairpur, Sindh
THIS has reference to the Sindh education department’s decision to start the academic session of school-goers from Aug 16 (by extending summer holidays up to Aug 15) as reported (Dawn Jan 5). The steering committee at its meeting on Jan 4, presided over by the secretary, education and literacy department, Government of Sindh, has further decided that theory examinations of the SSC will start from March 1.
Annual examinations up to Class VIII will be held in April and compilation of results and process of new admissions will be finalized in May. Whereas summer vacations will start on June 1 and will end on Aug 15.
This schedule of examinations, results, admissions and summer vacation will last more than five months, This will hurt our education system as the teaching and learning process will practically end on Feb 28 in high schools owing to the start of theory examinations of matriculation on March 1. Approximately 50 per cent high schools are made centres for examinations and many teachers are deputed for invigilation duties from the remaining 50 per cent schools which are not made centres.
Further, examinations of Classes I to VIII (now Class IX as well) will be conducted in April as per the decision of the steering committee. It means regular classes of primary and middle schools will remain suspended in April due to annual examinations.
There will be vacuum for about six months for re-gular classes in schools. We cannot bear such a big loss of regular classes when we are already lagging behind, compared to other provinces, in education.
I request the authorities concerned, particularly the steering committee of the Sindh education and literacy department, to reconsider its decision. I would suggest that examinations of primary and middle classes, including Class IX, may be held in May instead of April. Similarly, matriculation examinations can be held in April instead of March.
Practical examinations of matriculation should be taken as soon as theory examinations are over. In this way we can easily save one month more for our regular class activities in schools. It will help us to complete the course in time and improve the standard of education.
AMIR BUX BHATTI
Nawabshah
ACCORDING to a news report, the chief justice of Pakistan, while taking suo motu action against defaulters, has instructed the authorities concerned to register cases against violators of the ban on serving food at weddings in all the provinces and issued warrants of arrest for a relative of a federal minister and initiated contempt of court proceedings against the NWFP law minister and his brother.
All provincial chief secretaries have also been instructed to ensure the implementation of the ban on wedding meals, besides being warned that in the event of any violation the secretaries themselves would be held in contempt. They have also been instructed to issue a final warning to owners of restaurants, hotels, marriage halls and clubs to abide by the law and the court’s ban on wedding meals.
The suo motu action by the apex court suggests the failure of the federal and the provincial administrative machinery to have the law implemented. Who does not know the law is being violated with impunity by every section of society in connivance with those responsible for ensuring implementation of the law.
The police in particular and the self-purported people belonging to different agencies are not lagging behind in minting money from the middle and the lower middle class to serve their vested interest in the absence of clear instructions on the subject signifying the department responsible to have the law implemented effectively.
May I request the chief justice to depute someone and see how the law is being violated at the KDA club lawns on Kashmir Road, and a host of wedding lawns at the main Sharea Faisal and other places? The result would clearly establish the fact how scrupulous we are in adhering to the laws having direct bearing on the social well-being.
EHSAN-UL-HAQ
Karachi
SINDHI biryani is a delicious rice dish, which is equally popular among people residing in various other parts of the country.
Some time back, PIA had published a book entitled Pakistani Recipes in which, among others, a recipe of Sindhi biryani was given. However, PIA’s tours promotion section has recently reproduced the book but this time the cooking details of the dish have been omitted whereas the name of the dish is merely mentioned in the list, which is given in the beginning of the book under the heading “Contents”.
I suggest to the PIA management that the cooking details that have been left out should be included in the book for the interest of its readers.
A FREQUENT TRAVELLER
Karachi
IT does not behove the army of an independent sovereign state to resort to armed conflict with its own people whom it is supposed to defend. The army’s resort to force beyond the minimum required against the people of Balochistan must not be approved.
It is not the job of an army to establish its writ on its own people, for that discretionary power rests only with the legitimate elected civil regime. Yahya Khan and his military generals in their wisdom had chosen to side with the minority non-Bengali settlers, thereby invoking an armed uprising, which no army in the world can suppress.
The people of Balochistan have been denied their due share of development funds, while the province’s natural resources are being used by the whole federation. The regime has earmarked billions of rupees for mega projects in urban Sindh.
Similar development projects have been undertaken by provincial governments in Punjab and the NWFP. The people of Balochistan very rightly do not consider the Gwadar project as bringing relief to local residents. This project has fallen victim to the land mafia that has bled this nation like a cancer.
Most of the land was purchased on insider information by the civil and khaki bureaucracy. Had this land been allowed to be retained by the original owners, this project would have been welcomed in Balochistan and perhaps made the people feel satisfied. It is time that sanity prevail among our decision-makers in Islamabad.
A government that respects the wishes of its people is a strong regime and not vice-versa. All institutions of the state must be there to serve the people of Pakistan, who alone should be masters of their destiny. Pakistan’s survival and strength lie in restoration of true democracy and a government elected by people in free and fair elections.
S.MALLICK
Lahore
THIS is with reference to Mr M.T. Ali’s letter (Jan 9) alleging that the people of a “major urban centre of another province” — clearly referring to Karachi — have obtained employment in semi-autonomous corporations “on the fake domicile of Balochistan”. If Mr. Ali has concrete evidence, he should publish it. Such allegations create hatred among various sections of society and must be avoided.
GHULAM MUHAMMAD
Karachi
THIS is with reference to Mr Ardeshir Cowasjee’s column “Call out the fire brigade” (Jan 8). One must admire his courage in discussing matters of public and national interest so openly.
What transpired among an anonymous writer of Pakistani origin, the General Medical Council (GMC) of the UK (of which I have been a member) and the PMDC is something which has been common knowledge in the medical community in Pakistan for the past few decades. There was a time when most graduates from Pakistan would get GMC membership without any hitch.
However, in the last 20 years or so the GMC, realizing the falling standards of medical education, made it mandatory for all Pakistani graduates to sit in UK validation examinations before they would let their public be exposed to such graduates.
This happened at a time when “private” medical institutions did not exist, thus it is not correct to put the entire blame of falling standards on private medical colleges. The rot had set in much earlier when the institutions were turned into epicentres of political activity with withering away of academia.
This, combined with the general decay in the moral fabric of society, enhanced the pace of deterioration which now is at its lowest. Having said that, there still exist a sizeable number of good medical practitioners who are delivering quality service.
My concern at present is not so much whether the GMC is satisfied about Pakistani standards. It is more the plight of the public at large in Pakistan which is at the mercy of this decay. Someone needs to do something about it and build prestigious institutions which can maintain standards.
As for the future training in the UK, I am given to understand that the future is not very bright. In the evolving new system, there would hardly be any place in the residency programmes for foreign graduates. Thus, few would qualify to sit examinations like MRCP, FRCS and others.
This is quite a radical change from the olden days when the UK needed graduates to run their National Health Service and foreign doctors were employed because such need existed. The doctors at that time were paid very poorly but were well compensated by the good training they received during their stay. However, the times have changed and now we have to train our own postgraduates locally.
PROF HASAN AZIZ
Karachi
I WAS robbed on Jan 6 at 8.45 pm in Lahore’s Wahdat Colony. Two armed strangers stopped me and robbed me of my motorcycle (No.LZD 4127), a cellphone and Rs15,000.
When I reported to the police, they did not mention my cellphone and cash in the FIR (No. 9/05, serial No. 237111), saying such things are not recoverable.
ZAHID HUSSAIN
Lahore
KERRY Packer emerged on the scene of world cricket in 1977. Like the shrewd business tycoon that he was, Mr Packer lured away the best of the cricketers from all the major cricket playing countries except India.
Then he not only introduced coloured clothing for cricketers but was also a pioneer in starting day and night one-day cricket matches. If on the one hand he made lucrative offers to the cricketers, on the other hand he played a great role in breaking away from traditional cricket, thus popularizing one-day cricket matches at a faster rate.
The Packer Cricket Series also came up with some novel ideas and he did not restrict cricket to a game of only sports. Off the field he arranged several competitions amongst cricketers which evoked a great interest in the heart of the game’s fans.
For instance, Majid Khan won the competition of throwing a cricket ball to the farthest corner of the ground. As a result of his long duel with the Australian authorities, in 1979 Mr Packer eventually won the legal battle and thus his famous sports Channel 9 was given sole rights to telecast cricket in Australia.
The big question is whether Kerry Packer served the game of cricket or not? In fact he was the first person who paid unprecedented amounts of money to cricketers and treated them as professionals. However, his concepts of night cricket and coloured uniforms brought about commercialization of cricket, changing it from a gentleman’s game to the game of gamblers.
RAFAT MAHMOOD ANSARI
Islamabad
MY father spent more than three decades building the armed forces. He spent the first nine years of his professional life at the PAF Public School, Lower Topa, Murree, and the remaining 22 in the PAF Public School, Sargodha. The latter was later converted into PAF College, Sargodha.
It is not an easy task to be a teacher at a public school. It requires a lot of time, sacrifices, effort and a lot of patience to handle the young cadets. He considered it to be his responsibility to ensure that they become good citizens of this country.
People like him maintained the standards of our public schools, yet this breed of teachers is very rare now and, as a result, institutions too are deteriorating. People now do not send their children to institutions like the afore-mentioned or even places like Burn Hall School, Abbottabad, Aitchison College in Lahore and Ghora Gali College, Murree, which is a saddening trend.
We need to re-build these institutions. But before we do this, we must find that breed of teachers who can literally dedicate their lives to the cause of rebuilding such institutions and whose only priority is to do something for the cause of education.
SYED NEHAL ALVI
Karachi
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