| January 18, 2006 | Wednesday | Zilhaj 17, 1426 |
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Sale of cellphone SIMs
‘Not quite back to square one yet’
Why combined examinations?
Need for dams
‘Who is to blame’
School holidays
Mina tragedy
‘Ghazals perfected’
Lahore pitch
Lyari allotments
THERE can be no peace without justice and justice demands equality — if all the nations are equal, then nuclear deterrence is the right of all or none of the nations. Likewise, preventing nuclear proliferation should be the obligation of all nations, or none at all. If the West is eager to prevent nuclear weapons’ proliferation, it should lead by setting an example.
Peace and stability are more likely to prevail when all countries are brought on an footing by total nuclear disarmament: alternatively all nations have the right to use nuclear deterrence. Any other position is likely to result in instability, as certain nations will possess greater power with nuclear weapons and will be seeking to maintain the status quo; naturally they will act to prevent other nations from acquiring such weapons, which is bound to ignite conflict that can escalate into a full-scale war.
Iran is now being selectively targeted, even though at this stage it is only developing nuclear energy capabilities and not nuclear weapons. So when the US and its allies say Iran is a threat to international security, what they mean is: Iran is a threat to the US-led hegemony in the region, known as building democracy.
Some western commentators have argued that nuclear weapons are the right of the “civilized” world only. But it is the “civilized” world that has used such weapons against civilians. In Iraq the same “civilized” world has murdered thousands of Iraqi civilians, in the name of eradicating WMDs — enough blood to paint the entire White House red.
A section of the US people has no reservations about the mass-murder of civilians, while simultaneously it has the audacity to label others as terrorists, extremists, etc. In a recent street survey, some ordinary Americans were asked about using nuclear weapons. A vast majority of them were enthusiastic about it. One person said: “We should nuke them to hell like we did the Japanese.” A woman said she could not understand what was holding the US back from nuking Baghdad. So imagine what they are thinking.
There is not a single country in the world where the public would display such an irresponsible attitude towards using nuclear weapons. In any case, it is not the weapon that kills but that the hand that wields it; the hand in turn is controlled by the mind, which makes the decision to kill.
However, altering this criminal mindset, and to disarm its nuclear capabilities is not possible at this moment. That only leaves one other alternative for peace and security: that is for everyone to arm themselves with nuclear weapons.
Facing threats from a militant West, the need to acquire nuclear deterrence is essential to maintain sovereignty and security. The first step is to withdraw from the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) by citing Israel, which has not signed the treaty.
A nuclear Iran would bring about stability in the region as it would balance the other regional power (Israel) with nuclear weapons and an expansionist agenda to build a greater Israel; also, it would deter the US from further aggression.
Iraq and Palestine clearly illustrate the need for the Muslim world and others to arm themselves with nuclear weapons to deter marauding capitalist nations from waging colonial wars on behalf of large corporations.
YAMIN ZAKARIA
London, UK
THE mushroom growth and use of cellular phones by people with false identity has now become a security risk for the country as well as a challenge for law-enforcement agencies.
There are uncounted pre-paid cellphone connections sold in the market, the data of which has not been properly maintained either by cellphone companies or their appointed dealers.
This has become a security risk, as the law-enforcement agencies cannot apprehend the actual culprits due to wrong feeding of information in the computers of cellular phone companies.
Cellular phone companies and their franchisees are only interested in selling SIM cards by hook or by crook, in order to increase the volume of sales. The SIM cards are either sold directly by the flagship stores of cellular phone companies or through their appointed agents and neither of them is maintaining correct records.
One can easily purchase an SIM card of any cellular phone company from a provision store or a paan shop, where the person at the sales counter does not ask the customer to fill in a proper application form and just hands over the SIM card to the purchaser by taking a photocopy of the identity card.
The record of SIM card purchasers in most cases are wrongly stored, as provision stores and paan shops do not keep a proper record as to which particular cellphone number has been sold to whom. It is then stored in the computers of the dealers and then it is passed on by the latter to the cellular phone companies.
The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority has issued licences to several cellular phone companies, but the PTA has not devised any proper code of conduct as to who should be held responsible for storing the wrong data of SIM card holders in cellular phone company records.
The relevant quarters should immediately look into the matter and advise cellular phone companies to ask their dealers or franchise holders to withdraw all SIM cards from provision stores and paan shops.
The maintaining of proper records and addresses of SIM card holders, along with their correct identity card numbers, should be the sole responsibility of the cellular phone companies.
SYED A. MATEEN
Karachi
THIS is in response to Mr Kuldip Nayar’s article “Not quite back to square one yet” (Jan 14).
The writer has criticized “Musharraf’s defence that he had no option except to go public when India had not reacted to his proposals” on Kashmir and even his invitation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to watch cricket as this “does not befit a head of state”.
Kashmiris have been deprived of their right to self-determination since the inception of India and Pakistan. When will India become more serious on this more than half-a-century-old issue and start avoiding a solution by saying “the president has been in politics long enough to know what he should say in public”? Is it not a opportune time and will prove another CBM if the Indian premier watched in a cricket match in Pakistan? After all, Dr Manmohan Singh himself says: “When two leaders sit together, they just don’t talk about the weather”.
India even concedes that the number of infiltrators has gone down but claims “that an intermittent flow has not stopped”. Also: “It is difficult to imagine Musharraf’s helplessness knowing well how disciplined Pakistani forces are and how tight is his control over the men and the corps commanders. He himself said in his interview that he would throw out anyone from the army who disobeyed him. Then how can infiltration take place without the army’s connivance?” About 700,000 Indian troops are deployed in Kashmir. If Gen Musharraf is unable to control infiltration, why is Indian Army is unsuccessful in doing so?
It is time India realized the sensitivity and gravity of Kashmir. Instead of blaming “cross-border terrorism” and justifying state terrorism, it must demonstrate sincerity and willingness to resolve the problem.
DR FARIHA IFTIKHAR
Multan Cantt
A FEW weeks ago, the federal minister for education announced his decision to introduce the combined examination system in Sindh for SSC and HSC levels. Since then, a lot of discussion has been taking place on the proposed examination system. Educational experts, scholars, teachers and students have given their opinion on the subject.
The decision has been criticized at all levels. A majority of students as well as of teachers in Sindh are against the proposed system because it will put a huge psychological pressure on students. That’s why the Sindh chief minister has also postponed implementation of the decision till 2007.
For the past many years in Sindh, especially in Karachi, the result of the SSC part-I examinations has not been good one. The number of students who on average clear all the five papers of SSC part-I examinations has been decreasing year after year, which shows that students cannot bear even the burden of five papers at one time. How will they clear 10 papers of part-I and part-II in one go? Moreover the combined examination system will also encourage private tuition culture.
Currently, there is only one province, i.e., Punjab, which has adopted the combined examination system for the SSC and the HSSC while the remaining three provinces deal with these examinations separately. It seems that the centre is set to introduce Punjab’s system in Sindh also which will leave a negative effect on Sindh’s literacy rate.
I suggest that the federal government instead of adopting the combined examination system in Sindh, should introduce separate SSC and HSC examinations also in Punjab.
IMRAN KHAN SIAL
Karachi
THIS is with reference to Mr Irfan Nawaz Memon’s letter (Jan 16) where he highlighted the problem of reduction in the country’s water storage capacity. The only practicable solution is the creation of more reservoirs in all the four provinces wherever feasible. Sindh can advocate a water reservoir and headworks at Sehwan to irrigate more land. Dams could be constructed in the Kirthar Range and Gaj River in the province as well.
Water conservation programmes and lining of canals could be an additional measure to increase water availability but these cannot replace the need for additional storage capacity. There should be no opposition to any such projects including the Kalabagh dam which increase our water storage capacity and augment hydel power generation since both are for Pakistan’s economic development.
QASIM IQBAL KHAN
Lahore
ONE cannot agree with some of the assertions made by Brig (retd) A. R. Siddiqi while reviewing the book Roots of 1971 Tragedy by Brig (retd) Asif Haroon (Books & Authors, Dec 11, 2005).
The first one is his estimate about the number of Muslims living in India, which he has put at over 150 million. Actually, an attempt is apparently being made to play down the importance of Pakistan as the country embodying South Asia’s “Two-nation theory” and being the second most populous Muslim country in the world and raising India’s value due to its allegedly second-largest global concentration of adherents of Islam. Some Indian writers and correspondents had suddenly started doing this a few years back by showing the Indian Muslim population to be larger than ours. However, the American CIA had put this figure at nearly 125 million about a year ago.
Indian columnist Kuldip Nayar and a few others have been sticking to similar estimates. Unfortunately, some Pakistanis have fallen for this subtle Indian game and one correspondent, in a letter to Dawn, had even put this number at 200 million last year, thereby leaving Indonesia also behind where 180 million or so of its 200 million inhabitants are Muslims.
In another statement, Mr Siddiqi has disagreed with the author’s observation that “East Pakistan grew up as a misled nation easily swayed by Hindu brainwashing”. Those who have lived in the former eastern province, including this correspondent, noted the influence the 10 per cent or so affluent Hindu population of East Pakistan, particularly the educationists, had over Bengali Muslims.
However, this is not to say that they had become largely Hinduized or to deny the injustices meted out to our former compatriots by the West Pakistani ruling elite, bureaucrats, businessmen and, in the end, the army, which also had a major role in alienating them.
Nevertheless, one must call a spade a spade. The story of Mr M. Zainul Abedin, who was a former member of the Mukti Bahini guerilla group and had been trained by the Indian army to fight against the Pakistani forces in East Pakistan, is an eye-opener. He had become disillusioned after seeing the systematic loot and plunder by the Indian soldiers after the Pakistani troops’ surrender which, he says he has reasons to believe, had the Indian high command’s blessings.
After that, he also found evidence pointing to the Indian intelligence agency RAW’s involvement, first in creating Bangldesh and, second, in trying to get an iron grip over it afterwards. As a result, he took it upon himself to inform his nation of its machinations and try to fight it despite the danger to his life in doing so. That he is not alone in having such feelings against India is evident from the way most of our Bangladeshi brethren have been supporting the Pakistani cricket team in matches against India by hoisting Pakistani flags.
In his book RAW and Bangladesh, detailing his experiences of 1971 and India’s role, he has also mentioned a Bengali Muslim mentor and benefactor of his. He says that after he had proudly told the gentleman about his group’s success in repelling the Pakistan Army’s attack on his city of Noakhali, the latter gave him some unexpected counsel.
The gist was that the Hindus’ prejudice and enmity towards the Muslims were the factors responsible for the partition of the subcontinent, of which he gave examples that had led Mr Jinnah to work for the creation of Pakistan. He said it was one thing to struggle for the Bengalis’ rights, which he fully supported, but quite another to break up Pakistan, which he considered to be a sin.
Finally, Brig Siddiqi appears to find nothing wrong in the adoption of certain Hindu festivals and customs by us, such as the celebration of Basant that takes many lives every year or the wearing of “bindia” by some Pakistani women. That is very disconcerting. At least I feel disturbed when some local kids greet people by saying “namaste” instead of “As-Salaamu Alaikum,” or display Bollywood mannerisms. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) had warned that we become like those people whose ways we adopt.
HAFEEZULLAH M
Karachi
MANY parents fail to understand the logic of the Sindh and Karachi city governments in keeping schools closed. The nazim orders the closure of schools, first to watch a cricket match and then to celebrate it. The winter vacation — which was to run from Dec. 24, 2005 to Jan 1, 2006 — was unnecessarily extended to Jan 7. Schools opened on Jan. 9 and again closed for three days because of the Eid holidays.
Next comes the decision shift the school year so that now it will start from August 16. This has now been followed by a decision to have exams (for the preceding year) in April and set aside May for preparing the results. This means that the summer vacations will be for two and a half months at least.
It seems that the school calendar, timetable, completion of the prescribed course, minimum teaching hours/year, etc., are of no meaning to the ministry of education.
SHENAZ JAMEEL
Karachi
DURING the Haj somebody did something while stoning the Satan that triggered a stampede killing 410 Hajis, including about 46 Pakistanis. Such accidents keep on occurring each year during the Haj. There must be some reason behind it.
There could be lack of planning and preparations as regards fool-proof security and safety measures; carelessness on the part of police and other security staff, and lack of pre-Haj training, instructions and arrangements. Or failure to instruct through direct lectures, special Haj pamphlets and mass media each Haji not to react to any rumour or a false alarm.
It is suggested that there should be separate wide approaches/roads for each Satan and return routes should also be separate, turning backwards from beyond each Satan, that don’t join with the approaching routes.
SARDAR M. BASHIR KHAN
Rawalpindi
I LIKED Mr Ayaz Amir’s column “The ghazals perfected”. It should be noted that while every anthology of Mehdi Hasan is worth its weight in gold, none contains a gem like “Aagay barhey na qissa-i-ishq-i-butaan se hum” by Altaf Hussain Hali. I wonder what the reason could be to exclude this particular ghazal from Mehdi Sahib’s anthologies. I have yet to find any mention of it even on the Internet, let alone music stores in India.
PALLAV MISHRA
Delhi
THERE was much talk about bouncy pitches before the series had begun but in the first Test at Lahore the pitch turned out to be the most benign piece of land in the world.
The Pakistan team was on
a high after beating England but this time the Lahore pitch has spoilt the party for Pakistan.
The fact is that even a 15-day Test match would not have produced a result on this placid pitch.
The Test was a five T-day long funeral for bowlers as they were smashed all over the field. It seemed as if the pitch was in a coma and no matter how hard one would try, it would not respond. There were no bounce and no grass on it. It was not suitable even for a one-day match.
Former West Indian bowling great Michael Holding said he would have hated to bowl on this pitch. Indian coach Greg Chappell said he was reminded of the Faisalabad pitch where he had scored 235 and one which prompted Dennis Lillee to call it a graveyard for fast bowlers.
NIZAMUDDIN DEHLIVI
Jaranwala
AS a cricket fan living abroad, I was disappointed to see the state of the pitch in the first Test at Lahore. What has happened in Lahore should be a cause of much embarrassment for all of us.
There was great interest in the series all over the cricketing world but now it appears that Pakistanis have emerged as cowards who only prepare flat wickets.
I hope that some sense will prevail and the PCB will ensure that more sporting pitches are prepared.
HAMMAD CHEEMA
Clayton Vic Australia
WE would like to draw the attention of the authorities concerned to malpractices in the Lyari Development Authority. We received allotment letters for our plots five years ago, each for a plot measuring 120 square yards in Sector 12 of Hawke’s Bay Scheme 42. Despite that we have not been able to gain possession and even after all the payment has been made.
We have approached the authority many times but each time we are told that we will get possession “after six months”. When will these “six months” be over? The booking of the project started in 1990.
SEVERAL ALLOTTEES
Karachi
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