| February 25, 2006 | Saturday | Muharram 26, 1427 |
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Threat of bird flu
Cricket associations
Time-tested friendship
Cartoon controversy
Zakat deduction
Import of meat meal
New NFC award formula
Low-income group accounts
Proclamation
Damaged road
Freedom of speech
Information about flights
Mobile phone thefts
CNG demand
No difference
Sugar price
THIS has reference to Shahid Javed Burki’s article “Safta needs a patron” (Feb 21) and your editorial “Cooperation with China” (Feb 22). Both are interesting, timely and thought-provoking and relate to the future of Saarc.
Safta would have been implemented by Jan 1 as agreed at the 13th summit of Saarc held on Nov 12 and 13, 2005 at Dhaka, Bangladesh. Unfortunately that has not yet happened due to obvious reasons. Safta implies freer trade and avoidance of frequent use of different customs duties. In the short run, smaller economies like Pakistan may have some problems but in the longer run, having faced stiff competition from cheaper Chinese and Indian products, these economies would be more competitive.
Afghanistan has become the eighth permanent member of Saarc whereas China and Japan have been given the status of observer members. Now, the inclusion of China (and Japan) has far-reaching implications for the region, especially Pakistan: It will further strengthen Pakistan-China friendship.
By bringing the two bigger economies of India and China closer, it will contain rising American influence in the region.
Indian hegemony will be contained in the presence of economic powers like China and Japan.
It will give Saarc greater economic orientation to offset political disputes and considerations.
After the association of China the Saarc region has a population of more than 2.5 billion, i.e., more than one-third of the world’s population. Human resources are regarded as an important economic asset.
The region has all types of natural resources — mostly untapped and underutilized. The gainful employment of human and other resources is important for economic growth and development.
In order to make Saarc more proactive, there should be at least two summit meetings of Saarc in a year. It is indeed strange that in the 20-year dd history of Saarc there have been only 13 meetings. Decisions taken at one meeting could not be enforced and implemented because of the absence of follow-up meetings.
There is a need to resolve conflicts. In this regard the role of India is crucial. India has disputes with all its neighbours. So the Indian leadership should realize the importance of conflict resolution and work for it.
Regionalism is a worldwide phenomenon. The EU, Asean, Nafta and AL are successful examples. These regional organizations are doing well for their respective regions. There is thus a lesson for the Saarc countries.
ZAHOOR HUSSAIN
Lahore
THE reports of bird flu in India warrant precautionary steps on the part of our government. People here know very little about the avian influenza (AI), is a respiratory disease caused by a virus that can infect all species of birds.
These influenza viruses occur naturally among birds. Wild birds worldwide carry the viruses, but usually do not get sick from them. Bird flu is very contagious among domestic poultry — chickens, turkeys and ducks — and can sometimes result in serious illness. For more than a century, bird flu has circulated among birds, particularly domesticated fowl, but recent attention has been called to avian influenza since some strains infected humans.
Several cases of human infection from bird flu viruses have occurred since 1997. It is noteworthy that only a few subtypes of influenza viruses cause the flu in humans, though there are at least 15 subtypes of avian influenza. The disease is highly infectious in birds but does not, so far, spread easily between humans. However it is feared that it could soon mutate into a form that can.
Bird flu is especially dangerous because our immune systems don’t have any antibodies to handle something that used to be found in animals. It settles in the lungs, and effectively resists anti-viral and anti-bacterial medication. People working with fowl, swimming in infected rivers, playing in an area where carcasses are buried, or breathing air near a poultry processing plant are susceplible to infection.
Health experts advise that to minimize risks of catching infection, direct contact with poultry should be avoided. Furthermore, as fat cells of the virus are destroyed with soap, hands should be washed with soap. Meat and eggs should be cooked at above 70 degrees centigrade to destroy the virus.
H. ABDUL MAJED BALOCH
Quetta
THE other day I met Mr Cheetan Chauhan, an ex-Indian Test cricketer and at present vice-president of the Delhi Cricket Association. He has been twice elected member of the Indian parliament. During discussion, he told me that the Indian cricket board had 29 affiliated units (associations representing various cities). These associations are elected bodies which then elect the president and secretary of the BCCI. The entire TV sponsorship money received by the Indian board is distributed equally amongst the affiliated units. This means that every cricket association in India is earning about Rs50 million annually.
I must congratulate the Indian cricket board for this judicial distribution of income. Under the agreed rules, all Tests and one-dayers are organized by the local associations and earnings are shared with the board.
One feels disgusted to note that the Pakistan Cricket Board is being run like Pakistan on ad-hocism and for five years there has been no constitution nor elections and accountability.
Poor associations here are not even recognized and their office-bearers just look like nonentities. Their teams are selected by outsiders; company Bahadur sends its own selectors to form teams of various associations. When there is no income, how can they organize local cricket and produce new blood for the national team?
I understand that the PCB has cash reserves of over Rs2 billion while poor associations are thirsting for money to keep in existence.
IQBAL UMAR
Karachi
SINCE its inception Pakistan been following balanced foreign policies with its immediate neighbours with the exception of India and that too for historical reasons. This policy has seen some ups and downs following the shift in international politics but, on the whole, Pakistan desires friendly relations based on mutual respect and cooperation with neighbours.
Our relations with China have been of great significance and are strengthening. The two countries are celebrating 55 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year. If China is an emerging economic giant, then Pakistan is also on the road to progress and falls in one of the most important geographical locations which brings the two countries closer.
Sino-Pakistan the friendship also serves the cause of peace and stability in the region which makes it more important to reinforce strategic relations. President Musharraf’s visit to China specially before the visit of US President George Bush to Pakistan speaks volumes for its importance.
It is heartening to note that China accepts Pakistans explanation the murder of Chinese engineers as a terrorist act carried out to mar relations between the two countries. There is need to foster these relations and to take them to new heights. Pakistan should seek Chinese expertise to gain economic strength and remove the bottlenecks in the way of foreign investment.
The fate of two countries is interlinked, so one hopes that the two will move ahead in keeping with the emerging global and regional politics and challenges.
SOULAT NAZIR KHOKHAR
Rawalpindi
THE current agitation on the streets is understandable and is justified. The cartoon controversy has given a fresh soul to the Ummah to seek ways and means to get united.
However, the darker side of protest and agitation is the disruption of daily life in all major cities of Pakistan. And more rallies and strikes are in the pipeline.
Perhaps as a nation we dont care how we have ruined our by holding rallies and strikes. The recent closures of educational institutions in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and the NWEF add to the deprivation. Economically weak, scientifically backward, intellectually ineffective, the Muslim world has not at the present time made any contribution to the advancement of the world.
On top of that, rallies and demonstrations are always held in downtown areas, causing great difficulty to the people living or working in those areas. Karachi’s M.A. Jinnah Road is an example. Left and right of the road, there are a number of schools and hospitals. Access to these places is impossible due to the blockage created by political and religious processions passing through the from Numaish to Tower. And when traffic is stuck, fuel worth millions of rupees is burnt for nothing, adding pollution to the air.
I wonder if we will ever get civilized and learn to respect the rights of others.
SYED ASAD HUSSAIN
Islamabad
I AM surprised to note that the system of compulsory deduction of zakat by banks and financial institutions introduced in the 1980s is still in existence though all religious groups (including Muslims and nonMuslims) have been exempted for this payment. In this connection they are required to submit an affidavit on stamp paper duly attested by an oath commissioner at the time of opening the accounts in the banks and investing in savings schemes introduced by the government.
Separate exemption certificates are demanded for the head of the family, wife and dependant sons and daughters. Mostly the victims in this system are innocent persons who are generally illiterate, especially those living abroad, and have invested their savings in financial institutions in Pakistan.
I will request the ministries of finance and Haj and religious affairs to withdraw this system (involving unnecessary paper work) with immediate effect. There is no doubt that all Muslims know their responsibilities for the payment of zakat on a voluntary basis in accordance with the principles laid down in Islam.
S.S.H.ZAIDI
Karachi
THIS is with reference to the letters from Mr Saeed Hafeez and Dr M.S. Jaffery (Feb 12) regarding the import of meat meal from some so-called mad cow-infected countries. Both these correspondents seem to be unaware of the latest developments regarding the use of cattle meat and associated products and by-products.
Maybe there are some cases where this product has been used as feed ingredient, but there is no established evidence. According to the latest EU regulations, use of processed animal products as fertilizer and feed ingredients is allowed. Here, I am not contesting its use as a feed ingredient. My experience is that the use of organic fertilizer drawn from animal sources is growing worldwide and it has given excellent results because it is cheaper, environment-friendly and, most importantly, it reduces overheads of the farmers.
We have used this organic fertilizer for soil fertility of over 400 acres and the results have been excellent. There is need for regulating the use of this product and it is unwise to demand a ban on its imports.
It is astonishing to note that a doctor should not be aware of the fact that all this organic fertilizer is only manufactured from residues of animal found to be fit for human consumption, generally called category three materials. Processing takes place under stringent monitoring. Dead animals are disposed of by burning and are not used as meat meal.
What about regular export of animals and cattle meat from BSE-infected countries to all over the world? The Netherlands alone is exporting to over 90 countries, including Saudi Arabia and some of the other Gulf states. And why not draw attention of the health ministry to the regular import of dry milk powder to Pakistan for human consumption from the home of mad cow disease, Ireland?
SHAFIQUR REHMAN
Multan
THERE is nothing new for Sindh in the recently-announced NFC award. The president has, once again, kept population as the sole basis for award, giving Punjab 57 per cent while Sindh will only get 23 per cent.
Previously, Sindh would get 46 per cent share in GST but now it will receive only 34 per cent. As against this, Punjab’s share has been increased to 50 per cent from the previous year’s 42 per cent.
The crux of the controversy between the provinces is the horizontal distribution of the award, as the president accepted in his speech. However, the president has announced a vertical distribution of the award.
In the GST and subvention pool, Sindh will only get Rs300 million extra. However, Punjab will get Rs8 billion and the remaining two provinces will also get their share that will he almost equal to that of Punjab, i.e., about Rs8 billion each.
Previously, from the GST, 63.5 per cent used to be distributed on the basis of revenue and the remaining 36 per cent on the basis of population, but in the new formula it will be 50 per cent each, which will again he a loss to Sindh.
It was suggested in many newspapers that if the government wanted to distribute the NFC on a population basis, it should do so on the basis of the 1998 census in which Sindh’s share was 33 per cent, and it is also a fact that every year thousands of people from other provinces come to Sindh for taking up permanent residence. This has been going on for many years. Therefore, the government should consider them as part of Sindhs population for the purpose of the NFC award.
The Sindh government should protest against the new NFC formula and demand that as long as a new award method is not evolved, it should be given only on revenue basis.
IMRAN KHAN SIAL
Karachi
IN a meeting with the press in Karachi on Nov. 29 last year, then SBP governor Dr Ishrat Husain had announced that all banks operating in Pakistan had been directed to introduce with immediate effect a banking account to help those from low income groups.
He had said that the account would have no minimum limit and carry no service charge.
Many months have gone and except for one domestic bank in the private sector — which introduced the account in January — no other bank has acted on this directive.
Will the new SBP governor ensure that the directive, meant to benefit small account-holders, is implemented?
M. SHAREEF SIDDIQUI
Karachi
IN Dawn of Feb 20, page 20, there is a ‘proclamation’ requiring a certain individual to appear in court under pain of being declared an offender under the Cr.PC. The proclamation carries a box at the bottom saying “Do not use polythene bags of smaller size and less than 30 microns thickness.”
Was that his offence?
S. ASIF MAJEED
Karachi
WE are experiencing problems of damaged road and manholes from Teen Hatti to PIB Colony road (both ways), Karachi. These nagging problems have remained unattended by government officials for the last one year.
There is too much load on this road because of the carpeting work on the Islamia College Road.
ASIF YOUSUFALI SAJWANI
Karachi
AUSTRIA, a European country, has sentenced David Irving, a British historian, to three years in jail for his views questioning the Holocaust. Next door, Denmark insists that the publication of the blasphemous cartoons attacking Islam is only the expression of an innocent point of view.
Denmark and the European Union do not see the necessity of offering even an “apology”. For them, the attack on Islam is no crime, but to deny the existence of Holocaust has brought drastic punishment for a historian.
The dichotomy in freedom of expression is glaringly visible in the areas comprising the European Union.
A.Q. ANJUM
Rawalpindi
IT is not at all understandable why information about flights is kept secret from passengers. It does not help either party. On the contrary, it creates stress for passengers.
Not knowing when a flight will arrive or leave is terrible.
I request the authorities concerned to look into this aspect of passenger suffering and ensure that correct information is passed on to passengers immediately if there is any change in schedule.
DILAWAR HUSAIN
Karachi
I WANT to draw the attention of the authorities regarding increasing cases of mobile phone thefts in Karachi. The area around Schon Circle in Clifton, frequented by hundreds of families every evening, is fast becoming a haven for mobile phone thieves.
Those involved in the crime are mostly teenagers who ride the area on motorcycles looking for prospective victims. The police need to increase patrolling there.
SHAHZEB SHEIKH
Karachi
MORE and more cars are being converted to CNG. There are long queues at CNG booths, and petrol stations attract fewer customers. Why aren’t gas stations putting up more booths for the convenience of the public? It nearly takes 30 minutes every time I go for fuelling to a gas station.
FARAH RAZA
Karachi
WHAT is the difference between the European newspapers that published blasphemous cartoons in order to increase their sales and our politicians who are using the incident to promote their own cause (hidden agenda)?
S.H. JAFAREY
Karachi
REFERENCE the sugar crisis, our economists always quote international market conditions for any increase in prices in Pakistan. Do they ever quote the average minimum salary in Europe and the US?
ABDUL JABBAR
Italy
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