| February 28, 2006 | Tuesday | Muharram 29, 1427 |
To send a letter to the Editor
Click here
Confrontation is no option
Constitution and democracy
Cartoon controversy
Indian double standards
Naming missiles
Gwadar port
Paying the price
Bus fare concession
Sale of railway land
WB loans for environment
Allottees’ woes
REFERENCE the article “Linking teaching with research” by Dr Moonis Ahmar (Feb 26), the writer has highlighted an issue of serious concern to educationists in the country. In the few years that I have been associated with higher education in Islamabad, the teaching-research nexus issue has never been far from core issues in university meetings that soul-search a vision.
While there is much evidence supporting Dr Ahmars argument that in Pakistan the teaching-research situation is depressing, there are reasons, I feel, that go beyond a weak educational system, motivation, opportunity and freedom of speech.
Education, for a start, does not rank amongst the favourable careers for society, and hence does not draw the “best and the brightest” since rewards lie elsewhere. Convoluted as society and its values are, ill-gotten, quick wealth, its sustenance and glory belong to the underworld whose economy visibly surpasses that of what most of us can see.
Otherwise we as a society should have defined a vision to which our universities could have linked their knowledge, in areas covering the spectrum from sociology to astronomy. Somewhere in the middle would have been the applied sciences and engineering where industry would have been “convinced” to seek a closer collaboration with academia.
All that requires legislation and federal coordination. Only then would our faculty link what they teach in the curriculum with the engine of a Japanese car, the process plant in an American urea fertilizer factory, or the construction of our next 10 Chinese nuclear reactors.
Until then we must use the magic words that management degrees can teach us and seek great careers in industry bringing home attractive cash while contributing to the sinking of the Titanic a little more. While the Higher Education Commission is tasked for this very purpose, the inertia of its bureaucratic structure has not been able to go beyond what ministries usually do. The prime challenge of linking industry with academia in that most vital area of our development — engineering — remains a lost opportunity. Its emphasis has been on human resource development, thereby delaying the problem to some future date; and in the meantime supporting projects in the sciences many of which spring out of curiosity-driven research. Teaching and research must, and will, find their natural place in academia when this linkage is put in place, in accordance with a national vision.
DR ZAFARULLAH KORESHI
Professor & Dean of Faculty of Engineering, Air University,
Islamabad
ONE had hardly recovered from the pontifications of one former ambassador, Tanvir Ahmad Khan, when up comes his colleague Shahid Amin. (“Confrontation is no option”, Feb. 26). Before unloading his views, he should have read at least Robert Fisk and Eric Margolis (the latter’s article “Racist cartoons” appeared in Dawn on....)
The only redeeming feature is the conclusion. But the arguments are totally flawed. For example, one, this incident cannot be compared with any similar incidents of sacrilege in the past. Never before did the prime minister of the country whose citizens committed the offence “brush off” the ambassadors of Muslim countries when they called on him to protest. Two, if boycott of Danish goods did not hurt Denmark why should Danish companies be changing their names to retain their business and why should the EU threaten to go to the WTO against the boycott? Three, yes, Christian countries would be justified in asking for an ‘apology’ from the government of Pakistan for the sacrilegious acts of its citizens, if it did not express regret voluntarily. That is the norm. Didn’t the US regret the sacrilege to the Quran by its military? Four, the clash of civilization is being fuelled by the white Christians who pass under the euphemism of “West”. The challenge is from the white Christians of Europe and America not from Russia or other non-Christian states. Not so much even from Israel.
In 1863, Abraham Lincoln in his historic Gettysburg Address said: “To suffer in silence while they should protest makes cowards of men.”
The example of the Holy Prophet has been overused. It does not apply in the instant case. First, there is a difference between an illustration and words, written or spoken. The former registers an enduring perception; the latter either dissolve into air or lie forgotten in the pages of books. Second, cartoons play upon some weakness of their subject — such as the jaw of Bush 41 or Clinton’s round face. They do not “create” an imaginary defect. But in the cartoons the Prophet is depicted as a sponsor of terrorism. This was, thus, a deliberate attempt to provoke and humiliate Muslims.
Pakistani protests are different. They are less over the cartoons than President Pervez Musharraf’s uniform. But the wave of protests all over the Muslim world may perhaps be seen as a sign of frustration at the limits Islam imposes on retaliatory measures in such situations. For example, Muslims cannot depict Jesus as being responsible for the acts that his followers have visited on the Muslim detainees in the Abu Ghraib prison.
Concluding, here, especially for Mr. Shahid Amin’s notice, is a quote from Gary Younge in the Guardian:
“(Muslims) are vilified twice: once through the cartoon, and again for exercising their democratic right to protest. The inflammatory response to their protest reminds me of the quote from Steve Biko, the South African black nationalist: ‘Not only are whites kicking us; they are telling us how to react to being kicked’.”
SYED JILANEE
Karachi
IT is a disgrace that Pakistan has not been able to hold free and fair elections since 1970.
On Oct 10, 2002 some 30 million voters went to the polls to elect representatives to the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies.
The elections marked the formal restoration of democracy following three years of military rule by Gen Pervez Musharraf. The resulting hung parliament had been widely predicted before the polls, but the dramatic success of a coalition of religious parties, Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, particularly in the NWFP and Balochistan, caught nearly
all political observers by surprise.
These elections were followed by six weeks of unseemly horse-trading, backroom deal-making and considered arm-twisting on the part of the civil bureaucracy and some military elements. The undeniable fact, however, is that, whether supervised by judges or administrations, elections cannot be fair unless the chief executive of the country, and also of the province, want them to be fair. Here, too like law and order, responsibility admits of no ambiguity or division.
While on the surface the elections represent return to democracy and civilian rule, elections should not necessarily be equated with democratization, particularly in our case. The April 2002 presidential referendum and the subsequent provincial and National Assembly elections were intended to legitimize the power of the unelected institutions of the state rather than transfer power to the elected institutions
Democracy has not flourished in Pakistan either because of its people or because of lack of wisdom in the country’s leadership, but it seems more believable that the civil bureaucracy wanted to rule this country as an entitled elite and was later joined by the military bureaucracy and the feudals.
After all, obviously, representative institutions were introduced in colonial South Asia following the revolt of 1857 not to promote a democratic process that would transfer power to elected representatives, but to strengthen the colonial state. “Representative” rather than “democratic” institutions were formed to co-opt local elites to deal with administration.
The scope of elections and representative institutions expanded during the late colonial period, but elections did not fundamentally alter the power imbalance between powerful unelected bureaucrats and weak elected representatives.
The fundamental electoral dilemma confronting Pakistan’s ruling elites, therefore, is how to accommodate growing international pressure to govern through democratic institutions without threatening the legacy of rule by unelected institutions, namely, the military.
M. ZAMAN MALIK,
Abbottabad
THE worldwide condemnation by Muslims of the blasphemous cartoons is understandable, but what happened in the major cities of Pakistan, particularly in Lahore and Peshawar, is indicative of the following:
Protests and processions are part of a true democracy. However, this right has long been denied to the citizens of Pakistan by successive governments, both civilian and military. The citizens in this regard lack maturity and resort to violence whenever they find any opportunity to protest.
People in Pakistan always have their reservations and genuine grievances against the uniform whether of the military or of the police due to continued repression by the two forces. So, protesters are normally not ready to negotiate with a policeman and resort to more violence as happened on The Mall, Lahore, when a senior police officer tried to talk with the rampaging protesters. The police are trained to take action and implement decisions rather than negotiate.
The CSP deputy commissioners handled such types of situations with ease. As their were seen as civilians, protesters were normally ready to negotiate with them.
The present district set-up has failed to deliver where no one is ready to take responsibility. Most of the district nazims are feudalists, relatives of high-ups or industrialists and thus lack any exposure or capacity to handle law and order situations.
There is also a leadership vacuum in Pakistan with the most popular leadership being forced to reside outside the country. The rest of the leadership has been marginalized.
The government has banned protests and rallies in Islamabad. Many political and religious leaders have been arrested. This sort of state repression increases a sense of frustration and deprivation which is already high and ultimately supports the forces of violence.
In the end, Muslims throughout the world should realize the importance which the West attaches to its commercial and economic interests. So, instead of resorting to violence, a boycott of Danish products will be a suitable option. Similarly, Muslim governments should use the forum of the OIC to resist any propaganda and Islamophobia of the West.
ZAHOOR HUSSAIN
Lahore
RECENTLY an Indian Foreign Office spokesperson advised the Pakistan government to exercise restraint in handling trouble makers in Balochistan. But Pakistan has never in the past told India what to do with its separatist movements in Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and other places.
India blames Pakistan often for “cross-border terrorism” ignoring in the process the role played by its own intelligence agency, RAW, in fomenting trouble in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan. India has accused Pakistan of nuclear proliferation but ignores the fact that several Indian companies are on the list of nuclear proliferators issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Therefore, before advising what Pakistan should be doing, it needs to put its own house in order.
FAZLE HASAN & SANI RAZA
Karachi
CONCERNING your editorial on missile crisis (Feb 26), I would like to add that the objections raised by the Afghan government are based on shortsightedness and current anti-Pakistan feeling in Kabul.
No doubt Abdali and Ghauri were Afghans. But if Pakistan used these names and considers them important historical figures, this symbolises the commonality between Afghanistan and Pakistan on the basis of historical bonds. But it is very unfortunate that the Afghans should choose to be divisive rather than appreciating the commonness between our nations. Their stance on this issue is rather hypocritical because these same personalities are called as invaders and plunderers in Indian history textbooks. Therefore, they should have taken up this case first with India, not with Pakistan.
With this issue, it has become clear that we should have more business-like relations with them. The questions that should concern us are refugees, drugs and the use of Afghanistan territory against us. Enough of “strategic depth” and favourites in Afghanistan. Pakistan should make four things clear to Afghanistan. First, we no longer support the Taliban and we are fighting them; second, we will not tolerate use of Afghan soil by a third party against us; third, Afghanistan needs to stop the flow of drugs and, fourth, Afghanistan should take back all refugees because they are also part of the problem of cross-border intrusion.
As far as naming of the missiles is concerned, we do not have a dearth of heroes in this country. If we stopped connecting ourselves with outsiders and looked for people in our own history, we will find many. For example, military hardware can be named after our fallen soldiers who were given the Nishan-i-Haider. I would personally prefer them to be named after things like Duldul and Ababeel, Shahab, Qahar, etc. This can save us from embarrassment at the hands of ungrateful neighbours.
AAMIR ILYAS
Malmo, Sweden
PRIME Minister Shaukat Aziz has approved a proposal to initiate negotiations with the Dubai Ports World for appointment as operators for the Gwadar port in Balochistan. The prime minister has constituted a team from the ministries of finance, law, planning and development division and the ministry of ports and shipping to negotiate the terms with DP World, which is known as an experienced management team and maintains 17 terminals in different countries.
A similar deal with Dubai Ports World is also likely enable it to operate six US ports, namely, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans and Miami, by buying the UK firm of P&O. But awarding the contract to Dubai Ports World has been delayed by the US government, following severe objections raised by the leading US lawmakers.
Lawmakers in the US Senate have opposed the deal and have warned that it will make the US more vulnerable to terrorism, pointing out that the UAE was the home of two of the 9/11 hijackers.
US President George W. Bush has said: “People don’t need to worry about security.” He also added that the “UAE was an important partner in the US-led war on terrorism”.
But before awarding the contract to DPW, I would request the government of Pakistan to evaluate all pros and cons in view of the political crisis which is going on with a few tribal sardars of Balochistan.
What is the guarantee that DP World would recruit local people from Balochistan? Doesn’t the country have its own technical expertise to manage Gwadar port through officers and jawans of the Pakistan Navy who are quite experienced and have been successfully running Karachi Port for more than five decades?
SYED A. MATEEN
Karachi
THIS is with reference to your report ‘Kite string kills student’ (Feb 27). This is the second such death in less than a week. Who is to be held responsible for this? The kite flyers who are still using metal string? Or the Lahore police which have failed to catch those who use metal string? Or the relaxation of the ban on kite flying for 14 days despite everyone knowing that it takes several lives every year?
M. RAFIQUE ZAKARIA
Karachi
I AM a student and daily travel a lot on UTS buses. Also thousands of other students of Karachi travel on these buses.
I would request the provincial transport minister and Karachi city nazim to introduce a concessional fare system for students in these UTS buses as it is prevalent in old big buses. This will help to lessen the monetary burden of poor students.
SHAHBAZ AMEER GONDAL
Karachi
THIS is with reference to a news report appearing in a section of the press (Feb 25) wherein it is reported that the Pakistan Railway authorities have sold land measuring 13 acres located at I.I. Chundrigar Road to the National Logistics Cell at a cost of Rs2.25 billion, out of which 40 per cent will go to the Sindh government.
The fact is that when the railway was being established in the British era, the provinces had allowed the railway to use their land for specific purposes subject to the condition that on termination of activities these lands would revert to the parent provinces.
Since the ownership of land still belongs to the province in whose name the title continues, how can the railway authorities be allowed to sell land and keep 60 per cent of the proceeds? If the lands in possession are no more in the use of the railway, these should be given back to the provinces.
DR ALI AKBAR M. DHAKAN
Karachi
This refers to the news item captioned “WB to give $.6m for environment projects” published in your issue dated Feb 26. It fails to mention that EcoSecurities, a UK-based environmental finance firm, was a co-host of the workshop concerned, in addition to the ministry of environment and the Alternative Energy Development Board. The $.6 million figure is insignificant when compared to the amount of money available to Pakistan under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism.
The intent of the workshop was to bring wind power investors and others interested in developing alternative energy sources in Pakistan to the table and provide an overview of how the Kyoto Protocol’s clean development mechanism provides added incentives for such investments.
TONY A. TIKTINSKY
Pakistan representative EcoSecurities,
Islamabad, Pakistan
WE are allottees of cantonment board plots in Quetta but are made to suffer because the plots have not been developed. Whenever we approach officials in this regard, we are disappointed becuase no one is willing to help us. Help will come only when a substantial amount is paid to satisfy someone’s greed. We appeal to the president to intervene in the matter.
AISHA BIBI
Quetta
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.