| March 2, 2006 | Thursday | Safar 1, 1427 |
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Disturbing tale
Kuwaiti prisoners
Pakistani students
Rogue colleges
Confused
Dual carriage rail track
Parents’ alert
CIA & state department
‘In a dilemma’
City buses
Kamra factory
Protests
Double standards
Cellphone thefts
Credit card
DURING his recent visit to the Diamer district of the Northern Areas, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was reported to have announced a development plan for the people of Diamer district in exchange for their loyalty to the government’s decision to build the Bhasha dam.
Theoretically, this proposed development plan is meant to mitigate the adverse economic effects on the lives of the local people who will be displaced due to the construction of the water reservoir.
Also the plan tentatively suggests that the government will formulate a recruitment policy under which the local population will get priority in the employment generated by the dam project. He also suggested renaming the Bhasha dam as Diamer-Bhasha apparently as a positive gesture on the part of the government to the people of Diamer.
Fair enough. But is it that simple? The prime minister, it seems, sidestepped the more significant and complicated problem stemming from the accumulated anger of decades over the virtual absence of the government’s writ in the area and its failure to give a constitutional cover to the promises made again and again but never accomplished.
On the question of beneficiaries to whom royalty will accrue, the prime minister was quick to externalise the issue in an explicit manner that it would be decided according to the Constitution. Is it not strange that the Northern Areas, which have been kept out of the political and constitutional framework of Pakistan since its independence, should be given any favour by referring to the same Constitution? There arises no question of referring the issue of dam royalty to the Constitution when civilian and military governments themselves have time and again resorted to the same Constitution to nullify the legitimacy of the demand of internal autonomy or provincial status or any other form of political representation for the people of the Northern Areas in the National Assembly of Pakistan.
One can easily see the paradoxical nature of Mr Shaukat Aziz’s development plan for the Northern Areas which goes without recognising the fundamental question of right to vote before presenting a flamboyant economic plan. Is it not the right time to show a modicum of political will and extend constitutional and political rights to the people of the Northern Areas?
The beneficiaries of the Bhasha dam should be the people of these areas and not the government of the NWFP. Thus the local resistance against the Bhasha dam can only be won over if it is linked with the broader issue of constitutional and political rights of a people who have remained deprived on the economic and political fronts for long.
From Balochistan to the Northern Areas, our governments’ record of delivering on promises has never been encouraging.
AMIR HUSSAIN
London
YOUR newspaper reported a story from Faisalabad (Feb 26) that left me baffled. According to it, a person was convicted of murder and received capital punishment. His execution was stayed thrice to provide time to his relatives to effect a compromise with the heirs of the murdered but the latter did not oblige. The murderer’s relatives then kidnapped the son of the murdered victim to but pressure for a compromise.
The son was thankfully rescued by the police. The murderer’s family then kidnapped the victim’s nephew. The Supreme Court then took suo motu notice and ordered the police to recover the kidnapped person within a week. The police triumphantly recovered the kidnapped nephew but not before a deal was finally reached in which the heirs of the victim pardoned the murderer.
The questions that come to one’s mind are: Why did the police not register a case of kidnapping against the murderer’s relatives? Why did the police not register a case after the second kidnapping? Why was the execution of the murderer stayed repeatedly especially when the victim’s heirs had clearly said that they would not pardon the murderer? Why didn’t the police provide security to the victim’s relatives after the first successful kidnapping? Did a court order the police to recover the kidnapped boy by arranging a compromise which included a pardon?
The whole affair is extremely disturbing and yet more proof of the police siding with and aiding murderers. A serious crime like murder is being trivialized.
MALIK MUBASHIR A. MAJOKA
Sargodha
IT was distressing to read of the tribulations of six Kuwaitis held prisoner at Guantanamo, on the flimsiest of charges, for over four years. (“Guantanamo: the US gulag”, Feb 28).
Just a few days earlier we had read of a film, honoured with a Silver Bear at the Berlin Festival, recounting in graphic detail the travails of three young British men of Pakistani origin who, during a visit in October 2001 to their home country, foolishly ventured into Afghanistan at a time when the US had launched full-scale bombing, and unleashed the vengeful forces of Dostum. The boys never realised the danger they had led themselves into until it was too late.
After undergoing untold misery at the hands of Dostum’s forces they were relieved to be handed over to US forces believing their ordeal had come to an end. But they were mistaken.
Their troubles had only just begun. They too were flown to Guantanamo, and like the Kuwaitis and most likely all the other prisoners, suffered unspeakable acts of gratuitous savagery.
They were lucky enough to be released, perhaps because they were British citizens like Tony Blair — the staunchest ally of the US and cheerleader for the US forces.
The US administration may well have a case against some or all of the detainees but do any of them, whether guilty or innocent, deserve such inhuman treatment?
ASAD SIDDIQI
Lahore
I HAVE recently finished serving as an expatriate scholar under an HEC scheme at the Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) University. It was good to see that the students were quite good at abstract discussions and given my teaching experience at foreign universities, I would rate the batch I taught as competitive.
My advice to Pakistani students is that they need to become aggressive learners and realise that a university education assumes that the student is mature enough to take control of his or her destiny.
Unfortunately, our educational system convinces the student to religiously accept everything in the textbook. Memorizing is deemed sufficient for success. Also, most students believe that the teacher should not only be entertaining but also make every little detail absolutely clear or else they will lose interest.
Admittedly, we have failed to realise that teaching is a difficult skill to master as it needs continuous research and honest dedication to work. However, it is imperative that students become more proactive and realise that a lecture at university merely acts as a guideline to introduce the subject.
It is up to them to consult as much relevant material as possible to develop their understanding of the subject. Once they adopt this practice, they will be ready for the next level of education or even the tackling of real life problems.
DR RAJA MUHAMMAD ATIF AZAD
Limerick, Ireland
I WOULD like to draw attention to the rogue colleges that have been set up in London by some Pakistanis. The sole motive behind these colleges is to get money out of poor students who have a dream to come to foreign countries. I have witnessed many cases in which students come here and work part-time as security guards but don’t even attend a single class. It really hurts to see these youngsters destroying their youth and wasting their money.
I see no point in spending £7,000 in fees which is mostly borrowed from hard-earned income by parents. Parents mostly try to support these youngsters by whatever means but the money is not utilised in proper way. Instead they can start their small business by little support from the government (small business finance) and start off their own companies.
Most of these students return to Pakistan without paying back the borrowed money. In some cases the sole motive was to borrow money on credit/store cards and never return. The 5,000-10,000 pounds don’t last long. However, the long-term implications are that legitimate students then face problems in getting student visas and credit in order to finish their degrees.
GULL LARIK
London
A STORY on page three of your Feb. 28 edition with the headline ‘Mufti Munir Shakir agrees to leave Bara’ read as follows: “Meanwhile, the Bara peace committee appointed Sedak Zakhakhel as its new commander. Sedak Zakhakhel escaped from Bara prison on Feb 16 last year along with two of his accomplices Naseeb Khan and Dawa Khan. The three were killed on Thursday during an armed clash between supporters of Mufti Munir Shakir and activists of the Bara peace committee. The armed activists of the peace committee, under the command of Sedak Zakhakhel, were seen patrolling Bara roads on Monday.”
I don’t understand how Sedak Zakhakhel will command the Bara peace committee when he was killed during an armed clash between supporters of Mufti Munir Shakir and activists of the committee.
DAUD KHATTAK
Peshawar
THE Pakistan Railways has converted the dilapidated 135-km-long metre gauge track from Mirpurkhas to Zero Point near the Indian border to broad gauge in a very short time. This track will not handle more than one passenger train a week. In contrast to this, the busiest section of the main line — from Raiwind to Multan — on which dozens of passenger and goods trains operate has not been dualised for the last 40 years. The PR says that this is because of lack of funds but money could be arranged by selling a few plots of prime railway land. Will the railways minister throw some light on the issue?
QASIM IQBAL KHAN
Lahore
THIS is with reference to the notices published in newspapers by the HEC under caption “Parents alert”. I, as a student of an affiliated college of a private sector university, want to ask the HEC authorities a few questions.
Before taking such decisions did they ever think about the future of the students who are studying in such universities and their affiliated campuses? Did they ever think about those who are facing or will face difficulties in getting jobs? Will quality be improved after closing them? Is this the only way to improve quality?
I am sorry to say that this is not the way to improve quality. Quality can be improved by finding solutions to problems. The main problems are government colleges and universities where students are motivated by the so-called qualified faculty to attend their private academies. They even say: “Why are you wasting your time in the college”?
I also want to point out that before getting admission to such an institution, I inquired from the HEC about the status of that institution. The authorities confirmed the legality of the institution. Then suddenly, when I was in my final semester, these universities, according to the HEC, became low quality and their campuses were declared illegal.
My advice to the HEC is that if it is serious about improving quality, it should stop the propaganda and provide assistance to private universities to improve. I do not think quality is low in only these universities. The same teachers who taught us in a private-sector university were also teaching at a sub-campus of a very famous public-sector university.
I request the president and the prime minister to take serious notice of this situation and save the future of thousands of students that has been put at risk by the HEC.
FARHANA FAROOQ
Multan
WHEN US President George W. Bush visits Pakistan, you might wish to have your paper ask about the CIA’s involvement in state sponsored terrorism. In particular, it would be useful to question him about the joint CIA/state department programme to recruit and train terrorists, first for the war in Afghanistan against the USSR and later for use elsewhere in the world. I don’t think it would be to hard to imagine the terrorist cadre the CIA and Mr Bush’s father created being involved in the many outrageous attacks on mosques in Pakistan and Iraq.
As a starting point, you might wish to raise the names and affiliations of several individuals once assigned to the CIA consulate at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The department of state works far too closely with the CIA. Depending on who you talk to, one-third to one-half or more of the people who say they work for the state department are employed, in reality, by one of the US intelligence services. In the Jeddah consulate, with its large NSA signals intelligence operation and CIA base, of some 20 Americans there, only three individuals (including myself) worked for the state department. I don’t doubt that similar high numbers obtain in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar.
J. MICHAEL SPRINGMANN
Attorney & counsellor-at-law
Washington, US
YOU said in your editorial “In a dilemma” (Feb 28) that the opposition, particularly the MMA, “lost some of its moral high ground” because of the violence and disruption that accompanied the protests.
I am astonished at this remark. When did the MMA ever enjoy a moral high ground on this issue? In fact, I have never seen the media give any credence to the MMA’s claims of not being involved in violence.
SAYEF HUSSAIN
Islamabad
I WOULD like to draw the attention of the authorities concerned to the problems faced by people travelling on commuter buses in Karachi. Overloading is very annoying for passengers, especially women passengers. This is because a very small portion of the bus is available for them and even then we see men sitting in that portion. Moreover, men are often found standing at the women’s entrance which makes it uncomfortable for women to get in.
MALIHA SALIM
Karachi
I wanted to point out a mistake in your coverage of the prime minister’s visit to Kamra. The story had the heading ‘Deterrence will be maintained: Aziz’ and it made repeated mention of what it said was the ‘F-16 re-build factory’ which reportedly has been operational since 1972. To my knowledge Pakistan does not have an F-16 re-build factory but rather an F-6 (a Chinese variant of the Mig-19) re-build factory since the 1970s and that is probably what the reporter was referring to. In any case, Pakistan did not get its first F-16s till 1983.
TAIMUR KHAN
Boston, US
I think it was a brilliant move on the part of the Lahore district nazim to designate a place in the city — the Minar-i-Pakistan — where people can go and express their views on the cartoons issue. Protesters who march in the city streets cause much inconvenience to everyone, shops close down, buses don’t run, and people cannot get to work.
DR AMANULLAH KHAN
Lahore
A REPORT from the United Nations against the prison at Guantanamo Bay has received attention all over the world. In this report, the United States has been explicitly condemned for continuing with the notorious and illegal Gunantanamo Bay. However, the US has thrown aside the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which was established under the auspices of the UN on December 10, 1948, and to which the US is a signatory. Article 5 of the UDHR states: “No one should be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. Article 9 says: “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile”.
On one hand, the US is proclaiming that Iran’s nuclear programme is harmful to humanity, but on the other it is violating the rights of nearly 500 illegal detainees at Guantanamo Bay. America raises slogans of human rights, yet deprives poor nations of their basic rights. Why this double standard?
MOHAMMAD NAZIM
Lahore
MANY newspaper articles, news stories, feature stories and columns have discussed the issue of cellphone thefts in Karachi. According to a survey conducted in 2005, almost 70 cellphones are snatched in Karachi daily. The most common places are Saddar, Jauhar Chowrangi, Jodia Bazar, Federal ‘B’ Area and Nazimabad Chowrangi.
The government has appointed special forces to curb such criminal activities but so far they have been unable to reduce the number of thefts.
The criminals don’t just rob a person of his cellphone; a few people have even lost their lives during the robberies. People in Karachi are now afraid of carrying mobile phones on the road. The government needs to find a permanent solution to this problem as it is a constant threat to citizens lives and property.
RABIA HASHIM KHASKHELI
Karachi
This is with reference to the report in your business pages on Feb. 24 with the heading “Credit cards proving to be too costly”. I am a holder of a credit card (4941-2201-4745-2013) and I have always paid my dues on time. In January banks were closed from January 10-12 because of Eid. I sent in my cheque on Jan 8, the deadline being Jan 10, but it did not reach the bank till Jan 13. I was charged Rs2,518.90 in late fees. I asked the bank to reverse the charges but to no avail.
It is a common practice around the world that whenever a holiday falls on any due date the next working day is considered as the due date and payment is received without any late fees or penalty but not here it seems.
SHAKIL ELIAS
Karachi
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