| March 25, 2006 | Saturday | Safar 24, 1427 |
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Nuclear fuel cartel
What is newsworthy?
Electronic voting
Illegal buildings
Islamabad traffic police
Economic boom?
Impounding of buses, vans
Voting rights
NSS certificates
Rashdi brothers’ contribution
Stalemate in Palestine
A COUPLE of days ago we celebrated the 59th Pakistan Day. This day is undoubtedly very auspicious in the life of this nation and a legacy of the founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. But as usual this day also passed away in the same manner as during the last 58 years — the publication of beautifully worded statements in newspapers, delivering of high-sounded and inspiring speeches in meetings and seminars and empty promises and broken commitments to the masses.
As a law-abiding citizen and conscious of the present gloomy, unstable and uncertain state of affairs, I, however, wish to say that this country can still attain economic prosperity, political stability and democracy if there is an independent judiciary and credible rule of law.
In this context I take the liberty through these columns to draw the attention of the rulers and state functionaries from the general-president down to nazims to the words of wisdom contained in a judgment of the Lahore High Court comprising Justices Mushtaq Hussain, Shamim Hussain Kadri and Nasim Hasan Shah, on March 7, 1972 in the case of Hashmat Ali vs Lt-Col Mohammad Shafi Durrani, etc (as reported in Cr.Orig. No. 5/1972 arising from writ petition No. 71 of 1969). The relevant portion of the landmark judgment reads as under:
“Courts reflect and exercise the sovereign power of the people of a state, entrusted to the latter by God Almighty Himself and exercised by the former as representatives of the latter, with the undeniable assurance inherent in the very system of Islamic democracy that these powers shall neither be curbed, nor taken away, and that the exercise thereof by the superior judiciary shall be without let or hindrance and shall enjoy the support, when needed, of the executive government of the country for the time being.
“The superior judiciary is possessed neither of the sword nor the purse and thrives only on the confidence that the people of a country have in it. If officers of a military junta were to be allowed to cow down superior courts, and interfere with the administration of justice by them, the confidence of the general people in readily obtaining even-handed justice from the superior courts without fear would for all times be completely extinguished.
“Can, in such circumstances, any judiciary or for that matter any democratic government flourish even for a day? Law is the very basis of an organised society and that is what the state is. Interpretation of laws and dispensation of even-handed justice in accordance with these laws is a sine qua non for such a society. It is with this postulate in view that the judiciary in all civilized countries of the world and particularly in Pakistan, where the ultimate authority is derived from the Creator Himself, jealously guards the jurisdiction from inroads by all intruders, howsoever high they may have been placed. It is a sacred duty which they have to perform for which every member of a superior court is under oath which he takes on the assumption of the office.”
SYED IQBAL AHMAD
Karachi
IF the UN Security Council is allowed to impose or even to threaten sanctions on Iran for continuing its nuclear fuel cycle programme, it would indeed be a sad day for the future economic well-being of all countries of the world that have not yet achieved that capability, a sovereign right permissible under the NPT.
Nuclear technology is the base of future economic development whose denial has already condemned its non-possessors to lasting backwardness. Now, by restricting production and recycling of nuclear fuel to themselves, the haves are trying to establish a nuclear fuel cartel more powerful than Opec, whereby the rest of the world would be at their mercy for availability and pricing of nuclear fuels.
There is also the possibility of a nuclear reprocessing state, particularly with nuclear weapons, refusing to return the reprocessed fuel. What will happen then?
In the case of Iran, it has done nothing illegal, or what has not been done by other nuclear states themselves. Hitler’s Germany was the only country to be on the verge of achieving a complete nuclear cycle by its own efforts and the rest of the world has drawn on that programme by a succession of different means.
Consequently, in the interest and well-being of all non-nuclear states the non-permanent members of the Security Council, with the help of China and Russia, should ensure that the Security Council leaves the overseeing of compliance of the NPT to the IAEC without having to chase and report virtual shadows created by interested parties.
In the case of Iran, it is being indirectly threatened with nuclear weapons by three states automatically devolves on it the right of nuclear self-defence, which at present Iran was voluntarily denying itself. One hopes that the US and EU-3 would look at the situation more objectively — particularly when any use of force could only lead to unpredictable damaging consequences worldwide.
VICE-ADMIRAL (r) IQBAL F. QUADIR
Karachi
ONE unfortunate woman gets raped in Pakistan and the English-language press in Pakistan blackens its pages for weeks over the issue.
The tribal leader of a single tribe blows up gas pipes and power lines in Balochistan on a daily basis. Even a child can work out that he could not possibly do this without extensive external help. There are 80 more tribes living peacefully in Balochistan, many of them mortal enemies of Akbar Bugti. Yet, from the extensive daily coverage in the English-language press, it would appear that the entire province was in revolt.If there is any condemnation, it is not of the saboteurs but of the government for trying to deal with the situation.
The total number of civiliancasualties in the Dera Bugti area so far can be counted on the fingers of one’s hand. As against this, the army has been attacking towns and villages in Waziristan with heavy guns, tanks and aircraft, indiscriminately killing hundreds of innocent men, women and children in clear violation of international law.
Yet, the coverageof these operations has been minimal and not even a fraction of what was devoted to Mukhtaran Mai. If there has been any stirring of conscience, let aside protest, it has been too muted to be noticed. Cuba, a poor country, sent over 2,000 doctors and paramedics, some up to 71 years-old, to help with earthquake relief in Kashmir. Unheralded and unsung, they have treated more than 120,000 patients and performed over 11,000 surgeries so far and they are still working in the region. However, going by the English-language press it would appear that the only meaningful assistance came from the US or Nato.
Many readers see a pattern in this. What is newsworthy for the English-language press is determined by the nature and extent of US and western interest.
HUSSAN ZIA
Via email
FOR many million Indians, who had never switched on a light bulb in their lives, pressing an electronic voting machine button was their first contact with the 21st century -– and that too at a level that would be the envy of many of the most technologically advanced nations. Remember the confusion and crudeness of vote counting in the Bush-Gore elections just a few years ago? The electronic voting machines (EVMs) bring a completely new dimension, methodology and character to the election process.
The Indian electronic voting machine consists of two units, a control unit and a balloting unit -– joined by a five-metre cable. The control unit is held with the polling officer and the balloting unit is placed inside the voting compartment. Instead of issuing a ballot paper, the polling officer presses the ballot button on his control unit.
This enables the voter to cast his vote by pressing the blue button on the balloting unit against the candidate and the symbol of his choice.
Pakistan is preparing for elections next year. Unless we intentionally intend to retain the ancient voting system for its “obvious advantages”, we need to immediately get on with the development of modern EVMs for our next elections. The chief election commissioner should take responsibility for the project, and collaborate with other institutions concerned (HEC, Nadra, ministry of science and technology, industry , academia, etc.) for development, manufacture, trials and training on EVMs well before the 2007 election date. Can Pakistanis look forward to pressing for the first time a button on a Pakistan-designed and built Eelectronic vote counting machine in 2007?
NAEEM SADIQ
Karachi
WHY should anyone comply with a law or a court directive? Over the past 15 years can someone tell the citizens of Karachi how many builders or corrupt KBCA officials have been brought to book?
Barking dogs seldom bite. When a minister or governor or mayor or other person in authority angrily threatens to “take exemplary action”, “refer the matter to NAB”, or “ensure that justice is done”, it is a foregone conclusion that nothing will happen.
When the then governor Mohammedmian Soomro was promulgating the Regularization Ordinance of 2002 (for the alleged benefit of “widows and orphans who have invested their life savings”), he promised the citizens that he would simultaneously prosecute the builders who had constructed buildings in violation of the law, and act against those KBCA officials who had colluded with the mafia.
Absolute bunk. While thousands of buildings have been regularized to date (generating additional corruption), not a single builder or official has been prosecuted. These same greedy builders are constructing new illegal and potentially dangerous projects today, and are being promoted and helped by the same KBCA officials who aided and abetted them yesterday. The former governor was promoted to the post of chairman of the Senate, and has recently been given a second term.
Unless the courts and powers-that-be get serious about creating a culture of respect for the law — essentially by disciplining those who violate the rules — we will continue to regress. And the environment will continue to degrade, leaving a beggarly legacy for our future generations.
ROLAND DESOUZA
Karachi
THE sight of a bobby inspires one with confidence, a feeling of security and a sense that here is somebody to whom one can turn to for help. As against that the sight of an official of the police department of any province of Pakistan, especially of Punjab, fills one with a feeling of fear, insecurity and a strong sense that an interaction with him is likely to result in a humiliating experience.
Fortunately the Islamabad police did not exactly fit into this mould and were somewhat less terrifying than the police of other parts of Pakistan. But the situation in Islamabad has now also changed and the quantum of fear in Islamabad’s atmosphere has markedly increased since the establishment of the Islamabad traffic police (ITP).
The ITP in its zeal to show “performance” and justify its establishment has gone the whole hog in making its presence felt in the city. These days ITP officials move about in Islamabad in vehicles with strobe lights on their roofs and on motorcycles with a swagger which is sickening. To prove their point they have embarked on a mission of issuing tickets for fines for various traffic violations. The solid evidence of the challans galore can be seen in the long queues which can be witnessed outside the designated branches of the National Bank of Pakistan.
According to reports, millions of rupees have already been collected through these fines. There are reports as well that 25 per cent of the amount of fine collected will be distributed among ITP officials. This explains the challans galore.
As one of the concerned and affected residents of Islamabad I take upon myself the duty of submitting the following suggestions for consideration of the top brass of the ITP:
a. By all means, the ITP should take notice of traffic violations and issue fine tickets for them but, pray, do not make this exercise an end in itself;
b. One assumes that the ITP was established with the objective of streamlining traffic in Islamabad, minimize the chances of traffic-related accidents and thereby ensure the safety of the residents. Achievement of this objective called for, among other things, launching a well-coordinated awareness campaign. I am sorry to say that the awareness campaign launched by the ITP left a lot to be desired. It drew public attention merely to generalisations, such as speed thrills but kills, avoid use of cellphones while driving and minimal honking. It lacked focus on educating the public on specifics. For example, there was no banner or board informing the public that the speed limit in Islamabad was 65 kilometres an hour, etc. Although speed limit and other traffic signs are already installed on roadsides in the city, the messages they contain need to be further emphasised in the awareness campaign.
c. There is a strong perception in the public that ITP officials are only keen to catch people on the wrong foot and, therefore, they tend to lurk around corners and at places where they cannot be spotted by road users.
d Whenever a traffic violator is caught, the whole bunch of officials stationed at that point gets involved with him or her and as a result thereof the flow of normal traffic gets invariably disturbed, strengthening the general impression that the ITP is only interested in fines and not in ensuring smooth flow of traffic.
The above are some of the aspects which merit attention of the ITP with a view to improvement.
KHALID IDREES
Islamabad
THE State Bank and financial managers celebrated the country’s robust economic growth by citing registration of three cars daily in Karachi alone, besides mentioning a decline in the unemployment rate by 13 per cent. But they seem to be oblivious to the rising number of people committing suicide and the large number of jobless and economically hard-pressed people killing themselves after killing their sons and daughters.
They have also not taken into account the misery of the people who are forced to buy sugar at Rs40 a kg, wheat flour at Rs160 for 10kgs in urban areas and arbitrary increases in the price of onions and other items of daily use. How will the common man, who is getting less than Rs150-200 a day, fare?
That the three-car a day registration is being done on the back of slack micro-financing conditions is not mentioned. And the drop in the unemployment rate is based on a figure (rise in unauthorised sector employment) that simply cannot be authenticated is not mentioned.
GHOUSE MOHIUDDIN
Karachi
ACCORDING to a news item (March 20), many buses and wagons were impounded by traffic police and the regional transport authority in Punjab to facilitate PML activists for taking part in a party convention on March 23 in Lahore.
The report states that these vehicles were taken by forcing out passengers. Many people including women and children remained stranded at bus and wagon stands.
The general public was put to much inconvenience. Impounding of public transport by the government has become a routine matter whenever politicians in power need to rent a crowd. The Supreme Court may needs to take suo motu notice of the matter.
ABDUL SAMAD KHAN
Karachi
PML president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has reportedly promised to exclude from voting for 15 years all those who have migrated to Gwadar. Automatically these people will cast their votes at their native places for 15 years. Why not forever?
The national identity card gives both permanent and temporary addresses. Every Pakistani should be registered as a voter at his or her permanent address, and Nadra can very easily print out the electoral list for an election based on that record. There is no doubt that voting right on the basis of permanent address is the only solution redress anxieties.
RIAZUL HASAN KHAN
Karachi
I welcome the government’s decision to allow commercial banks to handle transactions in NSS certificates. The government should also urge the banks to show some consideration to senior citizens and not make them stand for hours in long lines.
The State Bank of Pakistan should keep an eye on how commercial banks deal with senior citizens and National Savings Schemes (NSS) instruments and pensions, especially in levying service charges on NSS payments. Special counters under the supervision of well-trained and helpful staff should be set up to handle senior citizens investing in NSS products.
I appeal to the government to continue to allow post offices in rural areas to handle NSS instruments
The ceiling for investment by charities and non-profit organisations in NSS certificates should be raised to Rs30 million, in view of current inflation.
QUTUBUDDIN AZIZ
Karachi
A SEMINAR on the late Rashdi brothers contribution to history and literature is being held on March 25 to mark the death anniversary of Pir Ali Muhammad Rashdi (Dawn, March 23).
Pir Hasamuddin, the younger of the Rashdis, was a great researcher and scholar par excellence of Sindhi, Persian and Urdu literature. his contributions to history and literature are second to none for which he is highly honoured in Pakistan and abroad.
However, the role played by Pir Ali Muhammad Rashdi in the politics especially of Sindh is controversial. I hope that the participants of the seminar taking advantage of this unique occasion will put the personality of Pir Ali Muhammad Rashdi to the litmus test of history and objectivity and enlighten us on the role he played in politics and the indelible impact he left on the history of Sindh.
MANZOOR H. KURESHI
Karachi
IT was depressing to read the editorial “Stalemate in Palestine” (March 22). Hamas has done its duty by inviting Fatah to join the government. Yet Fatah has failed to reconcile with Hamas for the sake of the Palestinian cause. Hamas was neither morally nor politically obliged to ask for Fatah’s cooperation. Now as the opposition, Fatah will help to fulfil the Israeli/American agenda against Hamas.
MASUDUR RAHMAN
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