| April 21, 2006 | Friday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 22, 1427 |
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Doctors need help
‘Ghost schools galore’
Children arrested, chained
‘Capital offence or free choice’
Global security
Email address
Pakistan’s history
More medical colleges
‘Writ of the government’
Apartheid
‘Rise and fall of the CSP’
Principled stand
Nishtar Park tragedy
Charity begins at home
THIS is with reference to N.K Khan’s letter “Selling Steel Mills”(April 19) where he says that the government did not get a better price for the steel mill for no fault of its own and that it did the right thing to accept whatever was offered. Mr. Khan goes on to say that had the government not done so it wouldn’t have got even this price after some time when the condition of the plant would have worsened and been beyond repair. He also asks us not to blame the government and bureaucrats without any proof.
If the government did not get a better price for the steel mill, the right thing would have been to reject such an offer rather than accept it with such great enthusiasm. It needs to be realised that Pakistan Steel mills has become a profit making institution and to sell it at a throwaway price makes no sense at all. The new owners of the steel mill are expected to recover the amount offered for in about three years time. Instead of selling the mill, if indeed the plant condition is not good, the government should have used the profit it makes every year to repair it.
Mr Khan has compared the sale of the steel mill to the selling of family silverware at throwaway prices in difficult times. He would have done well to explain as to what difficult times the country is facing. The leaders claim economic prosperity that the country has never witnessed before and at the same time sell off national assets at throw away prices.
As for proof that the deal is not transparent, what greater proof does Mr Khan need when it is a known fact that the price at which the steel mill has been sold does not even cover the price of land on which it is built? Furthermore, the haste with which the privatisation minister has accepted the deal raises further suspicion about the deal not being transparent. The concept of ‘transparency’ is unknown to the people of Pakistan as they have yet to witness it even after five decades of independence.
ANIL KHAN LUNI
Lahore
NOBODY is helping the junior doctors to have their voice heard in the media. Our own professional body PMA has its own agenda and priorities like maintenance of permission for private practice which is banned in the NWFP but allowed in Punjab. Health affairs are a shambles and health education has been commercialised and politicised.
The last time about seven or eight doctors tried to form a forum to address the issues of College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) students, all of them were kicked out of their jobs and banned from taking any local postgraduate CPSP exam for five years.
The CPSP was founded in 1962, is regarded as a prime institute awarding specialist post-graduation FCPS degrees and it is recognised and respected the world over. But unfortunately over the past decade not only has the institute’s credibility declined, but doctors themselves prefer to leave their FCPS training to go abroad for jobs or higher studies.
One of the major reasons for this is that the CPSP is not under any checks and balances by any government (federal/ provincial) or university regulatory authority. The lack of interest of past and present governments in auditing and optimising health education and providing any relief to young doctors is evident from the simple fact that these poor people are paid only a stipend instead of salary and even that has not been revised for years.
Secondly, there is no open display of results or merit lists by the CPSP. This is compounded by the fact that CPSP uses its powers to change the training rules and requirement as mentioned in prospectus as often as once or twice a month causing great inconvenience to its trainees.
The fate of young Pakistani doctors hangs in the balance. Its time to do something before its too late. There were over 10, 000 trainees of this college and the number has come down to 7,200 currently. It is one of the largest postgraduate institutions in Pakistan yet no one is interested in improving its functioning.
Dr ALI HUSNAIN RAZA
Lahore
THIS is with reference to your editorial “Ghost schools galore” (April 18). In spite of all that has been written about the poor state of education in Pakistan, the situation has not improved and an entire generation is going to lose one of the most important and precious gifts in life.
The lack of basic education is going to deny our children the opportunity and knowledge that are needed to meet the challenges of the new millennium. And a nation that denies a child quality education closes the doors to a better future for that child, its family and of the nation.
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Uganda and India (in its technology information development) are classic examples of success where their governments have realised that the only way to improve the quality of life of the ordinary citizens and break the shackles of poverty, bigotry and intolerance is to educate the young.
Some 10 years back, Helpline Trust had launched an Adopt A School programme. The objective of the programme was to adopt primary and secondary government schools and improve the quality of education in these schools.
Several teachers’ training programmes for primary schools were prepared. However, during implementation the mismanagement and wrongdoing sin the education department came to light as the equipment being supplied to schools which included desks, fans, water coolers, windows, doors, etc., was being stolen from the school premises.
The programme had also exposed the existence of ghost schools and ghost teachers. Unfortunately, despite the lapse of 10 years the situation has not changed. A visiting BBC education team had described our government schools as stables. Unless the government takes a hard look at its education policy and gives it priority, we will continue to be a nation of illiterate, ignorant and intolerant people, ill equipped for the 21st century. And the “enlightened moderation” that our leaders keep harping on will not have a ghost of a chance to become a reality.
HAMID MAKER
Helpline Trust
Karachi
THERE were two stories in the April 19 issue of Dawn that are worth some soul-searching. One is regarding the arrest and torture by the Hyderabad police of two underage brothers, 13 and six, who were accused of stealing a suction pump.
The other is regarding President General Pervez Musharraf flying off to Abu Dhabi to witness the groundbreaking ODI there. These incidents may seem totally unrelated, but sadly are pieces of the same puzzle.
MAHMOOD JILANI
Westood, USA
I READ the story of the two young children who were arrested in Hyderabad for a minor offence. This is a heartbreaking story. We have become so callous that we don’t even hesitate arresting poor small children and putting them in jail.
Is there any reliable organisation that one might contact in order to help these children?
NADEEM HAQ
USA
THIS is with reference to the article ‘Capital offence or free choice’ by Kunwar Idris (April 2) regarding the Afghan apostate. The writer’s basic argument is that belonging to one religion or another, or none at all, is the choice of an individual and of no concern of the state or society, much less an offence if the individual converts to another faith deserving of punishment. Several Quranic verses were also mentioned to prove that capital punishment is not a part of the Islamic Shariah.
My argument is not with respect to an apostate’s punishment. Keeping the current situation of the MuslimUmmah in mind, the death penalty would probably not be a solution to our problems. However, that does not mean that Islam itself is also not a solution to our problems. In fact, it is the only solution that will bring results.
It’s true that Islam never started with punishing people. The Holy Prophet spent the first 13 years in Makkah building character, ‘imaan’ and ‘taqwaa’ among the new Muslims. Most of the Shariah was revealed after the migration to Madinah. Islam, therefore, prepared minds first and then provided a system, a legislation, a way of life. However, once in the fold of Islam, the entire Shariah was applicable and binding on each Muslim.
I don’t agree with the writer when he says that belonging to any religion, or none at all, is for no concern of the state or society. ‘Deen’ is not based on self-created ideologies and dogmas. It’s not important what present day liberal thinkers think. What’s important is the word of the Quran and the Traditions. Allah says, “Truly, the religion with Allah is Islam” [Al-Imran: 19] and, “Whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers.” [Al-Imran: 85]. Knowing that our ‘deen’ is the only true religion, how can we become totally indifferent to what other Muslims do?
There are times when we quote some of the Quranic verses in isolation without noting the context of their revelation. “There is no compulsion in religion” [Al Baqara: 256]. This is probably the most mis-quoted verse of the Quran. This verse is in reference to converting non-Muslims to Islam.
It doesn’t apply to Muslims already in the fold of Islam. It was revealed in response to the allegation made by non-Muslims that Muslims used the power of the sword to convert people to Islam. Responding to that Allah said that Islam was a natural ‘deen’, one which the heart inclines to follow; hence, there is no compulsion in it.
SAMREEN RIZVI
Karachi
ANSWERING questions from a large youthful audience in a programme over a British TV channel a couple of days ago, Mr Mohammad ElBaradei, Director-General, IAEA, told them that it was now for them to craft a suitable system of world security wherein not only governments but every world citizen too could play a benefical role.
None can quarrel with Mr ElBaradei’s suggestion and hope. However, although security related stakes have never been higher in history, the ‘medley’ torch passed from one generation to the next has, if it has not faded altogether, become dimmer. In contemporary times man has failed to learn and act upon the lessons from Versailles and from the principles of the UN Charter so diligently crafted at San Francisco in 1945. Why should this have happened? Because national and collective leadership just could not and still cannot come out of the graceless smog of the outdated and myopic concept of ‘national interest’.
Nonetheless, the question still remains whether the desired state is or is not within our reach. Projections based on past history will be unhelpful and discouraging. However, it can be said with certainty that it is not so decreed. Political will and sincerity of purpose for the larger good of humanity can transform the dying glimmer of hope into happy reality.
The world’s leadership will have to wake up and stop playing toy soldiers. All that is required is: (i) effective commitment to the preamble, principles and spirit of the UN Charter with dignity and grace; (ii) immediately calling a meeting of the Disarmament Conference and activating the disarmament commission; (iii) conscientiously upholding the spirit of the UN Declaration of Human Rights in national governance; (iv) carrying the message of love of humanity by making human rights a principal and mandatory subject in academic curricula up to degree level; and (v) globalising nuclear energy under the aegis of the UN with every member-state having access to its peaceful benefits.
Hopefully, sensible people will not allow history to record that we destroyed ourselves at the pinnacle of our progress and the few who survived went back to the caves.
M.J.AS’AD
Karachi
THIS is with reference to the letter (April 10) regarding the president’s website. A large number of emails are received and responded to daily at the president’s website www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk.
Two other email addresses mentioned in the letter have been closed. The email address CE@pak.gov.pk was active between October 1999 and October 2002 when President General Pervez Musharraf was also the chief executive.
After October 2002 this email address was closed. As regards the email address presidentmusharraf@comsats.net.pk, this address was created to invite questions prior to the launching of the president’s website on February 24, 2005. This address was closed after the website was launched.
Anyone who wishes to communicate with the president should log on to the website www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk and go to the section “write to the president”.
PRESS SECRETARY TO THE PRESIDENT
Islamabad
With respect to the article “Changing equations in the new world order” by M.P Bhandara (April 16), the writer conveniently skips past the great Indus Valley civilisation, which came into being around 10,000 BC before the Aryan invasion in 1,500 BC and subsequent intermingling of races. Our contributions to world heritage are still appreciated by historians and scholars across all nationalities.
It either seems that our writers do not want to reflect on India’s and Pakistan’s great shared past or want to live in a make-believe world of their history starting only from 700 AD. I think they are more proud to be Persian than Pakistani. Nothing can be more damaging than not revealing the great past to our citizens just because we share a rich history with India. Pakistan has a great and glorious past and can teach many a lesson to these “later” civilisations, which came after 1000 BC.
VIKRAM RATHORE
Toronto,Canada
THIS is in response to the article ‘Need for more medical colleges’ by Mr Anwer Mooraj (April 17). Yes, Pakistan needs more healthcare workers. We need more colleges to produce more doctors, nurses and paramedics.
Such colleges are needed especially in the underserved areas and will serve as a mechanism of upgrading the health services of that area. These colleges need to work in close collaboration with the existing health services in a given area.
For this reason the private sector cannot do it alone. The government has to take the lead in setting up medical colleges in districts where there are no such colleges and where district hospitals with 200-300 beds already exist. The private sector can then join in. An example of such a public-private partnership that is working well is the Frontier Medical College and the Manshera district hospital.
N.A. JAFAREY
Ziauddin University
THIS has reference to the letter ‘Writ of the government’ by Dr Alfred Charles (April 19). The learned doctor is of the opinion that immediate attention is required to restore the government’s writ for controlling the soaring prices of cement, sugar, petrol, electricity and gas.
What this government really needs is ‘grit’ to control the rising prices. Writ without any grit is of no use to the downtrodden people.
WAHID BUTT
Lahore
MR Imran Khan, has rightly labelled the prevailing education system in our country as apartheid (April 14). The poor could never get admission in any quality private school in the country as the monthly fees charged by them can only be afforded by the affluent. And none of the private schools award scholarships to deserving students with financial need.
There is a clear demarcation between schools for the rich and schools for the poor in the country.
BADAR JATOI
Karachi
ANJUM Niaz’s column (April 9) on the fate of the CSP was as enjoyable and well written as all her pieces invariably are. There was, however, one factor I found lacking in the CSP articles when compared with her earlier writings. That is, she did not name names. One only hopes that this restraint was self-imposed.
A letter to the editor that appeared in your paper suggests that former CSP officers are ghost-writing articles on this subject. If this is true then the service would not have been maligned as it is in Ms Niaz’s column.
Another letter suggested that retired bureaucrats should stick to gardening. This is admirable advice and will keep them out of mischief. But, as this can hardly be a full-time occupation, I also recommend that those who have a story to tell should write about their experiences. Such writings make good reading.
WAJID ZAIN
Surrey, UK
FOREIGN Minister Khurshid Kasuri has called for a peaceful and diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear stand-off. He said that Pakistan is opposed in principle to military action against Iran. Further, he said the international community, especially the European Union, should play its role to avert another conflict close to Pakistan.
Is it a justified continuance of our foreign policy to oppose a military strike against Iran and look to the EU for prevention of another conflict in the region? At the time of Afghanistan and Iraq, our foreign ministry remained silent. Would this change in attitude be defined as hypocrisy or mockery?
SYED SADAQAT HUSSAIN
Karachi
WHILE I agree with all of the letters that have been written about the bomb blast at Nishtar Park, I suggest that the matter should be settled peacefully by the ulema of the Sunni Tehrik.
Paying compensation to the victims’ families is not going to make up for their loss but still it is a good step taken by the government. Punishing the people who were responsible for the bombing should remain the government’s ultimate goal.
AMBREEN AMIN
Karachi
PRESIDENT Musharraf may derive solace from the credit and praise he receives from around the world, particularly from President Bush, for his role in fighting world terrorism. However, he should remember that charity begins at home and that he should try to do something about terrorist attacks within the country.
MAJID HUSAIN
Norwich, UK
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