| May 17, 2006 | Wednesday | Rabi-us-Sani 18, 1427 |
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West’s unprincipled stand
Charter of democracy
Osama’s whereabouts
Toxic waste
Trade with Bangladesh
Oil firms’ threat
No more strikes?
Grant for bird flu crisis
Women’s emancipation
Phone complaint
AS a Pakistani expatriate working in Iran I have been closely following the development about Iran’s nuclear standoff with the West, specifically with the US. I fail to understand the basis of this confrontation that the US and its allies are putting up with Iran over its peaceful civilian programme which is solely for the purpose of producing cheap electricity.
American allegations are based on a biased analysis and discrimination. The Bush administration is trying to convince the world that Iranian leadership has hostile intentions behind its nuclear programme and it is planning to develop nuclear arsenal and weapons of mass destruction to disturb the peace in the region, specially targeting Israel. One can recall that this assumption was also behind the invasion of Iraq and we all know what came out of it.
The point that I want to make is this that the same allegations also hold true for the North Korean regime: they have developed nuclear technology, they are hostile to South Korea which is the closest ally of America in the region, for a long time they have been suspected of carrying WMD and finally the regime is highly anti-American. My question is then why America and its allies have closed their eyes towards North Korea. Why the IAEA doesn’t moves the UN Security Council against North Korea the way it did with Iran. In other words why North Korea is not in limelight?
In my opinion there are several reasons Why America is specifically targeting Iran and lobbying for long-term sanctions. The first reason is related to political history, In 1979, just when Americans thought they had been able to develop a strong base in Iran with the Shah of Iran regime in place, people of Iran in a revolution led by Imam Khomeini toppled the government, along with it the American dream of dominating the region went down the drain the wound that Americans are still licking.
Second, what separates Iran from North Korea is that Iran is a Muslim country of 70 million people, and the West doesn’t wants Muslims to use the benefits of nuclear technology.
Third, Iran has rich deposits of oil and gas which are of major attraction for America and its allies as they dream of invading Iran on the basis of nuclear conflict and get hold of these resources the way they are doing in Iraq.
Fourth, neighbouring Pakistan, another Muslim country, already has nuclear technology. Therefore, the West fears that there may be a Muslim nuclear bloc emerging in the region.
I think all allegations against Iran are baseless and based on scanty information; every democratic country in this world in whatever region, race or religion has a full right to develop any alternative sources of energy for the benefits of its people and for the progress of the nation. America has no right to interfere in the internal policies of Iran.
NASIR RIAZ
Tehran
American President Bush and German Chancellor Merkel have jointly pledged unwavering support for Israel, with Mr Bush calling the Zionist state a natural ally and Ms Merkel evoking the horrors of the Holocaust to justify her policy (May 6).
The first question is, how can the US and Israel be natural allies when one is committed to freedom and equal rights for all of its citizens and was not created for a particular religious or exclusionist ideological group, whereas the other lacks all these attributes and is effectively an apartheid state? The foremost common denominator today between America and this Middle Eastern ally is the desire to occupy Islamic lands and overpower the Muslims. The US also claims to be a friend of the Arab countries but resolutely aids Tel Aviv in all possible ways in its activities against them.
The second question is for Ms Merkel. During Stalin’s reign millions of Muslim and other citizens of the erstwhile Soviet Union were subjected to genocide and torture and confinement in the Gulag of the Moscow regime. If, after the World War II, the Soviets had managed to occupy all of Germany and, as a compensation to these tormented souls banished to Siberia, created a state for them in a large part of its country, how would the German chancellor and her compatriots feel about it?
Will they accept the aerial bombings, erection of walls and barriers, killing of innocent people, including international peace activists and children, bulldozing of homes, destruction of farms and other means of livelihood and living in Bantustans and overcrowded refugee camps in their own country with scarcely any rights? And, what if this illegally imposed entity had come to possess hundreds of atomic bombs as well?
Overtime, the Germans and other western countries understandably felt guilty about the Holocaust and the treatment meted out to the Jews, as starkly contrasted with the Muslims’ benevolence and protection for the adherents of Judaism after the Christian re-conquest of Spain. However, this should not have led the former to pass the buck on to the Arabs but to redress their victims by creating a country for them in Europe or the US. The formation of Israel in the Middle East has set the region on fire and alienated the world’s 1.4 billion Muslims besides which the West itself is now reaping the harvest of this injustice.
KHALID NAQSHBANDI
Karachi
THE initiative taken by our leaders Benazir Bhutto and Mohammad Nawaz Sharif in achieving a consensus on the charter of democracy is an important milestone in our chequered political history. The charter truly reflects the aspirations of the people who are interested in the provision of justice and transparency at all levels of society. The authors of the charter have struck at the very nerve of the military-dominated establishment and come up with suggestions to change the status quo and bring true accountability, including unreasonable military perks and the defence budget, under the preview of civilian government.
The leaders of the two major political parties have read the writing on the wall and demonstrated political maturity by committing themselves to upholding democratic principles and asserting the much-needed writ of a civilian democratic set-up. Future political battles will no doubt be fought between the upholders of the doctrine enshrined in the charter and those trying to protect themselves under the wings of COAS.
In the event of a fair and impartial election, no matter which party or alliance wins the election, it will be difficult for them not to incorporate the reforms highlighted in the charter.
DR SAFIULLAH AFGHAN
Coventry, UK
NOTHING is impossible in politics. However, political marriages of convenience between erstwhile bitter enemies can only be expected to be extremely rocky, stormy and fragile. They invariably end in extremely messy divorces full of recriminations, allegations, bitterness and hostility.
The PPP’s final plunge with the PML-N and its continuous unnatural flirtation with the MMA, fundamentalists and obscurants are indicative of how far the mighty have fallen.
All their concepts of ideology, ideals, principles and political acumen have been thrown to the winds of political expediency. It is indeed sad that Ms Benazir Bhutto seems to have finally lost her way. Politics in Pakistan has become poorer.
SENATOR COL (retd) SYED
TAHIR HUSSAIN MASHHADI
Karachi
THIS has a reference to the news report ‘Osama’s whereabouts being unknown’ (Dawn, May 14). It has become routine for Afghan leaders to express their assumption that Osama Bin Laden is in Pakistan.
Recently Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta told a German magazine that Osama is hiding in Pakistan near the Afghan border and that Pakistan’s efforts to capture him are half-hearted. His predecessor Abdullah Abdullah also harped on the same point. The Pakistan foreign ministry promptly rejected this statement.
What is Kabul’s objective in levelling these accusations? They are clearing not in the interest of Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai whose government is restricted to Kabul only. His country is divided between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance.
The Northern Alliance is heavily influenced by India because when Ahmad Shah Masood needed money and weapons India armed him to the teeth. Now the Northern Alliance is towing the Indian line.
They believe that by claiming Osama’s presence in Pakistan — and insisting that Islamabad is not working whole-heartedly to capture him — they will annoy the Americans. The Americans will in turn pressure Pakistan or even declare it a terrorist country, like they did Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. There is likelihood, they hope, that Pakistan’s fate will be the same.
S.M. KAZIM NAQVI
Karachi
THE recent incident of toxic waste disposal in Karachi in which a boy died and a number of boys got chemical burns should be an eye-opener for the Sindh Environment Protection Agency (EPA). It is the job of EPA to ensure that toxic waste is disposed of properly. In this case the EPA did not do its job. The main reason is that the agency lacks technically qualified persons in its setup. It is being manned by non-technical persons.
Environmental engineering is a complicated and difficult field. The master of engineering degree is obtained from foreign universities, after 18 months of full-time hard work, including eight months of research work. This cannot be equated by environmental science courses offered locally, where one can get the degree through two hours of evening classes, twice a week, in four months.
The qualification mentioned in the notified rules for the post of director of the EPA is master’s degree in environmental engineering (not environmental sciences, which is not engineering) with 12 years of experience in pollution control. The present EPA director is a medical doctor, with a degree in environmental science. The DG is also a non-technical person.
The government should pay attention to this problem and post qualified staff in the EPA to prevent toxic waste-related incidents in the future.
MOHAMMAD ALI KHAN
Karachi
WHILE addressing the students of IBA, the deputy high commissioner of Bangladesh, Mr Mohammad Abdul Hannan, aptly focused on various sectors of trade between Pakistan and Bangladesh (Dawn, April 28). His stress on joint ventures between the industrialists of the two countries as an effective instrument of promoting closer relations is quite understandable.
However, he thought it expedient not to dilate upon some unsavoury aspects of our mutual trade out of deference to the sensibilities of the host country and constraints of his post. For instance, he parried questions on the balance of trade skewing towards Pakistan’s side — an irritating factor from Bangladesh’s point of view. This has got to be addressed seriously by Pakistan
Second, for reasons best known to him, he did not even obliquely refer to the basic Bangladeshi commodity, namely, jute crop, which can still play a significant role in tilting the balance of trade. At present, Pakistan is importing raw jute in its least value-added form. It is a sector where considerable expansion in Pakistan can take place, if we encourage expertise and investment from Bangladesh. Though it is history now, I may recall that it was none other than this golden fibre which stood Pakistan’s economy in good stead in its infancy as the main foreign exchange earner.
While it is true to some extent that geography and nature have been less generous to Bangladesh for a broader industrial base, it doesn’t mean that nothing can be done to bring about improvement in the existing one-way traffic. The country is rich in its handicraft products which can find a receptive market in Pakistan. Pakistan can provide impetus by gifting the Bangladesh three small outlets in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad for these handicrafts. Bangladesh has also been bequeathed huge potentials in the field of fine arts and music. Its government may officially subsidise initially cultural tours or individual performers so that awareness in Pakistan is created of the unmatched quality of their artistic talent.
Similarly, I know from personal knowledge that Bangladesh has made strong showings in the field of pharmacy. It is competitive in the manufacturing of low-cost medicines. We can import certain medicines from Bangladesh.
The entire burden of narrowing the imbalance between our bilateral trade falls on tea. Let us make Pakistan a protected market for tea from Bangladesh. As long as their tea can meet Pakistan’s demand, it should be given preference over other sources.
The fact remains that the binge of one-sided trade with Bangladesh cannot go on forever. Our businessmen will have to do business with them on more or less equal terms. Hats off to the people of Bangladesh who continue to show proclivity for Pakistani products in spite of their higher costs.
All those who are aware of our common history and shared struggle for Pakistan owe it to the people of Bangladesh to ask our policymakers to be proactive in evolving a long-term pattern of everlasting fraternal relationship between the two countries.
SIRAJUDDIN
Hyderabad
THIS is regarding a news report on the front page (Dawn, May 15) concerning oil companies that have threatened to pull out of the country if NAB is allowed to recover Rs4.5 billion from them. I am of the opinion that this is a mockery of our laws and the anti-corruption drivel that our leaders seem to spout.
Who are the oil companies to hold our economy hostage? I understand that they provide a boost to the GDP and employ locals but that gives them no reason or right to break or bend our laws to suit their own needs. If NAB thinks that they are accountable for Rs4.5 billion, then they should pay that amount to the rightful owners.
It is ridiculous that they elude the law even after making a threat like this. When oil companies operate in Pakistan, they are liable to our laws and deserve to be punished if they’ve done something wrong. If the government gives in to their demands and shelves the investigation like they did with the sugar pricing investigation, it will set an extremely bad precedent that others will undoubtedly follow.
It is time the government started practising what it preached. Their demand for maintaining their previous profit margins is a fair one and negotiations should be entered into if it is feasible. However, the threat is absolutely out of order and should be dealt with in the strictest manner possible. If necessary it should call their bluff and ask them to hand over current oil operations to the PSO and pack up. At least then the government can conduct investigations without having it challenged by corporations.
ALI MUJAHID
Lahore
ON May 27 the Jamaat-i-Islami is calling for a strike in Karachi. As before, workers and supporters of the Jamaat will enforce the strike by burning buses, cars, trucks, and threaten shop owners who refuse to go on strike. Moreover, business will be disrupted for everybody ranging from the poor taxi drivers to rich textile businessmen. These strikes usually accomplish nothing but create more hardships to the already struggling businesses in Karachi.
Strikes should no longer be acceptable in Pakistan. A rule should be passed by high courts that declare that if a strike disrupts business and causes any sort of physical destruction to private or government property, the political party that arranged the strike will have to compensate for the loss of the property or the business. This money should be taken directly out of the political party’s bank account and if the party refuses to pay, then the assets of its leaders should be frozen and given to the victims of the strike. The people of Pakistan have had enough of these costly strikes and it is time those responsible for the strike paid out of their wallets to those who have suffered any losses.
MASOOD KHAN
Chicago
ACCORDING to Mr Sher Baz Khan (Dawn, May 9), the government is seeking a technical assistance grant worth $25 million from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to deal with the bird flu crisis and support the sinking poultry industry.
However, the fate of such a grant, if approved, will not be any different from the earlier European Commission grant of 25.942 million euro for livestock services’ project.
Incidentally, on the same page of the newspaper, there is a report that the European Commission (EC) has started a probe into the financial scam as regards the 25.942 million euro national Strengthening of Livestock Services project, which started in September 2003. It is believed that the money went into the wrong pockets.
It is well-know that the bureaucracy is addicted to foreign grants and loans. These grants and loans are usually mismanaged, or rather embezzled, while the country’s foreign debt continues to grow.At present our foreign debt amounts to $38 billion.
There appears to be no regulating framework to oversee project appraisal and implementation. In fact, the taking of further loans and grants should be stopped and funds for projects should be found within the national budget.
ABDUL SAMAD KHAN
Karachi
“IT IS time we apprised women of their rights”, so says Mr Waseem Akhtar, housing, katchi abadi and special development adviser to the chief minister of Sindh. He was addressing a training workshop of elected women councillors.
He said women were being inducted into the government to take part in the country’s affairs so that they are provided with a sense of responsibility and confidence to solve their own problems. He said women were — and still are — treated like cattle in interior Sindh.
The reason he gives for women being so crushed is the ‘jagirdari’ system. This sardari or ‘wadera shahi’ may not be women-specific; it is against all poor villagers, but has an especially oppressive hold over the weakest of the weak. The jagirdari-inspired policy of denying women equal status is a major roadblock to women’s emancipation.
REHANA NAQVI
Karachi
MY telephone No. 6645859 has been experiencing crossed-lines and strange noises for the last several days. Repeated complaints on 18 and other numbers have so far brought no relief to me.
WASIM SHAH MALIK
Karachi
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