| July 05, 2006 | Wednesday | Jumadi-ul-Sani 8, 1427 |
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Stock market chaos
Appeal to Canadian embassy
PMDC-made rules
Being fair to all
From Karachi, with a response
NSC schemes and pensioners
Thirsty on the motorway
‘How intolerant are we?’
Need for an Asian currency
I APPLAUD Gen Musharraf’s decision to amend the Hudood Ordinance and to release all women prisoners booked falsely under the aegis of the Ordinance. Although the president has not always been successful in implementing his ‘enlightened moderation’ this will be a strong step forward in that direction. The omission of the release of men and women jailed under the blasphemy laws is disappointing.
We must not think that this alone will change the status of women in our country. The crimes which are committed against them, though lent a convenient avenue by the Hudood laws, spring forth from the patriarchal mindset of the people. To elevate women to their proper position it is vital that the masses are educated and set free from unfounded beliefs in male superiority.
With the still meagre allotment for education in the new budget, the continued support by certain groups of the Hudood laws and ancient parochial customs, the future of women is not altogether secure. One hopes that the ‘enlightened moderation’ will be carried all the way through and that the people will support the president in this, regardless of their opposition to the government.
Progress should not be impeded in this milieu out of spite for other mistakes the government may have made. And while many wax lyrical about the shortcomings of Gen. Musharraf, it is interesting to note that no one till now has had the courage and sense to modify the Hudood laws.
SAMI NOORSUMAR
Karachi
THE government’s decision to instruct the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) to amend the Hudood Ordinance is commendable.
For years, no government has had the courage to confront this cruel, unjust and discriminatory ordinance that has been used to oppress a large number of women, individuals and families. Governments have been held hostage by the wrath that they have feared from the religious parties, and have chosen to conveniently let the ordinance remain on the books.
Nothing clarifies the situation better than the truth. That the Hudood Ordinance is an unjust, cruel and un-Islamic law is the truth. And as soon as the truth is spoken, the fictitious power of the Hudood Ordinance will crumble.
However, it would be wise to be very careful how the law is amended. If it is amended by the issuance of another ordinance, however detailed may it be, this manner of correction may be vulnerable to being rolled back at some time in the future when the government changes. It would be more sensible, despite being more difficult, to amend via legislation. A bill to amend the Hudood Ordinance had been tabled some time ago in the National Assembly. It would be a good idea for the CII to work with the National Assembly to finalise this bill and then turn it into law.
I hope that the work on this much neglected issue proceeds swiftly.
MUEEN BATLAY
Washington DC, USA
THIS is with reference to a news item published in Dawn that a client had to sell his shop and a three-room flat in order to settle his account with a stock broker. It is very unfortunate that in Pakistan, especially at the stock exchange, small investors are not given due protection by the government. The stock exchange in Pakistan has become a place for gambling in which small investors are the ultimate losers.
As far as the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is concerned, gambling is clearly prohibited. An Islamic state can never imagine the presence of gambling. Yet not too long ago there was a crisis in the stock market, the so-called ‘March 2005 crisis’ due to which some investors had to sell their life savings. There was so much said about that but without any substantial result. No exemplary punishment was given to the culprits.
There are some points of concern with regard to the stock exchange in Pakistan. First, the brokers are very strong and they always drive the exchange according to their wishes. It is not difficult for them to move the market in either direction.
Second, the procedure is very complicated and is not easily understood by the small investors.
Third, artificial panic is created by some interested persons and by the time the situation is clarified, small investors have already suffered heavy losses. This is a frequent phenomenon in the stock market.
Fourth, some times false news is allowed to circulate in the market. For instance, there was a rumour that a well had been discovered by OGDC with huge amounts of oil . Later it was claimed that either there was no well at all, or if there is a well, then it is only capable of limited production. Fifth, the volatility in the market always costs the small investors.
There is need to redress all these issues. There should be a check on the activities of the brokers and for this purpose the regulator should be given more powers to investigate and impose punishments on the culprits.
Also, a committee headed by a retired high court judge and some members each from the regulator, stock exchange and the private sector having expertise in stock market should be constituted. This committee should be given a mandate to probe the March 2005 crisis as well as the present situation.
Their report should be made public. There should be awareness programmes for the investors through the electronic and print media.
This would help mitigate the losses to the investor, especially small investors, and they will not lose their life savings.
IMTIAZ AHMED KHAN
Islamabad
MY five-year-old brother, Mohammad Iqbal, was hit by a government bus in 1992 and his urinary system was affected severely. Despite efforts, including a large number of surgeries, he could not be treated in the country.
Later, however, a Canadian NGO came forward to help and sponsored the treatment. We went to the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada, where the doctors said that he would have to undergo long treatment, including at least four surgeries.
Sponsored fully by the NGO, we went to Canada three times and my brother was operated upon three times in 1996, 1997 and 1998 and the final surgery was scheduled in 2002.
In June 2002 the Canadian NGO, as usual, after completing the formalities, sent a letter to us and also sent a letter to the Canadian embassy requesting issuance of visas so that we could proceed for final surgery.
Although the Canadian embassy on earlier occasions had been issuing the visas to us on the same day, however, this time it did not issue the visa and started asking for different information, which we provided instantly.
In the last communication the Canadian embassy wrote to us that the treatment could be done in Pakistan. We submitted the Aga Khan Hospital’s letter with the embassy.
The letter says: “Looking at the complexity of his condition, I feel he should undergo this additional procedure at Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.”
Over two years have past since we submitted the letter with the embassy but it has not responded. In the meantime, my brother’s health, because of lack of required treatment on time, is deteriorating.
Owing to the delay, caused by the embassy, the funds reserved for my brother’s surgery/treatment by the Canadian NGO have also lapsed.
The estimated cost of my brother’s treatment is Rs2.5 million which, I, being a clerk and the sole breadwinner of a large family, could not afford.
I, therefore, request the Canadian NGO to relocate the funds and the Canadian embassy to once again consider the case of issuing the visas to us, as it had been doing so in the past, so that my brother could get complete and proper treatment and could lead a normal life.
SHAKEEL AHMED
Hyderabad
APROPOS of the news item ‘PM & DC and health ministry fight again” (Dawn, July 1), it is clarified that the news item is misleading as the PMDC has misquoted the facts.
The PMDC-made rules to this effect, posted on the web site, have not been notified by the federal government as required under the law. These are void of any legal effect.
Further, I would like to point out that the content of para 13 of the regulation pertains to election of registered medical practitioners and registered dental practitioners only and not other council members.
The approved regulations were gazetted and published in the Gazette of Pakistan, dated June 9, 1967.
Clause 50 part (VII) of Medical Council Regulations 1967 as published in the Gazette of Pakistan, dated June 9, 1967:
“When a casual vacancy occurs by reason of death or resignation of a member or for any other reason, report shall be made forthwith by the President to the Central Government which shall take steps to have the vacancy filled by nomination or election, as the case may be, by the authority or constituency by which that member was nominated or elected.”
The ministry of health has thus not delegated the responsibility of constituting the council to the secretary of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council.
DR ASIM HUSSAIN,
President, Pakistan Association
of Private Medical and Dental
Institutions, Karachi
QUITE a few Pakistani writers and columnists write about the real or perceived injustices done to the minorities but, in the process, many of them present a one-sided picture whereby the majority gets stereotyped as some kind of demons.
On June 3 there was a report in Dawn about the statement made before the Supreme Court by a woman. Naseem Shahid, age 24, said she had become a rolling stone in the hands of the police and was also continuously receiving threats from the Christian community, besides which were her financial difficulties.
The lady revealed she had embraced Islam from Christianity eight years ago. Her tent-house was set on fire in February 2005 for changing her faith. Her five-year-old daughter had died in that fire while two minor sons, her husband and herself were injured. Then, on Feb 13 this year a policeman took her husband along to depose in the case about the fire but the latter died from bullet wounds in mysterious circumstances while in the constable’s company.
Regrettably, no columnist or women’s rights activist bothered to highlight her predicament and there had been other such incidents in the past as well. Meanwhile, Prof Anwar Syed has written about the plight of the minorities (June 18), which makes it appear that our minorities, particularly the Hindus, are getting the worst possible treatment.
Another columnist, Mr Irfan Husain was quick to write a whole column (Dec 3, 2005) about the three sisters who had converted from Hinduism to Islam, but the Supreme Court found nothing amiss in that after having tried the case. However, the gentleman failed to apologise for his allegations and insinuations against his co-religionists, the Muslims of Pakistan.
Many people appear insensitive to the fact that the Pakistanis and other Muslims are being maligned largely unjustly by many hostile forces, particularly in the West, although the adherents of Islam in Palestine, Kashmir, Indian Gujarat, Chechnya and Burma, etc., are infinitely worse off. To counter that and present a proper perspective, our columnists and writers are urged, as before, to mention the sufferings of the minorities in India and the other places.
During the 40 plus years spent in Karachi and in visits to other cities, I have never once seen any non-Muslim being treated as depicted in the column. This is not to deny that such incidents do occur but only to point out their rarity. One could give many positive examples of our behaviour with non-Muslims which these columnists never bother to look for, but space permits just a few.
There was a retired British captain, Mr Reuben, who chose to stay back in Pakistan after 1947 along with his younger widowed sister, for whose sake he stayed single. They were Jews and had some relatives as well in Karachi whose company they appeared to shun. However, there was this young Muslim man and his younger brother known to me who used to help them selflessly in whatever way they could. Captain Reuben was so impressed that he even gave some gold bars to the older brother for safekeeping.
Many years later the gentleman died and his sister informed the two brothers first of all. She must have been around 65-70 herself and decided to live with her nieces thereafter.
At a gathering of the Jewish community, the elder brother handed over the gold to the lady making everyone witness to it. The people, who did not even know this fellow had ever been entrusted with the job, were visibly moved and praised him greatly.
Then there is the story of an American lady a Pakistani family got to know during their stay in the US. She told them she used to be severely abused by her alcoholic husband, also that her younger son, who was a homosexual, died of AIDS. Nobody was even willing to touch his body but some Pakistani Muslims arranged his funeral according to the Christian tradition. The woman, who had been studying about various religions’ teachings on alcohol use and sexual perversions etc. and was already impressed most by Islamic teachings, decided to become a Muslim.
Several Pakistanis I know, if approached by needy non-Muslims not just in Pakistan but even while overseas, always help them, in spite of sometimes being short of foreign exchange. Its certainly a good and important thing to uphold the minorities’ rights but without being unfair to others.
A READER
Karachi
THIS is in response to the article ‘From Lahore, with love’ (July 2). I’m a resident of Karachi and I took great exception to what was sugar-coated as ‘advice’ to Karachiites.
The author Eff Cee described Karachiites as people who have a complex coupled with a lack of tolerance. I’m amazed at this generalisation because some 50 different ethnic groups reside in this metropolis.
I’m also quite tired of hearing about the lack of hospitality in our city. I went to Lahore twice in the past year. I promise you there were no hordes waiting for me with open arms, ready to embrace me to the wonders of Lahore. All I noticed in your cleaner and greener city were the leering men who inhabit it.
This habit of staring at the opposite sex was not limited to the males on the street; women were openly indulging in the same pastime at one of the more popular restaurants. Karachi hosts roughly 10 per cent of the country’s population in an area that spans over a meagre 1,600 square kilometres.
So, of course, it’s going to be a dirty and populated city — most metropolises are. Bangkok, Mumbai and New York all have traffic and pollution problems. When one goes to Islamabad and complains about the lack of things to do, the response is always: “You have to know people to have fun.”
Isn’t that a better example of the ‘estrangement and exclusion’ that Eff Cee claims Karachiites prescribe to? No one can judge a city in four days spent racing between weddings and funerals. The next time you come to Karachi Eff Cee, please contact me.
FALAK JALIL
Karachi
I DRAW the attention of the prime minister to the plight of old pensioners who invested their commutation and other lifelong savings in the National Savings Certificate.
They have been deprived of the benefits of enhancement announced by the ministry of finance as the benefit is granted only to new investments by the investors, thereby depriving 98 per cent of old pensioners.
Will the prime minister look into the matter and do the justice across the board?
SAFDAR HUSSAIN SHAH
Rawalpindi
ON the way to Islamabad via the motorway I noticed the road cleaning workers demanding water from moving trucks. I observed at least three workers asking for water by showing empty bottles at different locations between Lahore and Faisalabad.
It was a very hot and sunny day and I assume that these guys must have been working for several hours by that time. There are no shades or places to avoid sun for these gentlemen.
I am surprised that no proper system has been introduced to facilitate the motorway’s hardworking staff.
IMRAN AHSAN MIRZA
Lahore
WITH reference to the letter ‘How intolerant are we?’ by Khushbakht Vaka (July 1), I would just like to say that we Muslims are not able to live with other Muslims for reasons of sect, ethnic background, language, etc.
This is a representation of the state of our society. Minorities have always feared for their lives and property in Pakistan and they prefer to emigrate whenever possible.
I have lived for some time in Yemen, a very conservative Islamic society which has a sizable population of Jews.
I have personally met some of them who immigrated to Israel but chose to come back to Yemen due to various reasons.
The main reason being that they felt part of the Yemeni society and were accepted as equal citizens.
We can at least instil tolerance and acceptance within our own children as a first step and hope that all parents can do the same. We should make sure that future generations are more humane than the current ones.
SAQIB ANWAR
Dubai, UAE
THE economy of the United States of America has been prospering by the printing and exporting mountains of dollars at the cost of rest of the world. It costs them nothing to increase their foreign exchange reserves, and through this economic power they have distorted the world economy.
Europeans realised this phenomenon and in order to come out of the economic clutches of America, they launched their own currency called the Euro which is a source of economic strength for European countries.
As a result, they are no longer dependant on US dollars for their mutual trade. Many other countries who do not like the economic hegemony of the US are also using Euros for international trade.
It is now high time for Asian countries to join hands and think about launching an Asian currency on the lines of the Euro for trading among themselves. It will make Asia more economically independent and facilitate mutual trade without any fear of manipulation by the world’s sole superpower. Japan, China, South Korea and Malaysia should take a lead in this respect.
MUHAMMAD IQBAL CH.
Islamabad
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