| August 08, 2006 | Tuesday | Rajab 12, 1427 |
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Maternal misfortunes
No compromise on PhD quality
Not the Wild West
HEC and reforms
Textile package and SMEs
All the president’s men
A matter of semantics
Special treatment for some
Electricity from open sea
A request
THE people of Karachi were being repeatedly told by the city government that all preparations were well completed in June/July to meet any eventualities arising out of rain emergencies. Then came the rains to prove beyond doubt that nothing had been done to meet the rain emergency. All were false promises.
I was born in Karachi and have seen 77 monsoons with rainfall as high as 30 inches (750 mm) in one season but never did we see any such ‘mismanagement’ as witnessed in the last several days. The Clifton underpass was a disaster.
I am told that an official (a rank of brigadier), in charge of the construction, mentioned on a private TV channel that no one had told them that water would flow from Teen Talwar and Do Talwar. If this is true, it is most surprising because whenever it rained, there used to be water on main Clifton Road and this time it was but natural that water finding its own level would flow towards the underpass.
One does not have to be an engineer or an expert but all that was needed was a close study of all aspects before undertaking this project.
Almost 25 people have died and the entire city is in turmoil with only about seven inches of rain spread over four days. This is a shame for any metropolitan city for such a disaster. The rainwater is not flowing into the sea because the drains are choked despite the fact that we have been repeatedly told by the nazim that all the waterways have been cleaned.
A thorough probe into this gross mismanagement must be made and its findings be made public so that we, the citizens, could know the truth.
MAHER ALAVI
Karachi
I AM a resident of Gulshan-i-Faisal, Bath Island, Karachi, which is flooded with stagnant, horrible smelling, electrified rainwater. Since August 30 we have been immobile thanks to the little lake outside our house. To top it all, even after desperate measures were taken, the reeking rain water has entered our underground water tank and so have at least 10 different species of insects, leaves, mud and God knows what else. We can’t even clean up our tank till the water outside is pumped out.
Due to the knee-high stagnant water, a couple of thousand mosquitoes have found shelter in our home. The water outside has made it impossible for anyone to go out or come into our streets, including maids and sweepers, and hence occasionally one can witness wet garbage bags and pampers floating about the already terribly dirty water. Most residents are also complaining about their PTCL phones being disconnected. We have registered complaints over a thousand times but the PTCL people are unable to reach us as our streets are filled with rainwater.
Yesterday we took a sigh of relief when we saw city district government vehicles parked at the entrance of Gulshan-i-Faisal. However, they were only kind enough to clean a tiny portion right at the beginning and left. The remaining streets remain flooded with unhygienic water which is a huge risk to people’s health and lives.
It’s time the local government and the city nazim did something about this. This water is bad news for the people living in Bath Island, as well as for the underprivileged people living in the colony behind Bath Island. Why is it that our local government only operates under pressure? There have been news reports in various newspapers about the present poor condition of Bath Island, but even a week after nothing has been done. The residents of Bath Island demand an answer from the local government and expect them to take immediate action on this issue as it is a matter of human lives.
RABAIL QADEER BAIG
Karachi
DR Shershah Syed’s article (July 9) in which he has described Egypt’s achievements in reducing maternal and neonatal deaths and improving maternal and child health has prompted me to write this letter. Egypt’s success is the result of the importance given by them to the issue and the efforts of all concerned.
Similar is the situation in two southernmost states of India. I have just returned from Chennai after attending a meeting on ‘safe motherhood’, in which Pakistan, Bangladesh and India presented their case studies.
In comparison with the rest of India, the maternal and neonatal health indicators of Tamil Naidu and Kerala are indeed commendable. Tamil Naidu with a population of 62.1 million with over 1.1 million deliveries per year has a maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 90/100,000 live births and an infant mortality rate (IMR) of 41/1,000 births, of which 82 per cent are neonatal deaths.
Kerala with a population of 31.8 million and nearly 0.57 million deliveries per year has an MMR of 30, an IMR of 11 and the neonatal mortality rate (NMR) of 8.5/1,000 births. The national indicators of India are: MMR 437, IMR 60 and NMR 47.
The success in the two southern states has been achieved by the combined and sustained efforts of the state government, committed professionals and an enlightened community. A rights-based approach to promote safe motherhood has been taken, whereby the injustices if leading to maternal deaths and disability are addressed. Known and innovative interventions are being promoted by directives and active support of the state.
Pakistan has pledged to achieve the Millennium Development Goals of which Goal Five requires reduction of maternal mortality by three fourths, and Goal Four requires reduction of child mortality by two-thirds by the year 2015. If we are serious about honouring this pledge, we need to pursue the issue of improving maternal and child health relentlessly.
PROF SADIQUA N. JAFAREY
President, National Committee for Maternal and Neonatal Health,
Karachi
APROPOS of Nasir Khan’s letter ‘Federal Urdu University PhD programme’ (July 29), it seems pertinent to bring to the fore some home truths. The Higher Education Commission is indeed desirous of improving the state of higher education and is supporting PhD programmes.
However, the worst thing to happen here would be if the HEC encouraged substandard PhD degrees which would inflict long-term and irreversible damage to the nation. It has, therefore, introduced a regular monitoring as well as quality control system to ensure the quality of PhDs produced.
According to the HEC criterion, universities offering PhD programmes are required to fulfil the basic requirements of adequate faculty, adequate research facilities and adherence to HEC rules for award of PhDs. These include the passing of an international subject GRE examination prior to admission to the PhD programmes and the evaluation of PhD theses by two eminent experts in technologically advanced countries.
In this case the monitoring team found insufficient number of supervisors while some departments lacked adequate laboratory facilities to initiate a serious PhD programme. Similar restrictions have been imposed on a number of other universities. The Chancellors Committee at its meeting held on May 11 under the chairmanship of the president of Pakistan has directed that all HEC quality criteria should be strictly followed by the universities.
However, university departments barred from offering programmes are allowed, on application, to continue or begin new programmes once the mentioned deficiencies are removed.
Moreover, the Federal Urdu University’s development grants for 2005-6 have all been released, according to the cash plan submitted by the university, as has been done with the recurring grants.
AAYESHA IKRAM HEC,
Islamabad
ONE morning when I was getting ready to leave for work I heard what sounded like two loud bangs. Thinking my neighbour’s was probably getting some work done on their home; I didn’t think about it too much and left for work.
Later that evening I returned home with an American friend who was visiting Pakistan for the first time. He pointed out “there’s a dead dog on the bench”. I assured him that the dog was just sleeping as she always sleeps on that bench. He insisted “no, its head is bleeding”. Upon hearing this I got out of the car to inspect and discovered to my horror that the dog was not only dead but had very clearly been shot.
I was then told by my chowkidar that there was another dead dog on the other side of the house. It was then that I realised what those two loud bangs I had heard in the morning were about. My memory flashed back to about a year earlier when I had found other dogs in front of my home in the same condition. A gentleman by the name of Akhtar who is in some way employed by the Clifton Cantonment Board (CCB) is assigned the task of eliminating these stray dogs.
When I called the CCB the last time this sort of thing happened, I was informed that “Akhtar saab shoot pay gay hovay hain”. When I told them I wanted to make a complaint about the way this task was being carried out, I was given the run around until I gave up. This time when I called the CCB I was again given the run around and they refused to file my complaint. And yes, you guessed it; Mr Akhtar was still nowhere to be found.
I can understand that these stray dogs must be eliminated or removed, irrespective of the fact that they keep drug addicts and other unsavoury characters out of our neighbourhood. However, I’m sure most people will agree that the tactic currently being used to combat this problem is wrong. We are not living in the Wild West and this is not the correct way to handle the situation. Not only does it makes us look like savages in front of people visiting our country, but is also unsafe because a stray bullet can kill a passer by. It is also a health hazard to have rotting corpses lying about, and imagine how traumatised a child would be if he or she saw an animal treated so savagely. I am writing to today out of sheer frustration with the situation that I find myself in so that more people will know what is going on.
BASHARAT ALI DURRANI
Karachi
THIS refers to your editorial ‘HEC and university reforms’. Your comments regarding the emphasis by the Higher Education Commission on PhD degree as prerequisite for appointment to the post of professor and associate professor are balanced and pragmatic. The main criterion for such appointments should be academic excellence and research work of real merit on the part of the candidate instead of placing undue emphasis on label.
There should be no harm in selecting a person to these posts if he has to his credit considerable research work in his discipline and has published article in journals of international repute. Such academics are far better than those carrying a label of PhD.
It would not out of place to mention here that the well-known professors of the Muslim University of Aligarh before partition, namely, Professor A.B.A. Halim and Professor M. Habib, were not PhD though there were well-known all over India for their profound scholarship and learning. They produced several PhDs. The former was later appointed the first VC of Sindh University as well as of Karachi University.
Even in Pakistan, until recently, Professor Sirajud Din and Professor Hamid Ahmad Khan, considered to be an authority on English literature, were without doctorate in English. This policy of the HEC is likely to encourage the individuals concerned to acquire shoddy doctorates from wherever possible. You are perfectly right in saying that “what is needed is knowledge and academic excellence in person applying for high-level posts. The HEC is going too much by letter of the rules.”
Directives by government agencies to autonomous universities having the elected statutory bodies to manage their affairs is unheard of in a democratic society. They strike at the very roots of their autonomy. The existing quasi-military regime has found an effective instrument in the shape of the Higher Education Commission to strengthen its control over the public sector universities and to stifle as much as possible whatsoever little autonomy enjoyed by then.
R.R. ALVI
Lahore
THIS refers to Mian Maqsood Maggoon’s letter ‘Textile package and SMEs’ (July 29). Apart from Motiwala and Baig committees, there was a group of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and one solo player who also claims the credit of getting the package approved by the prime minister. Unfortunately, this package was not accepted by some associations while a few are daily congratulating the government for the relief provided.
I had requested all the stakeholders to activate CTA which was a unified platform of the value-added industry for about 25 years. No doubt, APTMA was not its member because they were in a position to get all they wanted from the government.
Is it not time to reorganise the CTA? There is still an echo of the name of the CTA in government corridors as well as other value- added textile associations. As a matter of fact, the CTA gave the value-added industry a voice, otherwise the government did not realise the importance of this sector.
S.M.A. RIZVI
Karachi
BRIG (r) A.R. Siddiqi’s letter ‘All the president’s men’ (July 28) is a good example of the attitude contained in the maxim: “I never let the facts get in the way of my opinions.”
Despite the fact that the 18 signatories of the recent letter to the president, the prime minister and heads of all political parties represented in parliament (Dawn, July 23) represent the names of individuals from both the civilian and military sectors who have written and spoken on issues reflecting diversity as well as independence, and often differing with each other regardless of whether they are former generals or serving parliamentarians, Brig Siddiqi insists on describing all 18 eminent persons as “all the president’s men.”
He has failed to explain why this commendable letter which, as alleged by him, has been written by “the president’s men” has drawn so much bitter and hostile criticism from several political figures closely allied to the president?
I am disappointed by the petty-minded remarks he makes about the contents of the letter, as well as about those who have signed it. The original letter, which is targeted, by him calls for dialogue and conciliation, for tolerance and mutual respect. What is wrong with such a message? Whereas Brig Siddiqi’s own letter is full of scorn, and criticism and negativism.
As regards his own association with the presidency of Pakistan, Brig A.R. Siddiqi has himself very loyally served under not one but two military presidents, Field Marshal Ayub Khan and Gen Yahya Khan. Possibly to salvage his guilty conscience for his meritorious service under two martial law regimes he has been busy writing books and articles showing himself in a good light while heaping criticism on the martial law dictators whom he saluted.
Is there an aroma of sour grapes?
TARIQ MANNAN
Karachi
WRITING under the title ‘A matter of semantics’ (letter, August 2), Mr Asif Noorani says: “Secularism is by no means the negation of religion, which is why ‘la-deenyat’ is not the correct translation of the word secularism. Someone can be a Muslim or a Christian and yet secular in his or her outlook.”
As a believing Muslim, I have a problem with this enunciation. According to the accepted usage of the term, ‘secularism’ means the belief that religion should be confined to the individual’s private life: public matters should be decided purely on mundane considerations without any reference to religious injunctions. Now the Holy Quran does not confine itself to the individual’s private life but also lays down rules of conduct in the public sphere. How can I remain a Muslim if I believe in principle that parts of the Holy Quran should be treated as a dead letter? Those who advocate secularism in Pakistan should answer this question.
The defining paradigm of secularism is agnosticism. It is neutral not only between religions but also between religion and atheism. Religion has gradually been marginalised in countries and societies which have adopted secularism as their creed.
ASAF ALI SHAH
Lahore
THIS has reference to the news item ‘Diamler-Chrysler coming to Pakistan’ (July 24). It was surprising to learn that a UAE-based group is sponsoring a German brand to put up a plant and facilities on 1,200 acres of land given by the government of Pakistan at a cheap price (Rs400,000 per acre) near Sheikhupura. On top of this, the company has full assurance of securing orders from NLC, FWO and the army.
I would like to draw attention to a similar company named Volvo Truck Co (based in Sweden) which is one of the largest truck producers in the world. In 1994 they put up the Volvo Truck assembly plant by the name of Volvo Pakistan Ltd. in the vicinity of Lahore by investing millions of dollars. Today the truck plant is lying idle due to the lack of special encouragement from the government in terms of financing, orders, etc.
I wish privileges were also available to companies that took the initiative to invest in this industry and are already working for the betterment of the economy of Pakistan.
DANISH GHAFOOR
Marketing manager, Volvo Trucks
Lahore
THE other day I was watching a National Geographic documentary on power generation. One technology was about generating electricity from an open sea, laying emphasis on the futility of generating power from dams.
According to the documentary, many countries would soon be adopting the new technology and save their cost as well as time on building dams, whether big or small.
In our case, the adoption of this new technology may resolve many conflicts that have still not been resolved for the last many decades and also avoid hazard of building big dams which result in displacement of large-scale population, their resettlement requiring many years (in case of Tarbela, it took 35 to 40 years), besides spending big money, wastage of about 40 per cent water through seepage, fear of break-up of big dams resulting in large-scale devastation.
IMRAN KHAN SIAL
Karachi
I WANT to request President Musharraf to order his staff to get him a copy of Dawn’s Karachi ‘Metropolitan’ pages every day so that he can read for himself the number of cellphones, vehicles and motorcycles being snatched, and the number of innocent people being killed.
It will help him analyse the situation.
M. RAFIQUE ZAKARIA
Karachi
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