| August 23, 2006 | Wednesday | Rajab 27, 1427 |
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Karachi wrecked by rainwater
What makes us invincible
Congo virus or what?
Reflections of our TV plays
A gift for Karachiites
Need for oil
Boeing 737
Karachi diary
Diplomatic enclave
Readers are requested to restrict their comments to a maximum of 400 words. We reserve the right to edit letters for reasons of clarity and space. Letters, including those by e-mail, should carry the complete postal address of the sender. The views expressed in these columns do not necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper.—Editor
I HAVE to say that as an Australian I am dumfounded by the arrogance of umpire Hair. One has to question Mr Hair’s motives; surely it is no coincidence that he has provided his most controversial moments when umpiring teams from the subcontinent. Is Mr Hair racist?
Who can really tell? However, if he is to be judged by his actions alone, then this harsh conclusion is hard to resist. Unfortunately I have witnessed Mr Hair’s dubious decisions before and none more so than the disgraceful no-balling of Sri Lankan spinner Murali.
His steadfast refusal to admit his mistakes then should have resulted in his removal from the ICC umpiring team. Instead a collection of former umpires supported his refusal to take the word of the ICC panel who had adjudicated on Murali’s action.
Mr Hair and his followers are threatening to divide the cricketing world; they must not be allowed to do so. In these troubled times cricket provides a reminder that people from all cultures and religions can co-exist on an equal footing.
TIM DANIELS
Sydney, Australia
IN view of the high drama regarding Pakistan’s last Test match and its forcible forfeiture, I urge all cricket-loving fans to lodge their complaints to the highest authorities. It is imperative that we unite behind our team which not only holds the higher moral ground but is also being needlessly blamed by the ICC.
We should protect our boys who have always played for their country in the best of spirits with utmost effort.
This incident is a test of the PCB’s character and it should keep in mind that the public won’t accept such public humiliation of Inzamam and his team.
The ICC should know that by making this farcical, absurd and biased decision, it has displeased a proud nation of 160 million people to appease one who dares to call himself a neutral umpire.
DR AHMAD Z. ARHAM
Karachi
IT has been disappointing to note the way Darrel Hair has brought the game of cricket to disrepute by his biased decisions in recent series with England. I have been watching the England-Pakistan cricket series here based in the US and I had been noticing that many of his decisions were going against the Pakistan team.
I wish to let the entire Pakistan team and its supporters know that all Asian communities, including Indian and Sri Lankans, fully support your team and we believe that Darrell Hair should stop officiating cricket matches if he is racially biased.
After all, not long ago another of his country mates Dean Jones called South African cricketer Hashim Amla a terrorist.
BISHNUJEE SINGH
Washington, USA
IT was right for the Pakistan team not to come out after tea. After all they had been accused of cheating. Darrell Hair is reportedly known to act against Asian teams, particularly the Pakistan team.
He contributed to Pakistan losing against the West Indies and also did not give four wickets to the Pakistani team in the third Test match of these series.
Billy Doctrove fully supports his decisions, otherwise he’ll have a hard time because Hair’s is a stubborn and strong character.
The Pakistan team did not tamper with the ball and there is a possibility that Darrell Hair has wrongly accused Pakistan. We don’t know what the controversy will lead to, but Darrell Hair was involved in both the matches where the Pakistan team suffered. He is found in such incidents as umpire of that game and these incidents can’t be called ‘coincidences’ anymore.
The entire issue of ball tampering is a relic of the early 1990s when Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis were so brilliant that the only feasible explanation was that they had mastered the dark arts.
The recent Pakistan-England Test series came to a sorry end, Pakistan losing 3-0: the first two matches could have been won by the Pakistan team if it weren’t for Darrell Hair.
AMN RAHMAN
Lahore
IT’s ironic that while our leaders talk of the economic prosperity and foreign investments in the country, Karachi, the economic hub of the country, lies flooded. Daily life has been disrupted, people were killed or injured while offices and schools were closed.
The whole city came to a standstill. Perhaps we should be less concerned about the new seven-star hotel being constructed in Islamabad, or the proposed BMW factory in Punjab and concentrate our efforts on Karachi to normalise the lives of the people of that city.
KAMIL ALI REXTIN
Islamabad
I LIVE in Hong Kong but can’t help but feel sorry for Karachiites. From what I hear and see in the media, the relentless rain has made the plight of Karachiites pathetic.
This is not only because of the fact that the administration is corrupt and generally missing in action, but also because of the fact the people of Pakistan still don’t see the value of paying taxes (except poor salaried staff working for MNCs, government, etc., who don’t have a choice) and the benefits they can reap, if again, the administration were not so corrupt and inefficient.
It rains cats and dogs here in Hong Kong but I never see any standing water on the streets because of efficient planning by the government.
The same can be said about Singapore and many other places. It’s time we got our act together in Pakistan and followed other great nations’ recipe for success.
FARHAN FAROOQI
Hong Kong
MUCH has been written about the recent rains in Karachi. They have fully exposed the lack of planning by the civic administrators. So many people were stranded in their vehicles for hours due to prolonged traffic jams. People have right to know about a so-called rain emergency plan. Does it actually exist or is it just on paper?
People also want to know from our young and dynamic city nazim about his claim that 99.99 per cent of the city had been cleared of water. He said this while talking with journalists at a spot where rainwater could be seen all around.
DR ALFRED CHARLES
Karachi
THIS is with reference to the letter by Mr Majid Khan Jadoon under this heading (Aug 18).
There is a kind of cheap intellectualism going on in Pakistan. This fake liberalism would have us believe that strengthening Pakistan’s defences was wrong and all the money must be spent on the people’s welfare.
There is no doubt the basic function of every government is to work for the people’s well-being. But we live in an imperfect world, and weakness invites aggression. Poverty in India is 10 times worse than that in Pakistan.
Nobody in Pakistan goes hungry, yet each year sees India raising its military spending. While most Indians live in abject poverty, India carries on one missile test after another which fails. Who is India afraid of? China? That great country is so large it does not covet anybody else’s territory, unlike India, which has problems with each of its neighbours and insists that the Muslim majority Kashmir belongs to it.
As a Pakistani I was simply stunned that liberals and intellectuals made fun of the Air Force Chief’s statement based on common sense — that Lebanon was destroyed by Israel because it was militarily weak. Will India hesitate to attack Pakistan if it were weak? -– not even for a moment, for see its record of aggression.
It used force to occupy Junagadh, Hyderabad and Kashmir, and went into Chinese territory but was duly punished. In 1971 we provided the pretext for India to attack East Pakistan, and it will do so again if it found Pakistan weak.
Let us note that in 2002 India deployed its army in an offensive posture, but Pakistan fielded its own army and looked India into the eyes. Does anybody in his senses believe that India did not attack Pakistan in 2002 because of American pressure? When has India ever cared for the UN and for American pressure? India did not attack because Pakistan was ready.
Today Israel is blackmailing Arabs because it has nuclear weapons. India cannot do that to Pakistan because this country too has nuclear weapons. Besides, its conventional strength is quite capable of repelling aggression.
I would request these shallow liberals to read history of World Wars I and II and see how weak nations fell victim to aggression and how ultimately the strong were vanquished by the stronger. Pakistan must never neglect its defence.
RAFIQ SIDDIQI
Karachi
ON Aug 7 a young research scholar and a scientist of repute, Imran Ali Siddiqui, died mysteriously. Incidentally the young scientist was to be married on that fateful day. His family circles initially said Mr Siddiqui died of Congo virus and high-grade fever within 48 hours.
Authorities at Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi, have not clearly mentioned the exact causes of Mr Siddiqui’s death. The press information department of the hospital and doctors there have also kept mum about the death of this young scientist who had more than 100 research publications to his credit at such a young age.
It is a usual practice that we deny the presence of calamity until we are severely affected by it. Be it an epidemic, a natural disaster or even a war, our habit of saying ‘all is well’ does not see any bounds.
The authorities in the city and provincial and federal governments should inform the general public about the spread of contagious viruses and epidemics and the hospital authorities should also inform the general public about the precautionary measures and arrange for the treatment rather than isolating and letting die a patient in the ICU.
I hope that the authorities at the Liaquat National Hospital, Karachi, would come forward to give a plausible explanation regarding the death of Mr Imran Ali Siddiqui. The Pakistan Medical Association too should investigate the breakout of Congo virus infection in the city and suggest the necessary precautionary measures. This will be in the fairness of medical ethics also.
ARIF-UZ-ZAMAN
Karachi
TELEVISION channels’ rapid mushrooming in Pakistan is a unique trend, though not unexpected. Today we have no less than 36 channels telecasting programmes in Urdu and all our regional languages, both in private and in public sectors. These channels operate from within Pakistan and from abroad.
They telecast a wide range of programmes comprising news, business news updates, religious teachings, serial and long plays, movies, talk shows, musical shows, fashion, cooking and children shows.
The programmes are indigenously produced by Pakistanis at home and abroad, and foreign producers as well as joint productions.
If one were to analyse the categories of programmes, it is by no means difficult to conclude that drama and music take most of the airtime and attract largest size of viewership cumulatively.
Do the TV plays that are telecast reflect truly our societies, its norms and customs, our way of life and its related problems? The answer is ‘no’. Are the high-profile families and personalities projected a common factor in our country?
These families and individuals are found involved in numerous range of crimes and practices generally uncommon thus far in our society. It is quite unrealistic portrayal of theme that seems to have been imported from across the border.
Secondly, many plays portray an ideal family, household, a couple or an individual. Again, it is very unrealistic in our society. The idealistic themes portrayed by these plays have very poor reflection on our young generation.
They all expect to find a life partner as ideal as they see on the mini-screen and strive to live in a similar favourable and ultra-modern environment. Is that possible in Pakistan? No, not all. If youngsters do not achieve this, it all ends up in fiasco -– family quarrels, avoidable stresses, separation and even divorces.
Finally, in many plays stories revolve round crimes, exhibition of weapons, violence and planning criminal activities. Where our youth cannot perceive a crime, TV plays provide them a lead.
Where are we heading? I think our TV playwrights and producers need to take stock of the situation, search for the right theme which truly reflects our own problems and issues in our society.
What can the government do? The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority can bring together the TV producers, writers, channel operators and all other stakeholders, including viewers’ representatives on one platform, discuss and formulate code of ethics and conduct for all stakeholders to show to our youth what we are in reality.
Please rise, dedicate your energies, your skills and finances for the right cause and favourable results.
Your realistic approach to life can build our national character and our society that we all owe to this nation now and for posterity in the future.
TV is indeed a formidable media of our times. It is instant and a readily acceptable commodity that can play a leading role in changing the directions we are headed. Let us show to the world that we copy neither the East nor the West. We are our own ‘Best’.
REAR ADMIRAL(R) SYED A. BAQAR
Karachi
THE federal minister for communications, Babar Khan Ghori, has stated that the installation of the KPT fountain is a gift for poor Karachiites who cannot afford to travel to Switzerland for sight-seeing (Aug 17).
I wish that the federal minister could understand the plight of Karachiites who are living under constant misery of power failures, dilapidated roads while most of the city is inundated with stinking sewage mixed with rainwater.
The water fountain has nothing to do with the poor citizens of this city; it was installed to please the autocratic rulers sitting in Islamabad far away from the ground realities.
Dr JAMIL HYDER
Muscat, Oman
I FIND it hard to understand why people are bashing George W. Bush, Tony Blair and Israel for the bombings in the Middle East. These guys are working for the good of their country. America has to look 50 to 100 years ahead.
This is the policy of the government, no Republican or the Democrat can change that. America will be needing oil from the Middle East for their growing needs in the decades to come. Plus they’ve got to get to those oilfields before emerging superpowers China and India do.
So what’s this hue and cry about justice, fair play and death of innocent men, women and children in Lebanon and Iraq? Homo sapiens have always killed each other for survival as do animals. That’s the law of nature.
ZIA REHMAN
Georgia, USA
THEY say Hezbollah is fighting a proxy war, backed by Iran and Syria. I say Israel is fighting a proxy war too, backed and supported by the US as a part of the USA’s global ‘war on terror’.
Let us assume that Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation, still, I wonder if it is a war against terror, or for terror.
As today every Lebanese, irrespective of religion, has become a supporter of Hezbollah. And by the end of the day they will have turned every Lebanese into a member of Hezbollah.
I am a layman as far as international politics is concerned, but I know one thing for sure: America is playing a dirty game regarding their war on terror.
SAHIBZADA YUNAS JAN
Islamabad
RECENTLY I travelled to Rahimyar Khan, and the PIA Boeing 737 which took me there via Sukkur then continued the journey to Lahore and then to Islamabad.
Since I had a daylong stay at Rahimyar Khan, on my return flight in the evening the same 737 had a return route of Islamabad-Lahore-Rahimyar Khan-Sukkur-Karachi.
By grounding the Fokkers, it seems PIA has shifted the load on to the aging 737s. I had an opportunity to have a little chat with the flight captain, while we were at Sukkur, who said that each landing should have at least a two-hour gap but owing to the load they are not giving even a half-hour gap between two landings or take-offs. Will someone in PIA please clarify?
AAMIR SIDDIQUI
Karachi
FULL marks to Karachian for writing about the plight of Seaview residents and the collapse of the gigantic water tank (Karachi Diary, Aug 14).
A high-ranking DHA officer was seen on TV where he declared that the water tank was only being used as a reservoir. The fact of the matter is that before the tank “fell like a pack of cards” (to use his words), water was first filled into the underground tank and then pumped into the huge overhead tank from where it was supplied to houses and flats in the neighbourhood.
Now in the absence of the tank, invariably every morning the underground tank overflows and the water seeps out from one of the garages behind Block 26 inundating the whole area.
This is sheer waste of precious water and it is causing problems for the residents who have to wade through water to reach their garages.
Karachian also pointed out that the manhole next to Block 24 overflowed with sewage water making the whole area filthy and posing a threat to children who play there.
However, Karachian didn’t mention the stink which made the residents’ life miserable. After the publication of his column, the cantonment board did somewhat clear the choked line though the manhole, which is yet to be covered, remains as unsafe as ever.
AZHAR MAHMOOD
Karachi
SEVERAL months back there was a proposal by the Sindh chief minister for setting up a diplomatic enclave in Karachi, similar to the one in Islamabad. As a former diplomat, I support the proposal.
In the past 55 years Pakistan’s diplomatic relations have expanded a great deal. Karachi now has more consulates than the number of embassies in Islamabad.
The Sindh government, according to the chief minister, has asked the centre to set up a diplomatic enclave in Karachi for the offices and staff of all consulates and residences of staff members.
Making security arrangements for the consulates and their staff in a single location will be easier than taking care of their security when the consulates and the residences of their staff are dispersed. Shopping centres, medical aid centres and other civic facilities can be maintained in better shape in a large enclave.
Foreign governments should be allowed to build and own the properties for their consulates in the proposed diplomatic enclave.
QUTUBUDDIN AZIZ
Karachi
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