| August 29, 2006 | Tuesday | Sha'aban 4, 1427 |
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All the president’s men
KWSB working
Allowance for three appeals
F-16 fighters
Railway priorities
Neglect of education
Termites attack gallery
Dr A.Q. Khan
I bomb, you pay
Civic amenities for Clifton
Air chief’s remarks
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 FULLY endorse Dawn’s editorial ‘Tragedy with a price’ (Aug 28). As a nation we should awaken to the path our leaders are following to ensure the writ of government with fierce and foul means. Nawab Akbar Bugti’s killing has again revealed the government’s inability to handle matters at home through talks and a sensible approach.
We should bow our heads in shame. What Bugti was fighting for was the rights of his people over the abundant natural resources of their province. In the past we have lost more than half our country (Bangladesh), killed great leaders like Bhutto, called national heroes such as Dr A.Q. Khan traitors and allowed the theft of water by some provinces; all this to ensure the writ of the government.
N. H. BALOCH
Karachi
NAWAB Akbar Bugti’s sudden killing has raised many questions about the possible law and order situation in Balochistan. The government could have avoided his killing, as it knew that Mr Bugti had been spotted on the site where the operation was taking place. It is true that the military was attacked from that place, yet the government should have shown more restraint. In my opinion, this killing may intensify the crisis. The government badly needs to gain support of strong political and nationalist opinion now in the province. I hope that the government will review its strategy in the province and will avoid the use of force as a part of its strategy.
ZEESHAN AHMAD
Lahore
THE news of Akbar Bugti’s death was received with shock and sorrow throughout the country. It is very sad that his life had to end in a tragic way. As details come through about the four day-long intense operation against the Bugti and Marri tribesmen in Kohlu, I feel compelled to ask our military think tanks: wasn’t there another way of neutralising the so called rogue elements. Even those who were not supportive of the late Baloch leader’s views agree that long-term effects of Akbar Bugti’s death will be felt not only in Baluchistan but throughout the country.
Many will view this operation in the context of President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s comments made on television in January this year which were aimed at the Baloch nationalists. The president had said: “This is not the 1970s, we will not follow them up into the mountains, this time they won’t know what hit them.”
It is a sad day in the history of Pakistan. The incident has badly dented our already deteriorating international image and will hinder us from the path of democratic norms. Who will take charge and change the course?
S. NAVEED AHMED
Kowloon, Hong Kong
THIS refers to Brig A.R. Siddique’s letter ‘All the president’s men’ (July 28).
In my view the timing of the letter coincides with the political developments taking place in London. Foreseeing political mileage, the sponsors of the letter have timed it to wash their sins off “the varied roles” played by them from time to time. Most of the writers of the letter do not have a consistent professional commitment to democracy as they have been working under one military regime or the other.
Their views have changed only when they are without jobs. Taking up jobs and benefits should have been denied at the appropriate time to establish their credentials as democracy lovers. Furthermore, if they really want to contribute to the nation’s political development and good governance, they should have come up with concrete ideas, as rhetoric of democracy for the sake of democracy has not brought results and invariably brought the army back after an interregnum.
The people of Pakistan are wary of the existing political parties and their methodologies. They are convinced that their leaders are struggling for self-perpetuation, self-aggrandisement and condonation of their sins.
The writers of the letter should feel the pulse of the people who want an improvement in their lives and not merely a “change of faces at the top”. The same medicines in different bottles have been given for just too long without having an effect on the underlying malaise.
Furthermore, what amazes me is that immense importance has been given by the media to retired Lt-Gen Tirmizi’s joining of the PML-N. The press has failed to see the timing of this “departure of ways” with Gen Musharraf’s team. It clearly indicates the hidden ambition involved and not a desire to serve democracy as is being claimed.
The awareness level of the people has now reached a level where they can judge and see through the motives of all, including the media. So none should try to fool them.
The time for these gentlemen to articulate these views was when the ‘referendum’ took place or subsequently when the election 2002 took place. But at the time they were enjoying their ministerial jobs in the same very system which they are now criticising.
SHAMS ZAHEER ABBAS
Lahore
I WOULD like to bring to the notice of the governor, the nazim and other authorities concerned the state of affairs of the KWSB and the service it renders to the people of Karachi.
We live in Block IV, KDA Scheme No. 5, Clifton, where all property taxes were increased a few years back and, when I spoke to an official of the then KDA, I was bluntly told that we, the residents of ‘posh areas’, have been paying very little tax and it is time we paid more.
Last year we paid water and sewerage tax worth Rs3,960 (for 12 months) but now the KWSB has sent us a bill for Rs735 for July which works out to Rs8,820, a whopping increase of nearly 122 per cent. And what do we get in return for this?
Until last year, we were getting water twice a week for about 10 minutes every Monday and Friday. For the last six months even that small supply has been reduced to two to three times a month. We have to depend on tankers’ supply of muddy and saltish water costing us Rs1,200 for 2,400 gallons of the commodity.
This is over and above the potable water we buy daily from supermarkets for drinking and kitchen purposes. All this means a monthly expenditure of about Rs9,000, besides the amount of Rs735 paid as water and sewerage tax. Quite a few houses in our area have no water line at all passing by their properties and still they are being regularly charged water tax.
As regards sewerage, no such service exists in our area. A few years back work had commenced to lay a sewerage line and our house was connected to it, but somewhere down the line the project was abandoned and the line has been left halfway without any outlet. The result is that our manholes get filled up like septic tanks and every month or two we have to have them emptied and pay the sweepers Rs500 each time to do the emptying manually. This is despite paying sewerage tax for a service which does not exist.
Is it morally right for the KWSB to charge us water and sewerage tax when it does not provide any service.
I would request the governor and the nazim to order the KWSB to provide us with proper service and, until that is done, withdraw the increase in water and sewerage tax being imposed for this year.
MRS SHIRIN TAYEBI
Karachi
ACCORDING to press reports, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has rejected a proposal to allow players three appeals per innings to the third umpire during the Champions Trophy to be held in India later this year.
When this novel idea appeared for the first time in the press, Imran Khan, a former great cricketer of Pakistan, wasted no time in endorsing the proposal and gave his full support to it.
He explained that during his career spanning 21 years in the game of cricket it was one of the best proposals ever made to eliminate the chances of bad umpiring at an important point of time of a cricket match. He further said that if adopted, this proposal would ensure fair results in both versions of the game.
In this regard, he pointed out his own instance when he was wrongly given out by the then best English umpire Dickie Bird in the crucial semi-final match of the World Cup 1987 against Australia in Lahore.
So was the case in 1988 when, in the second innings of the second Test match against Pakistan at Port of Spain, Viv Richards was batting on 80-odd runs but he was not given out LBW. Later on Viv Richards went on to score 123 runs and not only drew the match for the West Indies but also denied Pakistan a rare opportunity to win a series in the Caribbean.
At that time Pakistan was already one up in the three Test series and a victory in the second Test match would have sealed the fate of the rubber in favour of Pakistan. Had there been the proposed rule in existence then, the third umpire would have rectified the mistake committed by the umpire on the field.
These are just two examples of bad umpiring which directly affected the results of two important matches. The history of cricket must be replete with such instances when human errors denied a well-deserved victory to a better team.
Controversial decisions do change the course of a match and can lead to its illogical end. For accurate decisions and fairer results, sooner or later, the ICC will be depending less on the field umpire and relying more on the modern technology.
RAFAT MAHMOOD ANSARI
Islamabad
A FEW readers have been anxiously inquiring about the practical purpose of having bought the F-16 fighters from the US when they are coming with so many strings attached.
The F-86 Sabre jets, Chaffee and Patton tanks were supplied to Pakistan for the express purpose of fighting Communism. However, they were used in the 1965 and 1971 wars against India, which led to the US suspending military hardware for some time.
There is no doubt that the F-16s and other US military hardware too will be used against India in the event of war even though they are being supplied to fight ‘terrorism’. The only difference is that, in the present day, Pakistan has the technology to circumvent any embargo placed on it by the US.
DENNIS DEY
Fairfield, USA
IT has been rightly emphasised in your editorial ‘Railway priorities’ (Aug 17) that as a priority number one we need to convert the existing system of railways into an efficient, safe, comfortable, economical and convenient organisation before going for any new train.
The plan approved by the Islamic Development Bank to lend $39 million to the Pakistan Railways for putting up overall better services (‘PR launches modernisation programme’, Aug 20) for modernising the fleet is a step towards the right direction.
However, after collapse recently of Ran Pathani, an age-old railway bridge, the communication link of Karachi with the rest of the country has been immobilised which, as a consequence, not only exposed the commuters to unbearable miseries but also brought the fragility of railways infrastructure to the open.
The railway system of the subcontinent, which was developed by the government of the East India Company, was a great feat for all times. In Sindh, initially, an agreement was entered into by a company — which was later named as the Sindh Railway Company — with the East India Company in 1855 to construct 106 miles of rail line to connect the towns of Karachi and Kotri.
John Brunton, chief resident engineer of East India Railway Company, was appointed to supervise construction of the line. This track was completed and opened up for traffic in 1861. While laying track, in spite of avoiding many waterways, the total number of bridges, small and big, and culverts constructed was 186. The principal bridges (including Ran Pathani) that were built alone were 19.
Subsequently, in order to connect Karachi with upper Sindh and then Punjab, besides many small and big bridges, two huge bridges of iron-work, the real triumph of ingenuity and skill, were erected on the River Indus: one at Kotri (1900) and another, Lansdowne Bridge, at Sukkur (1888).
In order to run this huge organisation productively and effectively, vast yards and engineering workshops were established in every big city. A capable administration was evolved and for every important station facilities such as residential quarters, hospitals, high-quality schools and clubs for employees were also set up on railway estate land acquired from the state to run the self-contained organisation efficiently.
Now, with the passage of time, on account of negligence once a best system of the world has been thoroughly crippled as has been rightly pointed by Mr Noman Ahmed in his article ‘Railways ruckus” (Dawn, Magazine, Aug 20).
In order to save the railways from such disasters, not only the existing system requires overhaul and renovation but what is more vital is to save the extremely old infrastructure from crumbling. The authorities concerned are requested that before any such incident occurs again, they should employ squads of experienced and efficient engineers to examine each and every bridge and culvert through which trains pass as these crucial links have outlived their lives long ago and hence require immediate repair and maintenance.
ALTAMASH M. KURESHI
Karachi
ANOTHER national education policy has been introduced. Realities on the ground are too daunting to be tackled by wishful and pious platitudes. One earnestly hopes and prays that the apex court provides some relief. You have highlighted one of the biggest problems, i.e., the dichotomy, discrimination and disparity between the private and public-sector education (‘Neglect of education’, July 6). Yet, the matter can be resolved with a little will on the part of the powers that be. We all can see that by and large educational institutions managed by the PAF, the army and the navy are in excellent shape. The basic reason is that children of the respective service’s officers are there.
This naturally ensures the maintenance of quality in all areas of schooling. If, by law, all officers of the central, provincial services (DMG, police, income-tax et al) are bound to put their children in government schools / colleges, things can improve dramatically and radically.
Some of us can recall that in the pre-1970s there was mostly public sector education only and the situation was fairly fine. It’s time some steps were taken to stem the rot to offer a ray of hope to millions of parents and students.
A. KHALIL AHMAD
Karachi
WITH reference to the termite attack in the Quran Gallery at Karachi’s National Museum (Dawn, August 21), I would like to say that measures for removing the queen to control the increasing termites is not realistic because there could be several queens in the building. Termite proofing is a technical job and there have been successful instances of controlling them for longer period of time.
I suggest that the relevant authorities at National Museum contact termite experts at Nuclear Institute of Food and Agriculture in Peshawar or the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.
DR SOHAIL AHMED
Faisalabad
IT was really good to see a picture of Dr Qadeer Khan in Dawn on August 24. For almost two years the great man has been confined to his home. He is accused of proliferating nuclear technology. The truth behind the so-called proliferation will see the light some day. However, if what is said about the scientist is to be believed then what right do the men running the country’s nuclear programme have to be where they are? If Dr Khan can do it several times without their knowledge, somebody else can also do it surreptitiously. It’s nothing less than shameful on our part to have disgraced a man who deserves a place in history alongside the Quaid-i-Azam. For, if the latter has won us a homeland, the former has given us the power to defend it.
RAFIQUE JALAL
Karachi
NOW that a ceasefire, though fragile in nature, has been brokered in the war-torn Lebanon, the international community is thinking of its reconstruction and rehabilitation. The real test is for the Lebanese government to outperform Hezbullah’s efforts that are already under way to help the victims of the conflict. While other countries including Saudi Arabia, EU and the US have pledged financial grants, no one seems to be looking toward the ones who actually did the damage.
The destruction of civil society in south Lebanon is a result of indiscriminate bombing by Israeli planes and tanks. Why should the taxpayers in other countries who weren’t party to this conflict pay for the crimes of Israeli war planners? It is time that the international community held the real perpetrators responsible for their misdeeds. Once the government of Israel is asked to pay for the reconstruction efforts, maybe public opinion will force Israel and other states to remember to employ the concept of ‘just war’. The internationally recognised rules of engagement that only allow for the cautious selection of military targets must reign supreme in all future conflicts.
HASSAN BIN RIZWAN
Karachi
THE robust budget presented for the new fiscal year for the Clifton Cantonment Board, Karachi, stirs new hopes in the minds of the residents of Clifton that the board will share its affluence and rising income with the residents of Clifton by improving the civic amenities for the people of this area. The public parks, for entry to which the board levies an entrance fee, need improvement.
The latrines for the public stink and lack adequate water supply. Recreational facilities for children are urgently needed. The traffic signals on Abdullah Shah Ghazi Road should be looked into by the traffic authorities.
QUTUBUDDIN AZIZ
Karachi
I FULLY endorse the speakers at the Pakistan National Forum seminar for taking a strong view of Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mehmood Ahmed’s remarks about the Lebanese prime minister. When we lost half of Pakistan to the Indians, at least no Muslim head or their armed forces chief ever gave such a humiliating remark.
Hats off to the brave Hezbollah men who have engaged one of the mightiest armies in the world. It was also strange to note from the air chief’s statement that still our air force is relying on the US for F16s for our national survival.
LT-COMND (r) JAWAID MANNAN
Karachi
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