| September 02, 2006 | Saturday | Sha'aban 8, 1427 |
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Unpunished academic crimes
Dr Qadeer Khan
Violent films on bus trip
Animals on highways
Non-Islamic fascists
Expectations vs realities
Hudood amendments
Hezbollah now stronger
Authoritarian rule and democracy
Letter-boxes for Clifton
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
WE have an unlimited capacity to be deceived. General Yahya’s operation that ‘saved Pakistan’ is still fresh in our mind and now General Musharraf is enacting the same drama in Balochistan. The extent and intensity of reaction to Akbar Bugti’s killing should open anyone’s eyes who believed in the discredited ISPR stories.
The clannish mentality in the armed forces and the complicity of politicians with the ruling powers has irreversibly compromised the unity of the remaining Pakistan. Eight years ago when army seized power, there was no separatist movement in Balochistan and now we are at a point where little is left to hope for reconciliation. I am from Punjab and want to be on record that I don’t support the armed forces when they use their sophisticated weapons against people struggling for their rights. Anyone with an iota of love for the country should understand that Pakistan is not only Punjab and the armed forces.
If all is not already lost, it is time for everyone to pool their voices for the people of all provinces to have their fair share of resources and freedom from the central coercion. We can well do without spending billions on weapons likely to be used against Pakistanis and focus on improving the lives of the people.
Tauqir Ghani
California, USA
THE death of Akbar Bugti though very sad was but inevitable. In any civilised society an individual who raises a private army, blows up government installations, lays minefields, kills security forces and civilians is called a rebel and has to be captured dead or alive. Akbar Bugti did all this and more on the plea that he was fighting for the rights of the Baloch people.
There is a thing called a democratic dispensation by which people vote governments in or out of power. What else would you call the clean sweep of the polls in the NWFP by the MMA in the last elections?
To imagine ANP being defeated on their own turf speaks volumes of the fairness of the election system. If the Baloch nationalists are as united as the MMA, they can clean sweep the polls in Balochistan and have a government of their own.
Once they have an assembly that speaks with one voice the federal government will be left with no option to do all those things which Akbar Bugti wanted to achieve through the barrel of a gun.
Would all those who support Akbar Bugti like to see an independent Balochistan and a further erosion of the state of Pakistan?
The opposition and all those who are shedding crocodile tears over his death are not doing their country good.
The death of Akbar Bugti was not necessary but if he got killed in the process of being put out of business, it was a sacrifice that the nation had to make in order to maintain the writ of the state because the other choice could be painful for the country as a whole.
SARDAR AHMED SHAH JAN
Peshawar
IN early May Dr John Ellis, a distinguished physicist who is also a senior official at the European Nuclear Research Laboratory (CERN), informed the vice-chancellor of Punjab University of a very serious case of academic fraud committed by five teachers of that university.
These teachers had published a paper that was a word-for-word copy of a 1997 article by the former director-general of CERN, Prof Sir Christopher Llewellyn Smith.
Dr Ellis provided copies of the original article and the plagiarised version (these are also available on the Internet for readers of this newspaper to see).
This is not the first time that such concerns have been raised about academic fraud by these teachers. A PU dean had provided evidence to PU’s VC of earlier incidents of such dishonesty.
The PU vice-chancellor has chosen not to suspend the teachers in question while the allegations were investigated. Instead, he chose to appoint one of those accused by Dr Ellis as a member of PU’s Advanced Studies and Research Board. In fact the VC has taken no action so far other than setting up a committee staffed with his nominees.
The committee has so far failed to come up with a report. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that for his own reasons the vice-chancellor of Punjab University is seeking to cover up this crime.
Punjab University is not alone in having this problem. Academic theft, forgeries, faked data, and plagiarism are becoming rampant. This can be partly traced to the new policy of the government of Pakistan wherein lucrative financial rewards are given for publishing research papers.
Pakistani academics and researchers are, therefore, publishing much more than before, and using all available means. There is an urgent need to establish a mechanism to properly and quickly investigate and punish academic fraud. The alternative is a further worsening of the country’s already poor image in the world of scholarship.
PERVEZ HOODBHOY
Islamabad
IT WAS a great relief to see the photograph of the nation’s hero, Dr Abdul Oadeer Khan, smiling at the camera in this newspaper on Aug 24.
One would like to whole-heartedly thank the powers that be in Islamabad for providing the people with this rare opportunity.
The two ruling party figures who met him the day before said he was “merry and hearty”. Being such a brave man, Dr Khan has apparently taken the news about contracting cancer in his stride. Nevertheless, it is very worrisome for his millions of well- wishers and they expect he would be afforded the best possible treatment and care.
It was, however, an unwise decision on the part of the authorities concerned to prevent the opposition leader Qazi Husain Ahmed from meeting his nuclear scientist friend, whom he tried to see on two consecutive days (Dawn, Aug 24). By such measures the government will unnecessarily cause suspicions among the Pakistanis and a fear of lack of transparency in handling Dr Khan’s health matters, which have already been mired in controversy in the past.
Many people are undoubtedly praying for the complete recovery and long life of the man they simply love and who helped make Pakistan’s defence invincible. The restrictions on him should now be removed and he should be allowed to spend his remaining days with his loved ones.
AN ADMIRER
Karachi
IT is reported that Dr A.Q. Khan is suffering from a serious disease of prostate and his condition is deteriorating. Dr Khan gave the nation the much needed nuclear deterrent and fortified its defences.
A D.J. College alumnus, he is a great benefactor of the nation and should be released on grounds of sickness and put under the care of Dr Adeebul Hasan Rizvi, his contemporary at the D.J. and highly qualified surgeon on the subject.
The people of Pakistan are proud of its nuclear expertise, and the release of Dr Khan on humanitarian grounds would be an act according to the aspirations of the nation.
CHAGHTAI M. EIJAZUDDIN
Karachi
IT is bad news that Dr A.Q. Khan has now developed prostate cancer. He must not be left in the lurch and best medical care be provided to him.
As he has had enough of mental torture and punishment — deserved or undeserved — it is time he was set free to move about in the interest of his health care. If he cannot be sent abroad for any reason, he should be brought to Karachi where he can get the treatment for prostate cancer or whatever it is at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplant under the care of Pakistan’s top urologist like Dr Adeebul Hasan Rizvi.
This is the least we can do to repay him for his giving us power to be proud of and making the country invulnerable to foreign threats.
M. SHAFIQUE AHMED
Karachi
ON a recent journey from Lahore to Islamabad, I travelled with my young children by Sammi-Daewoo bus service. It was shocking to note that the film shown in the bus was extremely violent.
It had very graphic scenes of murder and mutilation. One scene included bullets entering a person’s head from front and exiting from behind, leaving holes.
Since one is seated facing the TV it is not possible to turn the children’s attention anywhere else.
It was a horrible experience for me. On the journey back after a few days, the same experience was repeated. This time the film was about sharks ripping people limb to limb.
Of all the films in the world, are these all this prestigious bus company can come up with? When I complained to the attendant in the bus, she replied that the films had been pre-decided by the management.
On behalf of all concerned mothers I ask the Sammi-Daewoo bus service to show more family-oriented films. The management should consider what they would like their own children to watch in a bus.
MRS MALIK
Lahore
RECENTLY I drove from Petaro to Matiari. It was night time. When I was approaching Matiari, all of a sudden a donkey appeared on the highway. I was driving at speed 80 kilometres an hour.
Thank God my senses worked rightly and there was no vehicle on my left side.
I steered the vehicle on the left and avoided an accident, which could have proved fatal for us or the donkey.
Later on we learnt from a reliable source in Matiari that some people living in a particular area near Matiari town leave their animals on highways, deliberately, to mint money from vehicle drivers in case of death or injury to their animals.
Now, this is something very serious. I request the relevant authorities to take necessary action to prevent serious accidents.
PROF. J.N. RAHI
Petaro
THE interesting, readable comment by Mr M.J. Akbar (Dawn, Aug 18) on the American president’s recent pronouncement after the remarkably timely discovery of the liquid terrorism plot in the UK tempts me to share with you and readers the letter I addressed earlier on Aug 12 to the occupant of the White House.
One does not expect presidents anywhere to respond promptly, or respond at all, to letters that raise issues which they find unpleasant to deal with. Yet, there is a need for all those who have concerns about official policies to send their views to the desks where the bucks come to a thudding stop.
The text of the letter to President Bush:
“Dear Mr President,
Greetings.
As a human being and as a Muslim who respects the sanctity of all human life and respects all religions, I was shocked to read a comment attributed to you by the media in the past two days regarding your reaction to the alleged plot to blow up 10 aircraft in which you are reported to have used the term ‘Islamic fascists’.
If you have used such a term, you have deeply hurt and offended all Muslims and you owe it to humanity, and not just to Muslims, to apologise, and to retract your words.
Even if the reasons for requesting an apology for such a term are obvious, for the record, they are stated briefly below:
1. Islam enjoins peace and abhors violence, with particular emphasis on avoiding harm to innocents, specially women and children.
2. The core texts of Islam, i.e., the Holy Quran and the Traditions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) enshrine the principles of consultation, participation and respect for every human being. These are democratic values diametrically opposite to fascism. Therefore, regardless of whether some of the alleged plotters are Muslims, the juxtaposition of the two words ‘Islamic’ and ‘fascists’ is a false and misleading formulation.
3. I do not recall any statement by the then president of the United States of America when a former (Christian) US army individual committed terrorism in Oklahoma about 10 years ago causing the deaths of hundreds in which the phrase ‘Christian fascist’ or ‘Christian terrorist’ was used. Nor, to the best of my knowledge, has the White House used a religious prefix to refer to the Weatherman bombings in the USA in the late 1960s/early 1970s, nor to the Basques in Spain, or in several other such instances.
4. The use of such a term by the person who occupies the highest office in your country misrepresents the creed of over 1.2 billion people to the people of your own country whose knowledge of the world outside America is, with respect, extremely limited, and manipulated by the US media. Kindly review the website www.ifamericansknew.org maintained by an outstanding American woman, Mrs Alison Weir.
5. At this stage, the alleged plot is neither proven in a court of law nor has it been conclusively established that the instigators and conspirators are Muslims.
On more than one occasion, you have acknowledged the true nature of Islam and have stressed the need to promote inter-faith dialogue and harmony.
Therefore, your comment about the alleged ‘Islamic fascists’ is completely contrary to your previous comments.
Thank you for your attention.”
JAVED JABBAR
Karachi
I HAD always placed Pakistan Air Force officers on a very high pedestal. A few days back, I visited one of my close childhood friends, a serving officer in the air force.
At his residence at an airbase, while watching a talk show close to 11pm, suddenly all TV cable channels were switched off by the cable operator.
On investigating, I found that a policy has been imposed by the air chief marshal that TV cable will be switched off at 11pm so that the officers would sleep at 11pm.
I always considered the air force to comprise the most educated and mature officers. But it was shocking to see childish treatment of officers. Can any air force expert answer my following questions:
1. Has the maturity level of our air force officers gone so down that they need to be told when to sleep and when to watch TV?
2. If our forces require to sleep at 11 pm to work 9 to 5 during peace time , then who is going to survive the tough nights of war?
3. How can we improve the maturity level of our officers?
4. And does switching off the cable ensure that one will sleep? I think the authorities should confiscate their computers, DVD players, kids and cars at 11pm as well.
MIASAM-I-TAMMAR
Isalamabad
IT is surprising that the proposed amendments to the Hudood Ordinance include just a 10-year term for rape. Moreover, if two persons commit intercourse unlawfully, they would face stoning to death (rajm). However, if one of them deceived the other, then the deceived would not be charged but the deceiver would not even get a death penalty.
So it is better to commit sin though deception than mutual agreement. God give us some sensible legislators.
WAQAR HASAN
Karachi
YOUR editorial on the subject reflects the sentiments of most Pakistanis. Hezbollah has indeed become a source of pride and inspiration for the entire Muslim world.
Our leadership needs to emulate people like Hassan Nasrullah who leads his nation with courage and determination. We should abandon the policy of appeasement with respect to India as our people are also capable of offering sacrifices like the Lebanese provided they have selfless and strong leadership.
ZAFAR IQBAL CHAUDHRY
Lahore
IT was a pleasant surprise that Dawn carried the editorial ‘Authoritarian rule and democracy‘ in the issue of Aug 13, the closing day of 59th anniversary of our independence, leaving aside the tradition of writing on the first of ensuing year. A very bright idea of taking accounts of the year passed on the last day of the year, for that congratulations.
A fully-fledged spectrum of the political upheavals which marred the healthy evolution of democracy in our country had been discussed in detail. To reproduce some lines: “That year rankles in memory, for in 1953 Governor-General Ghulam Mohammad took a decision whose ramifications are still with us.”
Here it could have been added that the G-G’s decision had been ratified by a novel invention of the judicial term called ‘doctrine of necessity’, which is in continuous practice since then to come to the rescue of the despotic regimes.
The editorial also reminded the nation that “in the putsch and 11 years of tyranny, Zia found some willing collaborators among the politicians. They collaborated with him in the judicial murder of the country’s first elected prime minister”. I highlight the word judicial murder.
Unfortunately, some of such collaborators are still found dominating our politics as well as assemblies and Senate. Prima facie, the people of Pakistan are left with only the option to pray to heavens to get good sense prevail upon the authoritarian rulers and the collaborators to allow the true democracy to nurture.
GHEEWALA
Karachi
AS a resident of Clifton Block 4, I appeal to Karachi’s postal authorities to increase the number of postal letter-boxes in Clifton because of the increase in population in this area, and to ensure that the mail already dropped in them by the citizens is collected in time and delivered speedily to the addressees.
Some letter-boxes, it seems, were damaged in the rains and reportedly have piles of stamped letters. The main post office in Clifton is under-staffed and needs urgently more postal equipment such as weighing machines, efficient franking machines, registration forms and other postal stationery.
Life insurance facilities in this post office should be streamlined and customers should get prompt service and attention. Despite the shortage of staff, the post office in Clifton is doing well in serving the public. By improving its operations, the postal department will surely get more income.
QUTUBUDDIN AZIZ
Karachi
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